Director Of Program Operations

Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organization for children, we work in 120 countries. We save children’s lives; we fight for their rights; we help them fulfill their potential. We work together, with our partners, to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.  

Save the Children is seeking a qualified candidate to fulfill the following vacancy in its Ramallah Office:
 

 Director Of Program Operations
 Position Ref.: SCI/ DOPS/2017

The Director of Program Operations shares in the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the Country Office program.  As a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) in the Occupied Palestinians Territory (oPt), the Director of Operations is responsible for the implementation of all programs in the Country Office, including the management of all sub offices, emergency preparedness and response (including DRR), supply chain, awards management, and safety and security.In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY :

As a member of the Senior Management Team, contribute to:

-    Leadership of the oPt Country Office
-    Support the development of an organisational culture that reflects our broad spectrum programming 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 design and implement a coherent organizational structure that is consistent with agency practices and appropriate to program needs
-    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 as requested, delegated, and authorized by the Country Director
-    Help establish, maintain, and improve active and regular working relationships with: key internal stakeholders e.g. regional or centre ops/awards/security colleagues, etc.
-    Ensure that the required support is provided promptly, at scale and in line with the rules and principles during emergencies, working closely with the Country Director

 
Oversight and Management of Program Operations
-    Responsible for overall coordination of program implementation and delegated responsibility for field delivery of high quality programming and operations in line with the objectives of the country strategy
-    In close coordination with the Director of  Program Development and Quality and Director of Finance, participate in program proposal process and ensure that all programs progress in accordance with grant agreements, are completed within time and on budget
-    In coordination with support from other departments, ensure that local partners have the capacity to implement Save the Children programming, and provide for their capacity development as needed
-    Working with Senior Management Team (SMT), participate in conceptualizing and designing cost effective, innovative and high quality programs to serve difficult to reach children
-    Serve as budget holder for programs; manage and support delegated sub-budget holders for individual projects and grants
-    Ensure programs are implemented in ways responsive to the communities, and children in line with Save the Children principles, values and strategic plan and following Save the Children compliance procedures. This includes working with government and national NGO-partners to strengthen national capacity
-    Ensure preparation of timely and high quality progress reports, program reports, and donor reports

Awards Management

Compliance (systems, processes & donor):

-    To engage globally on the development of Save the Children systems and processes and the sharing of best practice
-    To ensure that the Award Management System (AMS) is effectively maintained and up to date for all awards and sub-awards including authorisation and document retention
-    To ensure that key staff (including partners) have a clear understanding of donor compliance requirements throughout the project management cycle and that there is a complete audit trail of the implementation and reporting for all awards
-    Provide strategic support to the CD on award management including pipeline management; To maintain and provide detailed analysis of current/ pipeline awards to senior management.


Monitoring and analysis:

-    Working in collaboration with the Finance Director and SMT, ensure the CO has a clear framework for master budget development, cost allocation, monitoring of award budgets, phasing and forecasting, ensuring alignment between the master budget and funding tracker.
-    Using strong financial analysis skills to oversee the award portfolio and pipeline
-    To work in collaboration with the finance department and provide technical advice regarding strategic donor costs allocations with a view to minimise compliance issues where possible

Supply Chain, including Program Logistics, Inventory and Procurement

-Ensure that the Country Office (CO) procurement capacity and systems meet the Save the Children Quality Framework and are able to satisfy the programming requirements
-Ensure appropriate and adequate emergency logistics procedures are detailed in the Country Office Emergency Preparedness Plan in order to enable rapid scale up
-Ensure program goods and services procured are cost effective and of standard quality at all offices
-Ensure procurement processes are effectively implemented nationally
-Work closely with the procurement team in negotiating the best deals with suppliers
-Ensure proper record keeping, maintenance and control of inventory at offices, and Gaza warehouse
-Support proper documentation and recording of fixed assets of the organisation in coordination with Finance Department
-Manage the fixed assets in coordination with Support Services
-Maintain pre-positioned stocks for emergency response at all applicable warehouses
-Review and analyse supply chain management systems as needed and directed

