Head of Support Services

Danish Refugee Council (HQ)

Overall purpose of the role

The Head of Support Services, reporting to the Country Director, has a country focus and ensures compliance with DRC procedures and guidelines within the country. The role contributes to the development of country strategies, which are translated into action plans and day-to-day tasks and is a focal point for DRC Dynamics. The role provides support and/or technical guidance to country operations while overseeing country activities.

The Head of Support Services will ensure the existence of effective and efficient support services in the areas of finance, administration, human resources, IT and supply chain. The Head of Support Services will play a key role in developing and implementing country specific strategies as well as improving operational systems, processes and policies in support of DRC s mission in Yemen. The HoSS will be a member of the Senior Management Team, with overall responsibility of program support and timely completion of Annual Performance Indicators (APIs) under support functions. The post holder will play a significant part in qualifying and implementing initiatives coming from the global and regional DRC organizational development and financial accountability initiatives. Furthermore, the HoSS will ensure timely and appropriate communication with Area Managers, Sector Managers and Project Managers concerning all issues related to finance, administration and human resources and work proactively to resolve differences and prioritize time-sensitive tasks.

Duties and Responsibilities

The responsibilities listed in the JD are not exhaustive and may be readjusted according to operational needs but will remain in line with the overall purpose of the role.

Management:

• Being core member of Senior Management Team (SMT) - play a key role in strategic prioritization and decisions making process on daily bases
• Lead and manage the support managers (including people planning, performance, well-being and development)
• Manage, deliver and report on support services in-line with the program prioritization
• Establish high performing support teams ensuring high-quality approaches are maintained
• Develop and improve operational approaches, compliance and systems
• Responsible for the strategic development, management and implementation of the support operations
• Ensure appropriate technical support is available to programs, in line with organizational priorities
• Ensure support for annual planning and review processes
• Direct responsibility for ensuring that the DRC Programme operates in accordance with DRC s support function guidelines
• Develop strategic approaches to ensure high level of legal compliance is ensured throughout country operations

Operational Management:

• Oversee the operational support units for the country by providing strategic leadership and technical support to the areas under his/her supervision
• Ensure that DRC retains and continually develops its operational capacity to provide rapid emergency response within its procurement and logistics capacities
• Ensure that DRC support services continually adapt in-line with DRC s geographic footprint, operational capacity, and program strategy
• Ensure that Area Offices are provided appropriate support from Country Office support services teams
• Develop a risk management plan for the country that identifies the major financial, legal, operational risks and implement a mitigation strategy
• Ensure that all administrative and legal-related systems are accurate and maintained
• Work to build the capacity of the operational support staff throughout the operation though frequent in-service training sessions and mentoring support
• Contribute to the development and implementation of DRC s global development initiatives
• Ensure that the Country Master Budget is updated on a regular basis and is used to adequately prepare project proposals or cost-cutting measures. Provide regular analysis of Master Budget to SMT for strategic decision making
• Maintain regular oversight of all active DRC projects and ensure spending is per budget and in line with donor financial compliance regulations

Risk Management:

• Support the Country Director and the Senior Management Team in liaising with donors, auditors and authorities, especially as relates to issues of compliance, registration, and audit respectively
• Supervision, audits and controlling and implementation of corrective actions related to DRC s operational standards within support area.
• Support Senior Management to ensure risk register is up to date and action plan is implemented accordingly.
• Participate in audit kick-off and exit meetings and always ensure cooperation during every audit field work. Lead on providing management response on each audit report.

DRC Dynamics (ERP) :

• Develop strategic planning to ensure increased level of systematic learning and development of staff in regard to ERP functionalities.
• Apply reports and data analytics from DRC Dynamics to improve overall performance
• Act as heavy user for most of the Projects & Finance functionalities

Experience and technical competencies:

To be successful in this role we expect you to have:

• At least 7 years' experience in relevant field
• At least 3 years' experience with people management
• Proven operational management experience in one or more of the following thematic areas within conflict settings: finance, supply chain, human resources and/or information management
• Experience in a similar role in an international NGO
• Experience in leading/supporting change management processes
• Proven leadership skills and competence in people management
• Understanding and experience of institutional fundraising
• Understanding of the context and sensitive to the cultural dynamics
• Experience working in an ERP system, including supply chain, finance, and HR systems
• Experience in capacity building of national colleagues as well as partners