Operations Director

The Operations Director provides overall leadership of Operations in World Vision JWG (WV JWG). As a senior leader in WV JWG, the Operations Director is responsible to foster an enabling environment to ensure the successful implementation of on-time, efficient, effective, quality programs that enable WV JWG to achieve World Vision’s strategic objectives, WV JWG’s national office strategy, and the well-being of children in the occupied Palestinian territories. The role includes overseeing the implementation of the private and public program portfolio, including leadership development and staff care of a large team composed of zonal and technical staff, as well as associated systems, security procedures, risk management, safeguarding, and compliance. The role includes internal and external engagement and coordination across departments within WV JWG and with government and civil society partners. It requires knowledge of both development and working in a fragile context.

Major Responsibilities

Ensure Operational Efficiency and Effectiveness

• Oversight: Provide strategic and operational oversight of the program portfolio, ensuring mechanisms and resources are in place for effective and accountable implementation of quality projects that end on time, operate on target, and within budget across all funding types (i.e., sponsorship-funded area program, government grants, and other private funding).
• Implementation: Develop a culture of excellence with regards to the planning and implementation of projects, including periodic and targeted reviews of challenging projects to ensure completion and optimum expenditure rates.
• Coordination: Spearhead coordination between teams with Operations (such as zones, technical leads. and sponsorship) as well as with other departments (such as Evaluation, Learning & Accountability (ELA), Supply Chain and Finance) to promote information sharing, joint planning, conflict resolution, and problem solving.
• Leadership: Develop and communicate National Office systems, guidelines, and strategic initiatives.
• Quality and Rigor: Ensure effective support mechanisms are in place to facilitate quality program with technical rigor in child protection, early childhood development, education in emergencies, and resilience in accordance with World Vision’s project models.
• Inclusion & Vulnerability: Ensure effective support mechanisms are in place to enable program to identify, include, and benefit the most vulnerable children, and report their impact on these children.
• Partners: Manage the implementation of national consortiums and local partnerships in coordination with the National Director.
• Empowerment: Foster a culture of trust and mutual respect with the aim of empowering staff to take on more responsibility and to grow field staff’s contribution to addressing challenging context issues.
• Resourcing: Ensure programs have the necessary resources and competencies to live out WV’s Christian faith with boldness and humility through program choices and through clear, appropriate communication with external stakeholders

Foster Operational and Programmatic Planning, Reporting and Technical Quality

• Planning: Ensure there are clear annual operations and procurement plans for all area programs and operations based on WV JWG’s strategy. Facilitate and be accountable for the execution and monitoring of strategies and annual operation plans in alignment with all World Vision and governmental requirements.
• AP Lifecycles: Provide leadership and support to Operations staff in planning for and developing area program (APs) according to their lifecycle, which includes new areas, including area selection and needs assessment, development of project designs, writing and submission of concept papers and project proposals, as well as managing transitions and closures with AP steering committees.
• Learning & Accountability: Ensure all programs comply with World Vision’s Learning with Accountability & Planning (LEAP) standards. Activities to support this include procuring human resources, funding, training, and one-on-one coaching to ensure strong compliance and best practice.
• Technical Excellence: Ensure Operations provides technical excellence across all programs by ensuring clear roles and responsibilities as well as collaboration and constructive behavior between zonal staff, sponsorship staff, and technical leads.
• Technical Roles & Responsibilities: Ensure roles and responsibilities for technical planning, accountability and rigor are clear across zonal staff and technical leads, and in alignment with theory of change based programming and World Vision’s project models as well as responsive to evidence.
• Sponsorship: Ensure all sponsorship programming complies to and achieves World Vision’s standards. Support sponsorship teams in national and AP offices to ensure WV partnership sponsor relations service standards are met. Support and monitor the deployment and decentralization of new Sponsorship information management systems, the continued learning and sharing of good practice, constructive and close relationships between Sponsorship and other aspects of AP operations.
• Integration, Community Engagement & Sustainability: Champion integration across technical areas as well as transformational development through WV JWG’s hybrid program approach, which guides community engagement in the unique context of the occupied Palestinian territories and its protracted crisis. Ensure program plans include clear strategies to strengthen the sustainability of outcomes.
• Adaptive Management: Develop and implement effective systems for strategic and adaptive management, ensuring operational plans are in place and programs are able to make necessary adjustments to plans and budgets during implementation, in the interest of continuous improvement
• Reporting: Ensure all reports are high quality, developed in coordination with ELA, and submitted on time to donors and support offices through relevant systems.
• Humanitarian Standards: Champion key humanitarian standards and sector standards in the National Office and at the field level
• Strategy & Context: With the other members of the Leadership Team and the Impact & Results Team, provide leadership in strategy formulation, and align WV JWG’s national strategy to local context and local development realities.
• Safeguarding: Ensure Safeguarding standards are championed and upheld throughout the organization.

Support External Engagement

• Ensure Operations serves critical roles in WV JWG’s overall external engagement plan, including ensuring that technical leads represent WV in clusters and to government ministries, report back key information, use evidence in their representation, and use targeted messages in alignment with the external engagement plan.
• Ensure technical leads contribute to the development of high quality proposal in coordination with Grants Acquisition & Compliance as well as review key communications pieces (such as print and social media) to ensure technical accuracy.
• Strengthen awareness of WV JWG’s Program both within and outside of the WV Partnership;
• Develop strategic networks enabling World Vision to leverage a collective voice in favor of children and families, communities, and partners.
• Ensure representation of WV’s strategic pillars with government and partners.
• Foster a spirit of engagement with other agencies to promote better coordination, joint action, and partnership.

