Academy Centre Director – Humanitarian Leadership Academy

We’re looking for an instinctive, strategic, thinker and leader to join us as Academy Centre Directorensuring a sector leading service to meet the humanitarian learning needs in Bangladesh. You will be responsible for leading the overall set up and implementation of the Bangladesh Academy Centre and the delivery of its learning and professional development portfolio, largely through extensive engagement with national learning providers and partners.

The mission of the Humanitarian Leadership Academy is to enable people around the world to prepare for and respond to crises in their own countries. The Academy works with the humanitarian sector and new partners from the technology industry, private sector and universities to help communities become more resilient in the face of disaster and give them the training and skills to respond to crises in their own countries. (For more information about the Academy, please visit our website athttp://www.humanitarianleadershipacademy.org/)

In this pivotal post you will report to the Chief Executive of the Humanitarian Leadership Academy and be responsible for a budget of approximately £1m. You will lead the start-up phase, directing the establishment of the legal and business structures and leading the development of initial governance arrangements for the Bangladesh Centre. You will also be responsible for the strategic direction of the Bangladesh Centre, leading on the development and implementation of the annual and long-term strategic priorities and business plans for the Academy Centre. Managing our operations, you will additionally:

• Ensure the design, resourcing, promotion and partnerships of the Academy Centre’s core services are effective to enable the Academy and its implementing partners to reach target number and quality of programmes delivered and individuals reached
• Recruit, mentor and lead the Bangladesh Academy Centre team, showing particular attention to professional development
• Lead the expansion of the Academy’s presence and activities in Bangladesh, based on need, opportunity and demand, by building a strong network of partners
• Manage and promote the development and implementation of a portfolio of Academy services, products, tools, platforms and other interventions, in coordination with the GAO and other Academy Centres
• Ensure the activities and services of the Centre in Bangladesh are aligned with the best of what is happening in the learning and development arena in Bangladesh and beyond
• Lead on the formation and management of regional and national partnerships with key stakeholders in Bangladesh and the wider South Asia region, to enhance the Centre’s ability to deliver, needs-oriented high quality and collaborative Academy products and services
• Develop a long-term strategic approach to the sustainability of the Bangladesh Academy Centre
• Identify new business development opportunities within the market, establishing and promoting the Bangladesh Centre.

To be successful, you’ll be fluent in both English and Bangladeshi with the right to work in Bangladesh but also a willingness to travel to insecure environments for short periods of time. You will have a proven record of leading a sizeable, complex service delivery operation and the development of multi-level operational plans. With an in-depth understanding of Bangladesh and the wider South Asia region, you will also have robust knowledge and understanding of the challenges of professional development in the humanitarian sector. In addition you will have:

• Solid strategic, business development experience on a comparable scale (preferably for a start-up venture)
• Experience of developing and leading productive partnerships with organisations, networks, funding bodies and companies
• Previous budget and financial management of at least £1m
• High levels of personal resilience to lead a team through change and challenges
• An entrepreneurial approach with confidence and intellect to challenge conventional thinking and ways of working
• Strong representational and communication skills
• Passion and energy to work in pursuit of transforming humanitarian response globally.

In addition, it would be desirable to have:

• Experience in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of humanitarian and/or development programmes with capacity building components
• Exposure to a rapidly growing organisation and robust understanding of associated risks and opportunities
• Proven experience of inputting into sector wide initiatives, developing strong relationships, working with multi-stakeholder groups/partnerships BA/BS or above
• Significant leadership experience in a business administration, accounting, HR or economics
• Proven track record of leading organisational development interventions within a learning and development context and preferably the development and maintenance of quality standards
• Significant experience of representing organisations externally and the ability to advocate sell ideas and influence at a high level
• Good knowledge and understanding of how the evolution of technologies is impacting on learning and development at local and global levels
• Experience of employing new technologies to improve knowledge management, organisational learning, networking and distance learning.

If you share our mission, are passionate about making it happen and strongly believe you can contribute then join us and we'll give you every opportunity to succeed. We look forward to hearing from you.

Closing Date: 7th August 2016

To apply please visit our website here.