Operations Director

Job Description

A leading creative and digital media organization in Harare, Zimbabwe is looking for a young, dynamic Operations Director to join our team and help take our organization to the next level.

Position Summary

The Operations Director is in charge of the supervision & oversight of all programmes at a cutting edge organization that works at the intersection of arts, media, tech and social change. The Operations Director will oversee the smooth running of the organization’s programmes and managing the day-to-day operations. They will work closely with other senior leaders to creatively develop and implement innovative strategies that improve overall team performance and maximize community impact. The individual will need to be multi-talented with knowledge of and passion for arts and culture, digital media and civic tech. The candidate should be committed to delivering social justice projects that benefit young people. The successful candidate will be a creative and experienced professional with a background in the creative sector, the civic sector or the media sector as well as possessing excellent competencies in project management, partner engagement and fundraising. It is key that the individual is a team player who works well in a collaborative, participatory work environment. The candidate should be an out-of-the-box thinker, extremely methodical, and have the ability to manage multiple teams & initiatives. This post is being offered on a fixed term contract basis.

KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Operational Direction

• Communicate policies and objectives of the organisation at programme levels.
• Drive operational excellence by ensuring appropriate best practices, processes and technologies are in place.
• Drive adherence to organisational governance principles and statutes to ensure compliance at all times and ensure remedial action is taken where necessary.
• Ensure implementation of strategies and formulation of policies by delegating appropriate authority levels to key managers and programme leads, and ensure effective monitoring and reporting of progress, aligned to strategic plans.
• Advise and support the establishment of effective programme management systems and structures
• Identify and address problems and opportunities central to organisational success timeously and solve critical issues at highest levels.
• Oversee the implementation of effective monitoring and evaluation systems aligned to agreed standards.
• Follow up on reports relating to the development and/or deviation from the expected route by any programme.
• Oversee the establishment of corrective measures and/or improvement plans where outcomes and deliverables are not met.
• Assess and communicate organisational mission, vision and values regularly.
• Lead by example in organisational ethics and morals
• Present programmes & operations plans and reports at Board meetings.
• Support and act as the organisation’s official representative at key functions and events where necessary
• Assist with fundraising and proposal writing.
• Coordinate and input into multiple consultancy initiatives in order to drive the financial sustainability of the organization.

Programmes

• Oversee the work of Programme Leads.
• Set medium to long term goals and objectives for subordinates and actively monitor progress of the achievement of objectives.
• Develop and maintain a high-performance team, and regularly evaluate performance of subordinates to ensure functional objectives are met or exceeded according to established policies and objectives.
• Provides technical assistance as and when needed and offer special support in times of crisis to all the programmes.
• Ensure that the organisational culture is maintained and that employees embody the values of the organisation.
• Initiate regular burn rate meetings between programmes and finance departments to ensure correct and adequate spending patterns.

Learning, Reporting, Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Oversee the creation and implementation of programme logical frameworks, indicators, targets, data collection tools, M&E plans.
• Oversee the work of the Learning Consultant
• Oversee the overall reporting delivery system of the organization.
• Provide timely, quality support and advice to the programmes team to meet their specific M&E needs.
• Contribute to, identify and synthesize good practices and lessons learned.
• Coordinate and manage external evaluation contracts and teams.
• Overseeing the delivery of monthly and quarterly reports on all activities, outputs and relevant outcome indicators
• Work with donors and other partners to ensure that their tracking tools are used appropriately, and data collection has maximum value for the partners.
• Participate in and contribute towards internal evaluation processes.
• Be directly engaged in the continuing development of the organization, its mission and its staff, through the sharing of experience and knowledge.
• Assist with creating an overall Learning strategy.
• Contribute to design, monitoring and evaluation with new project development and proposal development.
• Regularly monitor projects and programmes

Security Oversight

• Running regular checks on physical, network and data security
• Identifying and acting on opportunities to improve and update software and systems.
• Developing and implementing security policies and best practice guides for the organization
• Conducting regular system audits
• Identifying opportunities for team training and skills advancement

General:

• Manage day-to-day programme oversight and overall supervision of programme and organizational outcomes.
• Oversee programming & operations, applying strategic planning and systematic coordination of programme roll out.
• Performing such other duties as the Creative Director may assign to them.

Qualifications

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Arts, Humanities, Business Administration, or a related field (advanced degree preferred)
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in operations management, preferably in the creative sector, digital media industry or civil society
• Strong leadership and communication skills
• Experience managing budgets and financial resources.
• Proven ability to develop and implement operational policies and procedures.
• Ability to work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Knowledge of relevant laws and regulations
• Creative and artistic. Solid experience with digital technology.
• Good report writing and proposal writing skills.
• Command of written and spoken English.
• Tech savvy and experience in social media management

To apply

Interested candidates who meet the job requirements should visit the following link https://forms.gle/ysxvKLCMjCXJSVoY8 to complete their applications no later than 10th July 2023.

Submit an application letter and CV highlighting the job title in the subject line to: [email protected]