Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub Recent Job Opportunity

Posted on :

19 Dec, 2019

Category :

Management Jobs in South Africa

The USAID Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub (the “Hub”) project, a five-year trade and investment program for Southern Africa in its third year of implementation, is expected to increase global competitiveness and intra-regional trade and improve food security in Southern Africa. The Hub engages with partners across the region to increase sustainable economic growth, global export competitiveness, and trade in targeted Southern African countries.

It supports these objectives by increasing exports from Southern African countries to South Africa and the United States (under the African Growth and Opportunity Act [AGOA]), boosting capital and technology flows from South Africa to other Southern African countries, and providing targeted trade facilitation support to Zambia.

The Hub works with market actors to identify and resolve enterprise constraints and to implement sustainable solutions through market-based trade and investment facilitation services. The Hub partners with USAID bilateral missions through the USAID/Southern Africa Regional Economic Growth Office in the successful delivery of its objectives.

Going forward, in partnership with USAID, the Hub will narrow its activities to achieve the following three objectives:

  1. Increased exports to South Africa from targeted Southern African countries
  2. Increased investment (capital and technology) out of South Africa to targeted Southern African countries
  3. Sustainable utilization of AGOA opportunities by targeted Southern African countries

In addition, the Hub will improve Zambia’s trade enabling environment as part of a buy-in from USAID/Zambia.

 

 

Job Title: Director of Operations
Location: South Africa

Objectives and Duties:

The Director of Operations (DOO) will provide overall leadership and oversight for the finance, procurement, travel/logistics, and human resources team. S/he will empower the operations and finance team while providing quality control to ensure robust, flexible, and adaptive operations to support project activities. The DOO must be fluent in compliance matters and help the senior management team ensure the contract is implemented in accordance with contractual requirements, DAI policies, USAID regulations, and local law. S/he will be responsible for ensuring that staff are familiar with policies and procedures related to finance, procurement, human resources, and take the lead in overseeing the management of the facilities and property.
Operations serve a critical role in the delivery of program activities to beneficiaries and partner organizations.  In this regard, the Director of Operations will work closely with the DCOP who oversees technical programs while reporting to the Chief of Party.  Five major functions that support programs will fall directly and indirectly under the Director of Operations position: 1) Operations Management; 2) Financial Management; 3) Program Administration & Human Resources;  4) Procurement and Grants; and 5) Client Communications & Reporting.

1. Operations Management

  • Review key project protocols, processes and guidance, in conjunction with operations, finance, communications, logistics, grant, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) teams, recommending design improvements and efficiencies where needed.
  • Implement schedule of authorities that empowers project staff with more latitude and responsibilities. Maintain and oversee the workflow processes for operations, finance, logistics, and human resources.
  • Ensure activity budgets are developed, led by the Senior Finance and Budget Analyst, in cooperation technical teams, maintaining a master collation of activity budgets that details activity priorities and resource needs.
  • Maintain legal standing of DAI PTY LTD in South Africa (and any subsequent subsidiaries opened in Hub countries as needed).
  • Liaise with HO Global Operations to ensure Bi-Annual Return of Payment of Provision Tax and Submission of Annual Tax return is completed for DAI PTY LTD.
  • Liaise with HO Global Operations to ensure Annual Returns with CIPC is filed.
  • Oversee responses to internal and external financial/compliance audits.
  • Supervise the day-to-day performance of direct reports, ensuring that they understand their roles, coaching them to succeed and providing them with feedback and technical and administrative support that they require in meeting their performance objectives.

2. Financial Management:

The DOO will be responsible for the financial management, including quality controls, cost reporting, and tracking. The DOO will provide recommendations on the overall financial management and performance of the project and work in close collaboration with the home office to monitor costs. In addition, the DOO will empower the Senior Financial Analyst and provide management oversight and quality control of the finance team’s task.

Detailed duties include:

  • Regularly participate in calls with the home office and support the maintenance and updating of the project budget and budget pipeline.
  • Mitigate project risks and protect the project against fraudulent practices through adherence to the program’s schedule of authorities.
  • Ensure strict implementation of a sound internal control system and take appropriate actions against any violation of the system.
  • Oversee financial and accounting systems controls and standards, ensure that financial internal controls are sufficient and based on DAI and industry best practices, such that cash management processes are secure, data is valid, and financial reporting is reliable, timely, and accurate.
  • Review DAI invoices prior to submission to USAID for accuracy.
  • Ensure VAT declation is completed monthly.
  • Approve payment requests
  • Review and approve financial vouchers.
  • Release bank payments and hold bank signatory authority for the program; provide quality control and risk management for finance functions.
  • Conduct the following spot checks for sound financial management: monthly outstanding advance check, payable/invoice report for outstanding payments or erroneous entries for vendors; review bank reconciliations through FAS.
  • Conduct monthly Non-Billable Review with Senior Financial Budget Analyst and report back to HO.  Provide additional supporting memos as needed and/or appropriate bill throughs.
  • Conduct montly pipeline review.

