Head of Quality Management

The Opportunity

Save the Children International has an exciting opportunity for you to join our team as the Head of Quality Management at London or any existing Save the Children International office location.

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Head of Quality Management will play a key role in the International Programme Operations Continuous Improvement team and the organisation as a whole, as it will be responsible for defining and implementing Save the Children International’s (SCI’s) approach to Quality Management. The purpose of which is to ensure that quality is the key driver for all of SCI’s work at all levels / entities and across all functions / departments – both programming and operations.

They will play both a lead and supporting role in various initiatives that aim to strengthen SCI’s quality management approach and culture. Coordination and collaboration with a range of stakeholders at all levels / entities and across all functions / departments will be key for ensuring SCI’s quality management approach is consistently applied across all areas of the organisation’s work. A key aspect will be to support the continuous improvement and coordination across functions of SCI’s core organisational management processes for strategy and annual planning and reporting. They will also act as a gate-keeper for ensuring that Centre based functions incorporate and align their planning and reporting requirements with these core processes, and only request information from Country and Regional Offices that is deemed mission-critical, minimally burdensome and of value to those involved.

The role will lead the ongoing development of the Quality Framework, to ensure this is effective in supporting staff across SCI to deliver programmes for children with quality and compliance. SCI’s Quality Framework (QF), contains all of SCI’s Policies, Quality Standards, Procedures, Tools and Supporting Guidance. SCI’s senior leadership has agreed to prioritise the Quality Framework over the next few years, to ensure it is fit for purpose and future proofed. Up to 16,000 staff members are required to follow the mandatory documents (SCI’s Policies and Procedures) contained in the QF. It is therefore crucial that these are high quality, comprehensive and easy to access and use documents which support staff to deliver programmes for children with quality and compliance (both SCI’s internal requirements and the Charity Commission requirements for compliance).

The role will be responsible for strengthening the organisation’s approach to quality management primarily within SCI, but also as part of Save the Children Association’s (SCA’s – incorporating all of Save the Children’s Member Offices) wider approach. SCA has committed to developing an overarching accountability framework for the whole organisation, of which the QF will play a key role.

The post holder will manage a team of two people. They will line manage the Quality Framework Senior Manager and the Quality Framework Content Writer.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essential :

• Significant senior level leadership and management experience in a large and complex international NGO, including experience of working at the field and head office levels.
• Experience of designing and implementing quality management / continuous improvement / learning organisation strategies and approaches in the aid and development sector.
• Experience of designing and implementing change management and organisational development initiatives that aim to strengthen staff behaviours and organisational culture.
• Excellent coordination and relationship building skills using a positive, flexible and collaborative approach; ability to develop and manage productive relationships and work effectively with a broad range and large number of stakeholders and senior staff across different functions with varying priorities, and ensure project outcomes are successfully achieved.
• Substantial project management experience and organisation and time management skills. Ability to plan ahead, anticipate requirements, problems and obstacles, juggle competing priorities successfully, and work effectively and calmly under pressure to tight deadlines.
• Substantial experience in communications management, including developing key messaging and reporting for senior management and communicating complicated concepts simply.
• Strong experience of managing staff, using a supportive and empowering approach for staff to perform their work effectively and reach their potential.
• Strong interpersonal, written and oral communication skills, including the ability to listen well and engage effectively with a broad range of people across different cultures and to act with confidence, credibility, discretion and diplomacy; fluent in English.
• Strong experience in designing and delivering trainings and other capacity building initiatives, both face-to-face and online.
• Sound judgement and an ability to adopt a pro-active approach to problem solving and effectively prioritise multiple tasks in a constantly changing environment.
• Competent in the use of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, as well as Teams and SharePoint sites. Experience with web-page design a plus.
• Thorough and trustworthy, takes pride in delivering high quality work and gives a high level of attention to detail.
• Commitment to the mission, vision and values of Save the Children.

We can offer circa £57,000 per annum (If based in UK) with an option of flexible working hours. If the role is based outside of the UK, National T&C (including pay) will apply.

This role can be based in London or any existing Save the Children International Regional or Country office location on approval, provided the successful candidate has proof of eligibility to work from the preferred location.

Where we Work – Where We Work | Save the Children International

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 salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/careers/apply

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.

Save the Children does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.