Recruitment pack for:

Country Director Liberia

Mary’s Meals International

March 2018

Welcome from the Director of

Programmes

Country Director Liberia role

outline and specification

Our vision, mission and values

Recruitment process

information

Recruitment pack contents

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Welcome from our Director of Programmes

Dear Applicant,

As the Country Director Liberia, you will play a key role in

the Mary’s Meals International Programmes leadership

team. This is the team responsible for implementing our

school feeding programmes around the world, ensuring that

more than 1.2 million children spread across 15 countries,

receive a meal in their place of education every single

school day.

The Country Director is responsible for the strategic and

operational delivery of the Liberia programme as well as

the Oscar Romero School for the deaf. You will be

responsible and accountable for the growth and operational

success of the school feeding programme, ensuring the

Mary’s Meals school feeding model is consistently

delivered to exceptional standards. You will achieve this by

demonstrating your leadership and through the

development and management of the Liberia senior

leadership team. Currently our school feeding programme

in Liberia provides a daily meal to over 114,000 children in

505 schools and employs almost 200 staff across the

school feeding programme and the Oscar Romero school.

This role is based in Tubmanburg, Liberia and will involve

occasional travel to our office in Glasgow. As part of the

MMI Program Leadership team you will be required to work

closely with team members not only in Liberia but in all of

our locations and with colleagues working in other parts of

the organisation, to deliver the changes we are aiming for.

It is a challenging, exciting and fulfilling role which will

give you the opportunity to make a tangible difference to

the effectiveness of our work and to the lives of children in

some of the world’s poorest communities.

This is an exciting opportunity for the right candidate, who

will not only possess strong technical and leadership skills

and experience, but will also be an individual who

believes strongly in our values. If that is you, and you

hold a deep passion and commitment to taking the

effectiveness and efficiency of our school feeding

programmes to a new level, I’d love to hear from you!

With 61 million children out of school around the world

and a further 66 million attending school so hungry they’re

not able to concentrate and learn, our work is only just

beginning. Will you play a central part in shaping the

future of Mary’s Meals Liberia, and with it, the lives of so

many people who both contribute to and benefit from this

incredible work of love, joy and hope?

Robert Donnelly,

Director of Programmes

Mary’s Meals International

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Programmes leadership team structure

The Country Director Liberia currently has four direct reports,

and oversees a wider staff team (expatriate and national) of

195. However, the successful applicant, working with the

Director, will be able to undertake and implement a review of

the team structure.

Role outline

Role title:

Location:

Contract:

Reports to:

Direct reports:

Key relationships:

Country Director Liberia

Liberia, with travel to other programme

affiliates and the UK as required

Full-time, two year fixed term

Director of Programmes

Head of Finance & Operations; Head of

Programme Delivery; Head of People &

Development; General Manager Oscar

Romero School.

MMI: MMI programmes team; MML

programmes teams; MMI Director of

Finance and the finance team; MMI

Director of People and the people team

MMI Director of IT & Operations and the

IT & Ops team; MML Board

External: Government of Liberia

Ministries; NGO community in Liberia

Liberian Communities; National Affiliates

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Director of

Programmes

Head of

Programmes

Country Director

Malawi

Country Director

Liberia

Country

Director Zambia

Country DirectorKenya

Head of Finance & Operations

Liberia

Head of People & Development

Liberia

Head of Programmes

DeliveryLiberia

General Manager ORS

Liberia

Head of Programmes Operations

Role overview

Reporting to the Director of Programmes with a ‘dotted line’ to the MMI Directors of People; Finance; and IT and Operations, the role has overall strategic and operational responsibility for the Mary’s Meals programme and Oscar Romero School in Liberia.

Responsible and accountable for the growth and operational success of the school feeding programme, ensuring the Mary’s Meals school feeding model is consistently delivered to exceptional standards. Leads , develops, and manages the Liberia senior leadership team. The Country Director plays the leading role in representing the organisation in Liberia.

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Duties and responsibilities

Principal responsibilities

Leadership

• Effective, coherent, joined up and inspirational leadership and

oversight of the Mary’s Meals programme in Liberia.

• Responsible and accountable for effective and efficient

delivery of our school feeding model in Liberia, in line with

organisational polices meeting our commitment to those we

serve.

