Director of Operation Vacancy at Heartland Alliance International


Heartland Alliance International (HAI) is the youngest and fastest growing part of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, a family of organizations that has been leading anti-poverty and social justice work in Chicago for more than 125 years. HAI is comprised of nearly a dozen country offices implementing programs on a broad range of human rights issues globally, as well as the Chicago-based Marjorie Kovler Center for the Treatment of Survivors of Torture, which serves individuals from more than 50 countries. 

HAI has significant expertise in the fields of trauma-informed mental health care and access to justice for survivors of rights abuses. It is also an industry leader in access to high-quality and stigma-free health care. Across all of its programs, HAI promotes progressive, innovative approaches to human rights protections and gender equality.

We are recruiting to fill the position of: 

Job Position: Director of Operation

Req ID: 4213
Job Location: Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
FT/PT: Full time
Reports to: Country Director
Position type: Full time
Contract Duration: Open ended

Position Summary

  • Heartland Alliance International is currently seeking a Director of Operations for the Nigeria office to support the “Integrated Most at-risk populations HIV/AIDS Prevention Program” (IMHIPP). IMHIPP includes HIV/AIDS prevention and health services in seven states with over 100 staff and a project budget of over $29 million.
  • IMHIPP mitigates the impact of HIV/AIDS on key affected populations (KAP) and their partners. The project focuses on providing targeted, high-quality HIV prevention, sexual transmitted infection (STI) diagnosis and management, HIV testing services (HTS), referrals for HIV treatment, and other related activities.
  • The Operations Director will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Nigeria office administration, including subaward management, human resources, contracts, policies and procedures, logistics, security, budgeting, IT, and leading operational scale-up at program sites.
  • The ideal candidate is a driven and passionate professional looking to work alongside an inspiring, dynamic team of leading human rights workers. The candidate will have exceptional management and detail-oriented skills and embrace a collaborative, team approach to the work they do. This person has experience working in a wide range of operational areas and is eager to contribute to innovative health and human rights projects that support some of the most vulnerable people in Nigeria.
  • Reporting to the Country Director, the Operations Director is a member of the Senior Management Team. The Operations Director’s primary responsibility is ensuring organizational effectiveness by providing leadership for the organization's operational functions.
  • Working with the management team, the position also contributes to the development and implementation of organizational strategies, policies and practices. This position will also interact closely with HAI Headquarter staff in Chicago, including its international team, the Africa Regional Director, the operations team, and Finance and Accounting Services.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

  • Support office scale-up of Nigeria activities, which will include frequent travel to program sites across Nigeria (estimated 25% or more)
  • Improve the operational systems, processes, and policies in support of organization’s mission.
  • Coordinate across and work to improve the quality of operational services (human resources, contracts, legal, logistics, budgeting, IT, etc.), through understanding current systems and working collaboratively with existing teams to improve each function to respond to increases in scale.
  • Play a significant role in long-term planning, including an initiative geared toward operational excellence.
  • Support the Director of Finance and Administration in budget planning and support processes to effectively coordinate with the finance team
  • Regular and ongoing communication with Country Director, providing counsel and vision for operational planning
  • Participate in the Nigeria office senior leadership team to support strategic planning and office management
  • Respond to staff feedback by improving the effectiveness of systems
  • Liaise with the Chicago operations team to ensure effective support for Nigeria program and coordination with headquarters
  • Drive initiatives in the management team and organizationally that contribute to long-term operational excellence.
  • Manage operational staff in human resources, IT, logistics, administration, and sub award management.

Risk Management:

  • Manage the organization’s security systems, including ensuring the phone tree and
  • Security plan are updated and liaise frequently with HAI’s Security Advisor as needed to ensure risk and security management of all the HAI offices in Nigeria.
  • Serve as primary liaison to legal counsel in addressing legal issues regarding copyright, antitrust, governing instruments, partnerships, licensing, labor, policies, contractual, etc., in collaboration with Country Director.
  • Oversee organizational insurance policies.
  • Oversee all contracts

Qualifications

  • To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.
  • The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or competency required.
  • Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience

  • Commitment to international human rights.
  • Degree in Finance, Business Administration, Social Sciences or related field.
  • Masters’ degree will be an added advantage
  • At least 5 years of experience in NGO operations (annual operating budget of $3 million or more), INGO experience is preferred. Experience must also include:
  • Two years’ supervisory responsibilities.
  • Specific expertise in at least one or two areas of NGO operations (IT, HR, finance, logistics, security, etc.)
  • Excellent computer skills and proficient in Microsoft products.
  • Excellent communication skills both verbal and written.

Personal Competencies:

  • Collaborative spirit and ability to work independently as well as in a team; commitment to knowledge sharing and teamwork; positive attitude and ability to see through challenges to find solutions; strong interpersonal skills and an ability to clearly communicate, including complex concepts into layperson language; ability to delegate responsibilities effectively and coach and mentor junior staff; high comfort level working in a diverse environment with a demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards; ability to design and set up systems and structures for smooth implementation of complex and sensitive programs in high risk environments.

Other Competencies:

  • Time Management - Ability to prioritize tasks, manage time and complete projects in a fast-paced, changing environment with minimal supervision.
  • Quality Management - Looks for ways to improve and promote quality; Demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness
  • Written Communication - Writes clearly and informatively; Edits work for spelling and grammar; Varies writing style to meet needs; Presents numerical data effectively;
  • Adaptability - Adapts to changes in the work environment; Manages competing demands; Changes approach or method to best fit the situation; Able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events
  • Cultural Sensitivity - Respects cultural environment in which person is working and does not act in a manner that is outwardly offensive to the local community.
  • Non-discriminatory- Do not discriminate persons based on sexual orientation or gender identity, age, preferred jobs or behavioral habits

Language Skills:

  • Excellent oral and written English communication skills
  • Knowledge of Local Language preferred.
  • Demonstrated competency in public speaking

Computer Skills:

  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Outlook/Exchange, Windows operating systems, Power Point.
  • Other software routinely used by Heartland Alliance

Work Environment:

  • The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
  • The employee will be required to co-locate with local partners usually in the same office.
  • The employee is required to travel regularly to often insecure and limited-resource


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