AVP, Latin America – Operational Excellence - Covenant House International

OVERVIEW

Since 1972, Covenant House has served and advocated for youth and young families experiencing homelessness, human trafficking, and exploitation. Our overarching goal is to end homelessness among youth and young families by helping them achieve housing stability, heal from trauma, tap into their innate resilience, and hone their interests and skills to forge new pathways to independence. This work is conducted across Covenant House sites in 34 cities in the US, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras.

LOCATION: Remote in US, Honduras, Mexico, or Guatemala. Applicant must have legal work status in the country they will be working from. Salary will also be contingent on the country the employee is working in.

REPORTS TO: Senior Vice President, Latin America

PRIMARY FUNCTION OF THE POSITION

The AVP for Latin America (Operational Excellence) will serve as a key member of the CHI Latin America team and will be responsible for strengthening operational excellence at our sites in Latin America (known collectively as the “Casas”). The purpose of this role is to serve as a bridge between CHI and the Casas with the goal of supporting the Casas to significantly increase the efficiency and effectiveness of policies, procedures, and practices for operational areas, including budget development and monitoring, financial management, human resources, audit, IT, procurement, property management, legal compliance, and others as needed. This role will focus on aligning, adapting, and supporting the implementation of Covenant House’s unified policies and key donor policies (such as USG). Success in this role will be measured by rigorous fiscal stewardship and significant financial growth resulting from the implementation of operational management tools and fostering of a strong operational culture. All of the work in this area will be undertaken with a spirit of collaboration and commitment to partnership with Covenant House Latin America site leaders and designed from a strengths-based, culturally sensitive, trauma-informed lens.

SALARY RANGE: ($100,000 - $130,000) – US-BASED ONLY

The salary range and/or hourly rate listed is a good faith determination of potential base compensation that may be offered to a successful applicant for this position at the time of this job advertisement and may be modified in the future. When determining a team member's base salary and/or rate, several factors may be considered as applicable (e.g., location, specialty, service line, years of relevant experience, education, credentials, negotiated contracts, budget and internal equity). Salary will also be contingent on the country the employee is working in.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES     

Operational Leadership:

• Serve as key point of contact for the development and roll-out of CHI’s new Enterprise Resource Planning platform to the Casas, including providing training and support to Casas.  
• Participate in review, updating, and training on Covenant House unified policies for the Casas.
• Manage virtual library of Casa policies and procedures, ensuring they are updated and aligned with Covenant House policies and procedures and key donor regulations.
• In coordination with CHI legal department, support compliance with local & US laws as relevant through regular verification process.
• Coordinate with the Casas to create and update safety and security plans, including adverse scenario planning, Ensure adequate cybersecurity measures and IT services in compliance with unified policies and in accordance with site technology needs.
• In coordination with CHI legal department, support property management oversight, ensuring that all documentation, adequate insurance, and safety measures are in place.
• Incorporate operational needs into annual planning processes.

Operational Capacity Building

• Lead operational components of annual capacity assessment at the Casas, based on the federation-wide organizational wellness framework.
• Use the results of the operational capacity assessment to provide concrete guidance on next steps and follow-up over the year.
• Design and implement training programs on key operational needs identified in the capacity assessment.
• Coordinate closely with relevant CHI staff to help the Casas identify and resolve operational issues.
• Support Casa operations and finance functions through regular coordination calls and training.

Operational Oversight of Regional and Complex Grants

• Serve as operational lead on regional or complex proposals, including overseeing budget development.
• Assess and advocate for operational capacity investments in grants and annual budgets.
• Coordinate operational actions needed for the start-up of regional and complex grants.
• Lead the review of donor agreements from an operational perspective, including the development of sub-award agreements with the Casas.
• Oversee operational oversight of grant implementation, including compliance with all donor rules & regulations.
• Establish guidance and provide training in key areas of operational implementation under grants in accordance with donor rules and regulations.
• Conduct operational monitoring visits to ensure compliance with relevant donor standards and provide support for any corrective action needed.
•  Support development and finance teams as needed on grant reporting.

Budget Management and Financial Reporting

• Coordinate closely with CHI Finance department and Casa finance teams to implement the ERP and processes that increase capacity and efficiency.
• Support annual budgeting development and monitoring, developing tools that allow for easier analysis and management.
• Ensure the strategic management of Casa financial resources, including revenue and expense financial forecasts.
• Guide the Casas in the development and management of complex budgets.
• Develop and train on a tool for internal proposal budgets.
• Support or lead the development of regional and complex country-level proposal budgets.
• Review relevant Grants activities in CHI and Casa budgets to ensure that they reflect overall program priorities and expectations, mitigate risks, and reflect maximum obtainable efficiency.
• Review Casa financial reports to ensure budget conformity and good cash management, proactively identifying cash flow challenges.
• Work with CHI to improve financial policies in compliance with USG and other donors.

Procurement

• Oversee the updating of Casa procurement policies in alignment with local laws and donor requirements.
• Provide tools and training to increase strategic, cost-saving procurement of goods and services.
• Ensure efficiency and compliance in local and international procurement.
• Ensure high quality reporting that allows for proper tracing and tracking of inventory and assets, and that in-kind transactions are reflected appropriately according to policy.
• Develop a digital based system that speeds up approval process and serves as back-up.

Human Resources

• Collaborate with CHI People and Culture team and Casa HR directors to strengthen human resource management, including recruitment and onboarding strategies, succession planning, and career development.
• Work with Casa HR directors to right-size site staffing, including structural re-organization, and ensuring adequate compensation.
• Help ensure the integrity (accuracy, security) of information from HR information systems.
• Manage regional consultancy recruitment processes.

Other

• Work with the SVP for Latin America to plan international and regional conferences as well travel to Latin American sites.
• All other duties as assigned by supervisor.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Proficient in Microsoft Office 365, including Outlook, Teams and Sharepoint 
• Experience using and training on ERP platforms.
• Strong analytical, problem solving and critical thinking skills
• Ability to work well with all levels of management and employees, with the ability to manage cross-unit and cross-cultural teams
• Ability to travel up to 25% of time both domestically and internationally as required.
• Organized, detail-oriented and possess excellent follow-up skills.
• Team player who is able to work with all levels of management in a fast-paced environment.
• Extremely effective communicator with ability to build consensus across multi-cultural contexts
• Possess thorough understanding of the mission of Covenant House and dedication the Mission
• Alignment with Covenant House values of Inclusivity, Joy, Courage, Ambition, and Accountability.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s Degree preferred
• Bachelor’s Degree in International Development, Management, or other related field required
• 5+ years of operations experience with nonprofit organizations in Latin America
• Direct experience managing operational areas such as budgets, procurement, donor compliance, HR support, IT etc.
• Bilingual in English & Spanish
• Minimum 3 years living and/or working in Latin America.
• Minimum 3 years of management experience, preferably in an international nonprofit setting.
• Experience training staff in operational areas.

OUR COMMUNITY

Our critical mission demands that we have all voices at the table. A team of diverse people, perspectives, and experiences is smarter, stronger, and more effective for our young people. At Covenant House, every team member is valued, respected, heard, and supported, and we welcome honest and courageous self-reflection on any aspects of our work that are based on biased or outdated viewpoints. We deliberately create opportunities for our staff to grow and thrive. 

Covenant House International is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind: CHI is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at CHI are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, family or parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. CHI will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics and encourages all qualified applicants to apply. Come join our awesome international team in an organization with a heart! Our offices are located in in the United States, however, this position will be remote for the foreseeable future. Candidates based in Latin America will be hired through one of our local affiliates or through a third-party agency to ensure compliance with local laws.