Director, Field Operations, HR and Compliance

Position Summary:

The Director leads field operations, HR and compliance efforts across Invisible Children’s (IC) presence area in central Africa (currently including DRC, CAR, Uganda, South Sudan and Sudan) in support of the organization’s mission, strategic priorities, and programmatic objectives.

Effective and dynamic operations that adhere to organizational policies and donor and host country rules and regulations are integral to IC’s values, impact, and sustainability. The Director has strong relationships across the organization and leads through collaboration, influence, and a spirit of mutual respect with IC’s CEO, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Director of Field Finance, Chief Program Officer (CPO), Country-level leadership, and Operations staff.

The Director acts as a link between HQ and field teams. They work in close collaboration with HQ leadership team, ensuring that all HQ guidelines and instructions are applied in the field. In parallel, the Director should bring up to HQ executive leadership any major operational challenge encountered by the teams in the field.

The Director must demonstrate strong leadership skills and initiative in all circumstances.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Leadership

• Lead by example, modeling IC’s values and equipping and empowering his/her direct report and IC teams to do the same
• Model the highest standards of integrity and communication both internally with IC teams and externally
• Contribute to the development of IC’s strategic priorities and programs so that field operations and compliance considerations are appropriately built into plans, budgets and forecasts
• Coordinate with partners and contractors on his/her areas of responsibility, where required
• Design, track, and effectively manage operational priorities and corresponding budgets and resources
• Contribute to handling safeguarding incidents and reports made under IC’s mandatory reporting policies and lead on the communication of those policies
• Conduct field office level reviews and audits of conformity with operations, compliance and HR standards and contribute to building the capacity of staff where required
• Develop, execute, and monitor plans for operations initiatives with multiple participants, (e.g. project closures, project launches, etc.)

Operations

• Ensure IC’s field operations support IC’s teams, programs, and impact in the region, working collaboratively with in-country leadership with a focus on supply chain management, office operations, vehicle fleet, air transport, communications/IT, recruitment, contractor management, and security
• Oversee the successful implementation of key operations and administration functions including compliance, procurement, logistics, security, recruiting, HR, office ramp-up and close-down, and other operational requirements in adherence with IC’s policies and procedures, donors rules and regulations, and global best practices
• Oversee field procurement, ensuring that the field procurement process is consistent, transparent, and compliant to international standards
• Act as a technical supervisor to the Field-based Regional Director of Operations

Compliance

• Lead and support the implementation and refining of policies and procedures at the field level to ensure compliance with applicable donor, U.S. government, and host country rules and regulations, and adherence with organizational values and global best practices
• Maintain awareness of host country laws and regulations that affect IC and its programs
• Build the capacity of field staff to adhere to all relevant rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and client contractual requirements to promote risk-efficient operations

Human Resources

• Provide guidance at the field level on standardized, principled and compliant human resources policies, practices, and protocols for all field operations and programs
• Oversee recruitment efforts for all field-based positions and ensure they comply with all applicable policies
• Oversee and advise field HR manager on field-based employees’ queries on company policies and benefits
• Advise field-based leadership on performance management, retention, employee relations, and succession planning activities
• Support the handling of labor-law related matters with the help of the field base HR manager.

Profile

• Required extensive field-based experience (at least 7 years), preferably in francophone/central Africa
• Required operations, compliance and HR experience
• Desired advanced degree in a relevant field
• Desired International NGO experience, preferably handling USG awards
• Required fluency in both French and English, both written and spoken;
• Ability and willingness to travel within Central Africa, including to extremely remote locations where living and transport conditions can be rough
• Ability to uphold the highest level of confidentiality
• Ability to develop and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Good interpersonal, coaching, training, and conflict resolution skills