Director, Global Operations

At iDE, we are powering entrepreneurs to end poverty. We have powered over 41 million entrepreneurs to end poverty and realize prosperity on their own terms. We are an unconventional, progressive nonprofit organization that believes in the power of entrepreneurship to solve the world’s most pressing problems. We look for innovative ways to leverage our market-based approach to transform the lives of millions of people to create lasting and meaningful change. 

The Global Operations Department is responsible for excellence in operational and financial performance of Country Offices and their portfolio of projects, in partnership with Country Directors and their teams. Under the direction of the Senior VP Africa & Central America (SVP AfCA), the Global Operations Director will support the operational needs of iDE Madagascar, especially our USAID-funded programs and/or other projects and countries within the portfolio as assigned by the SVP AfCA. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Country Program Start-up

• Provide guidance, coordination and support for iDE registration process for a new iDE office and facilitate the collection of necessary information and documentation
• Coordinate any legal advice/guidance with SVP Africa and Central America, CD, and HR as necessary
• Support iDE Country staff and HQ staff on logistics and approvals to locate and secure office space(s) for projects and overall country program.
• Review budget analysis for start-up costs and coordinate with Fund Development team to ensure said costs are included in pipeline proposals for new projects
• In coordination with iDE HQ finance and Madagascar CD, facilitate support from potential local Employer of Record partner
• Manage country office start up task list, coordinating with Programs, Interim CD, Finance and Operations teams. 
• Preparation of new office policies and procedures, including securing of necessary internal approvals
• Coordination of drafting and finalizing Country Office Safety and Security Manual
• Review and approval of Project budgets, annual budgets, and country budget analyses as needed
• Management of HQ / Madagascar consultancy agreements
• Lead and/or participate in local recruitment efforts as directed by SVP or CD
• Lead start-up coordination meetings, including agenda setting, collection, filing, and sharing of notes, and archiving critical documents. 

Country Project & Contract Management  

• Responsible for ensuring our USAID-funded projects in Madagascar, the iDE Madagascar team, and/or other projects and countries as assigned, achieve the following annual iDE and project targets and goals:
• Meet burn rate targets against annual budget of between 95 – 105%
• Are in compliance with iDE’s global policies and procedures
• Are in compliance with donor policies
• Support/manage iDE Madagascar teams to meet required project reporting and deliverable deadlines
• Partner with the Country Office and HQ Finance teams to ensure clean annual country-level audits
• Provide independent portfolio oversight and management through engagement with the country teams as well as HQ support to ensure high quality programs and operations.
• Review and/or approve award agreements and amendments (grants, contracts, and sub agreements) and provide ongoing monitoring to ensure adherence to both contract terms and internal iDE policies and procedures. 
• Engage in contract negotiations with donors/prime partners/contractor/subawardees for risk management and maximization of donor relationship.
• Serve as key compliance officer for individual awards in conjunction with CD and/or Country Operations/Finance Director and the Grants & Contracts Specialist. 
• Coordinate closely with the Finance Department, especially with the Regional Finance Managers (RFMs), to support strong financial project management and regular review of BVA reporting.
• Key project management functions include start up and close down activities; tracking of deliverables and reporting, logging of progress information into iDE systems. Additional project management functions for key awards as determined based on strategic or risk assessments may include monitoring technical and financial performance, coordination and/or management of subs/primes, knowledge management, communications liaison, and other tasks as necessary.
• Regularly review project team performance and work with iDE technical and country teams to ensure projects are on track to achieve deliverables.

• Coordinate with HQ Departments,, iDE UK, and iDE Canada to support Country Director on project management issues as necessary.
• Manage donor reporting for select projects, as needed for a country portfolio. For these awards, required reporting to be prepared, finalized, and submitted may include invoices, financial reports and projections, technical narratives, and audit documentation.
• Oversee set-up and management of projects within iDE systems. This includes:
• Maintaining opportunities/projects and donors/primes/partners in Salesforce, and other tools being used by iDE (e.g. Accorto).
• Compile and file required information obtained from the field on each project, i.e. grant deliverables/reports, executed contracts, MOUs/JVAs, etc.

