The Operational Effectiveness Lead role involves articulating, designing, developing, implementing, coordinating, monitoring and refining strategic initiatives that impact WCAF’s ability to effectively deliver on its mission while improving its operational resilience.
What you will do:
The role supports the Director of Finance & Operations deliver on initiatives aimed at strengthening the organisation’s operational effectiveness towards Excellence. The role occasionally translates IMT’s- strategic thinking and needs related to operations into clear cross functional plans of action. - Act as a thought and strategic development partner to the Director of Finance and Operations, translating direction into clear, structured approaches and plans for initiatives within the role’s remit, particularly in Operational Effectiveness.
- Support the organisation in strengthening its operational maturity by identifying gaps, inconsistencies, or inefficiencies in current ways of working and proposing practical, simplified approaches to address them. Role model a culture of continuous improvement and create buy-in.
- Take a leading role in the articulation and initial development of priority organisational initiatives related to Operational Effectiveness (e.g., operational innovation, internal control strengthening, KPIs, consolidated analysis and effective follow up of audits and certifications, etc.), translating the Director’s high-level steer into clear first-draft proposals for consultation.
- Ensure the coherence and integration of Operational Effectiveness initiatives across functions and regions, ensuring that different efforts form part of a consistent and aligned organisational approach.
- Develop clear, concise frameworks and draft approaches and tools that simplify complex topics into practical and user-friendly outputs (such as around policy design, internal controls, quality management systems, etc.)
- Play a key role in the evolution of WCAF’s internal policy and framework landscape, ensuring it remains fit-for-purpose, accessible, and aligned with organisational needs and external standards.
- Support the development and refinement of organisation-wide planning and performance management approaches and processes that enable the delivery of the strategy, including contributing to the articulation of annual and multi-year plans, key annual audits such as ISO-9001, etc.
- Act as a bridge between strategic intent and operational reality, ensuring that proposed approaches are both conceptually sound and grounded in the practical realities of country and regional teams.
ROLE-SPECIFIC OR CONTEXT RESPONSIBILITIES
- Support the Director of Finance & Ops in preparing high quality materials that accelerate alignment and decision-making at senior management level.
- Enable structured consultation and engagement processes with internal stakeholders for organisational initiatives, ensuring that diverse perspectives are incorporated while maintaining clarity and direction in outputs.
- Contribute to strengthening organisational resilience and accountability, including embedding risk-aware thinking and continuous improvement practices across functions.
- Lead and oversee the consolidated analysis of audits, certification and recertification processes, ensuring compliance with standards and effective integration of sound internal control principles into organisational systems, processes, and culture. Ensure proper follow up of outcomes.
- Lead the development, optimization and maintenance of WCAF’s policy portfolio to ensure a user-friendly and effective internal control environment. Maintain a strong focus on usability and adoption, ensuring that all frameworks, policies, and approaches developed are clear, relevant, and easy to apply in practice.
- Project manage and coordinate the core organizational processes such as the articulation of the annual plan and key audits.
- Aritculate, propose, and support in the establishment of organisational KPIs and dashboards allowing senior management and the board to monitor operational performance and achievement of strategic milestones; prepare regular and high-quality analytical reports for senior management.
- Support efforts around organizational risk management