IRAP Europe Operations Director
International Refugee Assistance Project
Operations
Berlin, Germany
Posted on Oct 3, 2024
IRAP Europe is made up of 18 staff members, including a team who provide legal aid to clients in Family Reunification and Humanitarian Visa procedures through direct legal services and partnerships with local NGOs and pro bono law firms. Working primarily from our office in Berlin, Germany, our staff directly represent clients in French, German, and Swedish procedures as well as in litigation before international courts.
We are seeking an Operations Director who will oversee three distinct functional areas—finance, human resources, and facilities administration—within the IRAP Europe Operations Team. This role will prioritize financial management by supervising the Senior Office & Accounts Manager, ensuring compliance with accounting standards, budget development, monthly bookkeeping, and timely reporting for tax advisers. Additionally, the Operations Director will guide the HR Manager in managing payroll, recruitment, and employee development initiatives, ensuring alignment with organizational values and staff well-being. In overseeing the Administrative Assistant, this position will also ensure effective facilities management, safety compliance, and operational support. The Director will play a crucial role in fostering cross-departmental collaboration, enhancing operational efficiency, and driving strategic financial initiatives to support long-term growth.
The Director will serve as the primary focal point for representing IRAP Europe Operations in internal Global Operations and external relevant groups.
This position will work closely with the Senior Director- IRAP Europe Programs and will report to the Senior Director - Global Ops.
Responsibilities
- Accounting/ Finance:
- Co-development of the annual IRAP Europe budget, in coordination with the Senior Director - IRAP Europe Programs.
- Budget management and implementation.
- Ensure compliance with relevant accounting standards.
- Oversee and analyze spending trends and relevant accounts payable by requesting relevant periodic reporting.
- Oversee the following monthly transactional finance-related processes of IRAP Europe gGmbH, through conducting periodic follow-ups with the relative employee in charge based on the intervals decided by the Director (daily/weekly/bi-weekly) in addition to managing the liaison required with other members:
- Bookkeeping
- Tax reporting for tax advisers
- Payroll
- Human Resources
- Serve as a thought partner for the IRAP Europe HR, providing guidance and fostering deep reflection on evolving HR needs and goals, ensuring all initiatives are intentional, aligned with organizational values, and support long-term growth.
- Oversee the following HR processes of IRAP Europe gGmbH, through conducting periodic follow-ups with the relative employee in charge based on the intervals decided by the Director (daily/weekly/bi-weekly):
- Contracts Management
- Benefits Management
- Payroll
- Recruitment
- Onboarding and offboarding
- Professional development
- Ensure HR compliance with IRAP policies, salary scale, and country-based legal requirements by requesting periodic reporting of IRAP Europe HR Ops.
- Facilities, Administration, Staff Safety and Security
- Take primary responsibility for the overall management of safety and security for all staff and IRAP assets in Germany.
- Create and maintain a culture of safety and security, including rapid creation, regular updating, and dissemination of security plans and training that prepare the staff for security incident prevention and response.
- Maintain close coordination and collaboration with the Senior Director of IRAP Europe- Programs and Operations Staff on crucial events, high-risk periods, incident reporting, or security policy changes.
- Develop and oversee office administration protocols, manuals, and compliance with German regulations.
- Responsible for physical office space, real estate, and technology in the Berlin office. Oversee the day-to-day facilities and general administration-related business of IRAP Berlin gGmbH, providing troubleshooting support and guidance to the employee in charge.
- Operations Team Management
- Manage the IRAP Europe Operations Team, fostering a team culture of accountability, collaboration, honesty, and respect.
- Supervise the IRAP Europe HR Manager.
- Supervise the IRAP Europe Senior Office & Accounts Manager.
- Supervise the IRAP Europe Administrative Assistant/ Office Manager.
- Conduct substantive meetings, including individual check-ins with each direct report, on a regular basis.
- Oversee the recruitment, management, coaching, and development of Ops staff to build an informed, skilled, committed, and motivated team with an emphasis on collaboration, equity, and excellence; encourage a team culture of learning, creativity, and innovation.-Institute a culture of performance management, regular feedback, and communicating clear expectations between supervisors and their direct reports.
