- GLOBAL PEOPLE OPERATIONS SPECIALIST
ABOUT SPARK MICROGRANTS
Spark MicroGrants believes in a world where everyone lives with dignity and determines their own positive future. Spark has worked in 1000+ villages in 6 countries and has pioneered a community-driven development model in sub-Saharan Africa. Spark works with NGO and Government partners to scale the model’s adoption and impact on rural communities – on their own terms. Our model combines facilitated community meetings with a small, discretionary grant to catalyze local action and institution building. Read more about our Approach, Impact and Values on our website.
WHO YOU ARE
This role provides a unique opportunity to reshape the internal process and tools of Spark Microgrants to ensure our team has the structure in place to enable their work.
The incumbent brings a high degree of proactivity, organization, and process mindset to the role in addition to experience in one or more of Operations, HR, Finance or Procurement in a fast-paced environment. This is a hands-on role, and does not manage people, however this individual will coordinate with our teams across countries, and lead the implementation of processes and projects that will enable our mission to support communities as they implement their own social impact projects.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Global People Operations Coordination
- Support HR officers with global tools, analysis, and guidelines for consistency decision making in line with Spark policies.
- Maintain processes, tools and tracking for effective people operations, including calendars, guidelines, shared tool maintenance and oversight, and tracking of OKRs and key deliverables.
- Coordinate global onboarding and offboarding, in coordination with local HR officers
Systems and Tools
- Research, recommend, and implement appropriate employee facing tools, in conjunction with the technical experts who support our tools. Collaborate with the Spark IT officer and other colleagues to ensure effective operation of Spark systems used by employees for internal purposes.
- Act as a systems administrator role for key employee facing org-wide systems, including: BambooHR, Google apps (non technical), Slack and other global cross-functional systems.
- Ensure that operational systems are maintained with up to date employee information, including additions, departures and supervisor changes, as appropriate.
Policies and Procedures
- Working with other department leaders and colleagues, update and monitor global policies and procedures, and support clear guidelines for global versus local decision making on all non-programmatic operational matters.
- Ensure that handbooks and policies are both complete and effective, including developing easy to understand and use summaries, and ensuring updates and monitoring requirements are completed and well communicated.
Internal Communications
- Primary point of contact for communications of internal policies, procedures, administrative changes, and non-programmatic updates.
- Collaborate with the Chief of Staff and CFO on other internal communications needs.
Global Benefits Administration
- Support benefit analysis and selection, ensuring consistency in adherence with global guidelines
Risk Management:
- Coordinate global safety and security policies and coordinate with designated program and regional teammates to implement safety and security policies.
- Ensure appropriate global and US insurance policies are in place to manage key risks.
- Develop tracking mechanisms to ensure compliance related deadlines are met across all Spark locations.
Global and Remote Operations Support
Financial Operations
- Administer and oversee global credit card usage; support reconciliation process completed by accounting team and ensure appropriate usage of company resources.
Procurement
- Support global and remote procurement: Conduct procurement analysis, research and implementation for US teammates and global procurements of services and goods, including consultants, compliance vendors, and other services that are provided on a US or global basis.
Compliance
- US and Remote Registrations: Ensure timely, accurate registrations for corporate, charitable and employee registrations, as well as other required tax and regulatory filings in the US, working either directly with state and federal organizations or through partners.
- Ensure appropriate insurance policies are in place.
HR
- Support benefit analysis and administration.
- Coordinate, monitor and approve benefits administered as stipends and tools provided via reimbursement.
Other
- Support HR, Finance, and cross-functional projects as assigned.
- Provide backup and other support for US accounting purposes
- Ensure organization and filing of key Operations documents
What You Bring
- Five years of work experience with a preferred minimum of 3+ years of prior experience with one or more of Operations/HR/Finance/Procurement/Systems.
- Four year degree in related discipline.
- Detail oriented and highly organized.
- Proactive and action oriented.
- Analytical skills; ability to make connections and understand how work impacts the entire process.
- Ability to communicate and collaborate with teammates across various countries and functions.
- Commitment to ensuring confidentiality of information and appropriate handling of sensitive data.
- Strong systems skills; an early adapter who seeks to find ways to make everything run more efficient for themselves and others.
- Ability to rapidly adapt to change and solution-oriented approach to handling issues and opportunities.
- Tech savvy – proficiency with Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Forms, Drive), BambooHR or similar HRIS, and online finance/benefit or other HR/operations systems preferred.
OTHER INFORMATION
Job Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Reporting to: CFO
Start Date: As soon as possible
Salary: Salary is commensurate with experience
Probation period: Three months probation period with learning and performance objectives
How to Apply: Follow the link to apply: https://sparkmicrogrants.bamboohr.com/careers/127
SAFEGUARDING
Our safeguarding follows a do no harm principle. All Spark staff are expected to respect and uphold the safeguarding procedures and principles to minimize harm to stakeholders, program participants, and the environment, in compliance with the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework and national legislation in the countries where we operate.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Spark Microgrants provides equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals. Employment decisions at Spark are based on merit, qualifications, and abilities. Spark does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by the law. Spark will make
reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in undue hardship to daily operations.
2. PROGRAM MANAGER, PARTNERSHIPS AND SYSTEMS
ABOUT SPARK MICROGRANTS
Spark MicroGrants believes in a world where everyone lives with dignity and determines their own positive future. Spark has worked in 800+ villages in 6 countries and has pioneered a community-driven development model in sub-Saharan Africa. Spark works with NGO and Government partners to scale the model’s adoption and impact on rural communities – on their own terms. Our model combines facilitated community meetings with a small, discretionary grant to catalyse local action and institution building. Read more about our Approach,Impact and Values on our website.
