Fully Remote Work From Anywhere Jobs

Operations Officer, BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative 

Career with BRAC International

BRAC is an award-winning international non-governmental development organization, with the vision of a world free from all forms of exploitation and discrimination, where everyone has the opportunity to realize their potential. BRAC is a leader in developing and implementing cost-effective, evidence-based programs to assist poor and disadvantaged communities in low-income countries, including in conflict-prone and post-disaster settings. It is an organization of and for the people of the Global South, pioneering new development and social enterprise approaches to equip communities to achieve prosperity. As well as being the world's biggest NGO by the number of staff and people directly reached, BRAC has regularly been ranked the number one NGO in the world by the Geneva-based NGO Advisor, an independent organization committed to highlighting innovation, impact, and governance in the non-profit sector. BRAC retained the top spot in 2020 among the top 500 NGOs for the fifth consecutive year.

BRAC was founded in Bangladesh in 1972 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. It started its first program outside of Bangladesh in Afghanistan in 2002 and has since reached more than 6.5 million people in 11 countries in Africa and Asia. BRAC has a holistic approach to development that uses a wide array of programs that include microfinance, education, health, agriculture, gender, and human rights. BRAC invests in communities’ own human and material resources, catalyzing lasting change and creating an ecosystem in which the poor have the chance to seize control of their own lives.

About the Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative

The Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (“UPGI”) is a global unit of BRAC that was founded in 2016 to build off the success of BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation program in Bangladesh. BRAC UPGI aims to position the Graduation approach as a key driver to eradicate extreme poverty worldwide. It does this by: 

• Advocating for uptake of the Graduation approach by policymakers, national governments, multilateral institutions, and non-governmental organizations; and 
• Effective adaptation and implementation of the Graduation approach in countries around the world, supported through technical assistance and capacity strengthening for external stakeholders. 

In 2002, BRAC pioneered the Ultra-Poor Graduation (“Graduation”) approach in Bangladesh - a holistic intervention to help people lift themselves from extreme poverty - after recognizing that existing poverty alleviation programs were not reaching the poorest people. Through the provision of livelihood assets, cash transfers, and continued mentoring and training, the Graduation approach addresses participants’ multidimensional needs within the local context and ‘graduates’ people from extreme poverty into sustainable livelihoods. 

Graduation is an evidence-based, scalable intervention proven to break the poverty trap for the long term. So far, BRAC’s flagship Graduation program has impacted over 2 million Bangladeshi households—totaling over 9 million people. To help eradicate extreme poverty, BRAC UPGI is working to scale globally by integrating Graduation into existing government programs and help 21 million more people lift themselves from extreme poverty by 2026. 

But BRAC UPGI cannot do it alone. This is beyond the means and capacity of a single organization- no matter how ambitious or innovative. Sustainability and scale demands change at the systems level with active government engagement. BRAC UPGI is committed to creating effective solutions that leverage the available resources and existing programming to achieve the long-term benefits demonstrated by Graduation. The organization is partnering with governments, as well as multilateral institutions, NGOs, and civil society, in countries where BRAC UPGI thinks it can have maximum impact and drive greater uptake for Graduation.

About the Position

Reporting to the Operations Manager, the Operations Officer will support all aspects of operations and administration processes to deliver the UPGI scale-up strategy. This position would require close work with staff in Africa and Asia. As a result, there is a preference for the person to be based in one of BRAC International’s hubs in Washington DC, New York, London, the Hague, Nairobi, or Dhaka.

This role supports the Operations Manager with day-to-day project logistics, procurement, travel, and administrative operations.

Primary Responsibilities

The Operations Officer will primarily assist with all UPGI operations, admin tasks, and functions.  The position will as part of the People and Operations team.

The areas of responsibility for this role include:

Procurement:

• Assist supervisor in procurement activities in collaboration with Operations and Program teams
• Assist with identification of suitable vendors, collection of price quotes, documentation of procurement process, and management of electronic and paper procurement files
• Responsible for circulating RFQs, preparing bid analysis, and issuing purchase orders
• Coordinate all logistical arrangements for project-related events, workshops, seminars, and other training activities
• Responsible for managing & preparing service-level agreements for the smooth running of project activities
• Help manage and administer office resources, including office space, software, subscriptions, computers, hardware, and other related office systems and equipment.
• Organization of procurement and logistic: acquiring quotations from suppliers, preparing bid comparison reports, makes all purchases;
  

Risk Management:

• Support the quarterly reporting to BRAC International’s Executive Risk Management Committee
• Serve as Risk Coordinator for UPGI
• Update risk register for UPGI programs and offices
• Support the development and upkeep of the asset management system.

Administration:

• Manage travel arrangements, including staff Visa, air tickets, transport, and boarding & lodging for business purposes
• Support the organization of team events (meetings, workshops, etc.).
• Maintains a central filing system for required documents and forms.
• Support the development and systematic management of internal policies and their implementation across the company’s operations
• Organize and process invoices, service orders, and other expense claims to ensure payments and expenditure reporting are up to date.
• Help conduct compliance checks, donor due diligence, and other regulatory responsibilities.
• Support preparation for Operation & Procurement audit by internal & external audiences
• Fulfill other administrative functions as required

Human Resource:

• Assist with long-term and short-term recruitment needs for UPGI
• Ensure all trackers and databases are up-to-date and readily available for management information.
• Assist with the identification, selection, recruitment, training, and orientation of new staff members

Safeguarding Responsibilities 

• Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation to achieve the program’s goals of safeguarding implementation. 
• Practice, promote and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action.  
• Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, and encourage others to do so

Qualifications & Requirements

Person Specification

We are looking for an Operations Officer with proven leadership skills, the ability to see the big picture, a hands-on approach to getting things done, and a passion for supporting a global workforce to thrive in challenging environments.

Required Skills and Abilities

• Builds relationships at all levels with people from different professional and cultural backgrounds
• Demonstrate sound judgment, integrity, and sensitivity
• Exceptional organizational skills
• Strong communications skills; strategic and responsive
• Excellent working knowledge of Google Workspace and Microsoft suite packages
• Good understanding of procurement policies
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work an irregular schedule on occasion with the ability to travel frequently and on short notice throughout the country.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
• Minimum 4-5 of experience in a similar role (e.g., project administrator, project officer, human resources coordinator, or similar positions)
• Ability to make decisions under uncertainty and to assess potential institutional risks.
• Being proactive, assertive, and action-oriented; driven to work without supervision.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Certification in CPSP (Certified Procurement & Supply Professional) will be an added advantage.
• Previous knowledge or strong interest in global development.

How to Apply

This is an outstanding opportunity to support a highly effective, collaborative, and innovative non-profit. BRAC International offers a competitive salary and benefits package.  If you feel you are the right match for the position mentioned above, please follow the application instructions accordingly:

External candidates: Please email your resume, detailed cover letter, and annual salary expectations to BRAC International.  

Internal candidates: Please email your resume, detailed cover letter, and annual salary expectations with PIN to internal.bi@brac.net 

Only complete applications will be accepted, and short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Application deadline: 15 January, 2023

BRAC is committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share the same commitment. We believe every stakeholder and every member of the communities we work with has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation - regardless of age, race, religion, and gender, status as an individual with a disability or ethnic origin. Therefore, our recruitment process includes extensive reference and background checks, self-disclosure of prior issues regarding sexual or other misconduct and criminal records and our values are a part of our Performance Management System.

BRAC is an equal opportunities employer.