Corporate Operations Manager
The Corporate Operations Manager (COM) provides a variety of management and professional support across the organization with an emphasis on planning, performance management, operational efficiency and effectiveness and organizational development. The incumbent coordinates and leads on a number of activities that are directly under the responsibility of the Chief Operating Officer (COO) as well as serves as an internal consultant and change agent within the organization to support and/or lead a variety of initiatives aimed at increasing organizational effectiveness. The COM is able to exercise considerable independent judgment, employ exceptional analytical skills, and communicate clearly and effectively. The ideal candidate is well organized, a problem solver, can multi-task with ease and is results driven. He/she is able to liaise effectively across the organization, communicating easily with staff in the full spectrum of technical roles and at all organizational levels. He/she works closely with the COO on a day to day basis and represents the COO on specific initiatives.
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer.
Tasks/Responsibilities
General Policies and Procedures (P&P): Social Impact aims to create and implement a best-in-class operational framework. Substantial progress has been made in 2013 to establish corporate policies and standard operating procedures in key program and operational areas. The COM will take the lead in completing this process ensuring that a comprehensive set of operational policies are in place, staff have been trained in the P&P and compliance is verified. The COM is also responsible for maintenance of SI’s policies and procedures on an ongoing basis. This involves facilitating review and updating of existing policies and procedures as well as identifying need for and developing new P&Ps to reflect the needs of a growing and dynamic organization. While the COM may not be responsible for actual drafting of many of the P&Ps, he/she serves as the first point of contact for questions related to operational policies and procedures, plays a critical coordination and management role to ensure follow through, completion and maintenance of P&Ps and exercises good judgement to raise relevant issues for senior management (usually COO) attention/action.
Field Office Operations: In 2014, Social Impact seeks to significantly strengthen its capabilities in all aspects of Field Office Operations. This includes but is not limited to: developing and deploying clear policies and procedures related to field office administration (start up, implementation, close out), strengthening policies related to field office personnel, clarifying roles related to field office operations both at HQ and in the field and strengthening relationships between field offices and HQ, establishing and implementing systems to capture and share lessons learned across SI field offices and in new bids. The COM will spearhead this effort and serve as the organizational focal point for all initiatives associated with strengthening field office operations. He/she will ensure coordination, integration and completion of key activities and facilitate information sharing across business units and with senior management. He/she may also be called upon to participate actively in field office start up and/or close out – serving as an HQ swat team that is deployed to the field to lead, expedite or support field operations. He/she will also develop and cultivate a roster of skilled and trusted short term consultants who can be deployed to support field office start up/close out.
Safety and Security Program: The COM will provide oversight of Social Impact’s safety and security program, covering both individuals travelling overseas as well as HQ safety/security measures. The COM will work with a SI Program Assistant, members of the internal SI security team, and SI’s external intelligence and security provider. He/she is expected to ensure that policies and procedures are reviewed, updated, and modified and complied with on a continual basis.
Special Initiatives: The COM will provide support for a variety of special initiatives at the direction of the Chief Operating Officer. The nature and scope of the initiatives will vary considerably depending on organizational needs and will often be identified and proposed by the COM in consultation with staff in other parts of the organization. Initiatives will usually be related to strengthening operational efficiency and/or organizational effectiveness. Typically these initiatives will be developed and incubated by the COM, then transitioned over time to the appropriate organizational unit for implementation.
Planning and Management Support: The COM will conduct analysis to support a variety of planning and performance management tasks. Depending on the task, this will include gathering data from different parts of the company (sometimes utilizing survey tools like survey monkey), organizing and analyzing the data, developing recommendations/options for consideration by the COO. Specifically, the COM will:
Other tasks as assigned.
Education Requirements:
Master’s degree in a related field or substantial relevant coursework. MBA preferred.
Experience Requirements:
Minimum 5-7 years of experience with substantial project management and field office management experience. Management consulting experience a plus.
Skills/Knowledge/ Abilities:
PDF Level: This position is a level 5 or 6 (depending on experience level) in Social Impact’s Professional Development Framework (PDF).
