Head of Operations

CARE Malawi

CARE provides equal employment opportunities and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for the position

VACANCY – HEAD OF OPERATIONS

CARE International is a leading development organization dedicated to fighting poverty and social injustice with a special emphasis on women and girls. CARE is a global force and a partner of choice within a worldwide movement dedicated to ending poverty. We are known everywhere for our unshakable commitment to the dignity of people. CARE partners contribute to the empowerment of the most marginalized and vulnerable rural women and girls to exercise their rights.

CARE Malawi seeks to recruit a well-qualified person to fill the position of Head of Operations.

Position Description

This position reports directly to the Country Director and it is part of the Country Office (CO) Senior Leadership Team (SLT). The position oversees and provides support to CARE Malawi Program operations specifically in procurement, logistics, fleet management, ICT and Administration. It ensures that such program support activities are implemented in an efficient and cost-effective manner, providing high quality services and information to the CO, field and project headquarters staff, donors and other stakeholders.

The position is based in Lilongwe with expected travel of 15% of the time to field locations to provide support.

Specific duties and responsibilities include the following:

1. Procurement

  1. Support the implementation of procurement activities to ensure adherence to policy and procedures, cost-efficiency, and timely receipt and recording of materials, equipment and services.
  2. Support implementation of strategic sourcing initiatives at Country Office level through effective procurement planning, setting up of strategic service level agreements and framework agreements with vendors.
  3. Manage Country office supply chain performance against set global KPis and take corrective action to improve performance
  4. Support program teams during emergency ensuring procurement of emergency items is done in a timely manner and in accordance to donors regulations.
  5. Support procurement team in month-end closure processes to ensure timely clearance of old outstanding PO’s in People Soft and engage with system support team to ensure timely resolution of system issues
  6. Provide technical support to the procurement team and Internal Procurement Committee (IPC) in understanding donor regulations.

2. Administration, Property and Inventory Management

  1. Ensure the CO has a lease agreement tracker in place to ensure full compliance to the terms of the lease agreements (Office and residential premises)
  2. Support the implementation of stores/commodities management activities to ensure adherence to commodity management policy.
  3. Ensure inventory and assets are properly secured, insured and accounted for by all CARE staff, quarterly reconciliation of property register against people soft, annual physical count of assets and reporting to the Regional office and RMU
  4. Oversee the disposal of CARE property and assets in accordance with CARE Property management manual and donor requirements

3. Logistics and Fleet management

  1. Review fleet policy and align with global policy and ensure all staff adhere to fleet management policy
  2. Ensure the Country office has the right fleet size to support program delivery, and the fleet is well maintained and secure for usage by CARE staff
  3. Lead the implementation of cost recovery model (fleet service charges) and ensure this is properly documented for audit purposes.
  4. Review of the vehicle tracking system, fuel management monthly vehicle performance reports for decision making by senior country office

4. Field Office Program Support

  1. Provides support to all field offices in implementation of CARE standardized policies and procedures in procurement, logistics, and fleet management
  2. Provide training and management support to field offices for smooth running of all program support functions at field office level with regular visits.
  3. Supports in decentralization/centralization of program support function effectively for field offices.

5. ICT

a) Provide support and oversight to the ICT team to deliver IT support at CO level.

6. Safety and Security

  1. Act as a Safety and security focal point person for the country office and work with Regional Security Manager to develop SOPs, contingency plans and conduct security assessments for the CO and develop mitigation plans
  2. Ensure that all security incidents reporting on SIMSON is up to date, incidents are investigated, and action taken by CO Management.
  3. Conduct security briefing for all incoming visitors, security awareness for new staff highlighting security risks in their locations and how to mitigate against such risks
  4. Get updated on risk trends in the country and advise staff and management on precautionary measures to be taken.

7. Capacity building

  1. Leads in the recruitment, placement and performance and talent management of staff in the department.
  2. Monitors and supports career development plans for staff

Minimum Required Qualifications and experience

  • A Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or supply chain and logistics.
  • An MBA or MSC in Supply Chain management is an added advantage
  • A Minimum of 8 years’ experience at senior level in a similar role.
  • Experience in a large International NGO and a wide range of donors (USAID, EU, ECHO,DFID) is an added advantage.

Knowledge and competencies

  • High level of integrity
  • Experience in Microsoft applications and web-based applications preferably PeopleSoft.
  • Very strong business partnering skills with ability to influence CO senior staff
  • Team player- willing to work with CO teams to achieve desirable results
  • Good communication skills both oral and written English
  • Excellent planning, negotiation, and communication skills – ability to adapt or change priorities according to the changing demands of the job
  • Ability to take initiatives and assuming responsibilities with a flexible and adaptable attitude.

Applicants who meet the required qualifications and experience should send their applications through email to mwicarerecruit@care.org addressed to the attention of:

The Country Director
CARE Malawi
P/Bag A89
LILONGWE

Closing date for receipt of applications is 15th April 2025. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted

CARE has zero tolerance to sexual exploitation and abuse and has a Protection from Sexual Harassment Exploitation and Abuse (PSHEA) Policy which outlines expected behaviors and responsibilities of all staff and CARE related personnel (consultants, vendors, partners, project participants, etc.). All potential candidates will be required to complete a Self-Declaration Form and those successful will be expected to sign up to the Code of Behavior contained in the PSHEA Policy.