Job Posting Regional Director, Middle East and North Africa Closing Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2015 Organization: Region/ Team: Work Location: Right To Play International Middle East and North Africa/ International Programs Beirut, Lebanon BACKGROUND: Right To Play is a global organization that uses the transformative power of play to educate and empower children facing adversity. Through playing sports and games, Right To Play helps over one million children learn through play to create better futures, while driving lasting social change in more than 20 countries each week. Founded in 2000 by social entrepreneur and four-time Olympic gold medallist Johann Olav Koss, Right To Play is headquartered in Toronto, Canada and has national fundraising offices in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Regional offices are in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Our programs are facilitated by more than 600 international staff and 16,000 local volunteer Coaches. JOB SUMMARY: Reporting to the Senior Director, International Programs, the Regional Director, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will be a visible and inspirational leader with proven experience in growing and scaling regional operations of an organization and building leadership capabilities that are aligned to the organizational culture and strategic plan. Specifically, the Regional Director, MENA provides programmatic and operational oversight of Right To Play programming in MENA, most notably Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories (West Bank and Gaza). Skilled at talent management, the Regional Director, MENA knows how to build, train, retain and grow successful and diverse teams. With a sound understanding of Right To Play s core thematic pillars of education, health and building peaceful communities, and technical know-how and understanding re: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, Child Safeguarding and Gender, the Regional Director, MENA will support Country Managers in the development and refinement of Country Strategic Plans, and ensure the work of regional and country specialists and focal points is well coordinated and supported. A strong operations manager, the Regional Director, MENA will ensure that operational plans are well developed and implemented in accordance with Right To Play policies and procedures and donor agreements, and that safety and security is prioritized through the region. As the most senior Right To Play staff person in the region, the Regional Director, MENA will represent the organization in various forums, and coach and support Country Managers within their respective countries of operation. The Regional Director, MENA will have several direct reports including Country Managers, Regional Program Manager, and Regional Finance Officer. The incumbent will work in close collaboration with the International Programs team most notably Program Operations, Global Program Development and Quality, and Institutional 1
Partnerships and also Human Resources and Finance teams at the Global Office in Toronto, and fundraising centres globally. The Regional Director, MENA is based at the MENA Regional Office in Beirut and requires travel within the region, Europe and North America of approximately 30% of the time. PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES: Job Responsibility #1: Talent Management and Leadership (30% of Time): Provide motivational and inspirational leadership to staff throughout the region and act as the regional ambassador and champion for Right To Play. Directly manage a team of regional office staff with technical expertise and Country Managers in 3 countries throughout the region. Exhibit and promote use of best practices in talent management; in collaboration with the Program Operations and Human Resources teams, identify the necessary capacities, and develop the skill base of key staff within the region; develop and oversee individual annual work plans, and succession and development plans, and performance appraisals. Job Responsibility #2: Planning and Management (30% of time): With support from the Program Operations team, assume responsibility in the development of regional operational plans and the implementation of plans to ensure expenditures, activities and deliverables are within project scope, budget and timeline, and are coherent with organizational policies and procedures, and donor agreements; determine where adjustment or internal communication is necessary. Oversee safety and security throughout the region; in collaboration with the Program Operations team, ensure the enhancement of Safety and Security Management Teams, the delivery of regular training, and the development, refinement and adherence to standard operating procedures; regularly monitor and report critical updates. In collaboration with the Program Operations team, oversee the development and finalization of narrative and financial reports to donors. Oversee and support Country Managers to ensure that all legal operational requirements of the region are met. Oversee the organization and implementation of regular regional meetings; engage in regular supervisory and support visits of countries throughout the region. In collaboration with Program Operations, Finance and Human Resources teams, initiate internal audit and disciplinary procedures, as required. Job Responsibility #3: Program Development and Quality (25% of time): Support Country Managers in making decisions on growth areas and new programmatic or thematic directions and develop revenue models and associated budgets in line with the organizational strategic plan, and regional and country priorities; in close collaboration with the Global Program Development and Quality team, support Country Managers in the development, review, refinement and delivery of Country Strategic Plans. 2
