Overview

Amani Centre for Street Children (also known as Amani Children's Home) is a nationally recognized leader in advocating for children’s rights and delivering professional services to street children in Tanzania. Amani reduces the number of children living on the streets by providing a nurturing place for them to heal, grow, and learn; reuniting them with their relatives when possible; and equipping reunited families with the ability to help their children flourish. Amani won the “NGO Leadership Award” for Africa in 2016, which was received on its behalf by one of the UN Directors for Africa.

Amani seeks a Chief Operating Officer who is passionate about children and youth, inspired by our mission, and will excel in providing expert leadership to a top-notch management team, overseeing Amani’s internal operations from a business perspective. The COO will ensure the continued financial and administrative integrity of Amani as it grows in revenue and related complexity, becoming a right hand to the Executive Director in providing operational cohesion across the organization. Together, they will lead a total team of more than 100 staff, spread over four locations, while managing an annual operations budget of $1.2m US.

A newly created position, the COO will play a significant role in: upholding Amani’s professional standards; ensuring that operational, financial, and HR infrastructures are of the highest quality; creating critical performance accountability measures; and ensuring staff empowerment, leadership development, and ongoing commitment to our mission. S/he will have experience successfully designing, implementing, evolving and optimizing both general support systems and complex financial management systems; a combination of leadership skills and emotional intelligence to effectively collaborate with internal and external stakeholders; and the ability to inspire and manage high-performing individuals and teams while fostering a culture of curiosity, innovation, excellence, and purpose where all staff can grow and thrive.

This position is based at Amani’s headquarters in Moshi (a mid-size town in the north of Tanzania, close to Mount Kilimanjaro and Tanzania’s main Wildlife Parks), with regular travel to Amani’s sites in Arusha and Singida.

Please visit www.amanikids.org to learn about Amani, and www.amanikids.org/coo to learn more about this role.

Ask Yourself the Following:

• Are you an inspiration for high standards and sound judgement?
• Are you the very definition of a successful multi-tasker?
• Do you have experience building policies and systems advancing the success of large organizations?
• Do you set an example for leadership and professionalism?
• Do others value your ideas as a treasured advisor?
• Are you tactful confronting and managing challenges?
• Is your advice sought after and cherished?
• Do you have the patience and determination needed to navigate bureaucracies?
• Are you outstanding at managing expectations and meeting deadlines?
• Do you take pride in being a collaborative leader, building coalitions and consensus?

If your answers are “yes” and your interest is piqued, continue reading.

Amani’s Expectations of Experience for Qualified Candidates:

Strong candidates will offer a genuine passion for Amani’s mission and a track record of senior operations management skills and experience in a large (> 20 FTE) organization, preferably in the social-service sector.

Other desired qualifications include:

• Ten or more years of relevant work experience, including at least 5 years in senior management for a large for-profit / non-profit organization (>20 FTE).
• Clear record of achievement and high-level expertise in financial management.
• Demonstrated resourcefulness in setting priorities, change management, proposing new ways of creating efficiencies, and guiding investment in people and systems.
• An independent, confident leader who is comfortable supporting a deeply committed Executive Director.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communications skills, including the ability to work effectively with a broad range of stakeholders – both internally and externally – by building trust and effective, genuine relationships. Humor, integrity, charisma, patience, and a natural learning posture.
• Track record of success in working with government agencies at local and national levels.
• Excellent strategic planning and execution skills, including experience developing and implementing operational plans to fulfill a broader vision or mission.
• A results orientation and a commitment to accomplishing concrete outcomes.
• Proven cross-cultural competencies; international exposure being a distinct plus.
• Commitment to Amani’s aims and objectives. Mission-driven.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, hands-on, and rapidly changing environment.
• Full fluency in written and spoken English is a requirement; Swahili conversation skills are highly desired.
• Bachelor’s Degree required with an advanced degree in a related field (such as business administration or public administration) preferred.

Amani Offers the Suitable Candidate:

• A competitive salary (for East African NGOs) plus a secondary benefit package.
• A unique opportunity for impact and national leadership, working with a first-rate leadership team in a dynamic environment.

Application Process and Details:

• Full job description is available at www.amanikids.org/coo. To apply, please submit a cover letter and CV/resume in English by email only to: careers@amanikids.org. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply, though preference will be given to Tanzanian nationals.
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted and will be requested to present diplomas, certificates, and testimonials. Kindly do not, therefore, send such documents until having been short-listed and invited for an interview.
• The position will remain open until filled.