Practical Action
Job
Title: Operations
Support Manager (Africa)
Directorate: Africa
Reporting
to: Africa Director
Location: Africa
(in one of the Practical Action Africa entities) – Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan,
Zimbabwe, Senegal)
Duration: Long
term – Contract Duration will be aligned to conditions where the role is based.
Grade /
Salary: Depending on Location
Financial
Scope: N/A
Travel: Up
to 14-16 weeks of business travel
About
the Role: To work closely with, and support, the Africa Director on the
operational aspects of the five programmes in Africa. In particular building
capacity and collaboration across country offices and teams.
To build key relationships based on mutual trust and respect within regional/country offices in order strengthen and build robust operational and financial capacity in country offices and increase confidence and skills relevant to the programmes.
To
be able to engage informal teams and networks, internally and globally, to
support the programmes capability and effectiveness. To be able to tap into the
relevant internal expertise and resources as needed.
To
support the country offices in anticipating issues, mitigating risks and
finding solutions within the scope of the operational aspects of the programme
work.
Accountabilities:
Strategic
Alignment
Supports
RCOs to align their programmes to the strategy in order to achieve the Change
Ambitions.
· Monitor
financial and fundraising performance of all Africa offices, including
participating in quarterly reviews. Summarise key issues for the Director.
· Track
internal audit recommendations in collaboration with Internal Audit and alert
Africa Director to outstanding issues.
People
& Culture
· Ensure
new policies and procedures are robust and properly rolled out, working with
the UK Operations Team and relevant people in each CO.
· Supports
RCOs to build capacity on programme management, including in-country and remote
training on aspects of proposal development, sub-award management, planning,
budgeting and budget management, procurement policy and process and risk
management.
· Identify
high risk or organisationally significant proposals and awards and ensure that
all relevant parties are aware of these and of any issues that arise.
· Identify
opportunities for regional programmes and synergies across countries
· Design
and deliver training and capacity building sessions for Regional/Country Office
teams.
Financial
management and compliance
· Understand
budget management in order to support managing budgets, reviewing financial
targets or KPIs and identifying issues for the Regional Directorate.
· Provide
support, coaching and training as needed to country programmes and operational staff,
to ensure there is compliance with global policies and procedures, including
compliance with donor requirements, using the relevant systems.
Internal
and External Relationships:
· Key
staff in all five Africa countries, especially Heads of Programmes and Finance
· Operations
Team in UK, in particular the Operations Manager (UK)
· International
Finance Team
· Fundraisers
in UK
Person
Specification:
· Professional
experience in the field of international development, preferably with a good
portion of that gained in overseas contexts.
· Strong
understanding and experience of new business development, including
facilitation of consortia and partnerships, opportunity identification, quality
proposal development and donor rules.
· Experience
of project and award management, including planning, budgeting, resource
management, controls, problem solving, monitoring, and delivering on time, to
quality and within budget.
· Experience
in designing and delivering training, in-person, remotely and through coaching
or
mentoring approaches.
· Knowledge,
experience and/or interest in safety & security management and wider risk
management.
· A sound
understanding of and commitment to gender equality.
· Empathy
with Practical Action’s vision, mission, and values.
· Ability
to travel 14-16 weeks per year.
· Undergraduate
or post-graduate degree in relevant subject is desirable.
Skills,
Abilities and Competencies:
· Proven
ability to work with others to build capacities in a cooperative way. Positive
persuasion skills
and rapport and demonstrate working in a way that builds trust and respect.
· Ability
to work in differing cultural contexts, using the most appropriate
methodologies for adoption of change in each context.
· Excellent
written and oral communications skills in English, with a second language
(French,
Spanish, Arabic) desirable.
· Excellent
facilitation skills with the ability to listen, and to lead or build teams.
Application
Information:
Location: This
role is being advertised to attract suitable candidates from across Africa and
beyond. The successful candidate could be based in any of the countries with a
Practical Action presence – Rwanda, Sudan, Senegal, Kenya & Zimbabwe
therefore the Right to Work for the respective country is essential.
Remote
working / home working is possible with this role.
About
you: You will have professional experience in the field of
international development, preferably with a good portion of that gained in
overseas contexts.
You
will have a strong understanding and experience of new business development,
including facilitation of consortia and partnerships, opportunity
identification, quality proposal development and donor rules.
You
will need experience of project and award management, including planning,
budgeting, resource management, controls, problem solving, monitoring, and
delivering on time, to quality and within budget.
You
will have experience of building capability, through coaching and mentoring
methods, and some experience in safety & security management and wider risk
management.
We
are looking for someone with positive persuasion skills, who works in a way
that builds trust and respect, who is able to work in different cultural
contexts.
Salary: The
salary and benefits will be applied according to the salary scale in the
country where the candidate is appointed.
Practical
Action is an equal opportunities employer, and we encourage applications from
under-represented groups.
We
stay committed to cultivating an inclusive and diverse working environment and
believe that people from different backgrounds or cultures give us different
perspectives, and the more perspectives we have, the more successful we will
be. By building a culture where everyone feels heard, respected and valued we
give everyone working with us the opportunity to achieve their full potential.
Practical
Action is committed to safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable
adults and as such candidates will be subject to pre-employment checks
including criminal checks and terrorist financing.
Please
note that this is an urgent recruitment and shortlisting shall be done as
applications are received.
Only
shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
How to
Apply:
Submit
your CV and a supporting statement outlining your suitability for the role to
Human.Capital@practicalaction.org.zw
Closing
date for applications: Tuesday 7th March 2023
Tentative
Date for Interviews: Monday 13th March 2023
