About us
For over 90 years, Save the Children has been making a difference in children’s lives in more than 120 countries. We are the world’s largest independent child rights organization.
Save the Children is an equal opportunity organization dedicated
to our core values of Accountability, Ambition, Collaboration, Creativity and
Integrity.
We are looking to recruit for this position to be based in
Somalia/Somaliland Country Office (Nairobi) with up to 50% travel to the field.
Director of Programme Operations, Somali / Somaliland Country Office
Director of Programme Operations, Somali / Somaliland Country Office
Vacancy Announcement No. SCI/SOM/12/13
Team / Programme: Somalia / Somaliland Country Office Senior Management
Team
Location: Nairobi
Grade: TBC (Competitive Package)
Post Type: National or International
Child Safeguarding: Level 3 - the responsibilities of the post may require the
post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people
Role Purpose: As a member of the Senior Management Team, the Director of
Program Operations shares in the overall responsibility for the direction and
coordination of the Country Office.
The Director of Program Operations, through the management of
Areas Representative of 3 area offices within Somalia/Somaliland, is primarily
responsible for implementation of all programming in country, for emergency
preparedness and response and for logistics for the Country Office in
Somalia/Somaliland.
As overall manager of the Area Representatives, the Director of
Program Operations is also responsible for the development of area plans and
thus, together with the Programme Development and Quality team, for the
development of area programmes.
Scope of Role:
Reports to: Country Director
Staff directly reporting to this post: At least 5 but to be confirmed
Staff directly reporting to this post: At least 5 but to be confirmed
Key Areas of Accountability:
As a member of the Senior Management Team, contribute to:
As a member of the Senior Management Team, contribute to:
- Leadership
of the Somalia/Somaliland Country Office
- Support
the development of an organisational culture that reflects our dual
mandate values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a
team culture of learning, creativity and innovation, and frees up our
people to deliver outstanding results for children and excellent customer
service for our Members and donors
- Help
to ensure a coherent organizational structure that is consistent with
agency practices and appropriate to program needs is in place and reviewed
as necessary
- Help
establish, maintain, and improve active and regular working relationships
with: host government authorities, donors, partner agencies including
major institutional donors, and local and international NGOs
- Ensure
that required support is provided promptly, at scale and in line with
rules and principles during emergencies, working closely with the Director
Program Development and Quality and the humanitarian team at the SCI
Centre.
Oversight and Management of Program Operations
- Responsible
for overall coordination of program operations and delegated
responsibility for field delivery of high quality programming in line with
objectives of the country strategy
- In
close coordination with the Director of Program Development and
Quality and Director of Finance, participate in program proposal
development process and ensure that all programs progress in accordance
with grant agreements, are completed within time and on budget
- Working
with Director of Program Development and Quality, participate in
conceptualizing and designing cost effective, innovative and high quality
programs, including an overall country strategy, to serve difficult to
reach children
- Serve
as overall budget holder for most programmes; appoint, support and manage
budget holders for projects and grants through support from an
“awards team” that reports directly to the Country Director
- Ensure
programs are implemented in responsive ways to communities and children in
line with Save the Children principles, values, compliance procedures and
strategic plans. This includes working with government and national
NGO-partners to strengthen national capacity
- Ensure
initial preparation from area offices of timely progress reports, program
reports, and donor reports and to engage with the Programme Development
and Quality team in ensuring these are of high quality
- Participate
in the overall funding process from both grants and SC members. This
includes developing funding strategies, creating grant proposals, and
identifying strategic leads and concepts
- Recruit,
appoint and provide leadership to managers of area offices within
Somalia/Somaliland.
