Head of Support Services (HoSS) DRC Geneva

We are looking for a highly qualified, self-motivated Head of Support Services who is able to work with diverse teams of staff in a small but complex setting in Geneva, Switzerland.  

Who are we?  

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a humanitarian, non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 1956 that works in more than 30 countries through-out the world, including South Sudan. DRC fulfills its mandate by providing direct assistance to conflict-affected populations, including refugees, internally displaced people and host communities. Under its mandate, the organization focuses on emergency humanitarian response, rehabilitation, post-conflict recovery and humanitarian mine-action.  

DRC has established a Representation in Geneva in 2013 as an advocacy and policy-influencing hub that engages with UN agencies, member states to the UN as well as the INGO community in Geneva to engage in policies in the area of forced displacement. DRC Geneva acts as a host for the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), the Joint IDP Profiling Services (JIPS) as well as the Humanitarian-to-Humanitarian Network (H2H), bringing the current staff number to about 20 funded by a mix of different projects and modalities.

Purpose of the post

The Head of Support Services will ensure effective, efficient and inclusive support services in areas of Finance, Administration, Human Resources, IT and Supply Chain and is expected to have senior level management experience and a demonstrable successful track record of organizational development. The HoSS will further ensure the adaptation and application of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System DRC Dynamics in Geneva.

Responsibilities

The Head of Support Services main duties and responsibilities are:

• Management
  • Lead and manage the support functions (Finance, Administration, Human Resources, IT and Supply Chain) and be directly responsibility for ensuring that the Geneva office operates in accordance with DRC’s support function guidelines and systems;
  • Maintain high performing support teams ensuring high-quality approaches are maintained; develop and improve operational approaches, compliance and systems to build and deliver effective and sustainable interventions.
  • Responsible for the strategic development, management and implementation of the support operations
  • Ensure appropriate technical support is available to programs, in line with hosting agreements and support for annual planning and review processes

   

• Support Services Management
  • Lead on DRC Geneva annual master budgets and ensuring that monthly monitoring of expenditure informs management decision making.
  • Lead on the effective implementation and adherence of organization and stakeholder financial regulations.
  • Ensure the timely implementation of DRC’s internal audit and compliance specialist’s recommendations and contextualize HQ understanding of local challenges.
  • Ensure the implementation of sustainable and robust supply chain and financial system for an efficient and effective support to all entities and support services.

   

• Resources Management
  • Advise and inform all entities regarding the development, monitoring and assessment of the ongoing programmes in terms of resource management.
  • Ensure that DRC Geneva complies to DRC Risk Management Framework, and operational Compliance Tools and processes are duly implemented.
  • Establish or improve resource management procedures according to DRC standards and guidelines.
  • Development and regular review and improvements to Geneva SOPs
  • Ensure DRC ERP functionalities are properly rolled out and used by relevant staff
  • Apply reports and data analytics from DRC Dynamics to improve overall performance
  • Act as heavy user for most of the Projects & Finance functionalities

Required Qualifications

To be successful in this role we expect you to have at least 5 years of experience in relevant fields: Finance, Administration, Human Resources, IT, Supply chain. Process oriented, organized and able to develop policies, you also have strong managerial skills and are a good team player.

Other experiences and technical competencies:

• A Master’s Degree or advanced professional qualification in Finance or Business Administration;
• Experience working in an ERP system, including Supply Chain, Finance and HR system (ideally Dynamics 365)
• At least 5 years experience in a similar role in an international NGO;
• Proven leadership skills and competences in people management;
• Proven financial, information and systems management experience;
• Significant experience in procurement and tender processes:
• Full professional proficiency in English; French skills are a big advantage;
• Experience in supervising/managing, training and coaching others

All DRC roles require the post-holder to master DRC’s core competencies:

• Striving for excellence: Focusing on reaching results while ensuring efficient processes.
• Collaborating: Involving relevant parties and encouraging feedback.
• Taking the lead: Taking ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.
• Communicating: Listening and speaking effectively and honestly.
• Demonstrating integrity: Upholding and promoting the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to DRC’s values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment

Salary and conditions

This position will be placed at Employment Band – E1 (Head of Unit) and DRC offers an open-ended national contract with a monthly gross salary of app. 9.500 CHF. From this amount the candidate has to pay social security, income tax and mandatory health insurance. DRC does not pay any additional allowances (schooling, housing etc.). Estimated gross/net calculations can be found online, for instance: https://www.lohncomputer.ch/en/

Interested? Then apply for this position by clicking on the apply button.  

All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Both must be in English. CV only applications will not be considered.  

If you have questions or are facing problems with the online application process, please contact job@drc.dk

Applications close 16 June, 2019

Gender Equality: DRC is committed to achieving gender parity in staffing at all levels. In the light of this, women are particularly encouraged to apply to bridge the gender gap.

Equal opportunities: DRC is an equal opportunities employer. We value diversity and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment based on mutual respect for all employee. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, disability status, religion, ethnic origin, colour, race, marital status or other protected characteristics.

However, please note that due to questions related to work- and residence permits, Swiss nationals, citizen of Schengen-countries and applicants with existing work- and residence papers for Switzerland have a certain preference. Yet, we want to clearly state that the lack of above-mentioned specifications is not a ground for rejection of applications.

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies:   

• Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process. 
• Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.   
• Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation. 
• Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.   
• Demonstrating integrity: You act in line with DRC’s vision and values. 

Need further information?  

For further information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website www.drc.dk   

DRC’s capacity to ensure the protection of and assistance to refugees, IDP’s and other persons of concern depends on the ability of our staff to uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation DRC’s values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. DRC conducts thorough and comprehensive background checks as part of the recruitment process. Visit drc.ngo to read more about what we do to secure robust safeguarding mechanisms.

If you have questions or are facing problems with the online application process, please visit drc.ngo/jobsupport.