Area Director – Based in North East Syria

Area Director, North East Syria

The Opportunity
As the most Senior position in North East Syria (NES) for Save the Children (SCI), the Area Director will lead and have day to day oversight for all of SCI’s activities in NES. The post holder will have responsibility for a team of roughly 350 staff and 500 incentive workers across 3 Field Offices with an annual portfolio of around $20+ million USD, which includes programming in the sectors of Child Protection, Education, Nutrition, WASH, and S/NFI. The post holder will play a key role in ensuring that SCI responds to the changing context and needs across NES as they emerge, including growing the strength and capacity of the operational platform to meet the increasing needs of children in both existing operational areas and new locations.

Reporting to the Deputy Country Director in the Syria Response Office (SRO) and as a member of the Extended Senior Management Team (ESMT) for the SRO, the NES Area Director will not only be expected to lead the NES team, but also to contribute to the wider strategic leadership and direction of the SRO and ensure good collaboration with the other Areas Offices covering North West Syria (NWS) and Government of Syria territory.

The post-holder will be required to effectively and efficiently coordinate operations systems, processes and activities across NES, so that programmes are delivered on time according to organisational strategy, donor requirements and within allocated budgets. S/He will take leadership on aspects related to program delivery, staffing structure and management, security, logistics, finance, IT and M&E systems.
SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: Deputy Country Director (Syria Response Office)

Budget Responsibility: +20,000,000 USD

Staff directly reporting to this post: 7 (Deputy Area Director for Operations, Deputy Area Director for Program Quality, Safety and Security Manager, HR/Admin Manager, Finance Manager, Safeguarding Manager, AMC Manager)

Staff Working Closely with: Senior Management Team (SMT), with specific focus on the Directors of Operations, Awards, Finance, and Human Resources departments, Save the Children Member staff.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
Strategic Program Direction and Management
* Provide leadership and accountability for the implementation of North East Syria programmes assuring full and timely delivery of results, appropriate coordination, and cooperation to assure excellent narrative and financial reporting, monitoring, evaluation, and learning.
* Lead on strategic engagement with NGO (local and international) and UN partners that are active in the SCI areas of implementation to achieve mutually beneficial goals
* Engaging in SC Whole of Syria strategy and coordination with the Syria Response SMT and other Area Directors for NWS and the GoS.
* Lead on the annual review and planning process to ensure the continued relevance of the programme and partnership strategy in a dynamic environment
Oversight and Management of Programme Operations:
* Actively participate in designing, innovative and high quality programmes to serve children
* Participate in the programme proposal processes and ensure that all programmes progress in accordance with grant agreements, are completed within time and on budget
* Serve as over-all budget holder for most programming in NES: manage and support budget holders for individual projects and grants
* Require managers to prepare timely and high quality progress reports, programme reports, and donor reports in a manner to allow review and consolidation efficiently

Emergency Response Management:
* Mount appropriate and timely responses at scale to all emergencies consistent with established benchmarks, plans and organizational policies
* Ensure that all 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
* Strengthen the North East Syria organisational readiness to respond to emergencies in line with global Save the Children International emergency goal and benchmarks

Human Resources Management and Administration
* Lead on defining structures and systems capable of delivering the North East Syria programme
* Monitor the recruitment, training and promotion of programmes staff to ensure core functions are filled, with focus on nationalisation of positions where feasible
* Manage the performance of direct reports using Save the Children performance management policies and procedures as well as through appropriate coaching, mentoring, training and development
* Ensure that all staff understand and are able to perform their roles
* Proactively lead and support the development of national staff and their assignment to management positions of increasing responsibility as appropriate
* Manage the North East Syria management team; define expectations, provide leadership and technical support as needed, and evaluate direct reports regularly
* Manage the performance of all staff in the North East Syria programme through:
– Effective use of the Performance Management System including the establishment of clear, measureable objectives, on-going feedback, periodic reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations;
– Incorporate staff development strategies and Performance Management Systems into team building process.
– Coaching, mentoring and other developmental opportunities
– Recognition and rewards for outstanding performance;
– Documentation of performance that is less than satisfactory, with appropriate performance improvements/ work plans

Risk, Safety and Security Management:
* Lead on the process of articulating programmatic risks at the strategic and project level and coordinate with support services to ensure a holistic approach to programmatic risk management
* Monitor programmatic risks in the contexts of dynamic environment and ensure mitigation measures are applied and programmes adapted as and when necessary
* Lead on communicating risks and the impact on programmes to all relevant stakeholders
* Ensure that Security Risk Assessments for all program bases and activities in North East Syria are carried out.
* Develop, maintain and manage triggers for escalation of security protocols, as well as de-escalation providing relevant information to decision makers on the SRO SMT

Representation and Leadership:
* Lead on building and maintaining active and regular working relationships in-country with host authorities, donors, partner agencies and the UN
* Represent Save the Children in relevant key forums at both the global and national level

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
* Minimum of 10 years’ management experience in a corporate or an NGO environment, including significant field operations experience running both emergency and development programs
* Robust experience of NGO development and emergency program cycle management, and with experience of working within a complex and matrix organisation structure
* Previous experience of leading and motivating a large and diverse team in a complex and changing context
* A very good understanding of at least 3 of the sectoral programs
* 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 analyse information, evaluate options and to think and plan strategically
* An in-depth understanding of national 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
* Fluency in written and spoken and English, experience in written and spoken Arabic or Kurdish is a benefit
* 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

The Organisation
We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:
* No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
* All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
* Violence against children is no longer tolerated

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.
Application Information:
Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application, and include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/careers

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our global anti-harassment policy.
We encourage qualified women and persons with disabilities to apply.