Foster Risk and Compliance Culture

• Support the Leadership Team in business continuity through an integrated risk management approach, including security, financial, operational and reputation risks by developing contingency plans and scenarios.
• Ensure all organizational policies, procedures, and compliance regulations as it relates to Ops are in place, understood, and followed.
• Ensure awareness of donor and Support Office requirements, including the timely preparation and submission of quality narrative and financial reports
• Ensure that operations related audit findings are responded to and recommendations implemented within approved / agreed timeframes.
• Cultivate an atmosphere of good stewardship, accountable ministry, and diligent compliance with internal and donor-imposed processes
• Cultivate an atmosphere of trust for the creation and delivery of high quality, effective, and accountable programming with healthy burn rates.

People Management and Capacity Building

• Be attentive to and patient with the context and how it influences behaviors, mindsets, and challenges of staff and effectively support operations staff and adapt workstyle and approach to respond.
• Promote high team morale, especially within highly stressful fragile contexts and environments.
• Ensure quality staff are attracted, retained, and developed to effectively work within a fragile context.
• Ensure there are clear and deliberate retention plans specific to individual staff members and succession plans in place
• Effectively line manage and coach Zonal and Project Managers, ensuring a shared vision, teamwork, effective communication, and active engagement in decision making and management approaches, as well as ensuring staff care measures are in place and followed.
• Champion performance management mechanisms, ensuring full participation and quality results to promote staff engagement and a culture of excellence.
• Promote Operations as ‘One Team’.
• Regularly be in zonal offices and the field to interaction with staff, children, women and men within families and communities that are the primary stakeholders of WV’s transformational development ministry as well as morale and understanding of progress.
• Ensure capacity is built among Community Engagement and Social Change (CESC) staff and with community monitors for effective transformation and response to varying levels of fragility across the West Bank.
• Promote WV Christian identity and values in working environment and lead by example.
• Lead or participate in spiritual sessions of prayer and biblical reflection with staff.
• Be committed to actively working and living in accordance with WV’s Mission, Values and Christian beliefs.
• Cultivate an atmosphere of staff empowerment and motivation leading to active participation in program initiatives, lead by example, and actively engage with all staff.

Ensure Safe and Secure Working Environment

• Ensure security and risk mitigation measures are in place and in use in coordination with WV JWG’s Security Lead.
• Ensure adherence to Core Security Requirements among Operations and in the zones.
• Ensure that staff have the necessary tools to complete the tasks as assigned to them, including, but not limited to, communications tools such as mobiles and internet access.
• Lead the timely implementation of security recommendations.
• Promote a culture of security awareness and risk reduction amongst staff.

Knowledge/Qualifications for the Role

• Advanced degree in Developmental Studies, Public Policy, International Relations, Business Management, or any relevant Social Sciences and/or
• 8+ years of experience in a combination of emergency response, development programming, and/or fragile contexts
• Experience in development programs with a clear contribution to ensuring technical rigor. Experience with sponsorship programming preferred. **Please note, while the context holds much complexity and carries significant risk, World Vision’s program is substantially a ‘hybrid one’ with a focus on development in a fragile context and nexus programming rather than primarily emergency response or disaster management. Development principles and knowledge of addressing poverty is essential along with sensitivity to staff needs, behaviors, and mindsets in a fragile context.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive management experience in complex/protracted environments with at least sub-national fragility.
• High emotional intelligence and rooted in Christian values.
• Must possess sound people management skills and effective cross-cultural / pluralistic context capabilities
• Proven ability to manage a large and diverse program portfolio with multiple donors.
• Familiarity with EU, USAID/OFDA, UNICEF and other grant compliance and procedures.
• Capacity to provide solid leadership within fragile and/or complex contexts.
• Ability to be agile and possesses strong decision-making skills.
• Possesses strong problem-solving skills and is a proactive problem solver who is able to unravel and solve multiple complex challenges in an agile and efficient manner.
• Must possess knowledge of humanitarian industry such as Sphere standards, HAP, NGO Code of Conduct, and Humanitarian Charter
• Must possess experience in staff security, safety management, and staff care within a complex, insecure, and fragile environment.
• Must have experience in program design, monitoring, and evaluation in complex contexts.
• Proven financial, logistical, and procurement management skills.
• Strong ability to work with various partners, local authorities, local organizations, and NGOs to develop and maintain positive external relationships.

Preferred Knowledge

• Very strong organizational, management, conflict resolution, and negotiation skills
• Demonstrates well-developed interpersonal skills with a leadership style that knows how to relate to and consider people and the challenges of living in a fragile context
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with computer proficiency
• Must adhere to pre-determined security standards
• Ensures gender perspective in the scope of work
• Experience in the Arab world or similar culture

Travel and/or Work Environment Requirement

The position requires ability and willingness to travel internationally 5% of the time and to spend 2-3 days a week working from the field and moving in the West Bank.

Physical Requirements

Be mobile, drive, and self reliant in terms of accessing offices in the West Bank and Gaza

CORE COMPETENCIES

☐ Be Safe and Resilient

☒ Deliver Results

☒ Build Relationships

☒ Be Accountable

☐ Learn and Develop

☐ Improve and Innovate

☐ Partner and Collaborate

☐ Embrace Change

For Management positions

☐ Model Self-Management

☒ Engage, Influence, Lead

and Grow Others

☒ Run an Effective

and Agile Organization

☐ Develop the Organization for the Future

World Vision is committed to the protection of children and vulnerable adults and does not employ staff whose background is not suitable for working with children or vulnerable adults