Sierra Leone: Deputy Country Director – Operations, Sierra Leone

Established in 1915 with Helen Keller as a founding trustee, Helen Keller International (HKI) is dedicated to saving the sight and lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. Headquartered in New York City, HKI currently conducts programs in 21 countries in Africa and Asia, as well as in the United States. Renowned for its reliability, efficiency and high level of technical expertise, HKI promotes the development of sustainable, large-scale programs that deliver effective preventative and curative services for nutrition, eye health and neglected tropical diseases. The hallmark of the organization’s work is its proven success in developing, testing and scaling-up health interventions, and integrating them within government and community structures to support and build local capacity and sustainable solutions.

Country Program Overview

HKI started its programs in Sierra Leone in 2002 and opened an operating office in 2004. Currently, HKI implements national programs in nutrition, education for the blind and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in addition to emergency Ebola response support in the Western Area. HKI supports the government’s efforts in the fight against malnutrition by implementing a wide range of activities: Vitamin A supplementation, food fortification, and development of strategies to promote essential nutrition actions (ENAs) at the six months contact point for mothers and their infants. HKI provides technical assistance and financial support to the national NTD program, including an integrated community-based program to control onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminths through mass drug administration.

With about 28 staff and an annual operating budget of over $2 million USD, HKI-Sierra Leone has undergone significant change over the last year responding to the Ebola emergency and introducing innovative mobile technologies. Its programs are funded by a number of donors, including, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of Canada (DFATD), Irish Aid (IA), UK AID (DfID) and several others. The funding situation is solid, with several exciting initiatives in the pipeline.

Scope of the Position

The Deputy Country Director - Operations (Deputy CD) supports the efficient implementation of program objectives and activities by ensuring sound management and optimal performance in all areas of financial and grants management, risk management, safety and security, office management, information technology, and human resource management in compliance with HKI and donor policies. This may include leading the screening of sub-grantees, development of sub-grant agreements, and monitoring of their financial performance.

The Deputy supports the CD to develop country office strategies and goals, and backs up the responsibilities of the CD. S/he ensures all aspects of finance and administration are fully integrated with the work of program teams to fulfill the HKI mission and the objectives established in grants. The DCD contributes to securing funding for project activities in Sierra Leone as well as to organization-wide efforts to optimize systems and procedures.

The position is based in Freetown with periodic travel to field sites, as well as international travel for meetings and training.

Functional Relationships

The Deputy CD – Operations reports to the Country Director (CD) and serves as Acting CD in his/her absence. The position serves on the Country Management Team (CMT) and supervises a team of professional level staff, some of whom also serve on the CMT. The Deputy also works closely with other colleagues at HKI’s Africa regional office and headquarters.

HKI’s has a matrixed reporting structure that respects both the line management and authority within country office hierarchies; and the accountability and oversight duties of colleagues at the regional and headquarters level (especially for multi-country grants). This requires regular communication among colleagues and an ongoing effort to clarify who is responsible and/or accountable for outcomes and who must be consulted and/or informed along the way.

Specific Responsibilities

****Overall Management and Leadership****

• Participate in strategic planning and direction setting for HKI-Sierra Leone and its programs, lending unique expertise to the process.
• Identify operational challenges that affect the integrity of resource management.
• Lead finance and operations teams in collaborative effort with program managers to ensure high-quality financial planning, management, reporting and auditing of all programs, including thorough budget preparation and oversight.
• Participate in international work groups assigned to develop global policies and/or optimize systems and procedures.
• Review and assess status of the country office policies, procedures and workflows, identify gaps or outdated policies and prioritize improvements.

