Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has been present in Uganda since 2006, focusing its interventions on economic and agricultural development, maternal child health and nutrition, governance, conflict management and humanitarian response. With funding from USAID, DFID, ECHO, Sweden Government, Swiss Development Cooperation private foundations including Mastercard and Nike. Mercy Corps has been able to work together with communities in Uganda to respond to the needs of our target population, which is focused on youth and more specifically adolescent girls. In 2017, Mercy Corps had an impact on almost 1 million beneficiaries in Uganda through our work focusing on building resilience and enabling economic growth, improving opportunities to attain better health and nutrition, and improving governance and conflict management. All Mercy Corps interventions in Uganda are implemented in a conflict and gender sensitive manner.

General Position Summary

The Operations Manager provides general management and leadership for all program support functions at the country office level including operations and security. The Operations Manager proactively and informatively communicates and coordinates the program support functions with Mercy Corps staff in program implementation area managed from Kampala. S/he will be responsible for all aspects of operations: procurement, logistics, administration and security in Kampala.
This position requires about 20% travel to the field offices.

 Essential Job Responsibilities

Strategy & Vision

• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
• Set direction of program support department by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.
• Work with the Operations Director and senior management team to support the growth of the program portfolio, formulate strategies and plans.
• Develop and organize activities to secure resources for programs and convince stakeholders to provide support.

REPRESENTATION

• Interface with government and non-government stakeholders responsible for coordinating all supply shipments via the appropriate approval processes.
• Maintain productive relationships with all government, ministries, other stakeholders, vendors, suppliers, etc.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Develop the capacity of the team and assist with continued development of a career path for operations staff.
• Facilitate operations aspects of program planning, and upcoming operations resources needs, especially procurements.
• Work with all Mercy Corps staff to ensure smooth introduction and adoption of operational systems.
• Assist teams in understanding their roles and responsibilities in terms of interaction with operations.
• Be responsible for full and proper implementation of Mercy Corps systems of management, compliance and control as described in Mercy Corps field manuals.
• Work with finance compliance to detect and mitigate fraud, conflict of interest and legal ramifications of Mercy Corps activities.

OPERATIONS – PROCUREMENT AND LOGISTICS

• Ensure that procurement is completed, documented, and delivered to end-user in a timely manner, ensuring that items procured meet the specifications of the end-user while adhering to donor and Mercy Corps procurement guidelines.
• Chair tender openings as required.
• Establish and maintain pipeline of supplies, overseeing the logistical aspects of the operation; oversee goods/commodity storage and movements as needed.
• Supervise the fleet management team and ensure systems to track maintenance, fuel usage and vehicle scheduling.
• Liaise with finance to ensure compliance and payment schedules; maintain service contracts.
• Coordinate logistics (non-program) aspects of material aid projects and associated shipments; manage importation and customs clearance elements. Oversee equipment registration, licensing and insurance, etc.
• Maintain inventory records of materials and materials flow; oversee tracking of all assets.
• Coordinate with Kampala and field offices on travel and logistics support as required.

OPERATIONS – administration

• Ensure administrative systems are in place and implemented as described in the Field Administration Manual.
• Oversee set-up and development of Mercy Corps offices including drafting and reviewing contracts for office and housing space, leasehold improvements, IT.
• Develop and periodically review country or field office specific policies and communicate them to teams.
• Oversee database and file management for administration, procurement, logistics resources documents.
• Ensure all aspects of asset management including maintenance of asset register and investigation of missing assets.
• Oversee facility management, including housing and office leases; ensure that security standards are maintained at all premises.
• Ensure that Mercy Corps contracts and business transactions/relationships are transparent and in compliance with Ugandan law and Mercy Corps/donor policies.
• Support program start-up through the administration of support teams across various field locations.
• Create and maintain operations systems to ensure effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.

Finance & Compliance Management

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Organizational Learning 

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Accountability:  Accountable to all Mercy Corps policies and regulations as established by HQ and Mercy Corps Uganda

 Reports Directly to:  Operations Director

Supervisory Responsibility: Administration Officer, Logistics Officer, Senior procurement

Works Directly with: Logistics, Operations, Administration, Finance, and Program Leads and Team Members.

Ethics and Integrity

All Mercy Corps staff are expected to behave ethically and demonstrate highest integrity in their professional and personal life. Mercy Corps has zero tolerance to any form of fraud, corruption, abuse, harassment or exploitation. Any breach of our policies or misconduct will lead to disciplinary action or may lead to termination.

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Procurement and Logistics Management or a closely related field.
• A post graduate qualification in the above disciplines is highly desirable. A professional qualification such as CIPS is an added advantage.
• At least 5+ years of relevant management experience with 2+ years of supervisory experience
• Sound understanding procurement, administration, and logistics management systems.
• Commitment to capacity building and team coordination.
• Experience working INGOs or businesses in operational functions
• Good organizational and management skills and the ability to anticipate project needs.
• Proven ability to work cooperatively with others in a team environment, and in a diverse group of national and international staff.
• Must be able to advise staff on program and office activities and security issues.
• Demonstrated proficiency with the MS Office software (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is required.
• Fluent in both written and spoken English

Success Factors

The successful Operations Manager will be good at problem solving and have the ability to work out methods to deliver successful programs while demonstrating excellent stewardship of donor funds and compliance with Mercy Corps and donor regulations. An impeccable professional standard and procurement ethics and the willingness and ability to enforce compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures is essential. S/he will maintain strong cooperative relationships with other departments and interact effectively with all personnel both in a managerial as well as training capacity, while demonstrating the ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities. S/he will be able to live and work closely with a diverse team of individuals in a highly intense and fluid work environment and be willing to travel regularly to Mercy Corps field offices and project sites. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Kampala, Uganda with occasional travels to the field .