Vice President, Operations

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Location: Headquarters - Washington, DC, USA

Address: Washington, DC

Job Type: Full-Time

Posting Date: 06/27/2025

COMPANY DESCRIPTION
Amideast is an American nonprofit organization established in 1951 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. with country and project offices in the Middle East and North Africa region and beyond. The organization provides transformational education, training, testing, and exchange programs that enable individuals, companies, and international partners to better address 21st-century challenges at home and abroad. 

For more information about the organization, visit us at www.amideast.org.

POSITION DESCRIPTION
The Vice President of Operations is a member of the organization’s Senior Leadership Team and plays a critically-important role in ensuring that the organization has appropriate systems, services, and resources in place to support staff at Headquarters and in the overseas country offices to deliver in-person, online, and hybrid programs and services effectively to its clients and customers.   

The Vice President of Operations is responsible for overseeing the organization’s corporate services in the areas of risk management and compliance; facilities and assets; human resources; and information technology (IT), ensuring efficiency, effectiveness, cost containment, and alignment with the mission and strategy. This role focuses on optimizing administrative processes, ensuring compliance with U.S. and host country government laws and regulations, and fostering a culture of continuous process improvement, equity, and accountability.  The Vice President of Operations will also be responsible for the management oversight of selected country offices, working directly with respective country directors and fellow SLT members to achieve business growth, profitability, and financial sustainability.  As such, the Vice President of Operations has the critically-important responsibility for the direct supervision of the Senior Director of Human Resources; the Senior Director of IT; the Director of Risk Management, Compliance, Assets, and Facilities; and selected field-based directors who manage country offices. 
 
This high-impact role requires a seasoned individual who possesses exceptional leadership, supervisory, strategic thinking, financial management, and analytical skills, as well as an entrepreneurial mindset.  

RESPONSIBILITIES
Key responsibilities for the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Risk Management and Compliance

• Manage the organization’s corporate insurance portfolio to ensure that policies are current and that they provide sufficient coverage for staff, members of the Board of Directors, facilities, and assets. 
• Develop and manage a system for tracking compliance with all required business license registrations, regulations, and agreements for headquarters and country offices 
• Ensure that safety and security protocols, as well as associated training programs, are in place in all facilities throughout the organization.
• Ensure that emergency notification and communication protocols are in place for all staff throughout the organization, including for Education Abroad programs.
• Serve as the main point-of-contact for any emergency situations that affect the safety and security of staff and members of the Board of Directors, as well as office operations and facilities. 
• Remain current and advise relevant country office and HQ staff on regulations, policies, and procedures affecting Education Abroad programs.

2. Facilities and Assets

• Maintain comprehensive tracking systems for leasehold agreements and capitalized and non-capitalized assets in compliance with the organization’s knowledge management system.
• Manage negotiations with property owners for leasehold agreements for current and new office facilities for HQ and country offices to ensure that favorable business terms and force majeure/termination clauses are in place.
• Review office space utilization metrics on a scheduled basis and prepare and present reports to the Senior Leadership Team and the respective country directors to inform decisions regarding facility requirements.
• Oversee the renovation plans for current and new office facilities, including the procurement of vendors and assets, as required.
• Oversee and monitor office systems and operations to ensure that resources are in place, allowing for a smooth implementation of business operations.
• Conduct a periodic review of assets and property inventory and recommend disposition actions for headquarters and country offices, as required.

3. Human Resources

• Oversee the implementation of all human resource management systems regarding staff and consultant recruitment, hiring, separation, and termination actions in compliance with relevant labor laws and regulations in the United States and overseas.
• Oversee the design and implementation of an annual human resource training and development plan to ensure that staff have required knowledge, skills, and abilities to implement the organization’s strategy and to offer client-focused and impact-orientation programs and services.
• Supervise the planning processes regarding the various benefits programs, working to ensure that Amideast provides staff in the United States and overseas with optimal plans for medical and life insurance and for retirement savings plans within the financial resources of the organization.
• Ensure that the organization implements its performance review system on an annual basis.
• Ensure that all human resource policy, employment agreement, and employee handbook documentation is current and in compliance with labor laws and regulations in the United States and overseas.
• Serve as the main point-of-contact with legal counsel regarding human resource, labor law, student visa, and immigration issues, as required.
• Oversee the planning and implementation of employee engagement activities to drive productivity, enhance retention, foster innovation, and ensure a positive and respectful workplace culture. 