• Tracking on operational items, including but not limited to contract modifications, key staff time, and Country Office risk registers

• Partner with COP, Country office staff, and HQ Operations team members to develop, improve, and roll out key policies, procedure documents, and training/coaching to ensure teams remain efficient, compliant and effective in all project operations. 

Country Program Operations Management

• Support country activities in the areas of general operations, security risk management, contract/grant compliance, HR/staff management, and performance against annual and project budgets, to ensure annual targets and project deliverables are met. 
• Possibility of taking on Country Portfolio related tasks related to Country Office targets, process, procedures, tracking, reporting, problem solving, donor management support as delegated by SVP AfCA
• Development and/or adaptation of tools and templates for use with USAID-funded project operations

Country Financial Management

• Support country programs with the tracking of country expenditure to ensure countries meet their annual revenue and expense targets, and to monitor for project over/under spending.
• Review cost proposals for add on funding or other modifications  to ensure budgets are complete, appropriate, and in line with iDE policies and standards.
• Utilize the information provided in financial management reports, such as the budget versus actual (BVAs) reports, to support management of country program and project operations. This position may manage project budgets for select projects as needed.
• As delegated, review the annual organizational budgets of iDE country programs in portfolio, as well as the headquarters (HQ) and iDE UK costs associated with country projects.
• Within authority level, provide review and approval for internal cash requests as well as external consultant/vendor/sub payments. 

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Represent iDE at selected meetings, conferences and workshops.
• Create presentation materials (to include fact gathering, writing and review) for iDE Board reporting.
• Other duties as assigned by SVP AfCA.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

• As delegated by SVP AfCA based on needs of the project, portfolio and department. 

Requirements

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum five years (7+ years preferred) experience in grant management for large grants and/or contracts with multiple donors. 
• Proven experience managing USAID grants, subgrants, and/or contracts.
• Experience with international donors such as EC, IFAD, UN orgs, World Bank, foreign governments. 
• Results oriented, problem solver with experience working in fast-paced dynamic teams.
• Demonstrated experience preparing, reviewing, and managing complex program budgets.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and tasks; proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated experience monitoring and managing project financial performance
• Superior written and verbal communication skills; cross-cultural communication skills required.
• Strong team skills: able to work collaboratively with senior iDE program and HQ staff, consultants, donors, local governmental agencies, and other experts in a multicultural, multilingual environment.
• Computer proficiency in MS Office Suite and/or Google’s G-Suite is required. Salesforce experience is a plus.
• Ability to exercise excellent decision making judgment while working in a fluid and fast paced environment.
• B.A/B.S in a related discipline required; Master’s degree preferred.
• Business proficiency/fluency in English and French required. Fluency in a third language is preferred.

LANGUAGE/MATHEMATICAL AND REASONING SKILLS

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community. Ability to write speeches and articles for publication that conform to prescribed style and format. Ability to effectively present information to top management, public groups, and/or boards of directors.
• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS

None

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand; sit; and use hands to finger, handle, or feel. The employee is occasionally required to walk. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. The employee is also often required to travel to international locations. 

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

OTHER

• Equipment used: all office equipment
• International Travel
• Variable Work Hours/Shifts

Benefits

DIVERSITY STATEMENT:

iDE takes pride in our talented and diverse workforce. Minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.  Hiring, promotion, and compensation of employees are conducted without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, or age.

BENEFITS

​iDE offers a competitive benefits package which includes medical, dental and vision coverage, 403(b) inclusion, short and long-term disability, life insurance and a generous PTO policy.

The annual salary range for this position is $100,000 - $115,000

Location: Can be based in any of the following: United States (Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington D.C), Ghana, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Zambia, UK (with existing right to work)