Country Operations Director Job at John Snow Incorporated

John Snow Incorporated (JSI) - We are public health care and health systems consultants and researchers driven by a passion to improve health services and health outcomes for all.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Position: Country Operations Director

Job Location: Nigeria

Description

• The JSI / Nigeria CountryOperations Director is responsible for ensuring coordinated country operations across all JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc (“JSI”) projects in Nigeria and is a key member of the Country Management Team.
• This position is responsible for overseeing country office operations including adherence to organizational and donor policies, compliance with local statutory requirements and labor laws,and ensuring the integrity of the financial accounts and systems.
• This position also provides management support and expertise to the Nigeria Finance, Compliance, Human Resources (HR), and Information Technology (IT) staff across the portfolio of projects. 
• The Country Operations Director serves as the lead country coordinator between the JSI US office and the Nigeria Finance, Operations and Human Resources (HR) project teams to ensure efficient, consistent, and compliant country office operations.
• The Operations Director works under the direct supervision of the JSI/ Nigeria CountryDirector and has a functional reporting relationship with the assigned US functional leads (F&O, HR, IT).

Position Responsibilities
Team Management:

• Oversee and maintain a set of consistent polices across the portfolio of projects in Nigeria to ensure a uniform, one-JSI approach to Finance, Operations, HR and Compliance
• Ensure effective collaboration among projectFinance & Operations, Human Resources, and Compliance staff through leadership and participation in regular meetings and project quality reviews
• Ensure coordination of information sharing across teams including program technical staff and trouble-shooting with the in-country leadership team for the resolution of issues affecting compliance and streamlined country operations
• Supervise Finance, Operations, and HRstaff as assigned by JSI management

Finance & Operations:

• Ensure financial systems are setup efficiently and in accordance with JSI standards
• Support consistent, standardized operations across all projects including adherence to, financial and operational policies and procedures.
• Provide recommendations and process improvement plans to theNigeria Management team and US teamto ensure robust internal controls and sound operational procedures
• Serve as the lead on setting up and managing the shared office procedures outlining the responsibilities of in-country teams and managing cost allocation for shared support services
• Ensure uniform procurement practices across the portfolio of projects. Lead the procurement process forpreferred or pre-qualified vendors to support country operations
• Serve as the lead for in-country file management. Ensure that all project and branch office files, both current and former projects, are stored securely and in audit ready condition
• Coordinate and supervise local audits relating to donor, statutory, tax and other in-country requirements. Support organizational audits as requested in coordination with the US office
• Providing direct financial management support to country programs and project Finance & Operations lead, as needed.
• Support new business initiatives with cost proposal information, budgeting support, and advice on country specific requirements
• Ensure coordinated banking operations among projects and serve as lead contact with designated local bank. Maintain in-country customer relationship and coordinate with US team where issues arise

Compliance:

• Ensure adherence with JSI policies and procedures, donor regulations and host-country requirements. Ensure all taxation and statutory requirements of host government are complied with
• Conduct routine compliance reviews and internal audits to test internal controls, ensure compliance with documented policies and procedures, and provide recommendations for corrective action.
• Serve as an expert to in-country teams on JSI policies and provide training to staff on a regular basis, including contracts andsubaward management
• Participate and/or lead fraud investigations as assigned by the US Fraud and Investigations Manager
• Manage all local registration actions for JSI projects in coordination with the US corporate office and in-country legal counsel, support requests with Power of Attorney setup and other statutory needs, maintain and communicate registration guidelines to in-country leadership and US office
• Serve as point of contact for local tax and registration authorities, other regulatory bodies, and in-country legal counsel, and coordinate across F&O teams as needed
• Coordinate local statutory annual reporting for all JSI projects
• Keep up to date on changes to country context that require any updates to JSI policies and procedures. Ensure JSI manuals and tools are used consistently across teams

Human Resources:

• Work with Country Leadership and project F&O and HR leads to ensure that HR functions are consistent with local labor law and JSI personnel policies and procedures across all projects
• Ensure HR systems are setup efficiently and securely, and in accordance with JSI standards
• Oversight/management of the safety and security function for all projects operating within the country, in collaboration with the CD, US and Country HR leads, and the safety and security focal persons
• Support, as necessary, the Country HR lead in managing sensitive and confidential workplace grievance, employee relations, and/or harassment claims
• Coordinate with the US and Country HR leads to ensureLocal Hire Employee Manual policies and procedures, inclusive of benefits and leave areup to date and incorporate feedback from all active projects, and are applied consistently across all projects
• Support and/or lead recruitment efforts for positions that are shared across all projects as well as business development recruitment and personnel section development
• Work closely with the Country Directorto inform on the status of HR initiatives and priorities, and brief them on any potential HR risks.

Information Technology:

• Oversight of the IT function, working in collaboration with country leadership and assigned staff providing IT support
• Work acrossprojects to ensure IT systems and network infrastructure are set up effectively and securely
• Ensure a culture of compliance with JSI IT policies and procedures; ensure procurement of IT equipment and software are in line with industry standards
• Coordinate with assigned IT lead for technical support as needed

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, or another related field.

Required Experience:

• Minimum of ten (10) years of experience providing finance, operations, and human resources managementoversight at the country level at a non-profit organization;
• Strong knowledge of international donor rules and regulations (e.g., USG Agencies, BMGF, GAVI)
• Strong knowledge of Nigeria labor law and statutory requirements for registration and tax compliance.
• International NGO experience in Nigeria

Other Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Duties require broad conceptual judgment, initiative and ability to deal with a wide range of finance and HR issues
• Excellent financial management and budgeting skills
• Unquestionable personal integrity, fairness, and credibility necessary to gain the trust and commitment of individuals at all levels of the organization
• Team player skilled at building consensus, clarifying expectations and facilitating decision-making across a diverse group of stakeholders
• Strong organizational skillsmeticulous attention to detail
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel
• Ability to keep a neutral and balanced perspective on relevant issues
• Excellentinterpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written)
• Fluency (written and spoken) in both local language and English.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Applications to: recruiting@ng.jsi.com using the Job Position as the subject of the mail.