- Responsible for creating an annual work plan for the Ops department, implementing a vision for the Department and its potential that is both informed by and shapes IRAP’s Europe and organizational strategic plan.
- Cross-Office/Departmental Coordination
- Collaborate with Operations functions in different IRAP offices as needed.
- Serve on working groups/committees to represent IRAP Europe operations as needed.
- Advise on implementing new systems and workflows.
- Liaise with the IT Specialist and the IRAP Global Tech team about operational needs for IRAP Europe.
- DEIAB, Org. Culture and Staff Well-Being
- Promote and monitor staff care and well-being, model healthy work-life balance practices, and support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs.
- Establish open and professional relations with colleagues, promoting a strong team spirit and oversight to enable staff to perform successfully.
- Create an inclusive environment where different work styles, personalities and approaches are valued; ensure all members’ voices are heard and respected.
- In coordination with IRAP’s Organizational Culture and the Senior Director- IRAP Europe Programs, provide for trainings on vicarious trauma and resilience for IRAP Europe.
- Take primary responsibility for the implementation of IRAP’s DEIAB commitments within IRAP Europe, in close collaboration with the Senior Director- of IRAP Europe Programs.
- Take primary responsibility for ensuring that IRAP's diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and Belonging (DEIA) principles are prioritized and carried out in programming priorities and operations and ensure that the perspectives of in-country personnel and their beneficiaries are represented and included as IRAP develops and implements its DEIA principles.
- Ensure all interventions adhere to IRAP Handbook and Manual policies.
Qualifications
- Education:
- A university degree (or equivalent) in business, management, finance, or a related field.
- Experience:
- At least five years of non-profit management experience in Germany.
- At least three years of supervisory experience of finance and/or human resources and administrative professionals.
- Experience working internationally.
- Experience overseeing administration and facilities.
- Experience overseeing finance.
- Experience overseeing HR and personnel
- Values, Competencies and Skills:
- Exceptional supervision skills with a strong sense of responsibility and duty of care towards staff.
- Strong interpersonal, communication, and collaboration skills, with a preference for experience working in diverse and international work environments and a proven ability to work with colleagues across multiple international offices and other programmatic and operational departments.
- Commitment to successfully employing an anti-racist/anti-oppression lens to foster a diverse, equitable working environment and create diverse teams.
- Ability to build and utilize strong relationships with staff, partners and other relevant actors and build highly effective working relationships with headquarters and leadership at other IRAP offices.
- Adaptability and resilience.
- Humility and awareness of their own strengths and professional development needs.
- Strong project management skills.
- Comfort with technology and data management.
- Highly organized and motivated, able to multitask, manage a high-volume workload, and have excellent time management skills.
- Excellent knowledge of German accounting standards.
- Excellent writing, analytical, and oral communication skills.
- C2 German language skills
- C1 English language skills
- French, Arabic, Swedish language skills are a plus, but not required.
Job-relate Requirements
- This position is based in Berlin, Germany.
- This position requires some international travel to other IRAP offices and off-site retreats (approximately two weeks of the year).
- This position requires in-office work at least 3-4 days per week.
Benefits
- Supplementary company health insurance for staff as well as their partners and dependents.
- Deutschland Ticket.
- Daycare reimbursements.
- A wellness reimbursement twice per year.
- Generous professional development opportunities.
- 25 vacation days.
- Office closure December 26-December 31.
- Approximately 24 additional paid office closures throughout the year (incl. public holidays)
Location:
The candidate will work in Berlin (Revaler Str. 100, 10245 Berlin)
Application:
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to two interviews and, optionally, a written exercise after the first round. Upon the final interview, interviewed candidates will be informed of their application status.
Reasonable Accommodation:
IRAP is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, IRAP will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please refer to your request in the cover letter.
IRAP is an equal-opportunity employer; people of color and individuals from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. IRAP does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, citizenship status, ethnic background, religion, political orientation, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or any other protected class. We consider all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of all local, state, and federal laws related to the Fair Chance Act.