Head of Support Services (Afghanistan)

We are a growing organisation, working with children and youth with partner organisations and through direct implementation in some very challenging places in Afghanistan and the world. We’re focused on child protection, education and livelihoods, and our projects range from providing short term psychosocial support to children affected by conflict to supporting the development of sustainable child protection systems. We work in complex conflict settings which range from acute emergencies to protracted humanitarian crises, and we aim to respond to crises, support recovery, and build resilience. We now need to secure recent successful positioning in Afghanistan and continue to have ambitious plans to increase the scale and sustainability of our programme. Our new Head of Support Services in Afghanistan will oversee the response to this challenge. The position will drive the growing support team forward and ensure the smooth delivery and compliance of new and existing programmes and lead the development of robust financial, logistical and HR systems.

If you share our values and believe that children’s lives should not be torn apart by war, we want to hear from you.

About us

War Child, the charity for children affected by war. We are a specialist charity for children in conflict, delivering high-impact programmes that are rebuilding lives across Afghanistan, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Central African Republic and Yemen. We understand children’s needs, respect their rights, and put them at the centre of the solution – from reintegrating child soldiers in the Central African Republic and upholding the rights of children caught up in juvenile justice in Afghanistan. We look forward to a world in which the lives of children are no longer torn apart by war. This is a vision that can only be realised through the collective actions of children themselves, communities and their leaders, organisations like War Child, governments and key decision makers.

Your role:

An integral part of the Senior Management Team in country, the Head of Support Services will be responsible for ensuring strategic oversight of the growth of the programme. It is a critical role requiring a seasoned, motivated and experienced individual with a desire for a new and exciting challenge in a rapidly growing organisation. The role also ensures information from the country programme is shared across stakeholders, donors, relevant ministries. The Head of Support Services is responsible for the strategic leadership of internal controls, systems and processes of all support departments of WCUK in Afghanistan. As Head of Finances, Logistics and Human Resources, the Head of Support Services is responsible for ensuring that all programmes and offices receive appropriate and timely support to run and manage their operations in Afghanistan in full compliance of internal as well as donor rules and regulations. This is particularly crucial in the current growth times experienced by WCUK in Afghanistan, creating additional systemic risks.

The role of the Head of Support Services (HoSS) is to ensure the leadership of country operations to enable effective and efficient implementation of WCUK programmes in Afghanistan. This encompasses Finance, Logistics, HR, Admin & IT. Strategically the Head of Support Services (HoSS) is responsible for Finance, Human Resources, Logistics, IT and Procurement, and Administration. S/He will oversee, develop and provide strategic direction, mentorship and support to his/her support areas in WCUK and partners. An active member of the Senior Management Team, this role ensures that all aspects of the Country Office management is represented and considered in decision making. This role has a country focus and as SMT, the HoSS must be committed to visiting the field / project sites at least quarterly to ensure regional level support and capacity is provided along with ensuring compliance to donor requirements and adherence to WCUK procedures and guidelines.

Your responsibilities

• Responsible for the oversight of robust internal systems linking to the London Finance, HR and Internal Audit departments, in order to enable them to have continuous knowledge and control of in-country systems related risks.
• Lead on financial management, cashflow, planning and reporting across the Afghanistan Programme. Responsible for compliance and submission of Donor budgets, reports and audits.
• Engage, as an active member of the Senior Management team, in the overall support, development and delivery of War Child Afghanistan Country.
• Lead on strategy for support services as well as managing and developing the team.
• Ensure effective representation with donors and national partners.
• Responsible for ensuring that appropriate systems and people are in place so that programmes receive logistical support (including procurement, equipment, IT & Communication, vehicle use & maintenance) in a timely manner that is respectful of internal and donor rules and regulations.
• Ensure that adequate systems and people are in place to enable a management of Human Resources that is compatible with internal guidelines, national legislation and Country-Office staff management standards.
• Ensure that adequate systems and people are in place to enable a sound follow-up of WCUK Afghanistan’s administrative in-country obligations, including organisation’s registration, tax related obligations, contracts and immigration (expatriates, visitors) management.
• Ensure that appropriate systems and people are in place to enable the implementation of WCUK’s activities with an acceptable level and control of risks for its staff, partners and beneficiaries in Afghanistan.
• Responsible for ensuring that significant operational risks are anticipated and managed to support WCUK’s operations in Afghanistan.
• Take lead on the partners spot checks, their compliance with donor reporting requirements and their capacity building.
• Responsible for creating a culture committed to the safeguarding of children, and adults and compliant to WCUK’s Child Safeguarding and Adults at Risk policies.
• These duties provide a framework for the role and should not be regarded as a definitive list. Other reasonable duties may be required consistent with the grade of the post.

How to apply

• Please download the application pack form.
• All applications must be sent to [email protected] by 4th September 2022. Due to the urgency of the position, the vacancy may close earlier, if a suitable candidate is found.
• Due to limited resources, we will contact only the shortlisted candidates.
• Interviews will be held the week commencing 12th September 2022.