Director – Middle Income Country Unit (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia)

The Opportunity: Director – Middle Income Country Unit (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia)

Reports to: Regional Director

Staff directly reporting to this post: 5 including Director of Program and Business Transformation, Digital Manager and CDs for SLK, VNM and KHM.

Staff indirectly reporting to this post: Executive Director of SCT Foundation.

Role Dimension:

As a member of the Asia Regional Senior Leadership team, you will have shared accountability for Save the Children’s international development and emergency programming in the region of a portfolio of roughly $250 million (2021) through an organisation of over 4,000 people.

The MICU Director drives the adaption of SC business models in select Middle Income Countries in Asia as those countries undergo rapid economic and social transformation; s/he ensures the organization is set to deliver lasting impact for the most vulnerable children now and in the future.

S/he provides close oversight, support and coaching of the National Directors of Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The MICU Director supervises country operations, ensuring that the COs implement high quality programs to achieve our ambitious goals and breakthroughs for children, while also meeting organizational performance standards (KPIs). He/she works closely with COs to develop and implement country strategic plans, including the definition and transitioning to new business models to enable the long-term sustainability of SCI’s presence in each country. For Thailand and the SCT Foundation, he/she serves as SCIs legal representative ensuring that SCI is compliant with RTG laws and regulations and that our duty of care is fulfilled for the international staff based in-country.  He/she also engages and supports the SCT Board and leadership in its efforts to become a high performing local foundation that fulfils all legal agreements between SCI and SCT.  He/she also seeks to leverage expertise and experiences across the four countries, encouraging mutual learning, support and collaboration Total budget for these four countries is approximately $30m with about 460 staff.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

As a member of the Regional Senior Leadership Team, the MICU Director contributes to strategic development and delivery of international programming, in both humanitarian and development contexts, in line with the Save the Children mandate, strategy and theory of change.

Strategic Leadership

• Is accountable for ensuring that country programmes in Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Cambodia have clearly articulated 2030 visions underpinned by ambitious, locally relevant strategic directions. 
• Effectively builds and guides high performing SMTs to deliver against strategy and to model behaviours and values expected of staff
• Accountable for the leadership/management of staff and programmes.
• Working with the four COs, develops CSPs and ensures that each CO completes progress reviews against key country and organisational level objectives, indicators and targets.
• Sees that the focus of the organisation remains on the rights and needs of children
• Develops a robust management information system to track CO performance (RMP, NBD, Budgets, Top 20, CSG, KPIs, etc)
• Identifies opportunities for mutual learning, support and collaboration across all 4 countries in key functional areas

New Business Models

• Provides governance, leadership and management support to the SC Thailand Foundation.
• Supports the design and implementation of various studies to identify appropriate business models for the future
• Supports the COs in developing business cases/plans and investment proposals/presentations to SCI, Members and donors
• Supports the change management process of COs undergoing transition, including continuing support to entities (i.e. SCT Foundation) post ‘go live’
• Serves as a regional resource for localization and new business models in close collaboration with other global/member/regional initiatives
• Facilitates documentation and learning from ARO’s experiences with localization and new business models

Programme Development and Management

• Ensures that programmes are strategic and effectively responding to the changing development context of the middle-income countries; are consistent with technical best practice, SC common approaches, and emerging national policies; as well as aligned with country strategic objectives.
• Sees that COs are prepared for and implement rapid and effective responses to major emergencies affecting children, including building relationships with key humanitarian and development decision-makers  and partners in-country 
• Supports CO programmes and advocacy in line with the country strategy, operational plans, budgets and Member requirements that result in significant impact for children
• Analyses program portfolios to ensure that SCI is effectively and efficiently delivering interventions that support our global breakthroughs.

Human Resource Management

• Working with CD/NDs, ensures that Save the Children attracts and retains high calibre staff
• Pro-actively develops and coaches CO SMT leadership to optimise their potential in pursuit of Save the Children’s objectives
• Works with COs to conduct organizational reviews to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of country operations
• Supports COs in the implementation of HR policies and procedures at country level, in line with HR policies, procedures and guidelines and local labour law. Serves as the first point of contact for HR matters.
• Ensures consistent implementation of performance management systems by the country teams
• Fosters a collegial, supportive and respectful culture within country teams
• Analyses employee opinion surveys and monitors CO action plans to address gaps
• Sees that Safeguarding and Anti-Fraud management are sufficiently embedded in the CO and reflected in more active reporting

Resource Mobilization

• Works closely with COs to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the international and domestic fundraising landscape, including the legal environment for domestic resources.
• Sees that each CO has a robust information system to track funding opportunities, win/loss, etc.
• Develops mechanisms such that all COs are able to resource business development and proposal writers as needed 
• Assists COs to maintain, diversify and grow the funding base for the country programs, supports the donor engagement plan as needed and supports the ND to liaise with members, bilateral and multilateral donor community.

Financial and Admin Management

• Overseas the finance function and serves as legal representative  for SCI sub-regional hub in Thailand
• Monitors financial budgeting and management systems, processes and controls ensuring that COs are fully compliant with operating standards and local legal requirements

Audit and Corporate Governance compliance

• Reviews with the CO compliance with all host government requirements in relation to registration, taxation, labour law, auditing, fraud etc.
• Ensures follow-up on recommendations arising out of audits of operations and take appropriate actions where necessary
• Contribute to ARO risk management process with the risks specific to sub-regional hub
• Provides inputs and analysis of COs risk management plans and verifies that mitigating actions are followed through.
• Monitors compliance with all legal agreements between SCI and SC Thailand Foundation

Security Management

• Ensures that there is are security protocols in place for the sub-regional office in Thailand.
• Reviews CO security plans and procedures in line with policies, systems and guidelines
• Analyzes the changing security context in each country and ensures that appropriate security plans and protocols are in place and updated.
• Ensures all staff adhere to security guidelines

Representation, Communications and Advocacy:

• Supports the CO to develops and maintain good relations with Members and their donors
• Represents Save the Children’s interests including Government Institutions, UN agencies, donor delegations, international & local NGOs as needed
• Ensures the timely provision of internal and external communications material as required

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency

QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS:

• At least 15 years experienced as a leader who has held senior positions in complex/high profile/ multinational organisations
• Experience of working with large, complex donors (USAID, EU, DFID etc.) to secure and/or manage new large-scale and/or competitive funding
• Understanding of key trends in international and humanitarian development
• Demonstrable ability to recruit, lead and develop high calibre specialist senior staff with a range of backgrounds and expertise
• Strong track record in building high performance teams and future successors/leaders
• Ability to manage and motivate self and others to respond to a significant and complex crisis situation in extraordinary circumstances, requiring swift action and rapid changes in priorities
• Innovative approach to solving a range of highly complex issues and galvanising buy-in to the solutions at all levels
• Experience and knowledge of context and actors in Asia, particularly the Mekong countries.
• Fluency and speaking and writing in English
• Commitment to the Save the Children vision, principles, mission and values
• Experience on humanitarian programs and ability to work in a volatile environment preferred.

Additional job responsibilities

• The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Level 3:  The post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.

Application Information

Please apply using a cover letter and up-to-date CV as a single document and use format. Please send application to email address: [email protected]

Location: Hanoi

Closing Date: 16 Oct 2023

If you have any issues with applying via our system, please send an email explaining your troubles to [email protected]

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties by our global anti-harassment policy.