CONTEXT
HARENA is a USAID project in Madagascar. Over a five-year period (2024-2029), HARENA will use a systemic and multisectoral approach to reduce threats to biodiversity and forests, including, improving conservation and building resilience to climate change ; developing sustainable economic opportunities for the poor ; and improving environmental governance. Working through local economic and social systems, HARENA will address the root causes of poverty and food insecurity that drive communities in Madagascar to depend on high biodiversity areas for their basic needs. To this end, HARENA will act through three key areas of intervention: 1) natural resource management and Protected Areas (PA), and,biodiversity and forest conservation (nature) ; 2) improved and climate resilient livelihoods and private sector engagement to improve human well-being and socio-economic outcomes (wealth) ; and 3) governance of natural resources and protected areas (authority). Operating in three geographic areas with high biodiversity value and high mitigation potential for terrestrial climate change, HARENA will implement five strategic approaches to achieve the following key results :Operating in three geographic areas with high biodiversity value and high mitigation potential for terrestrial climate change, HARENA will implement five strategic approaches to achieve the following key results :Operating in three geographic areas with high biodiversity value and high mitigation potential for terrestrial climate change, HARENA will implement five strategic approaches to achieve the following key results :
- Strategic Approach 1 : Improving sustainable management of natural resources with a focus on biodiversity, land, forests and protected areas (PAs) ;
- Strategic Approach 2 : Promoting diversified livelihoods based on sustainable and climate resilient agriculture, including, including complementary natural resource products (such as cash crops) to improve livelihoods and ecosystem services; and ;
- Strategic Approach 3: Improving governance, advocacy and anti-corruption efforts at national, regional and local level around natural resource, land and water management ;
- Strategic Approach 4: Increase local resilience to prepare for and adapt to climate change and other shocks; and
- Strategic Approach 5: Strengthen land use management through spatial planning at the communal level and secure land rights through effective implementation of land policy.
job description
The Regional Director/Director/Regional Director of Regional Operations is a long-term position that will provide operational and administrative management of one of the regional offices of Harena in the following areas : operations and administrative support to the project team, procurement and subcontracting, overall contractual compliance and support to customer management, recruitment and human resources management, etc, office management and travel and security logistics. Under the direct supervision of the Director of the Regional Office, and with the advice and supervision of the Chief Financial Officer and the Director of Finance and Operations based in Antananarivo,The/the Director/Regional Director of Operations will play a key role in overseeing financial and operational management and will ensure compliance with the project field operations manual (FOM), DAI policies and guidelines, USAID regulations, project contract requirements and limitations, as well as laws, requirements, and, and relevant local practices in support of the technical implementation of the project.
MAIN TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Operations and administration :
- Serve as a regional point of contact for project operational needs, including office-related task management, scheduling/invitations, technology resources and troubleshooting, and, management of videoconferences, booking of rooms, acquisition of equipment and software, ordering of office supplies, carrying out inventory audits, etc, updating project flowcharts and contact lists, and maintaining project schedules (travel, reports, evaluation panels, etc.) ; serve as an operational liaison between the project and the Antananarivo teams) ; provide the operational liaison between the project and the Antananarivo teams ; to provide administrative assistance to technical activities by reviewing invoices and expense reports, and,supporting procurement, responding to operational or procedural issues, coordinating meeting and event logistics, coordinating travel and security logistics, and, and supporting the closing process.
- In coordination with the Director of the Regional Office, develop and improve operational processes, including, systems and internal controls to effectively guide project management and implementation and ensure compliance with the project field operations manual, rules/USAID regulations and the terms of the project contract, including process guides, checklists, etc, resource guides and a library of best practices and lessons learned.
- Solving common problems autonomously and forwarding more complex problems to the director of the regional office and/or to the Head of Finance and Director of Finance and Operations in Antananarivo and follow up until they are resolved.
- Coordinate the maintenance of administrative records and inventory, including procurement, recruitment and project finance documentation ; maintain and verify administrative records on an ad hoc basis by saving and classifying all documentation on shared file servers and project management systems in a rational and direct hierarchy, in accordance with the project file map.
Financial administration :
- Assist the director of the regional office in overseeing the finances and budgets of the regional project, including project accounting, budget management, etc, financial reporting and cost control.
- Support the development and maintenance of project tools and monitoring tools by accurately monitoring, forecasting and reporting on all regional office finances, including, as required by teams based in Antananarivo and regional offices.
