Head of Support Services – Nigeria At Danish Refugee Council

Danish Refugee Council, one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, is currently looking for an experienced, highly- qualified and enthusiastic professional Head of Support Services to lead the coordination, strategy and quality assurance aspects of DRC’s support services.

The Head of Support Services will provide direct supervision and day.to-day management of DRC’s Finance, Human Resources, Logistics and Procurement, Administration and IT functions. The Head of Support Services will have to travel regularly to locations across Northeast Nigeria and at times to Abuja. Travels can represent around 40% of the working time per month at times. This position is a senior one, requiring a strong previous experience in the management of support services in a humanitarian context.

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has had an operational presence in Nigeria since 2015. DRC Nigeria is the largest DRC country mission in the West Africa region and one of the largest DRC country missions globally. Currently, DRC delivers life-saving assistance and protection to vulnerable, conflict-affected populations including internally displaced persons, returnees and host communities in the areas of armed violence reduction, humanitarian mine action, livelihoods, nutrition and food security, protection, shelter and non-food items (NFI) and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in 30+ Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states in northeast Nigeria.

About the job

Operationally and strategically the Head of Support Services holder is responsible for Finance, Human Resources, Logistics and Procurement, Administration and IT. S/He will oversee, develop and provide strategic direction, mentorship and support to his/her support areas. An active member of the Senior Management Team this role ensures that all aspects of the Country Office management is represented and considered in decision making. This role has a country focus and as SMT the HoSS must be committed to visiting the field at least quarterly to ensure regional level support and capacity is provided along with ensuring compliance to donor requirements and adherence to DRC procedures and guidelines.

Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

Management

• Lead and manage the support managers, coordinators, and specialists (including people planning, performance, well-being and development)
• Manage, deliver and report on current operations and programme support in each area of implementation
• Establish high performing support teams ensuring high-quality approaches are maintained
• Develop and improve operational approaches, compliance and systems, and support the Country Director to build and deliver effective and sustainable interventions.
• 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

Operational Management

• Support the Country Director and the Senior Management Team in liaising with donors and authorities, especially as relates to issues of compliance, registration, and audit
• Oversee the operational support units for the country/region by providing strategic leadership and technical support to the areas under his/her supervision
• Supervision, audits and controlling and implementation of corrective actions related to DRC’s operational standards within support area.
• Ensure that DRC retains and continually develops its operational capacity to provide rapid emergency response in particular within its procurement and transport systems
• Work closely with Risk and Compliance manager to develop and maintain a risk management plan for the country that identifies the major financial and 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.

DRC Dynamics ERP System

• Ensure ERP functionality is properly used by relevant staff
• Apply reports and data analytics from DRC Dynamics to improve overall performance
• Act as heavy user for most of the Projects & Finance functionalities

Supervisor responsibilities:

• Supports the managers to coordinate the daily activities of small teams to ensure workload is supported and prioritized appropriately
• Does not have direct line management responsibility for teams, but will contribute to recruitment and/or performance appraisal of members of the team
• Develops a capacity building and mentoring style of operations within the teams offering trainings and opportunities within the organization for staff development

About you

To be successful in this role we expect you to possess the following:

• Master’s degree in political science, international development, economics or other relevant field.
• In lieu of the above, a Bachelor’s degree and several years of relevant experience.
• At least 7 years’ experience in relevant field
• At least 4 years’ experience with people management
• Experience in a similar role in an international NGO
• Proven leadership skills and a competence in people management
• Proven operational management experience and capability, including in conflict areas
• Proven significant financial, information and systems management experience
• Significant experience in procurement and tender processes
• Understanding and experience of institutional fundraising
• Understanding of the countries in which DRC operates and sensitive to the cultural context
• Experience working in an ERP system, including supply chain, finance and HR systems
• Full professional proficiency in English
• Proficiency in Hausa or other Nigerian languages is considered an asset but not a requirement.

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies:

Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.

Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.

Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.

Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.

Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

We offer

Contract length: 12 months (with possibility of extension)

Band: E

Designation of Duty Station: Maiduguri (flexibility to look at Abuja, Yola, Mubi for a qualified national candidate) l Non-family duty station

Start date: 1 August 2022

Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for Expatriates; please refer to drc.ngo under Vacancies.