Spark seeks an experienced Program Manager for Partnerships and Systems to lead the development and implementation of Spark’s organizational systems for partner management, program risk mitigation and cost optimization. The role will strengthen Spark’s ability to work effectively with its implementing partners by building standardized approaches and tools, providing training and quality control to ensure compliance and quality, and supporting cost-effective program design and delivery.
The Program Manager will work closely with Country Directors and their teams to create or strengthen and execute fit-for-purpose systems for partner management and oversight. They will provide quality control throughout the selection and engagement of new partners or subawards. The Program Manager will also work with these teams to build and maintain the systems for risk mitigation and cost rationalization within country programs and for cross-cutting program departments within the Global Programs unit. This role combines systems building with technical support and coaching to country teams and global program departments. The role is ideal for someone with experience in managing subgrantees throughout a project life cycle, partnership systems design or strengthening, and implementing cost rationalization activities across countries.
OUR WORK
The foundation of our approach is the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP), where rural
communities are led through regular facilitated meetings to organize, conceptualize and implement local development projects, which are supported by a microgrant to fund them. The FCAP has been designed to improve local livelihoods, enhance social cohesion, and improve citizen engagement. Our operating model is based on an international team of functional advisers (e.g. finance team, training team, design team) who support country teams. Country teams co-design the FCAP with local partners and government, train partners or directly implement the design, and support quality monitoring and oversight. The size and scope of country teams depend on the needs of our partners and the portfolio size and complexity.
WHO YOU ARE
You are a team-oriented professional with experience in partnerships, grants or subaward management, risk management and strengthening organizational processes within nonprofit organizations. You are comfortable with assessing and strengthening organizational systems and providing hands-on technical support to colleagues, helping teams strengthen their partner management practices and make operational and financial decisions. You are comfortable leading country teams through cost rationalization exercises to improve cost efficiency while preserving quality of delivery. You are detail-oriented, a pragmatic problem solver, and collaborative. You are motivated by building systems to enable organizations to implement and scale their operations efficiently and effectively and enjoy working closely with country teams to understand operational realities. The right candidate will not want to do ‘development as usual’ but question how aid works and ensure that Spark is ultimately accountable to the villages we serve.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Responsibility: Partner Management Systems Building
Duties:
- a) Assess Spark’s current partner management system and procedures and design standardized systems, tools, and guidance for partner selection, onboarding, risk assessment, and implementation oversight across programs
- b) Develop and maintain partner management documentation, including templates and standard operating procedures
- c) Strengthen systems for partner budget review and negotiations to support cost efficiency and alignment with program design
- d) Lead validation and organizational rollout of updated partner management tools and procedures across relevant teams.
- e) Represent the Global Programs Unit in cross-functional discussions to align partner management systems and standards across the organization
- f) Advise on strategies for assessing organizational capacity, both internally for expansion and non-NGO partners like district and central government
- Responsibility: Surge Support and Quality Assurance throughout Partner Life Cycle Duties:
g)Provide quality assurance and technical review throughout the partner lifecycle, including partner capacity assessments, budget negotiations, subaward reviews, and implementation oversight.
- h) In coordination with country teams, review partner scopes of work, subawards, and budgets to ensure alignment with program design and cost expectations. i) Provide surge support to country teams in partner identification, selection, and negotiation processes, as needed.
- C) Responsibility: Lead Cost Rationalization Workstream
Duties:
- a) Lead cost analysis and rationalization exercises across country programs, including analyzing program and partner costs, identifying cost drivers and inefficiencies, and developing cost efficiency analyses
- b) Using analyses, develop recommendations for Spark leadership and country programs and work with country programs to adjust the delivery model to
implement quality programs more efficiently
- c) Build and institutionalize tools and practices to support ongoing cost
rationalization at the country-level
- Responsibility: Program Risk Mitigation
Duties:
- Lead the setting and enacting of a process for identifying, assessing and mitigating risk across country programs
- Contribute to Program designs and proposal development relating to risk identification and mitigation
- Where necessary, lead cross program work streams to minimize and mitigate identified risks
- Responsibility: Cross-Organizational Skill-Building and Support
Duties:
- a) Provide ongoing support and coaching to country teams on the partner
management and cost rationalization systems through proactive identification of challenges, gaps, and opportunities for improvement
- b) Develop and deliver training and support to other relevant departments, including Design and M&E, on skills and systems related to partner selection/management, risk assessment, and cost efficiency
REQUIREMENTS:
Qualifications, experience & skills:
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field
- Minimum 5 years of experience in international development, including experience in project backstopping, grants or subaward management, program operations, or partnership management
- Demonstrated experience managing subawards or partner agreements across the full lifecycle, including partner selection, due diligence, subaward development, budget review and negotiation, and implementation oversight.
- Experience leading or supporting cost rationalization, cost efficiency, or value-for-money exercises
- Experience developing and strengthening operational systems, tools, templates, and standard operating procedures to improve consistency, compliance, and efficiency in partner or grant management.
- Strong analytical skills and excellent written and verbal communication skills to interpret financial and operational data and translate and clearly communicate findings into recommendations.
- Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities across countries or teams.
Safeguarding
Our safeguarding follows a do-no-harm principle. All Spark staff are expected to respect and uphold
the safeguarding procedures and principles to minimise harm to stakeholders, program participants, and the environment.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Spark Microgrants provides equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals. Employment decisions at Spark are based on merit, qualifications, and abilities. Spark does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by the law. Spark will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in undue hardship to daily operations.
OTHER INFORMATION
Job Location: Kigali, Rwanda; Kampala, Uganda; Lilongwe, Malawi; Accra, Ghana; or Remote, USA Estimated start date: As soon as possible
Application closing date: On a rolling basis, we reserve the right to close this recruitment process anytime.
How to Apply:https://sparkmicrogrants.bamboohr.com/careers/156
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