SOS Children’s Villages International is the umbrella organisation for the global federation of SOS Children’s Villages. As a non-governmental social development organisation we help children without parental care and families in difficult living conditions through services in care, education, health and emergency relief, and we advocate for children’s rights. Our work is guided by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children. We work in 135 countries and territories, reaching over one million children, young people, families and caregivers each year. To support us with this important responsibility we are now looking for a:

International Director for Eastern and Southern African Region (f/m)

Location: International Office ESAF, Addis Ababa/ Ethiopia

Mission and Position Purpose:

The mission of the International Director Region is the accountable leadership and management of the region, supported by the Regional Directors of Function (Finance & Controlling, Programme & Strategy, Fund Development & Communications, Information & Communication Technology and Human Resources & Organisation Development) and a number of general managers (i.e. SOS Children´s Villages International Representatives), who work closely with the respective Member Associations (MAs) they are assigned to.

This is accomplished by

enforcing federal policies on behalf of federation,
monitoring and managing major risks,
enabling and driving the rollout of the global 2030 SOS Strategy in the region,
strengthening and maintaining the affiliation of the MAs to the federation,
strong leadership of the regional management team according to the SOS principles and values,
contributing to the global management team by bringing in the regional perspective, taking a share of the global leadership responsibility and implementing a global direction in the regional context and ensuring that integrity, compliance and child safeguarding procedures are in place and followed.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

Lead the International Office Region, according to the principles of management by objectives, benchmark best practices both inside and outside the organisation
Guide the MAs in the region in their development to become self-sufficient (in their operations, where possible and reasonable also increase financial self-sufficiency) strong members of the federation
Build up legal entities and establish governance structure in countries where these do not exist yet
Ensure that the right people are employed for the right positions so that co-workers, SOS entities, and external partners are always treated with the desired professionalism and according to the principles of the organisational culture
Set the direction for the region and all its employees toward the right mix of supporting and guiding MAs to realise the global strategy as well as implement policies and guidelines
Actively support the SOS Children´s Villages International Representatives (CVI Representative) and the regional Directors of Function in their management roles and accountability
Ensure that the International Office Region, interacts and shares knowledge with the international Competence Centres by contributing its own experiences and learnings from cross-regional and external experiences to guarantee the optimal development of the region as well as global knowledge sharing and the development of standards, policies, and tools
Take primary responsibility to ensure implementation and adherence to core policy standards in line with the organisational values and ethics as guided by organisational quality standards including but not limited to the SOS Care Promise; Code of Conduct, Child Safeguarding and Integrity and Compliance
Accountable for the implementation of all programme (development) investments with the region and ensure adherence to the process, quality and timely implementation
Manage and develop the International Office Region in accordance with agreed plans and objectives, ensure the performance and delivery of objectives according to agreed plans

Implementation of global standards for Human Resources/Organisation Development, including recruitment processes, performance management in alignment with target setting and development plans
Efficient and effective setup of the structure in the International Office Region, and meaningful task setting at the right level, guaranteeing flawless information flow and avoiding double work

Transparency, key KPIs on a timely basis
Risk Management

Global Role

Be a strong and supportive member of the global team of International Directors, Region, and thereby strengthen the global team as well as cross-regional work
Take up roles in development projects generally led by international Competence Centres, related to the work of the regions
Monitor the rollout of standards and policies
Support crisis interventions
Ensuring jointly with MAs that programmes are relevant and efficient meeting our quality standards

Governance Development in the Associations of the Region

Set the direction for the SOS Children’s Villages Representative (CVI Rep) in building strong National Associations (NAs) through board and national management team development
Take strategic and operational finance leadership in cooperation with the Regional Director of Finance
Insist on evidence-based improvements in MAs’ capacity building and on delivery of requested information on time and of the requested quality (both for info related to International Office, Region and MAs)

Planning and Controlling / Steering

Lead budgeting process in the region according to global guidelines
Integrate international function targets into the regional targets and budget

Professional Experience / Qualifications/ Skills:

A minimum of 10 years of progressive relevant national and international experience in a development and/or humanitarian context combined with a good understanding of political priorities and strategic direction
At least 5 years in an Executive Management role with significant leadership responsibility (including experience in planning and managing budgets)
Relevant experience gained within a child focused and/or program based organisation would be a definite asset in an international organisation
Advanced degree in International Development, International Humanitarian Affairs, Social Science, International Relations or related field (an undergraduate degree combined with comparable senior experience would equally be considered)
Proven background and practical experience in leading, driving and implementing organisational change (including project management)
Strong leadership and people management skills by creating an atmosphere of mutual trust allowing to guide and motivate managers and staff under her/his supervision. Lead by example by setting high ethical standards in line with our
SOS Children’s Village Values
Excellent analytical skills to have the capacity to identify key points, develop and generate strategic goals and translate them into practical proposals for action; drive and encourage innovation
Excellent cross cultural skills to support and empower the leadership at international and regional level and to foster institutional capacity building and sustainability
Outstanding interpersonal and advocacy skills with the ability to involve and engage stakeholders at all levels within the Federation to adapt to the changing needs
Excellent written and oral English language skills; knowledge of additional language e.g. French, Swahili or Afrikaans would be an asset

We offer:

The opportunity to drive the operational implementation strategy of one of the largest NGOs in the region Eastern and Southern Africa and to support our meaningful mission: “We build families for children in need, we help them shape their own futures and we share in the development of their communities.”
A management position with a varied scope of tasks and the responsibility to further develop the organisation to achieve its strategic goals

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International Director for Eastern and Southern African Region (f/m)

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