Site Manager

TIYYD is seeking a new Istanbul Site Manager to guide the operations to better serve our community in line with our organizational values and culture. You will work closely with the strategic management on strengthening interdepartmental work, increase our efficiency and professionalism and build the capacity of our team in Istanbul. Your role will be integral to ensuring the commitment and realization of our unique work culture, which we believe challenges the traditional aid sector.

ABOUT YOU

You are a builder. Walking into a position that demands your commitment to growth and development does not worry you – in fact, it excites you. You believe in building a team and an organization around core values that may test you and challenge you, but you remain committed to them despite the obstacles.

You are a learner. You know you don’t necessarily always have the answers but you are willing to learn. More importantly, you are willing to let your team know that you are in this journey of growth and development as well.

You understand systems. You understand that strong units are important to function but a stronger system is necessary to thrive. You know that building systems takes time but you have an understanding of how to do so and how to continue work while doing so.

You are a leader. You know how to lead a team through the ups and downs of growth and development with energy, hope and transparency.

You take risks. You are joining a team of people rethinking how education and aid is delivered to marginalized communities affected by conflict. We make mistakes but we don’t stop trying. You are open to all paths to success.

ABOUT KARAM HOUSE

Karam House is an innovative workspace for Syrian refugee teens, in Istanbul and Reyhanli, Turkey, which defy traditional approaches to refugee education. At Karam Houses, hundreds of Syrian refugee teens learn through access to technology (maker spaces, internet, computers), expert mentorship (including Syrians refugee architects and engineers), and a sophisticated design-based curriculum (developed by MIT grads) that teaches youth how to build their ideas and their community.

We think about refugees and humanitarian aid differently and so we do things differently. We believe in investing deeply in communities affected by conflict.

What We’re Looking For: The Essentials

• Track record of managing teams, irrespective of function.
• Proven work experience planning and leading community initiatives (working with marginalized or refugee communities is a plus!)
• Proven project management experience
• Strong communicator. You will be working with various teams, across borders and languages.
• Strong teamwork skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Attention to detail, critical-thinker and problem-solver
• Turkish & Arabic advanced proficiency required
• Turkish Citizen or Istanbul issued Residency Permit

What We’re Looking For: Strongly Preferred

• Experience working on in the Syrian refugee space
• Experience working with and managing remote teams
• Advanced proficiency in English
• Experience with Google Drive and various software applications

RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy Development: You will play a key role in the development of all of Karam House, ranging from programs to operations. This position will require your flexibility and willingness to support this development process, coaching different staff members when needed, highlighting issues/gaps that need to be addressed and proposing solutions and more. You will work hand in hand with the management in the development of the strategy, providing feedback on approaches that are proposed and suggesting alternatives. You are the expert in the field for managing the team and ensuring that they are working together. As the organization develops, you will be able to shift more towards a community focused role, building and implementing strategy that will build stronger relationships with the local host and refugee community.

Programs: You will work closely with the Programs manager to help develop program strategy and provide onsite support to the programs teams. Your role here will also be flexible, providing surge support to specific program staff when needed and providing feedback to management on needs identified through your work.

Support services: You will work closely with the Support services Manager to develop and implement key operations functions, especially as they are currently being built. Here, your role will be focused on ensuring that teams are upholding policies and procedures in place, while troubleshooting when problems arise.

Risk Management: In close collaboration with the Management team, implement strategic response to emergencies, reporting any concerning issue, in order to improve risk working conditions and to ensure staff’s full adherence to rules and protocols.

REPORTS TO: Managing Director

LOCATION: Eyüpsultan, Istanbul, Turkey

HOURS: Full-time, 40 hours per week. Saturday – Wednesday.

COMPENSATION: Based on the candidate’s level of experience, qualifications, and the organization’s salary scale in Turkish Lira.