Program Finance Management

• Oversee and build the capacity of direct reports and their staff to support program staff in all aspects of finance, administrative, human resource and logistics management, ensuring knowledge of and adherence to applicable operational systems, donor requirements and country program strategy. Ensure:
• integration between accounting and program teams;
• timely submission of financial reports within established guidelines;
• regular preparation, tracking and review of budgets by finance and program staff;
• appropriate implementation and maintenance of internal controls;
• support for annual internal and/or external audits, as required;
• an efficient procurement process which responds to the needs of the grants;
• compliance with HKI standards, policies and procedures, and processes across the program portfolio, including performance management; and
• compliance with donor requirements, including timely and accurate reporting of results and expenditures, and required interim and final reports.
• Where necessary ensure preventative and corrective action is taken.
• Authorize expenditures for grant or contract allocations and ensure compliance with procedures required by grant or contract agreements.
• Review, and recommend changes to improve the overall effectiveness of the program including program logistics and resource management systems in the field.
• Develop and carry out a mitigation plan to support and increase the capacity of local partners in program finance and administration.
• Assure financial compliance of all international and local partners and maintain effective working relationships with all stakeholders (donor, partners and local authorities).
• Represent HKI at relevant national and local meetings with government officials, contractors, other NGOs, etc., reporting back as applicable to colleagues.

Office Operations

• Liase with regional and HQ IT staff to ensure implementation and on-going oversight and management of information systems operation, including network administration, hardware and application management, security, user support and administrative functions.
• Collaborate with colleagues in global operations to ensure knowledge of and adherence with policies and procedures related to procurement, asset management, risk management, travel, fleet management, safety and security and other global aspects of office management.
• Work with country office staff to customize and supervise implementation of global operations guidelines.
• Ensure effective management of local office administration.
• Serve as primary liaison to legal counsel, as assigned by CD.
• Partner with CD to manage the safety and security of staff and respond promptly to emergent issues.

Human Resources and Team Management

• Collaborate with CMT to hire and manage personnel in compliance with HKI policies and lead initiatives to develop staff capacity.
• Ensure understanding and compliance with host country labor and tax laws, and with internal HR policies and procedures.
• Consult with Regional HR Manager to ensure coherence with HKI policies and practices as regards compensation, performance management, recruitment, training & development, etc.
• Mentor, supervise and evaluate direct reports and contribute to an atmosphere conducive to professional growth and development.
• Consult with and guide staff to achieve goals and ensure accountability to beneficiaries, partners, colleagues and donors by providing ongoing feedback in a context of mutual respect.

Qualifications

• Minimum seven years working in management of development programs for an international organization (five in a management position) plus;
• Masters’ degree or equivalent in development, program management, international development or other relevant field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience with INGO reporting, financial management, procurement, and project management including demonstrated ability to develop and monitor budgets, and collaboratively manage operational activities of complex programs including sub-grant management.
• Experience in managing USAID projects and familiarity with USAID policies and regulations.
• Substantial experience with a variety of other donors including private foundations, Canada, European Commission, IrishAid, UKAID, UNICEF and/or the World Bank, a plus.
• Experience in dealing with a diverse group of stakeholders representing government, civil society, international organizations, community and political leaders, and others.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to exercise diplomacy and tact as demonstrated in previous roles that required communication with a broad and diverse set of partners.
• Experience directing IT and HR administrative activities in a similar program.
• Excellent capacity building, team building/management, and coordination skills. An ability to ability to delegate responsibilities effectively and coach and mentor junior staff.
• Excellent oral and written English language skills, including the ability to clearly communicate complex financial, compliance and operational issues into layperson language.
• Excellent analytical and self-motivation skills; excellent advocacy and persuasion skills; able to think critically.
• An ability to work in challenging and changing environments, and to see through challenges to find solutions
• An ability to maintain balance when under stress.
• Computer literate and proficient with automated and integrated accounting packages,
• Demonstrable respect for all persons regardless of religion, ethnicity, class or gender, with a high comfort level working in a diverse environment with a demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards.
• Ability and willingness to travel within the country to project sites.

The initial contract is for two years with possibility of renewal.

Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to HKI.Recruitment@hki.orgnoting the job title in the subject line. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.