Programme Director At Turquoise Mountain

Job Description and Person Profile

Background

Turquoise Mountain is a British charity that was founded in 2006. We believe artisanal heritage matters and has the power to transform lives. We support artisans to thrive and to revitalize traditions in regions of the world where artisanal heritage is endangered, and to connect people through heritage.

Turquoise Mountain is a fast-growing organization with offices in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, and the Levant, and with over 400 international and local staff members worldwide. We combine a cultural heritage focus with a wide scope of activities; we support artisans to thrive and to revitalize their traditions by any means necessary, and to connect people across the world through heritage.

TM have been working in Saudi Arabia since 2015 to support the development of the country’s ever-growing heritage, arts and craft sector. TM aim to provide training, development and economic opportunities to artisans, and to help them generate income and gain employment by producing commercially viable art and crafts products, rooted in Saudi heritage.

We are looking for a Programme Director who can work with the Country Director to run the full AlUla programme that Turquoise Mountain delivers on behalf of the Royal Commission for AlUla. This requires the ability to combine strategic thinking and oversight with a detail-oriented approach to the everyday activity in AlUla.

Job Description

Job Title: Programme Director, AlUla
Department: AlUla Programme
Location: AlUla, Saudi Arabia
Reports to (Line Manager): Country Director
Job Purpose Summary: The Programme Director for AlUla will take overall responsibility for the Turquoise Mountain programme in AlUla with the Royal Commission for AlUla. The Programme Director is responsible for delivery of the multi-faceted framework agreement with key performance indicators, milestones, payment trigger points and outputs, in addition to the day-to-day management of Madrasat Addeera, the arts and culture campus in AlUla.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

People

1. Implement successful processes in line with wider Turquoise Mountain policies related to recruitment, staff development, performance management, compensation and benefits.
2. Developing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders; the local community; internal senior management team across Turquoise Mountain Saudi Arabia and internationally; senior leaders of the Royal Commission of AlUla as the contract awarding body; relationships with external agencies and clients within AlUla and across the entire Kingdom through successful communication and marketing of TM’s brand image.

Financial

1. Overall responsibility for current annual programme budget with expected expansion in the current year.
2. Build and manage the annual budget with the CFO, including monthly governance reporting and implementing financial processes to track and monitor P&L.
3. Overall responsibility for the programme’s financial integrity, stability and sustainability by maintaining a healthy cash flow and budget expenditure.

Strategic

1. Adapting programme structure across implementation, launch and growth phases of the programme, including adapting the organisational structure, staffing and recruitment, logistics and resources in a manner that achieves outputs with optimum financial efficiency.
2. Establishing and implementing a wide variety of community-based projects and interventions to expand our offering, including an artistic programming series to maximise positive engagement with the local community.

Operations

1. Delivery of AlUla programme including training workshops, production studios, retail stores (online and physical), retail collection development, a public crafts programme, and full logistics management.
2. Undertake a general management role, overseeing all day-to-day operations.
3. Management of external and commercial projects with Turquoise Mountain in Madrasat Addeera.
4. Responsibility for reporting and monitoring, including preparation of all high-level delivery and project plans, contractual monthly governance reports and execution of project KPIs in line with contractual agreements, and ensuring those are tracked against the budget.
5. Overseeing logistics management of Madrasat Addeera and full AlUla programme.
6. Overseeing logistics management of all staff accommodation and transportation in AlUla.
7. Ensuring all organisational compliance including health and safety, safeguarding, and programme quality assurance, including ensuring that learner progression and learning outcomes fall within the guidance on audit and quality assurance standards stipulated by the Royal Commission.

This list is not exhaustive, and other duties may be required as determined by the needs of the organisation.

Key working relationships / cross-working

Supervisory:

• Managing a multi-national team of over 40 staff members and 75 artisans.

Internal:

• Senior Leadership team in KSA.

International:

• Commercial Director
• Creative Director
• COO

External:

• Lead contact for the Royal Commission for AlUla on behalf of Turquoise Mountain
• Local community
• External agencies
• Clients

Person Profile

Professional approach:

• Constructive and collegiate style that contributes to team harmony and builds community.
• Able to develop and maintain a culture of inclusion and respect and focusing upon a shared vision.

Personal attributes/ skills:

• Strong communication skills and experience in stakeholder management and engagement, focused on diplomacy, are essential.
• Strong business acumen and entrepreneurial outlook, with experience of business planning to continuously provide growth of services through identification of opportunities to ensure contract expansion and programme sustainability year on year.
• Willing to oversee both work and accommodation facilities for employees, sometimes outside of normal working hours.
• A full driving licence and international permit is essential for this role.

Education and experience:

• Demonstrable experience of significant stakeholder management and engagement within a similarly complex organisation and/or working for a complex client.
• Evidence of complex budget management.
• Extensive experience of programme management.
• Experience of managing complex relationships and delivery models.
• Significant experience of coaching or mentoring colleagues to build capacity within the team.
• Significant experience of running a multi-faceted operation.
• Experience of facilities management.
• An understanding of health and safety and employee welfare best practices.
• Evidence of being the main point of contact for all employee welfare activity.

An entrepreneurial background would be advantageous.

Digital skills and experience:

• QuickBooks.
• Confident user of all Microsoft suite applications including Word, Excel, Outlook, SharePoint Teams, PowerPoint.

Language skills:

Excellent level of international standard spoken and written English with exceptional reporting skills is essential.

Arabic language skills are advantageous, though not essential.

This role is based in AlUla, KSA and is offered as a full-time position for an initial fixed term of 12 months (subject to a 3-month probationary period). This term may be extended.

In addition to the base pay, TM will provide a business visa (where needed); accommodation in AlUla (double en-suite room in a shared house); a monthly domestic travel allowance (to allow travel outside of AlUla at weekends); transport between work and accommodation by method of self-driven company car; international flight allowance based on 4 return journeys per year; local health insurance.