TEAM/PROGRAMME: Program Operations
LOCATION: Jigjiga – East Area Office
Head of Program Operations is expected to travel to SCI field and project offices
GRADE: 1A
POST TYPE: National
CONTRACT LENGTH: One year with possible extension
Child Safeguarding:
Level 3: the role 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 in country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.
Risk and Compliance:
The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Fraud, Bribery, and Corruption policy and code of conduct. The key responsibilities include understanding and complying with the SCI policies and procedures, not committing any act of fraud, bribery, or corruption, understanding risks in their area/role, and implementing mitigation measures, report any suspected fraud, bribery, or corruption immediately, declare conflicts of interest in accordance with internal procedures and complete mandatory training related to ethics and anti-fraud measures.
ROLE PURPOSE: The Head of Program Operations is a senior Area Office role and a member of the Senior Management Team, responsible for leading program operations, awards and partnerships, MEAL, and supply chain functions. The role oversees program implementation, staff, resources, and partner relationships, while supporting the Area Manager in developing and executing strategies and annual operational plans, ensuring consistent delivery across all functions, including humanitarian response.
Reporting to the Area Manager, the position serves as a key link between the Area Office, Field Offices, and Country Office teams, and collaborates closely with units such as PDQ, HR, Finance, and Safety & Security. The role includes direct supervision of Moyale and Dollo Project Offices, with both Officers in Charge reporting directly to him/her. Key responsibilities include PRIME task follow-up, participation in cluster meetings, and overall leadership of humanitarian planning and response at the Area Office level.
SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: Area Manager
Positions which report to this role: Moyale and Dollo Ado Project Office In Charge
This role Will closely work through matrix management with CO Awards, partnership and Humanitarian Senior Managers and directors, as well as with Field Operation managers and AO Finance and HR Senior Coordinator.
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
Leadership and management
- Closely works with the Area Manager and supports the improvement of ways of working to ensure accountability, facilitate support and collaboration between AO-FO and CO, in particular with CO supply chain and awards management.
- Supports the Area Manager in development of Area strategic plans, operationalizing goals and objectives, and following up on implementation, including fundraising efforts. Assist the Area Manager to develop an Area Office up-to-date, context-based, and achievable Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP).
- Supports the Area Manager in management support of Field Offices within the Area Office, including safe programming and implementation of quality programs.
- Closely works with the Partnership and Awards Team on the coordination of award support at FO level and partnership management.
- Ensures timely, policy-compliant emergency responses with CO Humanitarian team support and Area Manager leadership, in coordination with field teams.
- Acts on behalf of the Area Manager when absent.
- Covers key humanitarian roles (PM, Field Managers) during absences.
- Supports Field Managers and teams to apply emergency standards and guidelines (e.g., CHS, SPHERE, protection mainstreaming).
Human Resources Management
- Work closely with the Senior Area HR, Admin & Safeguarding Coordinator and Area Manager to support managers in recruitment, induction, placement, promotion, development, and separation.
- Strengthen staff performance through agreed plans, monitoring, learning and development, and timely management actions.
- Ensure SCI safeguarding policies are implemented across all offices and staff, promoting safe programming.
- Ensure all awards include safe programming in DIP and action plans, with effective implementation across wards and field offices.
- Supervise Senior Area MEAL Coordinator, Area Supply Chain Coordinator, and Awards & Partnerships roles as relevant.
- Collaborate through matrix management with CO Awards, Partnerships, Humanitarian senior managers/directors, and Field Operations, AO Finance, and Senior HR Coordinators.
Budget, Finance and Awards Management
- May serve as budget holder for area programming when assigned.
- Ensure all projects have complete, realistic plans (budget, DIP, MEAL, HR, procurement).
- Regularly monitor budgets through weekly tracking, finance reviews, and BVAs with key teams.
- Work closely with budget holders, FoMs, and finance to ensure correct spending and coding, reviewing monthly financial reports and promptly raising major concerns to the Area Manager and AO FM.
- Support budget holders to manage the full grant cycle effectively, in line with donor and Save the Children policies.
- Coordinate project support and monitoring within the AO, engaging CO Awards, Partnerships, Supply Chain, and other functions.
- Ensure grants meet all donor and organizational requirements, including timely, high-quality reporting.
- Collaborate with PDQ to produce timely, high-quality program and donor reports.
- Conduct regular field visits to review and prioritize program and support needs, and ensure timely implementation of improvement plans.
