Senior Director of Operations – Sierra Leone

Job title:

Senior Director of Operations

Work location:

Koidu, Sierra Leone

Department:

Operations

Reports to:

Executive Director PIH Sierra Leone

Line management

Yes

Request #

4278

Duration of the contract

Twelve (12) months with possibility of extension

Status of the application

External advertisement

Organization profile

Partners In Health (PIH) began supporting the Government of Sierra Leone in response to the Ebola epidemic in October 2014. Recognizing the critical need for continued investment in the health system post-Ebola, PIH is committed to long-term health system strengthening in support of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS), guided by the same principles as our emergency response and work around the world: public sector leadership, integrated and comprehensive services, social equity, agility and flexibility, partnership, community ownership, and evidence-based interventions. In Sierra Leone, PIH’s programs support health facilities in Kono County and Freetown. In alignment with national priorities set by the Sierra Leone MOHS, PIH is pursuing an ambitious strategy to address high rates of infectious diseases (including HIV/TB and malaria), non-communicable diseases, mental health disorders, maternal mortality, and under-five morbidity and mortality. In Kono District, Wellbody Clinic and Koidu Government Hospital (KGH), together with an ambitious plan to expand to Community health centres, serve as the hubs for PIH’s comprehensive response to these complex public health crises. In Freetown, PIH is proactively working on MDR TB at Lakka Teaching Hospital and Mental Health at Kissy Teaching Government Hospital.

PIH currently provides comprehensive community-based HIV and TB treatment; primary health care in public clinics with BEmONC and CEmONC care; antenatal, delivery and postnatal services for pregnant women and new mothers; and pediatric, neonatal and malnutrition services for under-fives. We have also expanded both within Kono and nationals, internal medicine, infectious diseases and noncommunicable disease services in partnership with MOHS. Mental health programs have been developed at the central level, but also in a district model that works in the facility and community through CHWs. Emergency and surgical services are strong programs that PIH is supporting to develop KGH as the model of secondary/tertiary care in the districts of Sierra Leone.

Training of health care providers, strengthening of referral systems, and monitoring and evaluation efforts are critical components to ensure that we achieve our goal of long-term, systemic improvements for patients in Kono District, Freetown facilities, and at the central level with MoHS. PIH Sierra Leone also supports social support in Port Loko and Kono Districts, as well as at the national level. Clinical services in both districts are complemented by our social protection programs, which aim to increase the socio-economic mobility of patients with their family members and other vulnerable populations.

Position Overview

The Senior Director of Operations is the most senior operations professional at PIH Sierra Leone and is critical to ensuring that all operational support functions that enable PIH to succeed are in place and running smoothly on a day-to-day basis and into the future. The Senior Director will oversee three sub-teams (Supply Chain, Infrastructure and General Operations) and ensure that these teams have clear priorities, are well coordinated to achieve goals, have the skills and resources needed to perform their duties and are responsive to the needs of other departments. The Supply Chain team is responsible for customs clearance, procurement and warehousing. The Infrastructure team is responsible for the maintenance of facilities and the management of construction and renovation projects. The General Operations team is responsible for administration, fleet, biomedical maintenance, IT, security and environmental services.

The Senior Director will lead PIH Sierra Leone’s operations during a period of growth and increased complexity as the organization plans and opens a new Maternal Center of Excellence (MCOE) that will more than double the size of the Koidu Government Hospital campus. Concurrently, the Senior Director will provide strong operational support for the delivery of health care in public facilities in Kono District and Freetown, as well as a more recent World Bank-funded expansion of PIH support into five additional districts. The Senior Director will be a member of the PIH Sierra Leone Senior Management Team and Executive Management Team, representing operational needs and contributing to organizational decisions and strategy, as well as liaising with government officials as needed. The Senior Director of Operations must be a strategic thinker, patient-focused, data-driven, organized, and eager to grow and build the capacity of the Sierra Leone operations team. This position is based in Koidu with travel to Freetown and other districts as needed.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

• Design operational support systems and staffing structures that fit our current organizational size and budget, and plans for future growth.
• Maintain organizational stability by striking a balance between responding to immediate organizational needs and designing and implementing new systems and processes for long-term improvement.
• Assess staff capacity and technical knowledge within operational functions and develop and implement plans to address gaps.
• Work with other members of the senior management team to create an executable operational strategy that aligns with the organization’s short-, medium-, and long-term priorities.
• Together with department heads, develop and implement annual and multi-year goals, budgets, personnel plans and work plans to realize the operational strategy.
• Identify, communicate and respond to financial, regulatory, security, and patient/staff/community safety risks, including emergency preparedness.
• Oversee and facilitate communication between the Operations department and other departments including Finance, HR and Clinic.
• Ensure that each operational team has clear and effective policies and standard operating procedures that all team members are trained in, as well as processes for onboarding new staff.
• Collaborate with clinical and organizational leaders to design, prioritize, and execute capital and major infrastructure projects.
• Address systems that are particularly vulnerable during times of growth and change in a practical way, such as reliance on IT technology, tracking and maintaining assets, responding to an increasing number of purchase requests and the use of new electronic systems.
• Ensure that operational needs are properly accounted for when planning new programs and grants. Contribute to budget development as needed.
• Provides strategic guidance on PIH SL’s engagement with local stakeholders in Kono District and beyond. Work with the Director of Government Relations across departments to ensure PIH SL’s work is strengthened locally and that we remain responsive to the needs of local stakeholders.
• Collaborate with operations leads at PIH’s other country sites. Share best practices and learn from the best practices of others.
• Regularly review data and processes and conduct regular internal audits to understand how operational functions are performing and where there are areas for improvement. Monitor the implementation of process improvements in response.
• Manage operational budgets and approve expenditures. Delegate budget management to team leaders as needed.
• Provide weekly management support to operations team leads. Complete annual performance reviews for all direct reports and support staff in achieving their professional goals.
• Ensure that all people managers in the operational team are well equipped to support the high performance of team members.

Prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment

At Partners In Health, we strive to ensure that those who benefit from our work – including our patients, families and community members – and our staff are treated with dignity and respect and are protected from sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment. A number of pre-employment checks are carried out in accordance with Partners In Health’s PSEAH policy. Partner In Health will request information from applicants’ previous employers regarding findings of sexual exploitation, abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents investigated after the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the applicant confirms that they understand these recruitment procedures.

Qualifications/Requirements

• Minimum 10 years of experience in administration or operations, including at least five years of management experience, with demonstrable increasing responsibility. Experience in leading a team through change and/or experience in hospital operations preferred.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and the ability to quickly learn new electronic systems.
• Demonstrable experience using data to drive improvements and decisions.
• Strong ability to set goals and strategies and lead a diverse team focused on many priorities while empowering team leaders. Experience and interest in capacity building and supporting staff with professional development opportunities.
• Experience in managing budgets and finances and establishing/supervising strong systems that meet compliance requirements.
• Ability to think creatively and find solutions and innovative ways that PIH SL can improve the care provided to the people we serve.
• You are comfortable with ambiguity, changing priorities and the need to remain flexible while dealing with diverse demands in a fast-paced and challenging work environment.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; the ability to work effectively with culturally diverse employees from different departments and countries and to communicate clearly.
• Strong organizational skills and analytical thinking.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment, political acumen and tact.
• Interested in social justice and global health.

Partners In Health is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Social justice

We are a global health and social justice organization responding to the moral imperative to provide high-quality health care to those who need it most, worldwide. We strive to alleviate suffering by putting patients at the center of all care, and making the benefits of modern medicine available to everyone.