3. Program Administration and Human Resources

The DOO will provide management oversight and quality control for the administrative operations of the project, including supporting human resources, inventory management, and reporting. The DOO will work with the operations team and Senior Management to ensure that operating policies and procedures comply with USAID and DAI standards.

Detailed duties include:

  • Establish and maintain personnel policies to ensure compliance with local labor law, tax law, and USAID regulations, requiring consultations with local lawyers as may be necessary.
  • Review all necessary legal documents, ensure that the developed documents are in compliance with USAID regulation as well as with DAI at all times.
  • Foster, in collaboration with the COP and Senior Management, a working environment of high ethical standards and morale, mutual respect, understanding, trust, and cooperation among all staff members that delivers results and maximizes performance outcomes.
  • Review all employment agreements
  • Serve as arbitrator and point of contact during labor disputes
  • Support HR and Administration Manager to ensure annual review process is completed and compensation is fair and in line with DAI and USAID policies.
  • Approve EMP201 and EMP501 declarations and related payments. Ensure backup copies of EMP201 and EMP501 are saved on the P drive and provide to HO Global Operations as needed for DAI PTY LTD audits.
  • Support HR and Administration Manager in inventory management, including conducting spot checks.
  • Review disposition plans in line with annual workplan.
  • Act as the Regional Security Focal Point, ensuring security plan is updated annually and disseminated to staff.  Ensure phone tree is updated.
  • Share security alerts with travelers and all staff as appropriate.
  • Review and approve annual COIDA filing.
  • Support HR and Administration Manager to keep up to date with changing labor laws/acts ensuring these changes are reflected in employment agreements and project policies.
  • Review and approve proposed salary offers and/or adjustments, keeping in line with DAI policies and the USAID Local Compensation Plan as prepared by the HR and Administration Manager.

4. Procurement and Grants

The DOO will provide management oversight and quality control for the operational and technical procurements as well as grant administration. The DOO will work closely with program leadership and staff to ensure that operating policies and procedures comply with USAID and DAI standards.

Detailed duties include:

  • Work with the Procurement and Subcontracts Manager, procurement plan, in line with annual work plan.
  • Provide input and support to technical teams on travel, logistics, and quality delivery of country-level initiatives and activities, including trade shows/fairs, trainings, forums, and other high-visibility events.
  • Oversee procurement and grants team and provide quality control and risk management for their functions.
  • Review/draft all requests to USAID CO for procurement approvals.
  • Approve all procurements over SOA threshold.
  • Review and approval all requisitions over SOA threshold.
  • Review all RFAs and/or APS and liaise with HO for approval.
  • Submit all APS to USAID for approval as required by USAID contract.
  • Submit all Requests for Grant Approval to USAID as required by USAID contract
  • Ensure Environmental Review Forms are completed and submitted to USAID as required by USAID contract and ensuring environmental compliance of the grant

5. Client Communications and Reporting

  • Respond to urgent client requests, including budget scenarios, scope of work development, and other tasks as needed.
  • Draft/review USAID contract deliverables – including Quarterly Accrual Report, Quarterly Financial Report, Inventory and Asset Report, Annual Value Added Tax Report.
  • Perform other tasks as requested by the COP.
  • Review and/or prepare regular and ad hoc requests for reports to USAID, including inventory disposition, local taxes, activity budgets, etc.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Bachelor’s degree in finance, business administration, public administration, economics or other relevant field; advanced degree preferred;
  • Minimum of ten years of experience implementing USAID-funded development projects, to include project administration, operations and procurement;
  • Minimum of five years of supervisory experience and proven ability to manage teams of professionals to produce key results;
  • Demonstrated record of results-driven project management and an ability to creatively solve complex organizational issues and foster ownership within teams; and
  • Strong writing skills and experience originating reports and workplans.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

The Director of Operations will supervise the Procurement and Subcontracts Manager, Senior Financial Analyst, Senior Events and Travel Protocol Specialist, and Human Resources & Admin  Manager.

Place of Performance and Reporting:

The Director of Operations will be based in Pretoria, South Africa and will report to the Chief of Party.

Applications for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

 

 

To apply

Interested candidates should submit their online application at https://chm.tbe.taleo.net/chm04/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=DAINC&cws=1&rid=4808

Please contact the [email protected] if you have any difficulty accessing the online application. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Application Deadline: December 20, 2019


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