Position Title: Systems Solutions Champion

Reports To: Senior Manager, Processing Compliance

Supervises: Senior START Specialists

Division: CWS Africa

Department: Programs

Team: Regional

Job Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Grade Level: 8, International

Introduction:

Church World Service (CWS) is a not-for-profit, faith-based organization transforming communities around the globe through just and sustainable solutions to hunger, poverty, displacement and disaster. CWS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, genetic information, age, disability or veteran status in employment or in the provision of services.

Primary Purpose:

The Systems Solutions Champion serves as RSC Africa’s primary focal point with the Refugee Processing Center (RPC) on matters related to the functionality and further development of START, including the use of Processing Guides and Local SOPs. This position is dedicated to RPC-directed activities and relies on support and cooperation from and collaboration with RSC colleagues to advance training, system testing, processing guidance and local SOP review/drafting, business process changes, change implementation, and other activities to improve standardization in guidance and data, to increase processing efficiency and maximize the use of system enhancements, and to streamline and enhance reporting.

Key Relationships:

Internal to CWS

• RSC Director
• Deputy Director, Program Implementation
• Deputy Director, Program Development and Quality
• Associate Directors
• Senior Managers
• Country Office Program Coordinators
• Programs Managers and Supervisors
• MEAL Unit
• Learning and Development Unit

External

• BPRM Program Officer
• Refugee Coordinator
• UNHCR
• IOM
• RPC
• Other NGOs (HIAS and RefugePoint)
• Resettlement Agencies
• Other RSCs’ Systems Solutions Champions

Working Environment

• Primarily in-office with occasional work from home as requested and approved.
• Periodic travel to the field as may be required.

Core Job Responsibilities:

Leadership and Management (20%)

• Provide input in strategic planning conversations to achieve RSC Program goals.
• Champion CWS policy, procedures, and organizational culture to staff, and contribute to strategies for ensuring staff fully understand and abide by CWS policies.
• Engage in effective START team management as per CWS expectations, including: ensure policies, procedures, and culture are understood and abided by; provide clear expectations, managing performance, yearly performance evaluations, and coordinating proper use of benefits; providing coaching and corrective action plans as needed; effective communication; maintaining accurate job descriptions; ensuring a safe and professional work place; and promoting safe-space, open door, and escalation policies.
• Provide input on quarterly and/or annual departmental staff and work projections, which contribute to Programs annual budget.
• Determine and apply cost saving measures to ensure program sustainability.

Program Administration (25%)

• Develop work plans for Senior START Specialists.
• Complete or assign RPC Data Call requests.
• Track progress towards achievement of established annual goals and objectives.
• Create Implementation Plans and deploy staff and resources to ensure timely and efficient work output, in coordination with Programs Management.
• Ensure that START Processing Guides are updated on time and changes are messaged to Programs staff effectively.
• Provide RSC with the latest updates on system development and support knowledge sharing back to respective units.
• Provide additional analysis and support to SPS tickets; offer subject matter expert expertise and participate in SPS meetings or identify appropriate colleagues to serve based on issues being discussed.
• Maintain a thorough and current awareness of PRM, RPC, and RSC policies, plans, initiatives, and developments that impact or otherwise influence RSC staff.
• Coordinate and oversee User Acceptance Testing on an as-needed basis.
• Serve as the primary POC for the RPC build / development team.
• Liaise with RPC staff and maintain active and productive relationships with relevant RSC POCs needed to review, verify, or validate the development of RPC-driven changes and new functionality.
• Support RPC build/development team with Design and Deployment considerations by analyzing new requirements, design, and build for accuracy and relevancy, with recommended revisions.

Representation (20%)

• Serve as the RSC lead for communication with the RPC regarding START, participate in RPC & SSC collaboration and knowledge-sharing forums, and coordinate with other RSCs on a rotating basis, as assigned by RPC.
• Oversee presentations to RPC highlighting top questions/issues/pain points received from RSC colleagues for RPC’s situational awareness.
• Maintain effective relationships with RSC Africa/USRAP partners, including PRM, USCIS, IOM, UNHCR, RPC and domestic Resettlement Agencies.
• Ensure partner communication is professional, timely and proactive.
• Occasionally travel to the country offices to meet with country office programs staff on processing matters.
• Ensure staff are professional when representing CWS/RSC Africa to refugees, partners, the funder, and colleagues.

