Company Profile

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a United States-based non-profit organization dedicated to discovering, and promoting effective solutions to global poverty problems. IPA designs, rigorously evaluate and refines these solutions and their applications together with decision-makers to ensure that the evidence created is used to  improve opportunities for the world’s poor.

Job Description

• Job Code: FOG-OM-2015521
• Reports to: Country Director
• Location:  Accra, Ghana with Frequent Travel to Tamale and Kumasi.
• Deadline to apply: 10^th June, 2015. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis
• Desired start date: June 2015
• Length of commitment: 2 years renewable

Summary

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), discovers and promotes effective solutions to global poverty problems. IPA works with development partners and academic researchers to design and rigorously evaluate approaches to solving development problems, and to refine these solutions and their applications together with decision-makers to ensure that the evidence created is used to improve opportunities for the world’s poor. 

IPA works in a variety of fields, including education, agriculture, microfinance, and health. Since our founding in 2002, IPA has worked with over 350 leading academics to conduct over 450 evaluations in 51 countries. 

This research has informed hundreds of successful programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide. IPA has been active in Ghana since 2009 and has experienced a fast growth since then. It has 17 ongoing projects, 80 long term staff and over 400 short term staff.

IPA seeks an Operations Manager to oversee operations and administration in its Ghana country office.

Position Summary

The Operations Manager (OM) will be responsible for managing country office operations that support both the general administrative needs of the Ghana office and project operations, and will be part of the IPA Ghana senior management team, along with the Country Director (CD), the Deputy Country Director (DCD), and the Finance and Accounts Manager.

He/she will manage IPA Ghana administrative staff, oversee in-country Human Resources, IT, Safety & Security, as well as Procurement and Inventory Management Systems, and ensure the general compliance of the country office with relevant laws and regulations. He/she will also work closely with IPA Ghana’s Research Managers and various project heads to identify project support needs and ensure that projects receive adequate support.

This position will be based in Accra, with monthly travel to IPA Ghana’s Tamale office (approximately 5 days a month) and possibly other field locations. The Operations Manager will report to the Country Director

A two-year commitment for this position is required.

Job Description

The Operations Manager will:

Operations systems management

• Improve and manage systems for procurement, inventory management, information technology and other business processes to ensure the organization runs efficiently and effectively;
• Oversee office security and office emergency planning, in collaboration with IPA’s global HR and operations team;
• Oversee the IT department activities including technical support and  management of shared resources;
• Work closely with the CD and DCD to create and manage the Field Office Ghana Budget as well as to define and implement IPA Ghana’s operational strategy;
• Manage relationships with suppliers and other external bodies, and oversee contract negotiation, development and review;
• Work closely with the Operations Associate and the Office Managers to ensure equity between offices and that the  offices are of sound condition and provide healthy and well-functioning working environments;

Oversight of in-country Human Resources;

• Develop, improve and oversee systems for managing in-country human resources, in collaboration with IPA’s global HR and operations team
• Ensure that employees have a safe working environment, free from discrimination and harassment, and resolve employee complaints;
• Be the primary contact for legal counsel in risk mitigation activities and litigation pertaining to employee relations matters;

Capacity Building for members of IPA Ghana’s Operations team

• Build capacity of Ghana administrative and IT staff (currently 7 staff) to execute routine operational processes and solve operational problems with minimal management intervention;
• Oversee training needs assessments for administrative, operations and IT staff to determine when training is necessary and the type of training necessary to improve performance and productivity;

Operations support to project teams

• Ensure project teams are trained on and adhere to IPA Ghana operational policies including safety and security, resource management, HR and finances;
• Support project teams with the development and implementation of their operational plans so as to ensure that all teams create plans that align with their timeline and budget;
• Work closely with Research Managers and other project heads to support projects in-field activity planning and budgeting, including but not limited to estimating project budget input costs and planning project support needs;
• Support project teams as they set up and manage financial tracking systems;
• Perform other work related duties that may be assigned.

Required Skills or Experience

It is required that candidates have;

• A minimum of a Master’s level degree in Business Administration or related field with at least 4 years of steadily progressing management experience;
• Significant supervisory management experience, including managing direct reports;
• Experience working within a complex organizational structure and managing work across multiple offices, spread across large geographic distances;
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously, and delegate effectively;
• Cultural sensitivity and a demonstrated ability to work successfully with diverse constituencies;
• Strong quantitative, budgeting and financial management skills;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and complete fluency in English;
• Strong technical and computer skills – particularly with Microsoft Office.
• Exceptional analytical and organizational skills; and
• Strong attention to details, self-starter and problem solving mindset.

It is preferred that candidates have;

• Experience managing compliance with rules and regulations in Ghana, especially relating to Human Resources;
• Experience managing compliance with rules and regulations of major donor agencies;
• Experience managing the procurement lifecycle;
• Experience with field work in a research organization conducting or supporting data collection; and
• Strong negotiation skills.