Governance Advisor to the President

Governance Advisor to the President (f/m/d)

Location: Innsbruck or Vienna/Austria

SOS Children’s Villages International is the umbrella organisation for the global federation of SOS Children’s Villages. As a non-governmental social development organisation we help children without parental care and families in difficult living conditions through services in care, education, health and emergency relief, and we advocate for children’s rights. We work in 136 countries and territories, reaching over one million children, young people, families and caregivers each year.

Mission of the President’s Office

The office of the President actively supports and advises the President and the International Senate to promote, establish and nurture good, strong and cohesive governance across the Federation. In addition, the Office of the President supports the President and Senate in their high-level representation by making the brand more visible at various important policy-oriented places to advance children’s rights worldwide. Support the President to scale up advocacy and our external impact. Strengthen internal and external positioning of the President/ Governance.

Purpose of the position

Employees of the Office of the President, excluding the President and Vice-President, are part of the General Secretariat (SOS Children’s Villages International). In their assigned roles they report to and support the President regarding the President´s non-executive responsibilities and his role as the supervisor and chairperson of the International Senate

The Governance Advisor supports the President, Vice-President and the International Senate in strategic topics in order to strengthen overall governance and adherence to the Federation Statutes and Rules of Procedure. The Advisor will support the presidency and the International Senate to promote accountability and transparency at all levels of the governances within the Federation.

Tasks and Responsibilities

• Gives governance advice to the President, the members of the Senate, the committees and working groups by overseeing the process of agenda setting, collation and submission of comprehensive documents to the Senate in time and according to Rules of Procedures.
• Establishes rapports and interaction with legal bodies including committee ex-officious (Executive Board) and chairpersons to improve efficiency and simplification of agendas.
• Tracks discussions and inconsistencies on the implementation of the Federation statutes, Rules of Procedures and regulations that affect the global policies.
• Develops a proposal with key-stakeholders of the Federation on methods and approaches for major strategic decisions.
• Gives advice and support to the International Senate to build consistent consensus-oriented processes for strategic decisions through consultations, inclusiveness and participation of the members of the Federation.
• Establishes, clarifies and advises the international Senators on their legal liabilities and responsibilities. Is clarifying and identifying opportunities to improve and strengthen the international Senates mandate to govern and supervise the executive branch of the Federation.
•  Undertakes analytical tasks and discerning data on strategic outlook, building trust and unity and cohesiveness of the Federation.

Requirements

• University degree in law as a prerequisite, in addition: international relations, economics as an asset
• Certification in strategic management, organizational development, project management and/or risk-management
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience in strategic management, governance support and/or communication field, gained in an international environment and multicultural setting, possibly in an INGO or international governmental organization
• A minimum of 3 years in direct governance experience as Board Member or having given governance support would be desirable
• Strong negotiation and diplomacy skills combined with excellent communication (written and verbal) and stakeholder management skills;
• Sound planning and organizing skills with the ability to work in a multicultural environment in national and local contexts
• Excellent English language skills, French or Spanish language skills would be an asset
• High level of integrity and commitment to confidentiality, including the ability to work with highly sensitive data
• Awareness and strong commitment to SOS Children’s Villages organisational values: Commitment, Trust, Courage and Accountability

We offer

• A diverse range of interesting tasks in a leading INGO multicultural working environment
•  As a responsible employer we provide a range of training schemes and encourage educational enhancement
• A salary that will be commensurate with experience and qualifications

If you are interested in this position, please submit your detailed application in English until 1 November 2021 at www.impactpool.org.

SOS Children’s Villages International: www.sos-childrensvillages.org/