Executive Officer – MSI Asia Pacific
AboutUs
At MSI Reproductive Choices we are unapologetically pro-choice. As one of the world’s leading providers of contraception and safe abortion care across 37 countries, we provide high quality, safe services to those with the greatest need. We change the lives of our clients by providing them the means to choose if, or when, they have children.
MSI Asia Pacific (MSIAP) serves as the public engagement and project management office for MSI in the Asia Pacific region. We play a critical role in delivering MSI’s mission of ‘children by choice, not chance’ by supporting MSI country programs to expand access to family planning and safe abortion services. We do this in three key ways: fundraising with government and private donors, project management, and advocacy.
Our fundraising work has two streams: Institutional fundraising and private fundraising from individuals, trusts and foundations. Institutional fundraising is our core income source and we work closely with the Australian and New Zealand governments to maintain a pipeline of support for sexual and reproductive health services in Asia and the Pacific. Fundraising from individuals, trusts and foundations is a growing area of focus which we believe holds considerable opportunity for MSIAP.
We provide project management services to a number of country programs to ensure effective and efficient implementation of projects with funding sourced from Australia and New Zealand donors. We play a stewardship role that gives donors confidence in their investments and helps to secure future contracts. We manage risk and ensure learning is captured and feeds back into program design.
We advocate for the importance of sexual and reproductive health in a variety of forms and to the general public in Australia.
MSI is committed to creating an inclusive environment with a workforce which is representative of the communities we serve. Our team is deeply dedicated to our cause and we’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and give equal consideration to all qualified applicants without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or age. We are committed to promoting equality and safeguarding the welfare of all team members and clients, with a focus on vulnerable groups.
About the Role
The Executive Officer leads the MSIAP team and represents MSI’s global work in Australia and New Zealand. They represent MSI’s executive leadership in the region and ensure that all MSIAP team members manifest MSI’s global core values. They oversee all of MSIAP’s workstreams by managing the Directors of the project management, finance, fundraising and advocacy departments. They represent and express the possibility inherent in our vision for the future, and bring this with them to work every day.
The role reports to the MSIAP Board of Directors and operationally to MSI Global Leadership. They oversee a compliance regime which maintains full accreditation with DFAT and meets all Australian statutory obligations. They support the Board to oversee the good governance and risk management of MSIAP by preparing reporting content which meets both routine and topical requirements.
The Executive Officer develops strategy and provides leadership to the organisation. They are supported by the Senior Management Team to closely monitor the implementation of progress against annual plans and to ensure the wider team is effective and satisfied in their work. They keep policies and procedures up-to-date and relevant, and monitor their implementation.
This position requires flexibility with work hours during occasional travel periods and when working with stakeholders across multiple time zones, including the Global Support Office in the London and MSI-US office in Washington D.C.
Strategy, leadership and governance
- Inspire the MSIAP team to deliver MSI’s mission and build a high-performance culture underpinned by MSI’s behaviours and values
- Communicate energy, excitement and optimism to our team members and stakeholders.
- Ensure high levels of employee engagement through effective people management at both the team and individual level. Create a culture where team members are productive and satisfied.
- Develop and implement MSIAP’s strategic plans. Oversee the development of annual implementation plans and report progress against plans to the MSIAP Board of Directors.
- Prepare comprehensive reports to the Board of Directors three to four times per year and support the Finance Director to prepare for the Board’s Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.
- Lead the strategic direction of MSIAP’s international programming focus, working with partners to design relevant and forward-looking SRH programs, identifying programmatic needs and emerging issues.
- Lead the Senior Management Team by chairing meetings, setting relevant agendas and overseeing decisions and actions.
- Lead the wider team by overseeing structures to enable coordination, communication, planning and learning.
- Create a cohesive team environment by ensuring communication of key information and decisions from MSI, the MSIAP Board, Country Programs and other areas of the organisation.
- Ensure MSIAP’s DFAT accreditation is maintained at the full level by overseeing a compliance regime which monitors compliance against accreditation criteria and identifies areas for continuous improvement. Chair the internal compliance working group.
- Oversee MSIAP business planning and forecasting processes and provide effective financial stewardship of MSIAP’s resources
Fundraising
- Direct the fundraising strategy to deliver on stretch fundraising goals in support of MSI’s international agenda to create universal access to contraception and eliminate unsafe abortion
- Continue MSIAP’s track record of success in institutional fundraising and deliver on our huge potential to grow private giving.
- Relationship manage key donors
- In conjunction with MSI Country Programs and the MSI Global Support Office, contribute to new business development strategies. Ensure donor proposals align with broader strategy and are of a high standard.
- Ensure fundraising systems and processes are delivering timely, high-quality data to support income growth
- Ensure effective relationship building and communication with external and strategic partners engaged in donor funded regional projects
- Support MSI Country Programs to engage with Australian and New Zealand donors
- Represent MSIAP in MSI and external events
Advocacy and External Engagement
- Represent MSI’s overseas programming in Australia and New Zealand
- Deepen MSI’s engagement with DFAT, strengthening existing relationships and generating new ones, and introduce MSI more widely within MFAT and create the foundation for a long-term partnership
- Foster meaningful, mutually beneficial partnerships that are aligned with program goals and ambitions
- Advocate to the Australian and NZ governments and general public for sexual and reproductive health and rights as a key issue for the international development agenda
- Direct an external relations approach that ensures MSI’s expertise is used to inform policy positions and enhance the organisation’s overall legitimacy to engage in policy debates.
- Establish, monitor and evaluate partnerships with external partners and MSI offices to deliver against strategic projects and meet donor deliverables
Sexual and Reproductive Health Project Management
- Ensure best-practice implementation of donor funded projects. Oversee a team that maintains the highest standards of quality in all aspects of the project management cycle.
- Oversee external compliance to meet the ACFID Code of Conduct and maintain DFAT Full Accreditation
- Contribute to MSIAP organisational risk identification, mitigation and management
- Develop and oversee risk management systems to actively monitor project risks
- Oversee the implementation of MSI’s anti-fraud and bribery and safeguarding policies
Qualifications
- Relevant Degree (MPH, MA, MBA desirable) or equivalent professional experience
Experience
- Demonstrated experience in leading, managing and inspiring teams and a proven track record of delivering against stretch targets
- Significant experience and record of accomplishment in overseeing large Government grants, major private donors and/or complex multi-country operations
- Experience in project design, budgeting, monitoring, and evaluation for international development or health programs
- Experience in brokering partnerships and working collaboratively with a variety of stakeholders
- Experience in successful fundraising from individuals, trusts and foundations (desirable)
- Experience applying ACFID and DFAT compliance standards and donor contract requirements (desirable)
- Knowledge in health promotion, sexual and reproductive health or family planning (highly desirable)
- Experience working in the Asia Pacific region (desirable)
Skills
- Strategic thinker with the ability to provide leadership to deliver outcomes
- Highly collaborative and an ability to work effectively with a range of stakeholders and at all levels in an empowering way
- Effective planning and organisational skills with the ability to establish frameworks and procedures to guide work and track progress in a complex organisational environment
Any interested parties should contact Australia’s Executive Director of People & Culture – Clare O’Neill at clare.oneill@mariestopes.org.au
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Full-time: 38 hours per week
Contract type: Permanent
Closing date: 9 December 2022 (midnight AEST). Interviews may take place before this date for exceptional candidates.