Senegal: Operations Support Advisor

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 fulfil 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 1.9 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.

Following a major transition, our international programmes are now delivered through a merged operation with c15,000 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.

Contract length: Open Ended

The role

The role holder will provide consistent operational support to targeted country programmes (Niger, Mali, DRC and Nigeria) to improve operational delivery by supporting the strengthening of leadership, management capability, structure and systems (through the coordination of Operations Platform Strengthening (OPS) plans), operations advisory support and direct support. S/he will also support country offices and regional offices in the management of the OPS budgets.

Operations Platform Strengthening Plans:

• Organise and conduct organisational capacity reviews in 'group A' countries (those considered to present the highest risk and need) in conjunction with regional and country offices
• Support the development and delivery of operations strengthening support packages for targeted country programmes based on the findings of the capacity review process
• Provide in-country advisory support, including designing bespoke solutions to identified gaps (e.g. support an organisational structure review; facilitate a strategic planning exercise; streamlining core processes; etc)
• Provide strategic direction to country management teams and supporting key planning processes especially during restructure and rightsizing processes.
• Provide change management support to country programmes during internal change processes
• Support the implementation as of global priority projects in Group A countries
• Working with country management teams to determine how best to improve the overall quality of leadership in order to improve operational delivery, through guided discussions and action planning

Workshop Facilitation, Training and Capacity Building:

• Work with the country programme team to identify core learning needs and together develop a programme of training to fulfil these needs as part of the operations strengthening plans developed with the regional offices
• Work with the Regional Office and country operations director and others to identify required content for operations training
• Coordinate with colleagues to identify resources, potential trainers and coaches to provide bespoke training and coaching support.
• Act as a facilitator and deliver training as required with senior and mid-level management teams. This can include training on, working better together, field operations management, emergency preparedness and response, project cycle management, etc
• Ensure effective evaluation and follow up work takes place to highlight impact of the training and continuing capacity building requirements

Monitoring and reporting:

• Ensure that all interventions undertaken are reported on and where possible evidence of impact is gathered to enable greater advocacy to take place.
• Assess progress and demonstrate impact against the quality standards established by Save the Children.
• Contribute to "lessons learnt" across the organisation

Qualifications and experience

Essential

• Experience of senior operations management, (Operations Director or Country Director level), with extensive people management experience, and core processes (project, awards, finance, logistics) management, including in insecure, fragile and/or emergency contexts
• Excellent analytical and strategic planning skills
• Experience in change management, organisational development or management consultancy
• Substantial experience of capacity building and coaching in an INGO, ideally at both HQ and programme levels, and familiarity with a range of approaches
• Excellent representational, influencing and diplomatic skills to enable the post holder to operate effectively within Save the Children and support in-country change management
• Excellent project management skills, including proven track record of resource management and managing concurrent activities/deadlines
• Proven writing and numerical skills and experience in budget monitoring, editing of learning materials and drafting of summary reports and briefing documents
• Proven attention for detail and ability to effectively manage a high volume of data and information
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in order to deal tactfully and sensitively with a wide range of people in a large organisation, very often at a distance
• Collaborative with a strong interest in providing support to others
• Willingness and ability to travel abroad for up to 35% of the time, sometimes at short notice
• Fluent in written and spoken English and French

Desirable

• Experience of implementing continuous improvement or knowledge management initiatives in a large organisation will be a strong asset

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

To see a full a job description, please visit our website at www.savethechildren.net/jobs

Please apply in English using your CV and covering letter as a single document, including your salary expectations for this role.

Application Email: Please apply with a covering letter and up-to-date CV to: 'Fsy.62322.3830@savethechildrenint.aplitrak.com'