Head of Support Services Syria At We World

Position: Head of Support Services Syria

Reporting Relationship: Country Representative

Location: Damascus

Deadline: 20/02/2025

Starting date: ASAP

Family Duty Station: NO

R&R: YES

Contract Type: Expatriate (International)

Working context

WeWorld supports people in overcoming emergencies, and it strives to guarantee that everyone can have a decent and dignified life as well as opportunities and a better future. WeWorld is an independent Italian organization that has been working in international cooperation and humanitarian aid for 50 years. WeWorld is present in Syria since 2011, with an emergency education intervention in favour of Iraqi refugees in Aleppo. The programme aimed at improving the quality and the accessibility of educational services for students, with special needs in 12 primary schools in Aleppo. Since 2014, WeWorld has been providing humanitarian assistance to the Syrian population and IDPs with interventions in different sectors such as Education in Emergency and Wash. Currently, the main donors are the EU (ECHO), countries’ agencies (AICS), the United Nations (UN-OCHA), and other INGOs (Plan International).

Job description

The Head of Support Service will be responsible for the management of all support services departments (Logistics and Procurement, Finance and HR) in Syria for the administrative management of the projects funded by different donors implemented in Syria. Their responsibilities include financial reports, accounting, verification of supporting documents, procurement, logistics, human resources, planning and budgeting. It is required to work in close cooperation with the Project Managers and the Country Representative.

He/she will have the following tasks:

General

• Line manages and provides support and guidance to all support services’ staff in the country: HR, Logistics & Procurement and Finance
• Supports the managers/coordinators to coordinate the activities of the teams to ensure workload is carried up and prioritized appropriately
• Supervises and verifies that deliverables and timelines related to grants, contracts, vendors, partners and internal procedures are regularly respected and in line with the established timelines
• Under the supervision of and in coordination with the Country Representative, Collaborates with the Regional Managers for setting goals and objectives for the support services’ departments, identifies strategic activities and designs support departments’ development plans
• He/She is accountable for the archiving of HR, Finance and Procurement &Logistics documents according to WeWorld guidelines and in coordination with the relevant HQ staff
• Ensures a high level of collaboration with all relevant stakeholders (technical working group, partners forum, authorities, communities, vendors, donors)
• Under the supervision of the Country Representative, is responsible for the production, revision and dissemination among the staff of the Local Operational Manual

Process

• Ensures that key policies and Standard Operating Procedures guiding the support departments are developed and/or regularly updated as required and appropriately adapted to the context
• In coordination with the Country Representative and the Country Management Team, supports the creation of interdepartmental coordination mechanisms, to ensure a smooth and effective communication and cooperation
• Ensures that a pro-active link between support services and program departments is established and well-functioning
• Designs support services routines, procedures, and systems to increase efficiencies and grants a smooth collaboration and communication between Finance, Logistics & Procurement and HR departments
• On a regular basis, audits the support services processes and procedures, to highlight flaws and pressures, implements or strengthens systems of oversight and prevention of corruption and mitigate relevant risks
• Ensures that recommendations for improvements related to support services are implemented in a timely manner

HR Management

• Ensures that all the support services’ staff is regularly informed and trained on internal policies and procedures, providing tailored training plans when needed
• In coordination with the Country Management Team, collect and analyzes training needs for the national staff, and proposes tailored capacity buildings, based on the available resources
• In coordination with the Country Representative,monitors and ensures that Finance, Logistics & Procurement and HR teams are adequate to country needs in terms of expertise, number and composition of the staff, and propose changes when needed
• Participates in analysing staffing needs & costs, compensation & benefits, and performance review practices
• Supervises compliance with all WeWorld employment regulations relating to payroll, health insurance, work insurance, employee benefits

Finance and budget management

• Ensures that accounting is recorded and monitored regularly
• In coordination with the Head of Programme, ensures that the monitoring of projects’ expenditure level against approved budget is performed regularly
• Ensures that financial reports are regularly and correctly prepared, according to donor’s and internal rules
• Is accountable for the preparation and monitoring of country budgets (staff core budget and logistics budget)
• Ensures an efficient use of the available resources for support services by guaranteeing that the cost allocation tables are in place and correctly updated and monitored
• Is accountable for budgeting in the preparation phase of programs/projects’ budgets and their revisions
• Is accountable for the financial coverage to implement activities, pay salaries, suppliers’ invoices, running costs (etc.), by guaranteeing a correct and constant update and monitoring of the country financial plan

Procurement and Logistics

• Supervises the management of Procurement Procedures in accordance to WeWorld Global Procurement Manual and Donor Guidelines and Donor Guidelines from planning to completion
• Supervises operations of logistics and correct application in accordance with WeWorld Global Procurement Manual and Donor Guidelines, in particular assets management, fleet management, warehouse and stock management and Base management
• Ensures that procurement and log reports in required format are timely and properly completed according to WeWorld Manual, both for internal and external purposes

Safety and Security

• When required, supports the Country Representative in the emergency headcount, in case of need
• When required, supports the Country Representative in supervising that safety and security measures in WeWorld premises are correctly in place

Audit

• Supervises the preparation of expenditure verifications and audits, ensures proper involvement of finance, Logistic & Procurement, and HR departments during the audit performance and ensure a a proper collaboration between different support services and program departments
• Supervises the activities related to internal and external/donor assessments

Any other task requested by the Country Representative, for an efficient and quality implementation of WeWorld strategy and projects in Syria, according to the needs of the mission.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

Qualifications and Knowledge

• Degree in Economics, Political Science or related fields
• Good knowledge of main donors’ administrative rules and procurement procedures (ECHO, UE, UN, AICS)
• Knowledge of written and spoken English
• Full professional competency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel and Outlook

Professional experience

• At least 2 year of previous professional experience in similar roles

Skills and Abilities

• Planning, reporting, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Organization and teamwork skills
• Ability to support and train staff to enhance skills
• Proactive and dynamic attitude
• Ability to adapt and work under constraint, under pressure and in complex and multicultural contexts
• Good listening and communication skills
• Positive attitude to work, self-reflective, motivated, inspired, collegial
• Strong commitment to the Mission of WeWorld
• Demonstrates integrity with regards to NGO values and ethical standards
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism

DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS

• Previous professional experience in Syria or Middle East
• Excellent knowledge of written and spoken Italian

WHAT WE OFFER

Type of contract: a first 6 (six) months contract subject to verification (achievement of specific objectives); a second collaboration contract of 6 (six) months renewable, following the positive evaluation of the first period of collaboration

Economic conditions: to be defined according to WeWorld Expatriates Compensation Policy: Base Salary (seniority/role held) + Contributions (role complex and hardship based on place of work)

Accomodation: WeWorld Guest House

Annual leave: 2,5 days/month (working days)

R&R: 5 days each 12 weeks – Daily Allowance covers costs of expenses for food and accommodation

Flight ticket: one return flight every 12 months of contract

Health insurance: covered