Logistics, Inventory and Procurement
- Ensure
that the country office logistics capacity and systems meet SCI’s Minimum
Operating Standards and are able to satisfy programming requirements
- Ensure
appropriate and adequate emergency logistics procedures are detailed in
the Emergency Preparedness Plan in order to enable rapid scale up
- Provide
leadership to the Logistics department ensuring that all logistics
activities (fleet, assets, transport, supply chain, base setup etc) are
properly coordinated
- Ensure
goods and services procured are cost effective value for money and of standard
quality
- Ensure
procurement processes are effectively implemented
- Work
closely with the procurement team in negotiating the best deals with
suppliers
- Ensure
proper record keeping, insurance, maintenance and control of inventory,
vehicles, fixed asset register
Emergency Response Management
- Strengthen
the country office’s readiness to respond to emergencies in line with
SCI’s emergency goals and benchmarks
- Ensure
that the CO designs, reviews and implements a full set of emergency
preparedness actions, drawing on SC members input and resources
- Mount
appropriate and timely responses at scale to all emergencies consistent
with established benchmarks, plans and organizational policies, and in
close cooperation with incoming surge teams
- Ensure
that staff across departments and sub offices are familiar with, adhere to
and implement procedures and processes detailed in the Rules and
Principles for emergency response
- In
coordination with the Country Director and Director of Program Development
and Quality maintain consistent and coherent engagement in key
inter-agency emergency preparedness and response coordination mechanisms
including the Cluster system
Staff Safety and Security
- Work
with the Director of Safety and Security to ensure that staff and assets
are safe and secure
- Ensure
that all safety and security minimum operating standards and in country
guidelines and procedures are met by area offices
- Work
closely with the Director of Safety and Security to promote a culture of
security awareness and duty of care amongst staff in area teams.
Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development – Program
Operations
- Ensure
appropriate staffing within Program Operations, including area office
staff
- Ensure
that all staff understand and are able to perform their roles in an
emergency
- Lead
the Program Operations team; define expectations, and provide technical
support as needed, and evaluate direct reports regularly
- Work
closely with the Director of HR in recruitment, training, and promotion of
staff as appropriate and ensure availability of relevant development
opportunities for staff
- Work
with the Director of HR to incorporate staff development strategies and
Performance Management Systems into team building process. Establish
result based system and follow up
- Manage
performance of all staff in Program Operations through:
- Effective
use of the Performance Management System including the establishment of
clear, measureable objectives, ongoing feedback, periodic reviews and fair
and unbiased evaluations;
- Coaching,
mentoring and other developmental opportunities;
- Recognition
and rewards for outstanding performance;
- Documentation
of performance that is less than satisfactory, with appropriate
performance improvements/ work plans
Skills and Behaviours (our Values in Practice)
Accountability:
- Holds
self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently,
achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
- Holds
the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities -
giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing
the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate
consequences when results are not achieved
Ambition:
- Sets
ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes
responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to
do the same
- Widely
shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates
others
- Future
orientated, thinks strategically
Collaboration:
- Builds
and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues,
Members and external partners and supporters
- Values
diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
- Approachable,
good listener, easy to talk to
Creativity:
- Develops
and encourages new and innovative solutions
- Willing
to take disciplined risks
Integrity:
- Honest,
encourages openness and transparency
Qualifications and Experience
- Recommended
a minimum of 12 years senior management experience in corporate or INGO
environment, within a range of cultures including significant field
operations experience running both emergency and development programs
- Recommended
Master Degree in administration, development, strategic management
or social sciences
- Robust
experience in both NGO emergency and development programmes and commitment
to the dual mandate of Save the Children.
- Experience
working within a complex matrix organisation structure
- Good
knowledge of logistics, including procurement, supply chain, fleet
management & inventory
- Significant
knowledge of international humanitarian systems and procedures,
institutions and donors, accountability frameworks and best practices in
emergency management
- Proven
substantial experience and knowledge in effective financial and budgetary
control, securing and managing grants from major institutional donors
- Solid
project management skills related to organisational development projects
and international cross-functional teams with a proven history of
delivering results
- Ability
to analyze information, evaluate options and to think and plan
strategically
- An
in-depth understanding of national and
international development issues in particular in
relation to children
- Previous
experience of managing and developing a
team and the ability to lead, motivate and
develop others
- Excellent
interpersonal, communication and presentation skills
- Fluency
in written and spoken English
- Ability
and willingness to change work practices and hours, and work with incoming
teams in the event of major emergencies
- Commitment
to and understanding of Save the
Children’s aims, values and principles including
rights-based approaches
Interested candidates meeting the above qualifications are
required to submit a mandatory cover letter quoting the Job Title and Vacancy
Announcement No. SCI/SOM/12/13 on the subject line.
The file name of the attachments must be the applicants name and
sent to Somalia.vacancies@savethechildren.org.
Closing Date: 30th April 2013
We work with children, communities and governments all over the world and we believe in the right person for the job regardless of where you come from and how you identify yourself.
We work with children, communities and governments all over the world and we believe in the right person for the job regardless of where you come from and how you identify yourself.
We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects
our commitment to ensuring that only those who are suitable to work with
children are considered for these posts.
All successful applicants will therefore be required to complete
a Police Check and must sign onto our Child Protection Policy and
organizational Code of Conduct.
