Director of Programme Operations

Save the Children is the world's leading independent organisation 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.

We have over two million supporters worldwide and raised 1.6 billion dollars last year to reach more children than ever before, through programmes in health, nutrition, education, protection and child rights, also in times of humanitarian crises.

There are 30 national Save the Children organisations around the world. By the end of 2012 all our international programmes will be delivered through a merged operation with 14 000 staff, managed through seven regional hubs and reporting to a relatively small, central office. We're changing to become more efficient, more aligned, a better partner, a stronger advocate, a magnet for world-class people and relevant for the 21st century.

ROLE:

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 in his/her capacity is responsible for implementation of all programming in country, including the management of all sub offices, emergency preparedness and response (including DRR), and logistics for the Country Office in Egypt. The role is based in Cairo and frequent travel to field offices in Egypt is expected. This is an annual renewable contract. Key areas of accountability:

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

• Leadership of the Egypt 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 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
• Ensure that the required support is provided promptly, at scale and in line with the rules and principles during emergencies, working closely with the Regional Office

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 the objectives of the country strategy
• In close coordination with the Director of Program Development and Quality and Director of Support Services stand accountable for all programs progress and deliver in accordance with grant agreements, objectives and milestones, timeframes and on budget
• Work in collaboration with Director of Program Development and Quality, to conceptualize and design cost effective, innovative and high quality programs to serve difficult to reach children
• Serve as overall budget holder for most programming; manage and support budget holders for individual projects and grants
• Accountable for program delivery in ways responsive to local government, local NGO partners, 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
• In excellent collaboration with the Director of Program Development and Quality lead all operations to integrate child safeguarding, accountability to children, and monitoring and evaluation into their programming and to see that SC team and partners have the technical and management capacity to do this
• Responsible for the preparation of timely and high quality progress reports, program reports, and donor reports
• In excellent collaboration with SMT lead on delivering effective outcomes against funding objectives and strategies from both grants and SC members. This includes: developing funding strategies, creating grant proposals, and identifying strategic leads and concepts and coordinating the planning and management of concept note, proposal drafting process
• Oversee all sub-offices

Logistics, Inventory and Procurement

• Responsible for CO logistics capacity and systems that meet the SCI MOS and are able to satisfy the programming requirements
• Responsible for appropriate and adequate emergency logistics procedures outlined in the Country Office Emergency Preparedness Plan to enable rapid scale up
• Manage the CO Logistics department making sure that all CO logistics activities (fleet, assets, transport, supply chain, base setup etc) are coordinated
• Manage all vehicles and monitoring maintenance and insurance
• Goods and services procured are cost effective and of standard quality
• Procurement processes are effectively implemented
• Work closely with the procurement team in negotiating the best deals with suppliers
• Proper record keeping, maintenance and control of inventory is in place
• Proper documentation and recording of fixed assets of the organisation in place
• Manage the fixed assets

Emergency Response Management

• Strengthen the Egypt CO organisational readiness to respond to emergencies in line with global SCI emergency goal and benchmarks
• Ensure that the CO designs, updates and implements a full set of emergency preparedness actions, drawing on SC member 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 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 governmental and inter-agency emergency preparedness and response coordination mechanisms including the Cluster system

Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development - Program Operations

• Responsible for appropriate staffing within Program Operations, including sub office staff
• Responsible to make sure 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
• Responsible for the recruitment, training, and promotion of staff as appropriate and working with the Director of Program Development and Quality ensure availability of appropriate professional learning and development opportunities, technical and management, for all staff and partner teams
• 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 at standard and above and less than satisfactory, with appropriate performance improvements/ workplans

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Recommended a minimum of 5 years of senior management experience in a corporate or an NGO environment, including significant field operations experience running both emergency and development programs

• Masters degre in development or other social sciences

• Robust experience of NGO emergency program cycle management, and with experience of working within a complex and matrix organisation structure

• A very good understanding of at least 3 of the sectoral programs and a working knowledge of the program priorities of the Country Office
• Substantial experience in logistics, including procurement, supply chain, fleet management & inventory

• 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 to analyze information, evaluate options and to think and plan strategically
• An in-depth understanding of national and international development issues and best practice 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 and Arabic

• 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

To see the full job description for this role or to apply, please visit our website at www.savethechildren.net/jobs

We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

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Location: Egypt

Contract - Full-Time

Closing date: Tuesday 22 October 2013

All jobs close at midnight UK time on the date specified

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