WORLD UNIVERSITY SERVICE OF CANADA

WORLD UNIVERSITY SERVICE OF CANADA
Position Description
Position Title:
Position Location:
Reports to:
Contract term:
Deadline to apply:
Country Director, Sri Lanka
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Director of Programs, WUSC Ottawa
2 year contract renewable, starting ASAP
th
March 18 , 2015
BACKGROUND:
World University Service of Canada (WUSC) is a Canadian non-profit organization with a mission
to foster human development and global understanding through education and training. We are a
network of professionals, students, volunteers, faculty, and community leaders who, together,
provide opportunities to some of the world’s most disadvantaged youth. Our programs and
services improve access to and quality of education, expand employment opportunities and foster
empowerment for youth. We work with and through our southern partners – government, civil
society and the private sector.
The WUSC Country Director Sri Lanka has overall responsibility for the vocational training
project: Advancing Specialized Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET). ASSET is a multiyear vocational training reform project with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Highways, Higher Education
and Investment Promotion that is financed by the Government of Canada (DFATD). The project
began in 2014 and will end in 2019.
KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:
The Country Director position provides continuity in terms of the relationships with the
Government of Sri Lanka, DFATD and other stakeholders and is the prime point of contact with
DFATD in Colombo and Government of Sri Lanka ministries.
Reporting to the WUSC Director of Programs in Ottawa, the Country Director is responsible for
the overall management and administration of ASSET.
Management and Programming
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Working with WUSC Ottawa to set policy and planning priorities for ASSET;
Managing and leading ASSET project management team in Sri Lanka;
Supervising, directing and evaluating the work of the WUSC-SL staff and consultants in
coordination and consultation with team leads;
Overseeing management issues such as questions of employment practices, taxation,
banking controls,, NGO Secretariat and the line ministry, MHHEIP (WUSC is aiming to
have consistency in HR policies and practices across all country programs);
Recruiting, maintaining and directing the required administrative and project infrastructure
of staff, field offices (North, East, South and Colombo) and equipment as well as making
decisions on administrative policy, planning and procedural matters;
Providing ongoing project direction and monitoring.
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Security Preparedness
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Ensuring that WUSC security policies, procedures and preparedness remain relevant for
the current context in Sri Lanka.
Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) INGO Registration Requirements
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Ensuring WUSC retains a good open and transparent working relationship with GOSL;
Ensuring that WUSC in Sri Lanka meet GOSL memorandum of understanding (MOU),
registration, reporting, audit and transparency requirements;
Responding to information requests related to WUSC as an INGO in Sri Lanka.
Liaison, Representation & Public Engagement
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Liaison with all key stakeholders related to ASSET in Sri Lanka;
Representing project interests at meetings with donors, the UN and INGOs. This
currently involves principally the Canadian government and officials of the Sri Lankan
government;
Interacting on a continuous basis with a range of players – UN, ADB, bilateral, I/NGOs,
national government – in meetings and conferences that advance coordination and
collaboration.
Responding to inquiries regarding WUSC and ASSET in Sri Lanka.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Education
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A post-graduate university degree in international development; education; management;
economics; or other relevant social science. An undergraduate university degree plus
equivalent experience could be considered.
Experience and Competencies
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A minimum of ten years of progressively more responsible assignments related to
management of development projects involving technical/vocational training and/or smallscale income generation activities, at least five years of which must be overseas
(preferably in South Asia);
Proven managerial, administrative and organizational leadership skills, including the
knowledge of financial and narrative reporting procedures and a solid track record in
strategic program and project planning and implementation;
Proven knowledge and experience in the TVET sector in a management capacity;
Proven knowledge and experience in facilitating links between private sector actors and
TVET training institutions;
Proven knowledge and experience in social marketing and community engagement;
Proven experience managing a large, multi-disciplinary and multi-ethnic team of staff;
Diplomatic skills and the knowledge of inter-ethnic issues are necessary, as are proven
intercultural and interpersonal skills. Experience working in a post-conflict environment
would be an asset;
Complete fluency in English, including excellent oral and written communication skills are
required;
Proven experience of adaptability to a challenging and constantly changing environment
requiring iterative planning on a regular basis;
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A solid knowledge of computer software programs and in particular Internet, word
processing and spreadsheet software. WUSC uses MS Office as a platform in Sri Lanka;
Proven knowledge of and commitment to the concepts of Gender Equality;
Experience in capacity building with local partner organizations and a commitment to a
participatory partnership approach to development; and
Experience working within a CIDA/DFATD supported project including a solid
understanding of Results Based Management (RBM) and knowledge of DFATD’s
environmental and gender policies and reporting requirements.
Language
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Superior oral and written skills required in English. Bilingualism (English and French) is
an asset.
WUSC is an equal opportunity employer. Only those candidates selected for an interview will be
contacted. If you wish to apply for this position, please send your resumé with a covering
letter quoting reference number 15/01 to: jobs@wusc.ca .
No telephone calls please.