Deputy Country Representative - Operations at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Job Summary

• As a member of the Country Program’s (CP) Leadership Team, you will provide leadership and management of the operational functions - Finance, Human Resources (HR), Supply Chain Management (SCM), Administration, and Field Offices - in support of the Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) mission to serve the poor and vulnerable.
• You will promote stewardship of resources, ensure principled compliance, proactively manage risk, and lead operational improvements.
• As part of the Leadership Team, you will proactively manage and mitigate security, risk, and compliance issues.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to the CP strategic planning and programming by providing input on needed investments in operations capacity - systems, processes, and staffing - that meet CRS’ standards, donor requirements, and local regulations and support high-quality programming. Represent CRS, as needed.
• Plan, integrate, coordinate, and monitor day-to-day operations to ensureall support services are delivered with high-quality in an efficient manner.
• Address issues where operations support needs to be adapted for complex programming.
• Oversee the piloting of new operations initiatives that require the setting of new standards and systems
• Collaborate with programming leads to ensure appropriate project expenditures in line with financial plans and proper stewardship of material sources.
• Anticipate, identify and address challenges that affect the proper stewardship, risk, and optimal utilization of program assets and resources (financial, human, and material).
• Effectively manage talent and supervise. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being.
• Provide coaching, strategically tailor individual development plans, and complete performance management for direct reports.
• Monitor and assess performance to ensure adequate capacity for successful support of high-quality programming. Contribute to staffing plans and recruitment process of senior staff.
• With the Leadership Team, oversee the preparation of annual budget plans and grant/project budgets to ensure they reflect maximum operational efficiency and budgetary compliance and mitigate risks.
• Set and provide technical oversight of internal processes for approving expenses, monitoring spending, and making budget adjustments in line with operational and programmatic needs and with donor requirements.
• Ensure the program is adequately staffed to meet CP needs and HR systems, policies and practices support a high-performance culture, staff development and retention.
• Assure quality personnel administration and a work environment that truly reflects the agency’s guiding principles.
• Together with the Leadership Team and Risk & Compliance Unit, oversee compliance with agency and donor requirements and local laws and regulations through periodic systems checks, review and assessment of CP’s operations policies and procedures.
• As needed, act as the contact and responder to issues that emerge from internal and external audits and provide recommendations and guidance to implement improvements.
• Create and maintain the proper conditions for learning. Establish a safe environment for the sharing of ideas, solutions, and difficulties and the capacity to detect, analyze and respond quickly to small deficiencies.
• Provide capacity strengthening guidance for project teams and partners, which includes cross-departmental learning.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Finance Manager
• Supply Chain Manager
• Human Resources Manager
• Administration Manager
• Heads of Field Offices.

Qualifications
Basic Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in International Development, Business Administration, Finance, or relevant field required.
• Minimum of 10 years work experience in a management position with progressive responsibilities. Experience with an international NGO and experience outside country of origin preferred.
• Additional experience may substitute for some education; additional education may substitute for some experience.
• Understanding of financial systems, including budgeting and budget/expense analysis experience. Knowledge of Insight software or similar financial, SCM and HR reporting software highly preferred.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of multiple public donors’ regulations, including USAID and the Global Fund, highly preferred.
• Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment.
• Knowledge of procurement and office administration/management issues.
• Ability to represent the agency at high levels.
• Proficient in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications, and information and budget management systems.

Required Languages:

• English. Nigerian local languages, desirable.

Travel:

• Must be willing and able to travel up to 30% of the time.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Excellent strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to work collaboratively.
• Team leadership abilities.
• Ethical conduct in accordance with recognized professional and organizational codes of ethics.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented, and results-oriented.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff):
These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results:

• Personal Accountability
• Acts with Integrity
• Builds & Maintains Trust
• Collaborates with Others
• Open to Learn
• Strategic Mindset
• Develops & Recognizes Others
• Leads Change.

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal: Country Representative, DCR-Programming, Risk & Compliance Manager, Security Manager, Chief of Parties, Project Managers & Coordinators, Central Africa Regional (CARO) Staff, HQ Staff
• External: Church partners, CRS implementing partners, operational partners and colleague organizations, USAID mission, Global Fund Country Team, Other institutional donors, Local government agencies, external auditors, banking and insurance institution, local legal counsel, service providers & vendors.