Summary
Save the Children is seeking a Director of Operations (DO) for an anticipated five-year USAID/Uganda Urban Health Activity. The goal of this activity is to address poor quality of care, congested public health facilities, uncoordinated referral system, weak community structures, limited private sector capacity, and gaps in enabling environment results in poor health outcomes in Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso.
The DO will be responsible for overseeing implementation of the activity across Kampala, Mukono, and Wakiso as well as subgrant management and capacity strengthening of local organizations. The DO reports directly to the COP and will take a leadership and managerial role in ensuring implementation of high impact, proven interventions, and ensuring the activity meets stated goals and reporting requirements. The DO supports the COP and carries out any other tasks assigned by the COP to ensure proper management of strengthening the urban health system. The DO must ensure that implementation is in accordance with USG regulations and procedures and the specifications determined in the cooperative agreement. The position will be based in Kampala, Uganda, for the five-year period of performance with frequent travel required to other project sites.
This position is contingent upon donor approval and funding.
What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)
- In collaboration with the COP, ensure the successful implementation of project activities according to agreements with the donor and government (i.e., that all activities and deliverables are completed within the agreed timescale and budget, reports are submitted as per agreed schedules, and any other requirements or criteria are fulfilled).
- Ensure effective coordination and collaboration between all implementing partners on the project.
- Design and regularly update detailed annual work plans and ensure these are used by the team appropriately to monitor progress towards completion and achievement of program objectives.
- Provide oversight and support to subgrant selection, management, and capacity strengthening in line with USAID requirements and principles of equitable partnership and locally-led development.
- Contribute to project reporting processes, this includes working closely with the COP and other project staff to ensure reports are of the highest technical quality and submitted in a timely manner to the donor.
- Mentor and supervise direct reports to achieve their work plan objectives, and to contribute to the achievement of the overall program goals.
- Maintain good working relationships with officials, government ministries, implementing partners, private sector, multisectoral partners, and the international and local NGO community.
- Provide leadership for regular adaptation of the project in response to data, learning, and changing context.
- Coordinate closely with the SC offices in subgrant management, procurement, implementation, and local partner capacity strengthening.
Required Qualifications
- Master’s degree in relevant field, such as management, public health, or development studies.
- Minimum of eight to 10 years of progressively responsible experience managing operations for large, complex, and integrated programs of similar scope and dollar value.
- Previous experience working on USAID programs or other USG-funded programs in operations-focused roles.
- Demonstrated experience leading operations and ensuring seamless coordination with multiple project partners on a consortium.
- Demonstrated experience working equitably with local partners, including through processes of subgrants, capacity assessment, and capacity strengthening.
- Proven ability to use data and learning to inform adaptation of project interventions.
- Demonstrated ability to manage large implementation teams to deliver results with quality, on time, and on budget.
- Proven ability to work collaboratively with government, donors, the private sector, and community organizations to advance health objectives.
- Excellent interpersonal, writing, and English language oral presentation skills. Fluency in other languages spoken in Uganda will be considered an asset.
Desired:
- Experience working in Kampala, Mukono, or Wakiso.
- Current relationship with relevant stakeholders in Uganda, including government ministries, municipalities, city corporations, donors, private sector, and civil society.
Qualified local national candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
About Save the Children
No matter your role when you join Save the Children, each and every day you will challenge yourself to devote your skills, talent and expertise to changing the world for kids. It’s an ambitious goal, and a meaningful one no matter how you see yourself professionally: an accountant, a writer, a data analyst, a teacher, a driver, a designer, or any one of the hundreds of dozens of roles we’re looking to fill every day.
You see, Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.
Our work for children and their families requires that we commit—at every opportunity—to work together to identify and dismantle persistent systemic and structural racism, inequality, and any other forms of discrimination in this country and beyond. As an anti-racist organization, Save the Children will not tolerate discrimination in any form—in our employment practices, amongst our staff, in our leadership or toward the people we serve. We stand in solidarity with all people to fight for equal rights, justice, inclusion, and belonging.
We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws.
Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse. In addition, it is Save the Children’s policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation.
Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions for all.