Compliance (15%)

• Report any identified areas of significant compliance risk for the RSC Africa program.
• Ensure all refugee case processing functions within the team strictly adhere to DOS/BPRM, USCIS, RPC, CWS and RSC Africa policies, guidelines, and procedures.
• Provide input on effects of external policy updates on the department’s internal SOPs and workflow and implement changes due to these updates.
• Ensure timely and accurate reporting of suspected fraud, malfeasance, and data breaches.
• Conduct regular departmental process reviews to compare requirements vs. current processing and outputs and implement process changes based on the outcome of the process reviews.
• Conduct QCs and job function observations of staff to ensure compliance is met and identify areas of improvement or training needs.
• Ensure START trainings are up to date.
• Perform spot checks / quality checks on cases in START to ensure RSC staff are using functionality as intended; provide spot check analysis and recommendations to RSC leadership and RPC.

Data Management and Analysis (15%)

• Ensure that all unit activities are completed in an efficient and effective manner and reflect USRAP priorities for Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of START cleanup filters and reports and quality control (QC) checks. Ensure reports are accurate and efficient.
• Develop annual and monthly projections to inform the START team priorities.
• Collaborate with other Programs units for improved processing efficiency across the department.
• Support creation of in-system solutions to prevent the need for some reports.
• Provide critical analysis of START data, backed by subject matter expertise, to identify trends and gaps in appropriate implementation.
• Ensure timely and accurate reporting by the START Unit to RSC Africa leadership and the RPC.

Additional Roles and Responsibilities (5%)

• Any other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Experience:

• A minimum of 8 years of paid work experience is required.
• A minimum of 2 years of direct supervisory experience with responsibility for hiring, evaluating performance, administering corrective action, and directing day-to-day work is required.
• Previous experience with the USRAP required.
• Demonstrated management experience, to include administrative, program, and project management, with a refugee serving/processing agency(s) preferred.
• USPH preferred, but not required.

Skills:

• Strong analytical skills and excellent report-generation skills with the ability to understand, process and document information for a variety of audiences.
• Strong supervisory skills and understanding of performance management systems.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Advanced computer knowledge, specifically with MS Access, MS Outlook, MS Excel and other statistical analysis programs.
• Strong English communication skills, both oral and written.

Education & Certifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in a related field, or four (4) years of paid work experience in lieu of a Bachelor’s Degree required.

Abilities:

• Work and make decisions independently and contribute to overall operations of RSC Africa at management levels;
• Maintain a high performance standard with attention to detail, completing tasks within set timeframes;
• Exercise good judgement and seek guidance as appropriate when confronted with unanticipated problems;
• Deal effectively and courteously with a large number of associates, outside agencies, refugees and members of the general public;
• Manage large and diverse workload under pressure with competing priorities.
• Maintain the integrity of official records;
• Analyze and solve complex problems and make sound decisions;
• Work with minimal supervision;
• Be flexible with changing of daily duties as needed;
• Actively participate in the implementation of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).

Important Requirements:

• Strong English communication skills, both written and oral.
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment required.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and willingness to support CWS’ Platform on Racial Justice as a CWS employee required.

Special Requirements:

• COVID Vaccination is required for all successful candidates.
• The candidate should be in good health, willing and able to travel extensively in often difficult conditions and have a high degree of flexibility. Must have proof of Yellow Fever vaccination before traveling for RSC Africa.
• This position is based in Nairobi, Kenya
• This position requires the use of laptops at all times, competence in Microsoft Office packages is required.
• This position may require travel in sub-Saharan Africa on short notice and under sometimes difficult conditions to meet the demands of a dynamic operational program.
• A background check which includes references and an educational and criminal check is required before the start of employment for International applicants.
• A valid passport and the ability to maintain a valid passport throughout the entire appointment is required, which includes having enough passport pages for travel.
• The US Embassy rates Kenya as both HIGH in crime and HIGH in terrorism. Incumbents should fully understand the insecurities present within Kenya and the region.
• This position is Full time.
• All employees should be prepared to work from the CWS office within their location of hire. Remote work arrangements may vary depending on location and the governing rulings regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please Note – CWS recruitment is free of charge.

Church World Service (CWS) does not charge fees of any kind during the recruitment process (Submission of application, interviews, assessments, training, etc.). Any solicitation of funds should be reported to Fraud@CWSAfrica.org*.***