Operations Manager

Project Description

The USAID Africa Trade and Investment (ATI) program is designed to bolster the U.S. Government’s ability to boost trade and investment to, from, and within the African continent. The continent-wide program is USAID’s flagship effort in support of the Prosper Africa initiative and will expand and accelerate two-way trade and investment between African nations and the United States.

Driven by market demand, ATI embraces innovative approaches to achieve its goals. ATI is designed as a small, core set of centrally coordinated technical and institutional support activities, and a large, flexible performance-based subcontracting and grants under contract facility designed to support the needs and opportunities that USAID Missions and the private sector identify.

Overview of Job Description

The Operations Manager is a long-term position that will provide operational and administrative management of the ATI project in the following areas: operations and administrative support to the project team and individual buy-in activities, procurement and subcontracts, overall contractual compliance and client management support, recruitment and human resources management, office management, and travel/security logistics. In coordination with the project’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the Operations Manager will play a pivotal role in overseeing financial and operational management and ensuring compliance to project’s Field Operations Manual (FOM), USAID regulations, contract requirements and limitations, as well as relevant local laws, requirements, and practices in support of technical project management requirements as they arise.

Objectives and Duties

Operations and Administration

• Act as primary point of contact for operational project needs in DC, including the management of office-related tasks, scheduling/invites, technology resources and troubleshooting, managing videoconferencing, reserving rooms, procuring devices and software, ordering office supplies, conducting inventory audits, updating project org charts and contact lists (as needed by ATI Ops/HR team), and maintaining project calendars (ATI travel, reporting, evaluation panels, etc.); act as liaison between ATI project and DAI Home Office teams; Provide administrative assistance to buy-ins and technical activities by reviewing invoices and expense reports, reconciling P-Card statements, supporting operational procurements, answering operational or procedure-related questions, coordinating meeting and event logistics, coordinating travel and security logistics, and supporting buy-in start-up and closedown process
• In coordination with the CFO, develop and improve upon operational processes and systems and internal controls to efficiently guide project management and implementation and ensure compliance in accordance with the DAI USG Operations Manual, USAID rules/regulations, and the terms of the contract, including process guides, checklists, resource guides, and a library of best practices and lessons learned
• Independently troubleshoot common problems utilizing the DAI Washington Operations Manual, ATI’s contract, and project precedent, escalating more complex issues to the CFO and following up until resolved
• Coordinate the maintenance of administrative records, including project procurement, recruitment, and finance documentation; maintain and spot-check administrative records by saving and categorizing in a rational, straightforward hierarchy all documentation on shared file servers and project management systems in accordance with the project’s document saving protocol and norms

Financial Administration

• Support the Chief Financial Officer to oversee core project finances and buy-in budgets, including project accounting, budget management, financial reporting, and cost control
• Support the development and maintenance of project tools and trackers in accurately tracking, forecasting, and reporting on all project finances
• Support the Chief Financial Officer in developing financial reports and overviews to relevant stakeholders, including the COP, HO leadership, USAID clients, and the COR; reports and overviews include but are not limited to:
  • Budget analysis, quarterly accruals, forecasted projections, and scenario forecasting, as requested by COP and/or COR
  • Activity or program-level snapshots and reviews, including burn rate analysis, level of effort (LOE) and invoice tracking, and procurement workflow forecasts, in support of the activity teams and the buy-in activity portfolios
  • Monthly financial overviews and other reports or analysis (as requested) for buy-in clients
  • HO reporting for monthly snapshots and quarterly Estimate to Completion reviews

