• Operations Manager for DFAT’s Evaluation Improvement Strengthening Program
• Position Location: Australian-based – work from home position. Melbourne preferred.
• Part time: 24 hours per week. Additional hours might also be available (as an option, but not as a requirement) to support Bluebird Consultants.
• Reporting to: Bluebird Team Leader and working closely with the Bluebird Director
• Ideal start date: from 29 January

About the work

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has contracted Bluebird Consultants to enhance the Department’s evaluation practices, with the aim of improving Australia’s international development assistance. Bluebird Consultants is an Australian-owned boutique consultancy specialising in program design and monitoring and evaluation services for the Australian international development cooperation program. Bluebird will support DFAT’s Development Evaluation and Assurance Section to deliver the Evaluation Improvement Strengthening (EIS) program.

The EIS aims to enhance DFAT’s performance culture by:

1. Increasing demand for good quality evidence from senior leaders,
2. Building evaluation quality, practice and use in staff (including managing large evaluations) and
3. Building capability within the department through supporting posts (overseas locations) with evaluative activities and providing a responsive Helpdesk service.

The Operations Manager will be an integral support to the 4-person Core Team. The Operations Manager will provide a range of operational, administrative and logistical functions:

Manuals, Policies and Practice

• Lead the development and regular update of the Project Operations Manual, Standard Operating Procedures, and Risk Management Plan and Risk Register with guidance and oversight from the Team Leader and Bluebird Director. Ensure alignment with relevant DFAT policies. Support the implementation of the manual, policies, plans and procedures.

Helpdesk

• Support the establishment of the evaluation helpdesk, initially email-based, but transitioning to a website in the first three months.
• Support the Team Leader to scope and contract a website provider to develop the helpdesk website
• Provide ongoing coordination, contracting of consultants, and tracking of Helpdesk requests.

Financial management and administration

• Forecast and monitor expenditure and produce monthly expenditure reports against project budget, manage the project-level administration of the financial management system (e.g. review consultant invoices against contracted helpdesk tasking notes, upload invoices to the project financial management system etc).

Secretariat

• Secretariat for management meetings, including scheduling and taking minutes.

Other services

• Support the Team Leader to collate monthly data on project progress, and reporting.
• Update the website with content as requested by Core Team members.
• Support the Core Team with tendering and contracting of up to two large evaluations per year.
• Engage specialist service providers to undertake desk top publishing or video production as requested by Core Team members.
• Arrange invitations, venues, logistics and catering for up to two learning events per year.
• Support Bluebird team members with domestic and international travel arrangements as required.
• Assist to set up shared filing systems, and emails and secure data backups.
• Assist team members to progress security clearances through DFAT.
• General administrative support to the Core Team as requested.
• Other tasks not specifically mentioned may need to be actioned to support all project team members to meet project deadlines and budgets.

Selection Criteria

Essential Experience and Knowledge:

• Highly organised with at least 5 years’ experience in the management and administration of programs, including developing program operational policies and procedures.
• Financial administration and management including contracting, managing invoices and budget tracking.
• Outstanding relationship management skills.
• Strong skills in MS Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• Proven ability to meet deadlines and great attention to detail.
• Excellent communication and writing skills.
• Proactive and able to identify risks, solve problems, and escalate issues with leadership as required.

Desirable

• Sound IT skills, including experience establishing (with technical web development support) and maintaining a web presence.
• Excellent information management practices – keeping filing systems organised.
• Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural and collaborative (often remote working) environment.
• Experience tracking the delivery of programs.
• An interest in, or understanding of, international development and/or evaluation.
• Familiarity with DFAT policy and programming priorities, systems and frameworks.

Conditions

The successful candidate will be employed on a part time basis. This would be for 24 hours per week ideally managed across four or five days. This is a fixed term 2-year contract (with a 1.5-year extension option), entitling the incumbent to annual and personal leave (pro-rated at 0.6 FTE rate). The salary for this role $120,000 FTE (including super), which is $72,000 (including super) at 0.6 FTE.

This is a work from home position with occasional interstate travel. A laptop and basic home office equipment will be provided to the successful applicant. Four of the core team members are based in Melbourne, and one is based in Canberra.