Director of Strategic Portfolio, Awards Management

The role: The SPAM Director is responsible for delivering an efficient and effective award management function. S/he will lead award management for all programmes, and develop best practice award management processes across the Burkina Faso Country Office. The role has three main aspects to it: lead and develop the Country Office award management effort; capacity building of staff and contributing to the development of best practices systems and processes.

The role offers a leadership opportunity for an individual highly experienced in grants management, business development and donor communications. It requires an individual capable of providing strategic leadership to a dynamic team which is responsible for supporting ambitious fundraising targets as well as the management of a portfolio of awards currently valued at more than 18M$ a year.

The individual will play a strong coordination role both internally, across the Save the Children global network and with donors to support the business development manager (BDM) in identifying funding opportunities. During the implementation of projects s/he will provide support and coaching to SCI field teams to deliver donor compliant awards and will ensure and coordinate the consistent delivery of timely and quality donor financial and narrative reports. He/She will work closely to Programme and Finance staff at field and main country offices.

The maintenance of systems, processes and day to day management of the team will be a primary accountability of the SPAM Director. The individual will play a key role in the development of a culture that promotes the primacy of ensuring Save the Children delivers high quality programmes, on time, on budget and with quality.

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to be part of response set up team in accordance to afore-mentioned responsibilities, and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

Qualifications and experience:

• Master degree in social sciences, management, international development
• A minimum of a 5-year experience in senior management role
• Extensive experience with NGOs with increasing responsibilities including a proven experience of establishing and running the award management function in the field.
• Sound knowledge of the requirements and strategic perspectives of major institutional donors including budgeting, eligibility issues, compliance management, and reporting, notably USAID, EU (INTPA and ECHO), UNICEF, GAC etc.
• Proven track record of active contribution to a senior management team, and providing strategic support across multiple sectors and/or regions.
• Very strong appetite for attention to detail, problem solving, and analysis of trends.
• Ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner
• Action-oriented analytical skills; demonstrated experience in setting up and maintaining quality assurance /compliance systems
• Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organise a demanding workload comprised of diverse and challenging tasks and responsibilities.
• Experience of corporate representation and engaging with donors at country strategic levels.
• Experience of and well-developed skills in staff management, development & coaching, as well as supervision and oversight with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Proven strong coaching and capacity building skills.
• Strong experience with multiple internal and external stakeholder management
• Strong communication (written and spoken), and interpersonal skills in French and English, with experience in managing multicultural teams
• Computer literate (i.e. WORD, advanced Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer, financial systems).
• Patient, adaptable, flexible, culturally aware and able to improvise and remain responsive and communicate clearly and effectively under pressure
• Strong communication (written and spoken), and interpersonal skills in French and English, with experience in managing multicultural teams
• Commitment to Save the Children values
• Experience with Save the Children award management policies, procedures and systems (AMS)
• Understanding of financial reporting from Save the Children’s accounting software (Agresso)
• Experience of Project Management, M&E Management or Funding Coordination

Contract length: 2 Years

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 workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

Application Information:

Please apply using a cover letter and up-to-date CV as a single document. Please also include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations.

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

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

Applicants are advised that Save the Children International does not require any payment or expense during the entire recruitment process. Any request in this direction should be immediately reported as contrary to the values and practices of our organization.