Role Description including duties and responsibilities:
Under the supervision of the National Council, EO plays a leadership role in assisting the National Council to fulfill its mandate.
The EO is responsible for managing an efficient Secretariat, the Ismaili Centre and other JKs in the jurisdiction’s property and facilities management team. The EO will be the key focal point for the community and undertake an ambassadorial role in the management and delivery of key community and National Council initiatives. The EO will support fundraising campaigns and cultivate relationships within and outside the community including with other AKDN agencies and Imamat institutions.
The EO shall report to the President or their delegate(s) of the National Council and will be based in London, UK with travel to Europe as required.
Strategic planning:
- Under the direction of the President of the National Council, lead the annual strategic planning exercise with the National Council.
- Manage and help deliver the National Council’s annual objectives, strategies and budgetary performance, ensuring their effective implementation and ongoing performance monitoring and reporting.
- Provide tools and processes to measure the impact and full tracking of the agreed strategic priorities and objectives.
Management and Performance Reporting: Manage the ongoing operations of the National Council:
- Monitor performance of all activities governed by the National Council to ensure activities are on schedule, directed to the achievement of approved objectives, and in line with the KPIs.
- Apprise the National Council Executive of all such activities, including any variances, and follow-up on feedback to ensure performance is on track as planned.
- Provide to the President or their delegate(s) recommendations to be taken to ensure the objectives and strategies remain on track.
- Liaise with the Head of Administration to plan and organize all meetings convened by the President and the VP, maintaining records and follow up of key actions.
- Ensure that all reports submitted to the Department of Jamati Institutions are prepared in accordance with their reporting requirements and submitted in a timely manner.
- Under the leadership of the President of the National Council, manage the nomination, induction, and handover processes throughout the leadership cycle.
- Oversee maintenance of data management processes in line with legal requirements.
Human Resources
- Leadership of the National Council Secretariat, Ismaili Centre and UK/Europe Property Management teams and IIUK teams.
- Ensure that all matters pertaining to the staff are in accordance with authorized policies and procedures, and that all individual roles and responsibilities are clear and understood and that accountability mechanisms are in place.
- Implement good performance management and provide support to own staff against objectives and complete annual performance reviews.
- Engage with the European Director to ensure collaboration on key Institutional and community initiatives.
Finance & Risk: Working closely with the Head of Finance, ensure processes and controls are implemented across all areas of accountability:
- Ensure that the National Council fulfils its constitutional, regulatory and legal obligations, while taking appropriate steps to identify and mitigate potential areas of risk to protect the Imamat and Jamati Institutions.
- Provide the necessary support on the annual budgets, half year reporting and ad-hoc DJI reporting to the Head of Finance.
Guidance and Support to Local Councils in Europe
- Work in partnership with the European Director to support the European Jamats, building capability and long-term sustainability.
- Provide support, guidance and coaching for the institutionalization of the European Local Councils.
Oversee Collaboration Units
- Oversee the establishment and functioning of Collaboration Units, acting as a liaison between Collaboration Unit leads and the National Council and Jamat.
- Develop a set of tracking tools to monitor the effectiveness of Collaboration Units and provide feedback to Collaboration Unit leads.
Community liaison: Together with the relevant National Council Member, act as the main conduit / focal point of information for the community internally & externally
- Build, develop, and maintain relationships with external stakeholders.
- Manage the Jamati and institutional calendar.
- Manage the communications to the Jamat and the Jamati Institutional leaders with the Head of Administration and the National Council Communications Coordinator.
- Member of the Executive Team for the Jamati Crisis Planning and Response.
Manage and Oversee Key Projects
- Establish and manage teams to focus on assigned key projects by the National Council.
- Develop a set of tracking tools to monitor the progress of the agreed project plans and key deliverables.
Oversee and maintain community databases, IT and cloud infrastructure
- Ensure NC systems (including IIUK) are appropriate for use and guide their ongoing enhancement to meet evolving institutional requirements in conjunction with the IIUK Steering Group.
- Manage access to IIUK and all other systems and databases of the NC, providing the necessary training to users.
- Manage the IT infrastructure (including systems and hardware) across the Ismaili Centre and Jamat Khanas, ensuring it is robust, fit for purpose and secure in access rights.
Ismaili Centre: Oversee the development and implementation of plans to achieve the goals and objectives of the Ismaili Centre
- Coordinate the development and implementation of multiyear plans for outreach activities.
- Monitor and ensure evaluation of the programmes at the Centre to ensure that outcomes are being met.
- Ensure that facilities maintenance and capital planning systems and processes are in place.
- Devise, review and implement policies with the Ismaili Centre Management Board.
- Be a member of the Ismaili Centre Management Board and the Ismaili Centre Management Executive.
Communications
- Working closely with the National Council appointed Communications Coordinator and the Vice President, draft and oversee all the secretariat’s communications to the Jamat, other Jamati and AKDN institutions.
Fundraising
- Work closely with the President and Vice President of National Council to establish fundraising needs and manage fundraising campaigns.
Community and Public Relations
- Under the direction of the President of the National Council and the National Council Member for External Affairs, establish and manage key relationships both internally and externally with key stakeholders and partners, including Jamati Institutional appointees and the local South Kensington and Exhibition Road institutions.
- Institutional Collaboration with other AKDN and Imamat Agencies.
- Facilitate and maintain cross-institutional relationships and collaborate locally and internationally with other AKDN agencies and Imamat institutions on key initiatives.
Anticipated time commitment (hours per week): Full time, including some weekend and evening work
Person Specifications, including experience, competency/skills required:
- Graduate degree, preferably in management or a related discipline.
- Extensive experience in management and administration with demonstrated experience leading teams and achieving outcomes.
- Significant institutional experience and an understanding and appreciation of Jamati institutional processes including the understanding of working within the voluntary leadership; must have a strong passion to make a substantial contribution to the progress of the Jamat and its institutions.
- Familiarity with and empathy for the Jamat, including cultural diversity within the Jamat.
- Good understanding and empathy working within a faith based and multi-cultural context and experience of working within a voluntary or not-for-profit context would be desirable.
- Candidate should have the ability to deal with confidential matters discreetly and should approach executive responsibilities with the highest degree of personal and professional integrity, empathy, and sensitivity.
- Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
- Proven ability to effectively manage multiple responsibilities as well as to collaborate closely with teams of professionals and volunteers.
- Strong problem solving, communication, administrative, organizational and analytical skills.
- Goal-oriented, data-driven, with a positive ‘can-do’ attitude and strong problem-solving skills.
- Demonstrated ability to build strong, supportive and collaborative working relationships with internal team members, the leaders and members of stakeholder organizations.
- A proven ability to lead and motivate professional and volunteer team members from diverse backgrounds.
- Comfort with public speaking in front of small groups and wider audiences.
- Attention to detail and able to operate independently.
- Ability to communicate in Gujarati/Kutchi/Urdu/Farsi is desirable but not essential.
Application process:
Please email your updated CV with a cover letter at [email protected]. Last date for submission of applications is April 1st, 2022.