• Communicate the high leadership standards expected

throughout the Liberia team and model and demonstrate

these through personal practice and behaviour.

• Contribute to: The leadership of Mary’s Meals’ global

programmes, as a member of the Programmes Leadership

Team; the programmes strategy to facilitate the growth and

ongoing development of programmes and projects; the

ongoing development and refinement of the school feeding

model and policies and procedures.

Governance

• Work with and support the Mary’s Meals Liberia board of

trustees.

• Ensure that robust systems of internal control to ensure good

stewardship of Mary’s Meals’ resources, both financial and

non-financial are in place and adhered to.

• Ensure Mary’s Meals Liberia is accredited and compliant with

all legal requirements, in cooperation with the appropriate line

Ministries.

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Strategy and Planning

• Develop and maintain a roadmap for future programme

growth to achieve efficient and effective programme

delivery and operational success, in line with organisational

strategy, objectives and standards. Create buy in,

alignment and commitment to this across the Liberia team.

• Lead the preparation and submission of annual plans and

budgets each year for approval

Delivery

• Keep the Liberia team highly focussed on the successful

delivery to all schools

• Lead the implementation of the agreed road map and plans

• Ensure that programme monitoring, evaluation and learning

is undertaken in line with organisational requirements,

standards and plans.

Oscar Romero School for the Deaf

• Deliver the Oscar Romero School project to the agreed

plan to ensure that students receive a high quality of

education and the highest quality of care.

• Ensure that the ORS budget, assets (residential unit,

school buildings and contents, compound, kitchen) are

maintained and managed cost effectively and in

accordance with health and safety guidelines.

• Liaise and proactively engage with relevant government

departments and NGOs to support ORS achieve its

mission.

Duties and responsibilities

People

• Work with the MMI Director of People and the UK based

HR team within a matrix structure

• Foster and sustain a culture of high performance,

accountability, diligence and vocation throughout the Liberia

team

• Promote Mary’s Meals’ values and culture. Build

understanding of these and commitment to them

throughout the team

• Lead, manage, motivate and support direct line reports to

perform in line with expectations.

• Develop and maintain a team structure and staffing levels

that are appropriate and sufficient to effectively deliver our

school feeding model and plans

• Ensure appropriate staff development and training plans

are in place.

• Promote a positive, healthy and safe work environment in

accordance with all appropriate legislation and regulations.

Finance and Operations

• Work with the MMI Director of Finance and the MMI

Director of IT and Operations and their respective UK-

based teams within a matrix structure

• Oversee the sound financial planning and management of

the Liberia programme delivering the programme within

agreed budgets

• Ensure the implementation and maintenance of a robust

system of internal control to safeguard the Charity’s assets

• Oversee security and risk policies, standard operating

procedures

• Ensure appropriate IT policies are in place and adhered to,

IT optimise operational excellence and efficiency, and IT

infrastructure is maintained appropriately.

• Ensure cost effective and smooth functioning logistics

arrangements for continuous programme implementation.

• Ensure that procurement policies and good procurement

practice are followed with timely and cost-effective

procurement of required assets and inputs for the

programme, particularly food.

Representation

• Represent Mary’s Meals externally, with a particular

emphasis on engaging communities, and communicate in a

positive and compelling way, our vision, mission, values

and aims

• Work alongside other NGOs, government and international

partners to share best practice and further the interests and

reach of Mary’s Meals, engaging strategically with the

Government and other major stakeholders in school feeding

as required.

• Maintain excellent relations with all of Mary’s Meals

partners, supporters and visitors in Liberia.

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Qualifications and experience

Essential

Qualifications

• Relevant degree and/or post graduate degree and / at least

three years working in a senior leadership position in a

developing country.

Skills/Experience

• Advanced and well-developed inter-personal skills, with solid

track record in persuading and influencing others

• Motivating and inspiring:

▪ Able to effectively lead and manage continuity, change

and transition.

