Philippines: Country Director, Philippines

Established in 1915 with Helen Keller as a founding trustee, Helen Keller International (HKI) is dedicated to saving the sight and lives of the world’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged. Headquartered in New York City, HKI has an operating budget of some $70 million and 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-Philippines (HKI-PH) is one of HKI’s oldest country offices and has been a key eye health and nutrition contributor in the Philippines for about 30 years. In partnership with the Government of the Philippines, donors, community organizations, and non-governmental organizations, HKI-PH is currently undertaking research with University of California, Davis to assess vitamin A toxicity in urban areas and building capacity of other nutrition-related programs and agencies. HKI also serves as an independent evaluator for nutrition-related products and programs, including testing the bio-efficacy of Golden Rice should it be approved by government regulators. In addition to the current projects, HKI-PH will seek to develop and implement the following types of programs: Homestead Food Production + Essential Nutrition Actions, enabling households to increase production and consumption of micronutrient-rich foods and receive nutritional and hygiene services; Micronutrient Powder Distribution, Eye Health Programs such as screening and treatment of Refractive Error among school children and Diabetic Retinopathy.

We are currently seeking a Country Director in the Philippines to represent HKI, develop new programs and expand our funding and lead the country office and its programs, reflecting HKI’s mission and ensuring technical excellence in the delivery of all activities.

Functional Relationships

The Country Director (CD) reports to the Asia Pacific Regional Director- Operations, and directs the work of staff and interns/consultants in the Philippines. The CD collaborates closely with the Asia-Pacific Regional Office (APRO) staff including the Regional Director-Programs and the Vice President for Asia Pacific; other CDs; and headquarters (HQ) staff. External collaboration includes representatives of governmental, international, university and non-governmental organizations within the Philippines, as well as some donors.

HKI has a matrixed reporting structure that respects both the line management and authority within country office and regional hierarchies; and the accountability and oversight duties of subject matter experts and multi-country program managers at the regional and headquarters level. Regular communication and a spirit of team work among colleagues, both hierarchically and laterally are essential to make this structure thrive.

Scope of the Position

The Country Director (CD) has overall responsibility for ensuring the ongoing implementation of the HKI-PH program portfolio in compliance with HKI’s mission and policy, and donor requirements. The CD is responsible for representing HKI and securing funding for project activities in the Philippines; developing and implementing strategic and annual plans to further the HKI’s mission in country; program design, proposal development, implementation and reporting; financial and grants management; operations, security, and human resource management.

Key Responsibilities

Over all Management and Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership and develop action plans to further the overall mission and specific programs of HKI that meet the evolving conditions in the Philippines.
• Manage project personnel to achieve the objectives agreed to in grants and contracts for HKI-PH projects.
• Keep APRO and others informed about progress of the projects, plans for the development of new programs/projects/activities and donor involvement in the overall program.

Programmatic

• Represent HKI and provide technical input to the government, international donor agencies and technical advisory groups pertinent to project activities.
• Oversee research design, methodology and dissemination of information needed to monitor and evaluate project activities.
• Disseminate findings from HKI projects that are of importance to decision-makers in a position to fund or implement projects in the Philippines and internationally.
• Ensure that narrative reports are submitted to APRO, HQ and donors as required by project agreements.

Financial and Administrative

• Work with APRO and HQ to manage development and implementation of annual country budgets.
• Work with finance team to ensure the timely preparation and submission of routine financial reports within the guidelines established by the HKI Finance department, and donor reports that comply with grant or contract agreements.
• Review and authorize expenditures for grant or contract allocations and ensure compliance with procedures required by grant or contract agreements.
• Review and approve supporting documentation in compliance with policy and procedures.
• Supervise the solicitation, management and closure of all internal and external audits.

• Hire and manage personnel in compliance with HKI policies and local labor laws, and lead initiatives to develop staff capacity.

• Work with relevant regional, HQ and country-based staff to ensure country compliance with HKI policies and procedures regarding procurement, fleet management, inventory, records management, HR administration, security, lease and contract management.

Fundraising & Program Promotion

• Identify funding opportunities from corporations, foundations, governmental organizations, international and bilateral agencies in the Philippines. Develop and nurture in-country donor relationships and identify potential partners to participate in joint proposals.
• Lead and prepare concept papers and proposals and provide other information as needed for submission to donors and others for fundraising and marketing purposes.

Qualifications

• At minimum, a Master’s degree in public health, nutrition, development or related field plus 10 years of program related experience, with at least 5 years in an international setting, preferably working with a non-governmental organization, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Very good oral and written English language skills, including the ability to quickly synthesize complex technical and programmatic issues into concise communications.
• Demonstrated experience and skills in leadership, staff management, program development and management, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation and public speaking.
• Demonstrated ability to generate program funding including donor cultivation and grant writing.
• Technical knowledge in an area related to HKI’s mission and programs.
• Computer literate in use of word-processing, spreadsheet and statistical software; experience in data analysis and interpretation is highly desirable.
• Ability to travel within Philippines at least 25% of the time and periodically internationally.
• Experience working within the Philippines preferred; and within the Asian development context is a plus.

The initial contract is for one year with possibility of renewal.

To Apply

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