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

• Reports to: Country Director
• Deadline to apply: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis
• Desired start date: As soon as possible
• Length of commitment: 2 years (renewable)

POSITION SUMMARY
IPA Ghana seeks an Associate Operations Manager to manage country office operations staff and systems that support the administrative and operational needs of the office. The Associate Operations Manager will provide in-country support in Human Resources, IT, Safety & Security, Procurement, and Inventory Management Systems, and will ensure the general compliance of the country office with relevant laws and regulations.

The Associate Operations Manager will work under the direction of the IPA Ghana Country Director and will have significant collaboration with the Finance and Administrative team. The Associate Operations Manager will also liaise with the key Global Functional Teams led by the General Counsel, Chief Financial Officer, Chief People Officer, Senior Director of Technology, Senior Director of Global Operations, and others as required.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

PROCUREMENT

• Supervise procurement of goods and services in line with IPA procurement policy
• Oversee the general implementation and continuous refinement of IPA’s procurement systems, including online process flows.
• Assist in the review of agreements, MoUs, and contracts as required both as oversight to procurement processes and to review content in coordination with General Counsel and Country Director.
• Coordinate with IPA’s clearing agents to ensure proper and expedient import and export from overseas and within West Africa
• Manage relationships with suppliers and other external bodies which serve the office as a whole, such as landlords, insurance carriers and brokers, local legal counsel, etc.

COMPLIANCE

• Ensure IPA Ghana’s registration is up to date and that it complies with all statutory requirements.
• Ensure IPA Ghana complies with all Ghanaian laws and regulations and all IPA Operations-related Global policies, all in coordination with IPA’s General Counsel, IPA Global Operations team, and IPA Ghana’s lawyers.

OPERATIONS AND SECURITY

• Work closely with the Country Director to define and implement IPA Ghana’s long-term operational strategy in the areas of HR, IT, Procurement, Safety & Security, Office Management, and Compliance.
• Lead the development and implementation of annual strategic plans for all Operations functions.
• Continuously analyze and review internal controls, operational policies and procedures, and business processes and identify gaps for strengthening, training, and implementation.
• Provide input to and oversee the roll-out and implementation of global operations and administrative policies and procedures at the country office level.
• Be IPA Ghana’s Safety & Security Focal Point.
• Lead the maintenance and management of the country risk register, and risk management in general.
• Work closely with the IPA Global and Regional ICT functional support teams to ensure the Ghana office has a functioning ICT infrastructure and support.
• Ensure IPA Ghana assets are properly managed and the asset register is updated.

HUMAN RESOURCES

• Work closely with the IPA Global HR functional support team to manage country-level human resource needs in line with global and local policies.
• Plan and conduct orientation training for all new staff.
• Facilitate exit clearance in liaison with line managers and other departments and liaise with Finance Team to calculate terminal benefits and issue service certificates.
• In collaboration with the HR Associate, maintain an organized filing system and personal files for all staff that is up to date and secured.
• Regularly update the HR Information Systems (HRIS) and prepare monthly and quarterly HR reports.
• Oversee and build the capacity of the Ghana Operations team to execute routine operational processes and solve operational problems with minimal management intervention.

Required Skills or Experience

• Minimum of Bachelor’s degree-level education; Master’s degree an added advantage
• A minimum of 3 years of relevant work experience, preferably in an NGO
• Experience managing compliance requirements for an NGO in Ghana
• Experience with a wide range of donors
• Experience with operations support management
• Excellent management and organizational skills
• High attention to detail and ability to multitask effectively
• Strong communication skills and ability to represent an organization professionally
• Sensitivity to working in a culturally diverse organization