- Support the Director of the Regional Office in the preparation of financial reports and overviews for relevant stakeholders ; reports and overviews include, but are not limited to :
- Budget analysis, quarterly regularizations, forecast projections and scenario forecasts, at the request of the COP, the Financial Manager or the local office.
- Overviews and reviews at the activity or region level, including usage rate analysis, effort level (LOE) and invoice tracking, including, as well as supply-side workflow forecasts.
- Contribute to monthly financial summaries and other reports or analyses on request.
- Contributions to the HO report for monthly overviews and quarterly reviews from estimate to completion (FTE).
Procurement and subcontracting :
- Support the regional project teams in the development of budgets for activities related to work plans.
- Support technical and operational procurement by organizing documents, taking notes, and working directly with the procurement team to conduct price analyses, including, write source selection memos and debriefing letters, and ensure compliance with all IAD policies and procedures, in addition to audit support, and, where appropriate.
- Participate in the subcontracting and grantmaking process, including helping to meet documentation requirements and comply with IAD policies and procedures.
- Maintain the contact details of partners and, if necessary, assist the Communication Specialist in meeting administrative and logistical requirements to ensure coordination with the Harena partner network ; act as the main point of contact for potential suppliers of goods and services. Support the development of templates and guides for the procurement/grant team and/or partner companies to improve the procurement and contracting process.
Contracts, compliance and customer management :
- Schedule, prepare and attend meetings with the Director of the Regional Office, the Financial Director and/or other project managers to ensure they have all the information they need to make decisions. Take notes and report actions to relevant Harena team members after each meeting and follow up to ensure tasks are completed in a timely manner.
- Assist the Director of the Regional Office in managing and responding to requests from the COP, project management and/or client, as directed, to, including drafting and filing USAID client approval requests and responses, and coordinating with Harena’s main office team on these requests.
- Support compliance with the terms and conditions of the agreement by following applicable regulations and DAI policy.
- According to the instructions, provide support in the areas of operational data management and reporting, including semi-annual and annual reports ; develop and maintain trackers and process guides to improve the accuracy of the data collected and help standardize data within technical and procurement teams.
- Assist in conducting external or internal audits if necessary.
Recruitment :
- Provide support for the recruitment and integration life cycle, including drafting/revising terms of reference, posting positions, reviewing CVs, etc, organization and participation in interviews, coordination with counterparts in Harena’s main office to finalize agreements, drafting and reviewing client approval applications, and, the development of new employee onboarding schedules (in close collaboration with the Ops/HR team in Harena’s main office), training of new staff and maintenance of staff records.
- Identify efficiencies and potential improvements in the recruitment process.
- Maintain open communication with the Harena senior office team on the administrative and operational aspects of the recruitment process ; liaise between the Harena project team and the candidates throughout the entire recruitment process.
Additional support :
- Ensure proper coordination of logistics and any other planning needs required for project activities such as training, workshops, technical assistance, travel and events.
- Provide operational and logistical support to all visitors to the region, including long-term staff of Arena, subcontractor staff, etc, independent consultants and other short-term experts.
- Ensure that project files are properly maintained, including project procurement, recruitment and finance documents, maintaining a rational and simple hierarchy, in accordance with the regional office file map.
- Coordinate the staff expense report review process in coordination with the Antananarivo team to ensure compliance with IAD and project financial and accounting policies and procedures.
- Supervise the regional operations team, including the financial assistant, the driver and the housekeeper. Ensure that each staff member performs his or her duties as planned, including close coordination of financial functions with the finance manager in Antananarivo, and, and the close coordination of the driver with the safety manager.
- Other administrative or operational support tasks assigned by the project management team.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree and 5 years of relevant professional experience in an administrative, operational and/or technical field, or a master’s degree and 3 years of relevant professional experience.
- Proven experience in operational management and process management of donor-funded development projects, including experience in the areas of administration, business, and, human resources/recruitment, logistics of travel and/or events, and/or skills in the area of project management.
- Demonstrated knowledge of internal controls and audit processes (e.g., procurement, subcontracting, financial management, project operations, etc.
- Experience with Microsoft Office, including Excel.
- Ability to manage multiple tasks and changing priorities without compromising the quality of the work.
- Ability to work effectively within a cross-functional team.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in french and malagasy ; english is desirable but not mandatory :
- Proven experience in supporting USAID-funded development projects.
- Experience in managing, engaging and communicating with clients and stakeholders on a number of levels.
