Bangladesh: Deputy Country Director – Programme Operations (Bangladesh)

The Opportunity

The Deputy Country Director for Program Operations is accountable for the strategic direction, management and implementation of the Country Office programme on time, on budget, at scale, with quality, and in compliance. The programme includes: Health, Nutrition & HIV/AIDS, Education, Humanitarian, Child Poverty, Child Rights Governance and Child Protection. Within the humanitarian portfolio, the post includes overseeing the Cox’s Bazaar Area office where SCI implements a significant refugee program. S/he will generally serve in the Acting position during the absence of Country Director. S/he is expected to be an active member of the Country Office Senior Management Team and provide overall leadership and direction to the Program Team.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Vision and Planning

• Provide strategic vision and direction to the SC Bangladesh programme
• Assist in the development of strategic plans and documents
• Ensure that programs are being delivered in accordance with the Country Strategic Plan
• Challenge and support programs in line with the Theory of Change
• Participate in conceptualizing and designing cost effective, innovative and high quality programmes at scale to serve difficult to reach children.

Overseeing and Managing Platforms for Programme Implementation

• Responsible for overall management of development and humanitarian programme implementation on time, on budget, act scale, with quality, and in compliance.
• In close coordination with the Directors of Strategic Portfolio and Awards Management as well as the Finance, s/he ensures that all programmes progress in accordance with grant agreements.
• Ensure good partnerships are in line with the SCiBD and Global Partnership Frameworks and in close coordination with Partnership team
• Ensure closely coordinated programme proposal processes with various teams, including: Programme Development and Quality, Finance, HR, Awards and Support Services
• Assign budget holders to specific programmes and projects
• Ensure programmes are implemented in ways that are responsive to the communities, and children in line with Save the Children principles, values and strategic plan and following Save the Children compliance procedures. This includes working with government and national NGO-partners to strengthen national capacity.
• Ensure preparation of quarterly, half-yearly and annual progress reports, programme reports, and donor reports.

Programme Development and Implementation for Education, Humanitarian, H&N&HIV/AIDS, Child Poverty, and Child Rights Governance and Child Protection Sector

• Overseeing the development and implementation of sectoral plans in line with the objectives of the country strategy
• Supporting Technical Directors through line management, monthly/quarterly meetings and other forums as needed
• Supporting sectors in developing funding strategies and grant proposals to ensure adequate resources are secured for program activities from both grants and the private funds of SC members. This will include continuously identifying strategic leads and concepts, which can be designed into programmes/projects that contribute to the overall strategy of the Bangladesh County Office.
• Ensure the program leadership develops and implements a realistic plan for achieving their priority advocacy objectives
• Ensure coordination and synergy between thematic sectors, and between thematic and non-thematic teams to ensure learning and efficient use of resources, through weekly coordination meetings, bi-annual Program Lead Conference, knowledge sharing, etc.

Procurement & Supply Chain

• Provide management oversight to the procurement and supply chain team
• Ensure that P&SC function can effectively deliver quality goods and services on time based on the needs from the programs and CO needs
• Ensure that P&SC provides necessary support to the programs across the organization in planning their needs, influence positively the impact of Save the Children programs and implementation
• Ensure resources are used in the best way; ensure transparency and aaccountability

Representation and Networking

• Proactively seek and maintain, active and regular working relationships with - host government authorities, development, humanitarian and corporate donors and partner agencies (e.g., USAID, DFID, SIDA, etc.), the UN system, and local and international NGOs
• Interact regularly with the international donor and NGO community to ensure awareness of SC programmes and to collect up to date information about the plans and programmes of other actors.
• Participate in governing bodies, donor and NGO coordination meetings as necessary in the absence of the Country Director or Sector Directors.

Humanitarian Response Management

• Responsible for strengthening the Bangladesh CO organisational readiness to respond to emergencies in line with global SCI emergency goal and benchmarks
• Responsible for managing and ensuring all necessary support to Cox’s Bazar Area Office that includes Rohingya Response and other development programs. This should be done in alignment with the Area strategy.
• Responsible for ensuring that the CO designs, updates and implements a full set of emergency preparedness actions, as defined in MOS – drawing on SC Member input and resources
• Responsible for mounting appropriate and timely responses at scale to all emergencies consistent with established benchmarks, plans and organizational policies, and in close cooperation with incoming surge teams
• Oversee that all CO staff across departments and field offices are familiar with, adhere to and implement the procedures and processes detailed in the Rules and Principles for emergency response
• In coordination with Country Director and Director for Programme Design and Quality maintain consistent and coherent engagement in key inter-agency emergency preparedness and response coordination mechanisms including the Cluster system
• Assist in fund raising efforts for emergency preparedness and response, and disaster risk reduction.

Supervise and Manage Programme Staff

• Ensure appropriate staffing at all levels of the programme department (Work with Senior Management Team to recruit, manage and motivate team)
• Ensure an inclusive team with appropriate gender, disability and ethnic diversity.
• Ensure that programme staff have clearly defined objectives and understand their responsibilities.
• Incorporate staff development strategies and Performance Management Systems into team building process. Establish a result based system and regularly follow up with senior staff through programme meetings and quarterly performance reviews
• Ensure availability of appropriate professional development opportunities for programme staff
• Encourage a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation.

Child Safeguarding Responsibilities

• Support the Country Director in providing overall leadership, oversight and monitoring to the implementation of the Child Safeguarding Policy, with an emphasis on maintaining current successes as well as addressing key gaps identified in the annual child safeguarding self-audit
• Ensure that all programs across the sectors are maintaining Child Safeguarding compliances

The Organisation

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

Application Information

Please apply using a cover letter and up-to-date CV as a single document. Please also include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/careers

Closing Date for Application: 25 October 2019

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our global anti-harassment policy.