Collaborate with country teams to develop and deepen programmatic thinking and design; in collaboration with the Global Program Development and Quality team, design innovative programs that better address the needs of children and youth in the region. Coordinate the implementation of core programmatic models at the country level, and ensure that staff capacity for quality programming is strengthened. In collaboration with the Regional Program Manager and the Global Program Development and Quality team, support the work of regional and country technical specialists and focal points, including Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, Training and Capacity Building, Child Safeguarding and Gender. In collaboration with the Global Program Development and Quality, and Program Operations teams, and with other regions, learn from program implementation and modify methodology and tools to represent best practices as they evolve. Share best practices and lessons learned with the International Programs team and with counterpart Regional Directors. Job Responsibility #4: Representation and Restricted Revenue Generation (15% of Time): As the most senior Right To Play staff person in the region, represent the organization in various forums, including the public and private sectors, with partners and donors/ potential donors and with colleagues; coach and support Country Managers to effectively represent the organization within their countries of operation. Enhance and/or identify/develop partnerships of regional importance; support Country Managers in the enhancement and/or identification/development of partnerships of national importance. Understand interests and emerging trends within the donor community, and oversee the documentation/summarization and sharing of these practices and standards with the Institutional Partnerships team as well as other fundraising centres globally. In collaboration with the Institutional Partnerships team, communicate the funding options and priorities for the region. In collaboration with the Institutional Partnerships team, oversee the development of proposals to acquire grants/restricted sources of revenues from governments, multi-laterals and corporations; assume accountability for 20% of the revenue generated in the operational budgets for 2017 and 2018. EDUCATION/TRAINING/CERTIFICATION: Master s degree in International Development, or relevant discipline, with strong experience EXPERIENCE: 10-15 years in international development or related field in senior management role Team leadership and talent management Regional representation with public and private sectors Partnership development Strategic planning, and translating a strategic plan into an operational plan Operational plan development and execution 3
Successful generation and implementation of restricted grants, and positioning organization in a competitive setting Results-based management Experience and understanding of the MENA region COMPETENCIES / PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES: Ability to recognize strong performers and develop staff Know how to manage remotely Effective problem solving and decision making ability Understand project management cycle and lead through execution Set priorities and hold others accountable Build strong relationships with all stakeholders Mentor and coach direct and indirect reports, as relevant for motivation, inspiration and development Comfortable with public speaking and with senior-level government and executives Demonstrates a high degree of diplomacy and regularly exercises sound judgment KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS: Knowledge and understanding of the international development and humanitarian sector including key stakeholders and international conventions. Ability to lead and guide the regional budgeting process, effectively manage and analyze regional budgets. Ability to steward existing donors and build new funding relationships. Knowledge and skill in coaching direct reports and providing support to indirect reports as required. Knowledge of the history of the region, and adversity facing children and youth in the region. Excellent oral and written communication. Understanding and belief in gender equality and the need for positive gender role models male and female. Identifies and pursues opportunities to build and strengthen partnerships and alliances that are mutually advantageous and support the strategic interests of Right To Play. LANGUAGES: Fluent in written and spoken English; fluency in written and spoken Arabic and French is an asset DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS: Understanding of sport for development and peace (SDP) methodology Understanding of child and youth development, and Right To Play thematic areas of enhancing quality educating, transforming health practices and building peaceful communities 4
Ability to travel to Palestinian Territories (West Bank and Gaza) Compensation: We offer a competitive salary and benefits package Employment Start Date: No later than October 5, 2015 Contract Duration: Two years HOW TO APPLY: If you are interested in applying for this position, please send your resume and cover letter to: hr@righttoplay.com and kindly include Regional Director, MENA and your name in the subject line. Please indicate your salary expectations in the cover letter. While we thank all applicants for their interest, only those selected for interviews will be contacted. Right To Play is a child-centered organization. Our recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to the safety and protection of children in our programs. To learn more about who we are and what we do, please visit our website at www.righttoplay.com. Right To Play - Human Resources Philosophy Right To Play is an international humanitarian organization that uses the power of sport and play to improve the lives of children in the most disadvantaged areas of the world. We believe that all children have the right to play. Right To Play s human resources philosophy reflects the spirit that drives the organization. The philosophy influences the kind of people who are interested in working for us, the kind of people we recruit and how we treat our people. Right To Play s culture is entrepreneurial, where employees are encouraged and empowered to perform in the context of rapid international growth, and to aim for the highest quality and adopt global best practices in delivering our programs. Our employees are global citizens who are passionate about improving the world we live in through value-based grassroots activities. We work on the ground with and through people in the communities we serve to improve the lives of their children. By having a constant presence in these communities and helping them develop the resources and skills they need to help themselves, we aim for sustainable, long-term development. To translate our vision into action, our philosophy for delivering our programs is LOOK AFTER YOURSELF, LOOK AFTER ONE ANOTHER. Our employees are the backbone of this delivery, and the philosophy supports them by defining the desired outcomes of our human resources philosophy. This means that we pay competitive salaries, provide comprehensive benefits, encourage employee social events, and provide development opportunities and a great work environment. We measure the success of this philosophy by indicators such as employee satisfaction surveys and staff turnover rate, as well as the overall success of Right To Play. 5