Procurement and Subcontracting

• Supports project teams in the development of buy-in budgets and support the submission of final buy-in budgets
• As needed by ATI activity teams, facilitate subcontractors’ deliverable management (tracking, filing, and submitting for payment), manage the review and submission of subcontractor invoicing, maintain discrete project trackers (procurement, deliverables, expenses, etc.) to ensure compliance and accurate record-keeping;
• Support technical and operational procurements through document organization, note-taking, and working directly with the procurement team to ensure compliance with all DAI policies and procedures, in addition to audit support, as required;
• Participate in subcontracting and grant-making process through document review, support to price analysis, population of procurement modules in the ATI management information system, and drafting of documentation related to the procurement process, including source selection memos and debrief letters;
• Maintain partner contact information and support mass communications with the ATI partner network; act as key point of contact for current and prospective network members and bidders on procurements;
• Support development of templates and guides for procurement/grants team and/or partner firms to support improvements in the procurement and subcontracting process;
• Support maintenance of CRM and MEL database systems to ensure information is up to date and complete; utilize these systems to support ad-hoc requests for data related to ATI procurements, subcontracts, and the partner network

Contracts, Compliance, and Client Management

• Schedule, prepare for, and attend weekly COR Project Implementation meetings with COP and senior leadership to ensure COR has all needed information for decision making. Take notes and flag action items for relevant ATI team members after each meeting and follow up to ensure tasks are completed in a timely manner. Support the maintenance of the ATI Google Drive, ensuring the specified files are up to date and that any COR requests related to the Google Drive are addresses in a timely manner
• Help the Chief Financial Officer and Operations Manager in managing and responding to COR and/or client requests, including drafting and filing USAID client approval requests and responses and coordinating with the HO on these requests;
• Support compliance with contract terms and conditions by ensuring administrative aspects of the contracts, subcontracts, and buy-ins comply with applicable regulations and corporate policy;
• Provide support in areas of data management and reporting, including quarterly and annual reports; develop and maintain trackers and process guides to improve the accuracy of collected data and aid in data standardization across the technical and procurement teams;
• Assist with external or internal audits as necessary.

Recruitment

• Provide lifecycle recruitment and onboarding support, including drafting/reviewing scopes of work, posting positions, reviewing CVs, setting up and participating in interviews, coordinating with the DAI Home Office (HO) counterparts to finalize agreements, drafting and reviewing client approval requests, developing new hire onboarding schedules (in close collaboration with ATI Ops/HR team), training new staff, and maintaining personnel folders;
• Identify potential efficiencies and improvements to the recruitment process
• Maintain open communication with DAI’s HO team on administrative and operational aspects of the recruitment process; act as liaison between the ATI project team, ATI Home Office team, and candidates throughout recruitment process.

Additional Support

• Ensure smooth coordination of logistics, country clearance and other necessary authorizations for buy-in activities, training, travel, and events
• Ensure project records are properly maintained; including project procurement, recruitment, and finance documentation, maintaining a rational, straightforward hierarchy in accordance with the project records map
• Coordinate process for review of subcontractor requests for payments and invoicing and project expense reports in coordination with HO support team to ensure compliance with DAI and project finance and accounting policies and procedures
• Assist with external or internal audits as necessary
• Other administrative or operational support duties as assigned by the Senior Leadership Team

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree and 5 years of relevant administrative, operational, and/or technical professional experience or a Master’s and 3 years of relevant professional work experience;
• Exhibited experience in operational and process management of donor-funded development projects, including experience in administrative, business, human resources/recruitment, travel and/or event logistics, and/or project management skills
• Demonstrated knowledge of internal controls and audit processes (e.g. procurement, subcontract agreements, etc.
• Experience with Microsoft Office, including Excel
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and shifting priorities without compromising the quality of work
• Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional team
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English

Desirable but not required

• Exhibited experience supporting large USAID-funded development projects, especially those with similar buy-in structures
• Experience managing, engaging, and communicating with clients and stakeholders at multiple levels

Reporting

The Operations Manager will report to the Chief Financial Officer.

About DAI

DAI is a global development company with corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine and project operations worldwide. We tackle fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. DAI works on the frontlines of global development. Transforming ideas into action—action into impact. We are committed to shaping a more livable world.

DAI and its employees are committed to confronting racism and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work. DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races and backgrounds in our continued effort to become a better development partner.

DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. We are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches. All of our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks.