Job Opportunity for Director of Operations at Fortify Health

Team: Operations

Salary: INR 30 Lakh per annum if India-based. (If the successful candidate is based outside of India, we will adjust salary by location)

Location: Remote (with a strong preference to be based in India)

Closing: 11:59pm IST, 16th June 2023*

*Please note: We will be reviewing applications on an ongoing basis before the 16th

About Fortify Health

Fortify Health has a vision for a healthier world where everyone has the micronutrients they need to survive and thrive. We work toward this by enabling access to micronutrient-rich wheat flour to reduce and prevent iron deficiency anaemia. We currently have operations in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Telangana, India, and plan to expand in other states in the next three years. We provide career development opportunities and a wide range of resources to support our team.

Fortify Health operates through three work streams:

• Open Market Support: We support millers to cost-neutrally fortify chakki atta in the open market;
  Government Partnership Support: We work with governments in India to mainstream wheat flour fortification through social safety net programs; 
• Evidence Generation: We conduct monitoring and evaluation of activities to inform the public about the value of food fortification.

Position overview

Over the next three years, Fortify Health plans to expand its programs significantly, reaching further groups of India’s population. The Director of Operations will play a vital role in this stage of Fortify Health’s development, laying the foundations for Fortify Health’s growth and ensuring that the organisation scales sustainably. The Director will be responsible for leading, implementing and innovating on Fortify Health’s operational and administrative processes, and managing the operations teams. Their focus areas will predominantly be human resources, operational stakeholder relationship management, information management, and legal compliance. The Director will also assist with procurement, finance and donor finance reporting, but those aspects will not form the core of the Director’s role, particularly in the longer term.

The Director of Operations will ideally have a background in people operations, with administration and logistics experience. They will also have experience of project management, line management, and setting/communicating clear goals for their team. The Director of Operations will initially line manage two operations team members based in India (see this org chart for the operations team structure). The Director will initially report to Fortify Health’s CEO.

Job responsibilities:

• Manage and motivate Fortify Health’s operations team and design a plan for the team’s future structure and growth  
• Lead and mentor the operations team within Fortify Health, ensuring that team members are motivated and supported
• Manage the work allocation, training and performance evaluation processes for direct reports in the operations team
• Create and execute a plan for growing and building the team, ensuring that the operations team has the mix of skills required to support Fortify Health’s expansion
• Develop and operationalise targets for the operations team with the CEO and communicate those targets to the operations team and wider organisation

Oversee Fortify Health’s HR and hiring processes and manage any changes to those processes

• Develop (with the CEO and leadership team) a HR and hiring strategy that caters for Fortify Health’s current and future needs
• Coordinate the actual implementation and functioning of Fortify Health’s HR systems, including for on-boarding, off-boarding, contracts and leave
• Work with team mates across Fortify Health to ensure that HR systems are understood, valued and implemented
• Collaborate with the Operations Specialist to ensure that Fortify Health has flexible, versatile, and efficient human resources systems that will operate at scale
• Lead the ongoing development of Fortify Health’s operational manual
• Grow and uphold people-focused values for the development and growth of the team members across FH

Work with the executive team to design and adapt the legal structure of Fortify Health and ensure that Fortify Health complies with applicable laws and regulations

• Assist or oversee others to complete NGO registrations where necessary
• Work with internal stakeholders and external advisors to ensure that Fortify Health complies with the requirements of its registrations or licences

Establish and maintain Fortify Health’s information management systems

• Monitor Fortify Health’s choice of information management to ensure Fortify Health is achieving value for money
• Strengthen Fortify Health’s information management systems by developing and implementing process documentation and a robust logic and structure for those systems among wider teams
• Work with others across Fortify Health to ensure that information management systems are well understood and properly implemented throughout the organisation

Oversee procurement within Fortify Health to ensure that Fortify Health’s programmatic teams have the equipment and materials they need

• Set the organisation’s procurement policy and SOPs with regards to supply chain and equipments
• Oversee procurement and supply chain needs with support from Operations team members and inputs from the Programmes team
• Oversee Fortify Health’s office management for the current and future Fortify Health offices 

Bring an operational perspective to leadership discussions within Fortify Health, ensuring that major decisions are made with potential operational issues in mind

• Participate in leadership conversations with others in Fortify Health and keep abreast of developments outside of Operations
• Proactively share thoughts on decisions within Fortify Health that might have operational implications
• Raise flags with the CEO and COO as and when identified

Help the Finance and Procurement Officer to operate FH’s finance and accounting systems, making changes where appropriate

• Monitor, oversee and optimise Fortify Health’s cash flow and projected expenditure through its different entities with the CEO and Finance and Procurement Officer
• Working with the CEO to support the rest of the leadership team to develop budgets, monitor progress against those budgets and advise on mitigating actions
• Please note that this job description is a guide to the work you will initially be required to undertake, but does not cover all of the duties the post holder may have to perform.
• Responsibilities will evolve over time, in discussion with the CEO.

If you were working as Director of Operations right now at Fortify Health, you would be:

• Leading the team to explain and implement a new travel policy for Fortify Health
• Collaborating with other directors to scope and improve Fortify Health’s hiring process for junior programmatic team members
• Working with the CEO to plan who to hire within the operations team
• Collaborating with the Chief of Staff to build a new competency framework and performance management system
• Building understanding of Section 8 compliances and spending with external advisors to support Fortify Health’s program teams in creating budgets
• Ideating the operations function OKRs for the next quarter(s) with the CEO and operations team

Requirements

• If you do not have all of these requirements or are not sure whether you are qualified, we would love to hear from you in any case!
• At least 6-8 years experience working in a management role in human resources, operations or logistics
• Emotional intelligence and communication skills: You will need to work closely with a range of people across Fortify Health, explaining policies and processes in a way which is sensitive, patient and tailored to the audience
• Organisation, pro-activity and independence: You will manage multiple projects at once, balancing multiple competing priorities. You will drive projects forward independently with limited direction
• Attention to detail: You will monitor the work of others to identify any mistakes and ensure that key documents are high quality, even within tight deadlines
• Analytical skills: The Director will process and analyse new information quickly to make well-informed decisions, taking into account Fortify Health’s activities and mission
• Fluency in English
• Ability (and the right) to work in a country in a timezone that is the same as or between GMT and IST, although we have a strong preference for a candidate who will be based in India

Desirable attributes

• Willingness (and the right) to be based in Pune, India
• Experience working in India or with teams based in India
• Experience working in the development sector or in a growing startup
• Systems thinking: An ability to think holistically about Fortify Health’s systems, and how to improve those systems
• An understanding of impact measurement and the principles of effective altruism
• Knowledge of NGO regulations and compliance, ideally in a UK or India context
• Proficiency in Hindi

Terms of employment: Contract for two years, renewal by mutual agreement

Selection process: The selection process for this role will consist of an application form, a written assessment and two interviews