Deputy Director, Operations at HJF Medical Research International

Join the HJF Team!

HJF Medical Research International (HJFMRI) is currently recruiting a Deputy Director for Operations for an anticipated U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cooperative agreement for Advancing Public Health Research in Kenya. The responsibility of the awardee will be to conduct and/or facilitate epidemiologic studies and surveillance, clinical research, clinical trials, laboratory, and operations research on infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and environmental health in Kenya to better understand disease burden, risk factors, and effective interventions to influence policy and decrease morbidity and mortality. Under the supervision of the Chief of Party, the Deputy Director, Operations will be responsible for providing implementation and management leadership for the operational, financial, schedule, administrative and laboratory aspects for all projects under the research consortium. The position is located at HJFMRI’s Western Kenya Office in Kisumu, Kenya. The Deputy Director, Operations has responsibility for the attainment the award’s overall goals and must possess excellent communication skills, sound judgment, and demonstrate initiative.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with colleagues and collaboration members to build and nurture strong partnerships, foster effective relationships with government representatives (particularly with USG and Kenya agencies), research collaborators, peer organizations, country partners, and other program offices in Kenya.
• Proactively collaborate across projects and multifunctional teams (Program Management, Finance, Procurement, Logistics, HR, and Administration) to create an environment that strives for consistency of best practices identified both internally and externally.
• Ensure effective working relationship with HJFMRI HO and HJFMRI Regional Office to leverage support to adopt innovative solutions to improve effectiveness and efficiency of program operations.
• Ensure quality of work product is always maintained through continuous monitoring for quality assurance.
• Provide advice on manpower utilization, workflow, and operational procedures to increase efficiency, productivity, and make overall improvements for the programs.
• Coordinate and conduct personnel actions and furnish guidance and assistance as needed. Facilitate staff training and provide personal and professional peer support, mentoring and professional development.
• Ensures the team fulfills of contractual obligations.
• Support the management and supervision of all non-technical activities, including budgeting, in support of the country programs to ensure full donor and government compliance.
• Demonstrate continuous effort to improve operations, decrease turnaround times, streamline work processes, and work cooperatively to provide the highest quality customer service.
• Lead operations related to procurements as well as subawards and subcontracts.
• Lead operations related to the financial and accounting components including monthly and quarterly reviews, reports, forecasts, reconciliations and internal controls.
• Work closely with other members of the organization to ensure the operational and financial impacts of various business decisions are understood, aligned and communicated.
• Ensure the availability of timely, consolidated, accurate, and reliable information to enable the Program leaders to incorporate cost considerations into their decision-making.
• Develop reports and metrics to extract meaningful and strategically important information
• Monitor project and financial data accuracy to ensure accurate monthly reporting and proper cost allocation per project.
• Protect assets by establishing, monitoring and enforcing internal controls and make sure they comply with USG and HJFMRI policies and procedures.

 Minimum Required Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree in business administration is acceptable; Master’s degree in relevant field is preferred. Years of experience in lieu of degree is also accepted.
• 10 years related experience in the management field, including at least 5 years of supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated, progressively responsible positions including specific experience in budget and financial modeling techniques
• PMP desirable, but not required