Emergency Response Management

-    Strengthen the oPt CO organisational readiness to respond to emergencies in line with global Save the Children emergency goal and benchmarks
-    Ensure that the CO designs, updates and implements a full set of emergency preparedness actions, drawing on Save the Children member input and resources
-    Mount appropriate and  timely responses at scale for all emergencies, consistent with established benchmarks, plans and organizational policies, and in close cooperation with CD; first point of contact for incoming surge teams
-    Ensure that all CO staff across departments and sub offices are familiar with, adhere to and implement the procedures and processes detailed in the Rules and Principles for emergency response
-    In coordination with Country Director and Director for Program Design and Quality maintain consistent and coherent engagement in key inter-agency emergency preparedness and response coordination mechanisms including the Cluster system

Security Management

-    Develop, establish and manage Occupied Palestinian Territories programme security plans and procedures in line with policies, systems and guidelines
-    Maintain, document and communicate up to date analyses of the changing security context
-    Ensure all staff adhere to security guidelines

Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development – Program Operations

-    Ensure appropriate staffing within Program Operations, including sub office staff
-    Ensure that all staff understand and are able to perform their role in an emergency
-    Manage Program Operations team; define expectations, provide leadership and technical support as needed, and evaluate direct reports regularly
-    Ensure the recruitment, training, and promotion of staff as appropriate in coordination with CD and Support Services team, and ensure availability of appropriate professional development opportunities for staff in coordination with the SMT. Incorporate staff development strategies and Performance Management Systems into team building process.
-    Establish result based system and follow up
-    Manage the performance of all staff in the Program Operations work area 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/ workplans  

General

Comply with and promote all Save the Children Global policies such as Child Safeguarding, Whisteblowing, Fraud and Health & Safety.


QUALIFICATIONS  

-    7-10 years management experience in a corporate or an NGO environment, including significant field operations experience running both emergency and development programs
-    Master’s degree in development, NGO management or other social  sciences

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

-    Significant experience of NGO emergency program cycle management, and has experience of working within a complex and matrix organisation structure
-    Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organise a demanding workload comprising diverse and challenging tasks and responsibilities.
-    Proven track record of active contribution to a senior management team, and providing strategic support across multiple sectors and geographic areas.
-    Experience with Program management of institutional donors projects (i.e., ECHO, EU, USAID, DFID, etc.) highly desired.
-    A very good understanding and general technical experience of at least 3 of the sectoral programs and a working knowledge of the program priorities of the Country Office (WASH, Child Protection, Child Rights Governance, DRR, Food Security and Livelihoods, Early Childhood Development, Education, Emergency Response, etc.)
-    Substantial experience in logistics, including procurement
-    Experience managing safety and security.
-    Significant knowledge of international humanitarian systems, institutions and donors, and of procedures, accountability frameworks and best practices in emergency management
-    Substantial experience and knowledge of effective financial and budgetary control and 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 and willingness to spend up to 30% of his/her time in Gaza  
-    Ability to analyze information, evaluate options and to think and plan strategically
-    An in-depth understanding of Palestinian 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, with the ability to remain patient, flexible, able to improvise and communicate clearly and effectively under pressure
-    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
-    High fluency in English required and Arabic desired.
-    Computer literacy (MS Office, incl. Word, Excel, Outlook, and Internet Explorer) is essential.
-    Palestinian nationals are encouraged to apply

Application Process:

Applications should be submitted to

Apply Now

no later than June 30, 2017, please make sure to mention the position ref. in the subject.  The selection committee will review all applications as they are received. All applicants must meet the minimum requirements described above, and those unable to meet these requirements will not be considered.

Application package should include the following:

Cover letter with the applicant’s current contact information and position applying for in the subject.

Resume including Professional References (minimum of three, with complete contact information).

Applications not including all of the above information will not be reviewed. Only short listed candidates will be contacted. All applicants will also be subject to Save the Children’s Child Safeguarding Policy and reference checking process.

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