Director, Management Services

The Company

Commonwealth of Learning (COL) helps governments, institutions and organizations expand the scale, efficiency and quality of learning by using appropriate open, distance and technology-based approaches.

It is financed by voluntary contributions from Commonwealth Member States.

COL was established in 1987 by Commonwealth Heads of Government to create and widen access to opportunities for learning, making use of the potential offered by distance education and by the application of communication technologies to education.

Memorandum of Understanding on the Commonwealth of Learning).

Hosted by the Government of Canada with headquarters in Burnaby, British Columbia, COL is the world’s only intergovernmental organisation solely concerned with the promotion and development of distance education and open learning.

The organisation is governed by a distinguished Board of Governors whose membership of up to 17 hail from around the Commonwealth and bring leadership and expertise in a wide range of areas.

COL’s greatest impact is in supporting efforts to provide Commonwealth citizens greater access to quality education and training through open, distance and technology-enabled learning, thereby allowing them to benefit from improved livelihoods, greater gender equity and overall economic, social and cultural development leading to sustainable development.

COL is committed to promoting equitable access to quality lifelong learning for all believing, in effect, that access to learning opportunities will lead to progress in achieving sustainable development.

COL values and maintains an organisational culture that is respectful, ethical and fair. In line with this commitment, COL has in place a policy on Safeguarding to help keep all persons with whom it works and comes into contact with through its work safe from any form of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

COL’s Anti-Fraud Policy sets out the commitment to promoting a culture of integrity and transparency throughout the organisation where fraud and corruption will not be tolerated.

COL enables individuals to report illegal, dishonest, or fraudulent activity in good faith and will be protected against retaliation or fear of retribution as outlined in COL’s Policy on Whistle Blowing.

Purpose of the Position

Reporting to the President & Chief Executive Officer, the Director, Management Services (DMS) is the executive responsible for a diverse portfolio of management support services comprising finance, human resources, information technology services, enterprise risk management, governance, and facilities management.

With the mandate to enable, lead, and advance the health, efficiency, and effectiveness of COL's comprehensive resources (financial, people, and information technology) and processes, the DMS provides proactive strategic leadership to deliver client-centric, service-oriented services that facilitate and enable the successful achievement of COL's mission and vision.

Key Responsibilities Leadership and Governance

• The DMS is a member of the Executive Team and collaborates with the President, the Vice President (VP), and the Director, Strategy and Engagement (DSE), in the planning and implementation of core initiatives in support of the mission and strategic direction of COL.
• In collaboration with the President, the DMS supports and provides advice to the Board of Governors and its sub-committees, including the preparation of board packages, minutes, and agendas.
• Develops support service strategies that align with COL's Strategic Plan and oversees the streamlining of procedures, processes, and effective data integration to create proactive, innovative, and client-centric services and supports.

Strategic Planning

• Working with the Executive Team, engage in horizon scanning to identify emerging opportunities, risks, or changing needs / demands that impact COL's set objectives with the object of fostering COL's responsiveness and agility.
• In collaboration with the Vice-President and the Director, Strategy and Engagement, lead effective business planning processes to support resource allocation and the annual budget process.
• In collaboration with the Vice-President and the Director, Strategy and Engagement, support the development of COL's Organisational Performance Measurement and Management framework, to ensure that the organisational performance framework integrates well with the individual Performance Management framework.

External Relationships

The DMS is a strong advocate for open, distributed and online education and maintains ongoing liaisons with international peers as well as various consultants and external stakeholders, partners and Member States.

Also maintaining a strong relationship with our host country, via Global Affairs Canada, and significant service providers.

Financial Services

• Plan and manage all aspects of the treasury and financial services function including : the preparation and coordination of financial plans, resource allocation, and the annual budget process in collaboration with the President and the Vice-President;
• forecasting; and monitoring and reporting on expenditure, variance from budget and financial position.
• Oversee COL's financial control framework including financial policy development and compliance.
• Ensure operations are conducted in accordance with established Financial Regulations and Rules as well as ensuring compliance with generally accepted accounting principles;

and protects COL's diplomatic status.

• Liaise with the Auditor on the annual audit of the financial statements.
• Provide procurement and contract management services per established guidelines.

People and Culture

• Develop human resource policy and procedure and recruitment and retention practice to support the high level of international recruitment and cultural diversity of COL's talent pool.
• Provide human resource management services, including payroll and benefits.
• Develop and maintain effective frameworks for compensation and performance measurement and management.
• Lead succession and workforce planning initiatives that ensure ongoing excellence in recruitment and retention.
• Proactively and strategically recruit and retain outstanding staff at all levels.
• Ensure a positive, diverse, and inclusive work and learning environment that acknowledges the cultural diversity specific to COL's staff and Commonwealth recruitment.
• Coach and mentor direct reports to ensure their success.
• Provide direction, support, and advice to leaders and supervisors on matters related to employment relations.

