Senior Advisor, Operations at Open Society Foundations

• The purpose of the Senior Advisor – Operations role within the Office of the Vice President, Programs of the Open Society Foundations is to provide strategic advice and expertise to the Vice President, Programs of OSF on cross-cutting operational matters, as well as functional operational priorities of organizational significance. The incumbent will play a key role in being the liaison within the Office of the Vice President, Programs for all operational functions in relation to organization-wide projects, operational priorities and work of significant organizational impact. The Senior Advisor- Operations will advise and contribute to operational workstreams as appropriate and participate in project teams as a representative of the Office of the Vice President when appropriate, ensuring that the views of the Vice President are well represented within various forums.

Key responsibilities 

• Serve as liaison for the Vice President, Programs with the Presidents Office, the Chief Operating Officer and senior leaders and staff regarding specific operational projects, project updates, proposals, and planning
• Develop and build on relationships with operations leadership, and contribute to defining new operational strategies by working with the Vice President, Programs and other relevant leaders on specific projects
• Handle inquiries, develop action plans, and assist with preparation and dissemination of communications for the Office of the Vice President, Programs.
• Contributes to ensuring operational viability of new opportunities by representing of the Office of the Vice President, Programs in operational due diligence activities where appropriate 
• Represent the  Office of the Vice President, Programs in forums focused on organizational culture. Collaborate closely with the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Culture Director, as well as Operations Associate Directors.
• Act as the Vice President, Programs liaison to advance existing and emerging operational priorities, impact investments, and initiatives, excluding programmatic matters which fall under the responsibility of the Senior Advisor, Programs
• Coordinate timely responses from the Office of the Vice President, Programs on issues related to operations
• Draft and edit briefing memos, statements, talking points, and other material for use by the Vice President, Programs and when appropriate other OSF leadership
•  Oversee Office of the Vice President, Programs budgets and reviewing spend against approved budgets.
• Work closely with the President/COO and budget offices to review organizational spend on a quarterly basis, escalating any issues of interest to the Vice President.
• Oversee Office of the Vice President, Programs Office budgets/contracts/invoices submitted by the Vice Presidents, Program Office Administration Officer/s  to manage internal department costs.
• Supervise two colleagues in the Vice President, Programs office.
• Compile and assess quarterly information for the Vice President relating to key data points identified as critical e.g. headcount, programmatic spend etc.

People Responsibilities (Total Team/DRs)

Key internal relationships

• President and COO’s Office, Senior Director Operations, Functional Operational Directors including Office of the General Counsel, FPA Director and key Operations staff. ; Associate Director President’s Office, Administration Officers President’s Office, People and Culture.

The ideal candidate

• Leadership experience working within OSF Operations departments e.g. Finance, People and Culture, legal, risk management, safety and security, facilities or information technology.   
• Significant experience of leading  large scale global and complex project management, workflow and process planning that has material impact on organisation ways of working
• Proven experience at representing OSF operations departments and engaging at a senior level across a global organization
• Proven change management experience; leading teams through and planning for change impacts (at organisational level)
• Prior budget management responsibility in excess of $1M per annum
• Conceives, designs and manages cross-department, cross-program or similarly complex projects; expected to effectively manage time, budget and stakeholders network- wide or similarly complex coordination
• Generates, captures and organizes information and knowledge to deliver prescribed outcomes for area of responsibility by using established knowledge management methods and tools/systems, with minimal supervision
• Assists with the development and delivery of research on a wider portfolio of work, making decisions on how to proceed and/or making recommendations to leadership to inform strategic objectives and intent
• Generates and/or gives direction to others in generating a variety of materials from varied sources using both established templates/formats; responsible for problem-solving both individually and collaboratively, under minimal supervision
• Contributes to the collective effort to develop and refine strategic directions including involvement in dialogue to refine concepts, development of supporting data, and identifying and resolving potential conflicts, obstacles, political concerns, etc. Exercises extensive discretion under limited supervision