Operations Coordinator at Management Sciences for Health

OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Operations Coordinator is responsible for two distinct activities, firstly for coordinating and disseminating operational information and systems to the project at large and serving as the international travel coordinator for the Program Management Office (PMO), and secondly, supporting the senior management team in preparing, monitoring and reporting on the projects annual work plans. He or she works closely with the Contracts, Finance, Accounting, Helpdesk and Facilities staff, in addition to program management, to ensure all PMO staff are kept up to date on changed procedures, and that manuals and policies are regularly updated and disseminated. The Operations Coordinator will ensure that the requisite internal and external travel approvals are in place, both within SCMS and with USAID. The Operations Coordinator will maintain relations with the SCMS travel agents to use best-pricing practices to ensure cost efficiency for SCMS, in addition to ensuring compliance with SCMS and US Government regulations. He or she will works closely with the management staff, in particular the Deputy Director Project Planning and Global Partnerships, to ensure timely preparation of work plans required by USAID and the submission of reports, both internal and external, as well as timely completion of action items originating from management meetings. The Operations Coordinator is supervised by the Contracts Unit Manager.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Oversee all aspects of travel systems for the project, staff and consultants. Determine options that best meet program needs with SCMS travel agencies, online resources, or any other SCMS authorized avenues for making travel arrangements. Coordinate with Travel Agents to ensure that cost-effective, efficient approaches are used, and where required, ensure compliance with USAID travel regulations (i.e. U.S. carrier, business class travel).
2. Oversee maintenance of Contracts and Travel Unit electronic and paper document retention to ensure auditable documentation for the units are organized and accessible.
3. Maintain database of all project-funded travel for use in both internal performance management and external reporting and data requests.
4. Assist in planning of corporate and project events: coordinate venue logistics and manage related travel for the event. Maintain a professional relationship with local hotels and conference venues. Maintain database of hotels and respective contact information.
5. Create PMT agenda with input from Unit and send to Deputy Directors/Director for approval. Ensure audio/visual facilities are set up for Project Management Team (PMT) and PMO staff meetings; draft and disseminate PMT staff meeting minutes.
6. Ensure that all administrative aspects of travel documentation and processing are completed, including appropriate coding of airline tickets, visas, accommodations, USAID Washington and USAID Mission travel approval, and other arrangements; travel and purchase approvals.
7. Maintain Medex and Emergency Locator Information files, forms and approvals for regulation exceptions (non-US carriers, business class travel) as necessary.
8. Periodically review and update Travel SOPs, Work Instructions, and PFSCM Travel Policy.
9. Maintain trip report files on Knowledge Tree for all PMO-funded travel.
10. Conduct training and briefings on travel and SOP updates as needed. Participate in new hire orientation for those employees who will be traveling.
11. Work with Deputy Director, Project Planning and Global Partnerships to prepare SCMS annual work plans and supporting documentation as required by USAID. Work with individual units and directors to ensure that the work plans reflect strategic direction of the project and adhere to a cohesive format. Ensure work plans are clear, accurate, complete, and have a sufficient level of detail. Coordinate with Unit Managers and Deputy Directors to collect and collate quarterly work plan progress updates for submission to USAID as part of contractually Quarterly performance report.
12. Attend weekly internal PMT meetings and take notes. Submit notes for review and distribute to PMT members. Maintain files on Knowledge Tree.
13. Maintain PMT Punch lists. Follow up with responsible persons and deputy directors to ensure deliverables from PMT meetings are completed in a timely manner. Distribute punch list and deliverables on a weekly basis.
14. Oversee preparation of quarterly report, and ensure timely submission in accordance with donor requirements. Review quarterly report for accuracy, consistency, and accountability. Collect portions of the report from appropriate unit leads, format, and edit report. Liaise with senior management and unit leads to complete the report.
15. Correspond with buyers to submit Notifications of Purchases over $150,000 to USAID in accordance with USG procurement regulations.
16. Distribute and collect the annual OGAC ARV Survey to field offices and project partners, tracking deadlines and ensuring submission of report to OGAC in agreed-upon time frame.
17. Coordinate the USAID/Washington travel concurrence process with travelers, unit managers, and field support staff for all international project-funded travel, ensuring all contractual requirements are met.
18. Maintain a positive relationship and open communication with Country Directors, Unit Managers, and USAID contacts.
19. Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Bachelor’s Degree; previous experience with travel preferred.
2. Demonstrated competence to assess priorities and manage a variety of activities in a time-sensitive environment and meet competing deadlines with attention to detail and quality.
3. Demonstrated competence in word processing, database, and spreadsheet applications.
4. English fluency required; additional language proficiency in Spanish or French preferable.
5. Demonstrated ability to successfully participate on teams that respond to and meet the challenges of working together in a fast-paced work setting with technical staff.
6. Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to interact professionally with culturally and linguistically diverse staff, clients and consultants.
7. Excellent organizational, oral and written communication skills and attention to detail.
8. Must be eligible to work in the United States of America.

Management Sciences for Health is an equal opportunity employer offering employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, citizenship, physical or mental handicap, or status as a disabled or Vietnam Era veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.

How to apply:

**To apply for this position, please submit a resume to https://jobs-msh.icims.com/jobs/7186/operations-coordinator/job. For more information about MSH, please visit our web site at www.msh.org. If you cannot apply online or have difficulty doing so, please email an explanation of your problem toiRecruiterproblem@msh.org.