Information Technology

• Provide oversight of information technology services and solutions in support of operations and administration.
• In collaboration with the President and Vice President, manage the Information Systems Steering Committee and the development and implementation of appropriate and cost-effective Information Technology policies, strategies, and procedures aligned with COL's strategic plan and extant admin, HR and finance policies and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with related privacy legislation, applicable regulations, and standards.
• Develop and implement the information security program to ensure data remains secure. Anticipate, assess, and actively manage new and emerging threats to protect staff, COL assets, and reputation.

Respond to data breaches and other security incidents.

Manage and enhance COL's systems for records management, information, contract administration, and contacts databases and the intranet.

Enterprise Risk Management

• Oversee the Enterprise Risk Management Framework that identifies, evaluates, and controls / minimises a broad range of risks to which COL may be exposed, whether strategic, financial, physical, operational, legal, or otherwise.
• Oversee the processes that enable COL to develop, maintain, and update the risk register on a regular basis; identify appropriate mitigation strategies;

and ensure that risk levels meet COL's risk appetite / tolerance.

The Candidate Experience and Professional Qualifications

• Experience and professional qualifications required for the role.
• Ideal candidates will hold citizenship within a Commonwealth country.
• A post-secondary degree in a relevant field such as business administration or finance along with an accounting designation is required.

Master's or equivalent in a related field (e.g., business administration) is preferred.

• A minimum of 8-10 years of progressive leadership experience in finance, human resources, or a related role. Prior experience in a director-level position is highly desirable.
• Experience in leading a diverse range of functions is required (i.e. finance, human resources, information technology), preferably in the public sector.
• Used to seeing and delivering on the big picture while playing a hands-on role in the day-to-day operations.
• Experience in an intergovernmental, multi-national organisation, as well as previous experience working with a board of directors and a variety of external stakeholders is an asset.

Skills and Competencies

Core competencies support COL's mission, vision and values. COL strives to model a high performing culture supported by leaders with the following competencies :

1. Envision

This role requires the competency of strategic thinking. It requires the ability to create and communicate a clear vision and develop strategies to achieve that vision.

This requires proficiency in the analysis of the external environment including trends, competitors, and education / learning sector developments to make informed decisions that drive the organisation forward.

2. Engage

This role requires the ability to fully engage employees. Our leaders both inspire a high sense of trust and demonstrate their trust in employees.

Organisational processes evidence such trust through the delegation of authority and shared knowledge and data. You lead by example and sets standards for professional behaviour, earning others' trust and respect through consistent honesty, integrity, and professionalism in all interactions.

As a leader you foster : a sense of team; the importance of collaboration both within and across teams; and highly interactive internal communication.

You influence others to be excited and committed to furthering the organisation's objectives.

3. Empower

As a leader, you understand your role in supporting your staff to succeed. Empowerment aims to equip employees with the autonomy to perform their roles more efficiently and make decisions that align with organisational goals.

You are predisposed to respecting and relying on the expertise of your staff and colleagues. With a focus on innovation, you inspire creativity and create a safe environment for employees to stretch beyond past practice and seek opportunities to test their ideas.

Your error tolerance combined with a strong emphasis on risk management, fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

4. Enable

As a leader, you aim to support organisational success through the success of your employees by providing staff with the resources, skills, and confidence they need to succeed in performing their jobs.

You enable co-workers to grow and succeed through feedback, instruction, and encouragement. You ensure others grasp the purpose and benefits of the program, strategy, goal or objective, tailoring messages to specific audiences to develop interest and endorsement.

You build constructive working relationships characterised by a high level of acceptance, cooperation, and mutual respect helping to create a work environment that embraces and appreciates diversity.

5. Execute

Our leaders effectively translate strategy into tangible results. This requires :

• a laser focus on organisational goals and objectives;
• the ability to manage both short-term and long-term outcomes;
• client-centric thinking;
• the ability to lead through change;
• the agility to respond to changing expectations, external environment, uncertainty and / or unpredictable variables; and
• recognition of the contribution of performance measurement and management to organisational success.

Personal Characteristics

• A forward-thinking mindset with the ability to anticipate future opportunities and challenges, with an ability to translate vision to executable strategic plans.
• Strong collaborative and interpersonal skills with a proven ability to work effectively in a team-based environment.
• Open and transparent; consultative, collaborative, respectful and inclusive; an effective communicator.
• Shows intercultural competency; can connect and engage with diverse individuals and groups.
• Entrepreneurial, resourceful; questions processes; challenges the status quo.
• Generates improvements and fosters positive outcomes; shows and encourages creativity in solving problems and mobilising resources.
• Shows fairness and integrity; inspires trust.
• High emotional intelligence.
• A strategic and data-driven decision-maker.
• Excellent verbal and written communicator, comfortable preparing proposals, presentations, and public speaking; acquainted with and adept at drafting communications in the diplomatic environment.
• Sound judgement and decision-making skills combined with the capability to identify key strategic issues, objectives, opportunities, and risks : ability to exercise professional judgement, discretion, and diplomacy while representing COL's interests.

Compensation

This role offers a salary range of $150,000 to $192,000, based on experience and qualifications.

Korn Ferry shall provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified candidates, and will refer candidates without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected basis.

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