▪ Skilled in enabling others with experience of leading,

managing, building and developing high performing

teams

• Demonstrable skills in establishing, developing and nurturing

collaborative relationships at all levels

• Engaging and inspiring written and oral communication skills

• Strategic in outlook, with the ability to develop monitoring and

evaluation systems, analyse, interpret and use data and

appropriate planning tools to plan for the future

• Experience of developing, monitoring and reporting against

agreed strategy and plans

• Experience of a flexible and pragmatic approach to managing

and prioritising a high workload and multiple tasks in a fast-

paced environment with tight deadlines

• Highly numerate, with experience of data recording,

collation and analysis

• Strong financial management skills, including budget

preparation, management, reporting and implementation

of internal control frameworks

• Extensive operational and/or logistical experience in a

fast paced and growing environment in a comparable

programme in a developing country with responsibility for,

activities, financial resources, assets and external

relationships.

• A sharp focus on delivery with extensive experience of

implementing at scale and a particular emphasis on

effective delivery, efficient logistics and control of stock

• Cultural sensitivity and the ability to work effectively with

people of different cultural backgrounds

• Experience of representing an organisation to key

stakeholders at a senior level.

Desirable

• Understanding of international development principles

and the place of school feeding in development

• Experience working in a charity / international

environment or for not for profit organisation.

• Experience of liaising with communities, Governments

and Partner groups at a senior level.

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Mary’s Meals manager competencies

Managers at Mary’s Meals approach their

role in line with our 7S competency model:

1. Self

• I build and demonstrate resilience

• I lead by example

• I’m authentic and true to Mary’s Meals

values

• I develop myself and set stretching goals

2. Service

• I have a vocational attitude to my work

• I inspire hope in others

• I build belief that even difficult challenges

can be solved

• I am committed to serving and enabling all

who want to be part of the global movement

• I work to ensure our future will be even

better than our past

3. Simplicity

• I communicate effectively

• I follow clear decision-making criteria

• I create plans that are easy to follow and

contribute to organisational goals

• I embrace inclusivity and diversity

• I focus on delivering results

4. Stewardship

• I pay attention to the things that matter most; (a) our physical

resources; (b) our people

• I nurture, develop and respect our relationships with external

stakeholders

• I deliver on my promises

• I am happy to be held accountable and to hold others to account

5. Strategy

• I have a point of view about the future

• I know our stakeholders and see our priorities clearly

• I help others to work in ways that have the greatest impact

• I develop strategy and translate it into action

6. Strengthen

• I create a positive work environment

• I increase the capabilities of my team

• I help people manage their careers

• I find and develop next-generation talent

7. Success

• I ensure my team is technically competent and always

developing

• I build high performing teams

• I ensure accountability

• I am a catalyst for change

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Our vision, mission and values

• Our vision is that every child receives

one daily meal in their place of education

and that all those who have more than

they need, share with those who lack

even the most basic things.

• Our mission is to enable people to offer

their money, goods, skills, time, or prayer,

and through this involvement, provide the

most effective help to those suffering the

effects of extreme poverty in the world’s

poorest communities.

• Our values

• We have confidence in the innate

goodness of people.

• We respect the dignity of every

human being and family life.

• We believe in good stewardship of

the resources entrusted to us.

View Mary’s Meals’ full statement of values here:

http://bit.ly/2oRy99Y

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How to apply for this role

To apply for the role of Country Director Liberia at Mary’s

Meals International, please send a tailored CV and

covering letter to: jobs.mmi@marysmeals.org

Your covering letter should make a compelling case for

why you feel motivated to work for Mary’s Meals

International in this role, as well as giving a concise

overview of your most relevant skills and experience, and

should fill no more than two pages of A4.

As part of our commitment to safeguarding children you

will be required to provide an up to date PVG/Barring

statement (UK nationals) of a Police check/certificate of

good conduct (non UK nationals)

Recruitment timescales

Closing date for applications:

15th April 2018 at midnight

Interviews with the recruitment panel:

Week commencing 30th of April 2018

Please note: A second interview stage will be required.

Recruitment process information

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Mary's Meals International

Glasgow office

10-13 Claremont Centre

39 Durham Street, Glasgow

G41 1BS

“Together, let’s set out on this journey; one step

at a time, one meal at a time, one child at a time.”– Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, Mary’s Meals founder

Registered at Craig Lodge

Dalmally, Argyll

Scotland, UK PA33 1AR

Charity No. SC045223

Company No. SC488380

Mary’s Meals Liberia Office

Tubmanburg,

Bomi County

Liberia