- Oversee all AO and FO MEAL functions, ensuring KPIs, MIs, RFT, PoT, and reporting standards are met.
- Lead MEAL system rollout, knowledge management, and capacity building, and support field offices in design, research, evaluations, and assessments.
Compliance and Risk Management
- Supports the Area Manager and FOMs to ensure full compliance with SCI policies across HR, Supply Chain, Finance, Programs, and Security.
- Regularly travels to field locations to support risk management, including safeguarding, compliance, and humanitarian accountability as part of Area SLT responsibilities.
- Participates in planning and implementing Area and Field Office Risk Management Plans.
- Ensures internal systems and processes are consistently followed and fit for purpose.
- Supports management responses to internal and external audits and follows up on their implementation.
- Assists the Area Manager in ensuring timely implementation of improvement actions from CO and RO monitoring visits.
- Supports the Area Manager in ensuring staff and partners understand and comply with SCI policies, including safeguarding, procurement, fraud, and whistleblowing.
Change management and Way of Working support to AM
- Support the Area Manager in implementing the CMP in line with approved guidance, structure, and staffing plan.
- Conduct monthly BVA review meetings per field office; document actions, track progress, and upload to SharePoint.
- Act as Vice Chairperson at AO SLT, ensuring active engagement and follow-up on actions.
- Support the Area Manager in ensuring WoW documents are adopted and applied at AO and FO levels.
- Map, document, and coordinate internal and external meetings at AO and FO levels, ensuring regular participation and attendance.
- Support the Area Manager in implementing AO–FO monitoring and supervision plans, using standard tools for planning, ToR, and reporting.
Networking, Partnership and Representation
- Represent the organization to external stakeholders, including government authorities, UN agencies, donors, and INGOs, ensuring strong and effective working relationships.
- Promote meaningful participation of children and communities by ensuring feedback mechanisms are in place and integrated into project design, monitoring, and evaluation.
- Ensure partners understand and comply with organizational policies and procedures, including child safeguarding, procurement, fraud prevention, and whistleblowing.
- Represent the organization in relevant coordination forums such as clusters, working groups, and NGO consortia.
- Participate in partner selection processes and monitor partner performance, identifying gaps and providing necessary support for improvement.
- Promote and advocate for the localization agenda in line with the Localization Policy and L&P Strategy.
- Support partners to take on leadership or co-leadership roles in clusters, sub-clusters, and other coordination platforms.
- Contribute to partnership annual review meetings and support continuous improvement initiatives.
- Strengthen the capacity of local and national actors through system strengthening and organizational development support.
- Actively participate in joint partner monitoring visits to ensure quality implementation and accountability.
Staff Safety and Security Management
- In collaboration with the Area Manager and the Field Managers and the Security Focal Points, proactively monitor the political and security situation at both national and local level and report as relevant
- Involved in the sharing of security-related information, in review of guidelines, protocols, and developing security plans
- In close collaboration with the Area Manager, the Field Managers and the Security Focal Points, report and manage any significant security incident
- Adapt to security constraints and ensure that staff are adequately aware of security risks and management issues in order to deliver projects for children
- Support the Area Manager to ensure that all safety and security minimum operating standards in country guidelines and procedures are met by all field offices. Promote a culture of security awareness and a shared duty of care amongst staff in area teams
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- Master’s in Business Administration, Management, Development Studies or other Social Sciences.
EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
Essential
- Minimum of 8 years management experience in a corporate or an NGO environment, and at least 3 years in senior program operations leadership or program management role or relevant experience
- Experience in strategic planning and operationalizing into achievable targets and outcomes
- Ability to drive, adapt to and mange change. Strive for continual improvement and organizational excellence;
- Experience of working within a complex and matrix organization structure
- Proven experience of development and humanitarian program management and MEAL oversite
- Analytical skill, ability and tact to deal with complex problems
- Good understanding of the humanitarian landscape and complexities, procedures and accountability frameworks and good practices in emergency management.
- Substantial and proven experience and knowledge of effective financial and budgetary control
- Ability to analyze information, evaluate options, think and plan strategically.
- An in depth understanding of national and international development issues particularly in relation to children.
- Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills.
- Fluency in written and spoken English.
- Flexibility for unforeseen demands, willingness to spend up to 50% of time in visiting field offices security allowing.
- Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s aims, values and principles including rights- based approaches.
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.
