Vice President, Operations

About Save the Children Canada

Save the Children believes every child has the right to a future. In Canada and around the world, we do whatever it takes – every day and in times of crisis – to support children to fulfill their rights to a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn, and protection from harm. With over 100 years of experience, Save the Children is the world’s first and leading independent children’s organization – transforming lives and the future we share.

Save the Children’s mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. Save the Children works in close collaboration with communities, local partners and governments to design sustainable solutions that empower children and their families.

Based in Toronto and part of a global network that reaches over 120 countries, Save the Children focuses on ensuring children have healthcare, education and the fundamental protections they deserve. Through innovative programs and advocacy, Save the Children addresses critical issues such as poverty, education disparities, health emergencies and children’s rights violations. Their work is supported by a dedicated team of professionals who are committed to creating a world where every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation.

Job Summary

Save the Children Canada (SCC) is seeking a strategic and collaborative leader for the role of Vice President, Operations (VPO). Leading a team of four senior leaders, the VPO is confident driving and managing change, operationalizing strategies, and empowering teams.  With strong interpersonal skills the VPO will be called on to develop and maintain strong working relationships across cultural and organizational boundaries and have a deep understanding of what it takes to build a strong organizational culture.

Reporting directly to the President and CEO, the Vice-President, Operations (VPO) is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of SCC’s strategy. The VPO will ensure comprehensive alignment with SCC’s strategic impact areas:

• Children in Crisis
• Gender Equality
• Indigenous Child Rights
• Climate Justice

AND SCC’s four pathways for impact:

• Programming
• Partnership
• Policy/Advocacy
• Internal Alignment

In addition to driving the implementation of SCC’s strategy, the VPO oversees the implementation of a robust risk management framework that supports SCC’s ability to deliver on our strategic vision and mission.

As a member of the Executive Team (ET), the VPO leads efforts that effectively and confidently deliver on SCC’s strategy and transformation in a rapidly changing environment. They support connection between the ET and SLT, providing direction and guidance to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) in setting organizational priorities, delivering on outcomes, and driving SCC’s transformation agenda. They serve as the ET representative on the Strategy and Risk Committee (SARC) of the board and represent SCC as a spokesperson and on global forums.

• Lead, coach, manage and provide exceptional team leadership of direct reports, including performance management, ensuring health and safety, pro-active risk management through adhering to and enforcing organizational policies and procedures, and promoting well-being and professional development.
• Ensure adherence to the fiscal management of budgets and procedures.
• Participate as a member of the Executive Team (ET) to advance the mission of SCC in line with the organization’s strategic plan, adhering to and role modeling the values and integrating safeguarding policies and practices and demonstrating the core and leadership competencies.
• Contribute to the strategic visioning and long-term planning process. Oversee the conception and implementation of a comprehensive organization strategy designed to ensure and support the achievement of the organization’s key strategic objectives and optimize SCC’s impact for and with children.
• Lead the execution of SCC’s strategic vision, ensuring organizational priorities that pave the way for success and effective realization of our transformation agenda. This encompasses the robust implementation of the SCC revenue strategy and the development of a target operating model that fosters a culture of innovation and operational excellence. Drive organizational change initiatives that enhance our ways of working and cultivate an adaptive and resilient culture.
• Oversee SCC’s strategic planning and implementation processes, including setting organizational priorities and ensuring performance and impact monitoring. Develop cohesive strategies to achieve meaningful change for children that support SCC’s impact areas and align with the Global SCI Strategy.
• Oversee SCC’s implementation of a robust risk framework to manage organizational risks and ensure organizational resilience to deliver strategic outcomes that support our mission and vision.
• Serve as the CEO’s second in command, championing efforts to increase operational efficiency, strengthen the organization’s leadership culture to drive accountability.
• Translate ET strategic decisions into actionable plans for implementation, provide direction and support to the SLT, and ensure collaboration across functional leadership.
• Represent SCC on the Global Strategy forum, the Member’s Child Safeguarding forum and other forums as needed within the VPO’s mandate.
• As part of the SLT, help strengthen SCC’s external profile and voice through representation at community and network events, sector, government, and corporate events.
• Leading the SLT, help strengthen SCC’s external profile.
• Represent SCC on the Global Strategy forum, the Member’s Child Safeguarding forum and other forums as needed within the VPO’s mandate

At SCC, it is our individual and collective responsibility to ensure all children are protected from deliberate or unintentional acts that lead to the risk of, or actual, harm caused by our employees. Each employee shall be aware that there may be additional vulnerabilities facing children associated with their age, socio-economic background, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, identity, sexual orientation or identity, and is committed to ensuring this does not form barriers to effective safeguarding.

Each employee is committed to fostering and sustaining a safe environment through proactive, accessible, and effective approaches that seek to prevent and respond to any harm to the children including but not limited to sexual exploitation and abuse. SCC and all its employees will take all reasonable steps to make itself safe, both as an organisation and in the conduct of all aspects of its day-to-day operations of emergency, humanitarian, developmental, policy, campaigning and administrative work.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Advanced university degree, with a focus on international development and/or business (or equivalent combination of education and work experience)
• A minimum of 10 years senior leadership experience in related program and/or operations management
• Extensive experience in global development and humanitarian action, with solid project, budget management and analysis skills
• Strong change and risk management skills to support the implementation of organizational change initiatives as well as growth and strategic initiatives
• Ability to engage at all levels of the organization including a federated model
• Strong financial management and data analytical skills
• Exceptional presentation skills
• Ability to travel internationally on occasional basis
• English language proficiency required; other language skills desired

Knowledge, Skills & Technical Ability:

• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills
• Active listener, collaborator and facilitator balanced with strong influencing and negotiation skills
• Sound judgement and decision-making capability
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

Equality and diversity are at the core of Save the Children Canada’s values. Staff are expected to work collectively and individually to promote a constructive and sensitive approach to others from a variety of backgrounds, where the work of others is valued and respected.

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