Primary Purpose:

The Deputy Regional Representative, Africa Operations will oversee and monitor the transition of CWS Africa centralized operations functions currently held by the CWS Nairobi RSC Administration units to existing (South Africa, Tanzania), emerging (Uganda, Rwanda), and newly opening CWS Country Offices (Kenya, West Africa, DRC plus additional expansion as confirmed) in Africa.  The position will be responsible for the administrative integration of CWS RSC and Development and Emergency Response portfolios.

This position will also represent both the Regional Representative and Country Representatives, if needed in case of leave of absence.

The position will provide oversight for the Regional IT, Finance, Administration and Security Units.

Essential Duties:

General Oversight:

• Responsible, in conjunction with Country Program leads, for oversight for all support services for CWS Country Office Operations, to include finance, administration, logistics, HR, procurement, property, IT and Security
• To link with HQ in New York and help calibrate, develop capacity in balance between HQ, the Regional Office in Kenya, and multiple CWS Country Offices in Africa
• Engage with the internal auditor for CWS Africa, as it relates, to ensuring all administrative functions across Africa are operating effectively, and with compliance.
• Support the regional administration leaders to set, implement and monitor work plans across the administrative functions.

Administrative Function

• Challenge the existing administrative implementation frameworks to ensure they support the effective integration of all CWS administrative functions across all Country Offices.
• Develop, assist with implementation and monitor work plans to build the capacity of the administrative function at Country Office, to enable these departments to function with increasing independence from the CWS Regional office.
• Support and supervise the establishment of common management practices across the Country offices. This will include:
• Developing Minimum Operating Standards (MOS), in collaboration with CWS HQ, across procurement, IT, property, finance and HR, across all Country Offices.
• Ensuring the MOS, as developed, are consistent with CWS HQ MOS, as they are developed.
  • Establishing benchmarks and dashboards to effectively manage adherence to the minimum operating standards.
  • Develop a reporting system to provide visibility for the management team for each standard.
• Responsible for reporting on the transfer of current centralized authority and capacity within the administrative function from regional HQ in Nairobi to the Country Offices. Reporting to be made to the Regional Representative for Africa and CWS HQ.

Compliance and Audit

• Is available to Country Offices and CWS programs (RSC Africa and others) to assist Country Offices to establish or improve compliance systems, policies, and structures within each operating environment.
• Identifies and assesses, in collaboration with the Internal Auditor and Program leadership, areas of significant compliance risk within the Country Office operations, and, with management, designing and implementing corrective action plans.

Team Development and Capacity building

• Establish in partnership with Country Representatives, and to support through dotted line, matrix management approaches, administrative units or teams in each Country Office
• Build a pipeline of managers and leaders familiar with CWS programming and administrative policies
• Oversee the development of the administrative functions across each Country Office and the regionally to serve as integrated administration for both RSC and RDP programs.