Head of Operational Support

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a humanitarian organization dedicated to supporting the quality and timeliness of its responses in various regions, focusing on operational management and ensuring compliance with its policies.

The Regional Head of Operational Support at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a critical leadership position focused on integrating operational management to enhance the quality and timeliness of NRC’s humanitarian efforts across the region. This role involves facilitating support functions in country offices, encompassing areas such as Human Resources, Risk and Compliance, Humanitarian Access and Safety (HAS), Finance, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Logistics, and Administration, all while upholding NRC's policy standards. The Head of Operational Support is instrumental in ensuring country offices are accountable for their operational performance, meeting established standards, and achieving strategic objectives. Furthermore, the position is responsible for cultivating a supportive working environment for all teams, including global team members based at the Nairobi regional office, and serves as a member of both the Regional Management Team and the Global Support Advisory Group (GSAG).

1. Ensure the efficient operation of support functions within the regional team, fostering a collaborative and effective working environment.
2. Hold country offices accountable for their operational progress by utilizing reports, analyses, and compliance data from NRC’s global resources.
3. Provide support to country directors, heads of support, and HAS Managers through capacity building and problem-solving related to operational challenges.
4. Offer advice and mentorship to country office operational support teams, promoting capacity building and skills development.
5. Participate in global discussions concerning planning and strategy for support functions.
6. Review finance, HR, and logistics requirements for regional grants in collaboration with the Global PCM and Grants Management facility.
7. Streamline hosting arrangements for members of global pools physically located in the regional office and ensure a conducive working environment.
8. Act on behalf of the Regional Director, including leading relevant Crisis Management Teams, upon request.

1. Minimum of 10 years of relevant leadership or management experience within the humanitarian field.
2. Possess relevant higher education in a related field such as business administration, management, finance, or another suitable discipline.
3. Background and experience in managing support functions including finance, HR, and logistics; experience with security and safety is an added value.
4. Demonstrated experience working in complex and volatile contexts.
5. Documented and proven results directly related to the responsibilities of this position.
6. Relevant experience overseeing Finance, Logistics, or other support functions will be considered an asset.
7. Knowledge of own leadership skills and profile.
8. Fluency in English, both written and verbal.
9. Knowledge of the context in East and Southern Africa is an asset.
10. Experience with start-ups, exit strategies, and organizational change processes.
11. Ability to collaborate effectively with remote teams and stakeholders.
12. Strong behavioral competencies including building meaningful relations, communicating clearly and transparently, treating all people with respect, working collaboratively with partners and internal stakeholders, acting with integrity, empowering people, setting clear expectations and direction, challenging and supporting teams, delivering results, prioritizing and planning, and taking accountability for actions and results.