4. Information Technology

• Oversee the design and implementation of Amideast’s information technology strategy to ensure that the appropriate infrastructure, systems, and resources – human and technological – are in place that allow for the efficient and effective delivery of programs and services.
• Ensure that data management and cybersecurity systems are in place to protect data, intellectual property, and communications.
• Determine the most cost-effective use of organizational resources regarding required staffing patterns and vendor engagements for hardware and software systems and platforms.
• Monitor industry developments and trends and conduct a regular review of the organization’s systems and staffing patterns to determine the most cost-effective approach for the delivery of all required IT services that facilitate organization-wide operations. 

5. Oversight of Selected Country Offices and Operations

• Provide strategic leadership to, and oversight of selected country offices to ensure that adequate resources, technology, facilities, and partnerships are in place to implement programs and services and to contribute to the achievement of business objectives. 
• Conduct a monthly P&L review of the country offices in an effort to achieve all planned program and revenue targets and the sustainability of operations in coordination with fellow SLT members. 
• Review and approve human resource requirements regarding full-time employees and consultants.
• Monitor economic, investment, human resource development, and political trends in the various countries and coordinate associated business growth strategies with the respective country directors and fellow SLT members.


QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS
Required
• A Master’s degree in business administration, educational administration, operations management, or a related field. 
• A demonstrated record of success in senior leadership roles in the non-profit sector, with at least 15 years of experience in operations, corporate services, and personnel management. 
• Demonstrated understanding of operational best practices and process optimization with a proactive approach to identifying challenges and to developing solutions that advance operations and service delivery.
• Strong business acumen and financial literacy, with demonstrated experience in budgeting, financial analysis, system planning, and resource management. 
• Excellent negotiation and vendor management skills.
• Exemplary leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to balance sensitive political and cultural issues with business growth and operational priorities and to develop a broad base of working relationships that are positioned to achieve common goals.
• Demonstrated strategic thinking and planning skills with the ability to translate vision into actionable plans and to achieve results in a dynamic and challenging environment.
• Excellent spoken and written communication skills, with the ability to engage and to influence stakeholders effectively at all levels of the organizations.
• Sound judgment and decision-making abilities, with a focus on integrity, ethics, and professionalism. 
• A demonstrated knowledge of the education, corporate, and governmental sectors of the Middle East and North Africa region.
• A basic level of proficiency in Arabic and/or French.

Preferred

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
• An advanced level of proficiency in Arabic and/or French.  
• Professional work experience and residency in the MENA region.
• HEI/Education Abroad risk management knowledge and/or experience.

WORK ENVIRONMENT
The incumbent in this position will work in a professional office environment and will utilize the following equipment when working from the corporate office or remote home office (on a hybrid basis).
• Computer (laptop or desktop)
• Printer/Photocopier/Scanner/Fax
• Telephone
• Other (Specify if any)

Up to 15% business travel may be required to support knowledge management practices as needed.

Interested individuals should submit an expression of interest letter and an updated resume, and they should complete the application form. Applications without an expression of interest letter will not be considered. 

The physical demands and work environment that have been described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act or local law.

This position description is an overview of the major functions and requirements of this position. This document is not intended to be an exhaustive list encompassing every duty and requirement of the position; the Employee’s Manager may assign other duties as related or as otherwise deemed appropriate and necessary within the general scope, without the need for additional compensation.

Amideast is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Positions that involve interaction with children will be required to read, acknowledge, and comply with and attend special training in accordance with the Child Protection and Safeguarding policy. All Amideast representatives must comply with the Code of Conduct and all applicable organizational policies which include but are not limited to, Anti-Human Trafficking and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.