Director of Strategy & Operations

Role: Director of Strategy & Operations

Start Date: Immediate

Employment Type: Full time, 3-year contract

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Mission for the Role

The mission of this role is to drive Teach For Malaysia’s overall strategy, performance, and operations. This role is part of the Senior Leadership Team and reports directly to the CEO. The Director of Strategy & Operations plays a central and critical responsibility in the life of a mission-driven, ambitious and innovative organisation that is going through a critical period of consolidation and growth.

The Strategy & Operations Director primarily focuses on (non-exhaustive):

1. Driving formulation and implementation of strategies across TFM’s strategic pillars, including generating buy-in from stakeholders to ensure that the organisation is able to effectively translate TFM’s strategic plan into actions with measurable impact.
2. Overseeing all areas of organisational sustainability, implementing any operational changes, and delivering measurable improvements.
3. Leading an organisational transformation journey by designing, improving and implementing strategic and operational planning & processes.
4. Working with the Chief Executive Officer and Leadership Teams to build the organisation’s culture and chart its course.
5. Providing financial, strategic, governance and operational advisory in assisting the leadership team to make timely and informed decisions and subsequently to communicate the organisation’s impact to internal and external stakeholders.

Key Measures of Success

• Overall effectiveness of the strategic planning process and on-going organisational performance.
• Financial governance as measured by the annual external audit process.
• Financial sustainability as measured by TFM’s cash runway and other financial health indicators.
• Corporate Governance - ensuring full compliance of TFM’s work with the various authorities.
• Staff engagement as measured by an annual staff engagement survey run by BCG.
• Overall efficacy of finance, talent, office management, operations, governance and technology - including ensuring day to day operational excellence and driving strategic thinking in each area.

Duties and Responsibilities

We are a fast growing and evolving organisation with more than 100 (and growing) passionate and high performing individuals that come to work every day because of the collective belief in the vision. As the Strategy and Operations Director, you will be part of a dynamic senior leadership team that collectively steers Teach For Malaysia. Therefore, we are not only looking for someone with the right technical expertise but also someone who believes in our mission and is committed to embodying our core values.

You are expected to achieve success in your role through a team of 10-13 people and outsourced partners cutting across finance and governance, talent, operations, events, strategy and technology functions. Apart from driving day-to-day operational excellence, you are expected to build a strong team culture – so that they can help other teams to achieve their goals by leveraging on your team’s support. Your ability to manage and lead is therefore crucial.

While you don’t need to have expertise in all these areas, expertise in finance, governance is a must while you need to be able to effectively manage the team, stakeholders and individuals with expertise in the other areas.

Your portfolio includes the following:

• Strategic Planning - Drive the setting of TFM’s annual and quarterly goals, monitoring progress towards these goals using data on a fortnightly basis as well as the budgeting and capacity planning; you will be facilitating this process with the senior and extended leadership team. In addition, you will also be leading the Extended Leadership Team “ELT” and their respective meetings, to ensure the ELT operates smoothly and conduct an annual evaluation of its effectiveness.
• Finance (With close working relationship with the fundraising team) - Financial reporting (including audit process), management reporting, budgeting and tracking, setting policies and procedures as well as matters of risk, governance and driving the Audit and Risk Committee agenda; you will be working with a Finance Manager and the Finance team. Additionally, in order to ensure overall organisational sustainability, you will work closely with the fundraising team to develop a diversified and sustainable funding base and generate additional funding opportunities for the organisation, leveraging especially on ESG frameworks.
• Talent - Building a strong culture reflecting the organisation’s core values by overseeing the Talent & Operations team in charge of hiring, on-boarding, talent management and development, performance management, culture building and HR operations as well as driving the Remuneration and Nomination Committee agenda; you will be working with 3-4 staff members in this area.
• Organisational Transformation -While some systems and processes are already in place, you are expected to uphold the integrity of existing processes; review, design and implement new systems and processes when needed to continuously improve the overall effectiveness of the organisation.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Organisational Representation - As a senior leadership member, supporting Federal government, Ministry of Education and corporate engagement strategies, building the capacity of the CEO and Senior Leadership Team against those strategies through effective organisational sustainability plans, and performing representational work yourself; Building partnerships that position Teach For Malaysia as a go-to education partner for the MOE and the community.
• Office management & Technology - Ensure smooth running of the office, adherence to statutory and regulatory submissions, maintenance of TFM’s IT infrastructure, project manage digital transformation initiatives; you will be working with 2 staff members and outsourced service providers / third party vendors in this area.

This role is responsible for overseeing the overall Strategy & Operations scope, which covers the following teams: Finance, Talent, Operations, Technology, Strategy & Governance and Events. Additionally, the Head of Strategy & Operations is expected to directly manage approximately 4-5 staff members, inclusive of matrix reporting lines.

The existing support for the role includes the Senior Leadership Team as general thought partners, Teach For All network for best practices among peers and consulting firms that have contributed pro-bono services before.

Required Competencies

• Minimum experience of 7 years, which includes significant leadership roles, expertise in strategic planning / corporate strategy and finance.
• Strong business and financial acumen.
• Working experience in management consulting is an added advantage.
• Exposure to talent management is an added advantage.
• Chartered Accountant qualification is an added advantage.
• Exposure to non-profit organisations or social enterprises is desirable.
• Experience creating financial models, planning, setting and monitoring budgets.
• Managing people – proven track record in achieving results through a team; able to develop people and team and have difficult conversations when required.
• Process expertise – proven track record in designing, implementing, maintaining and reengineering systems and processes.
• A solid understanding of the education sector including key system actors and recent policy directions, is desirable.
• Experience engaging with Board of Directors or Board-level executives is highly preferred.
• Strong written and verbal skills and excellent proficiency in English and Bahasa Malaysia.

Ways of working that are aligned with TFM’s core values:

• Collaborative approach – Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively with all levels of employees and stakeholders.
• Continuous learning – drive continuous learning to advance our organisation.
• Solution driver – ability to formulate and implement effective solutions.
• High performing – set high standard and ability to persist through challenges and obstacles.
• Aligned to TFM Core Values: Sense of Possibility, Excellence, Collaboration & Integrity.
• Passion for TFM’s mission, the education field, and developing people’s potential.
• Ability to be adaptable in an entrepreneurial, fast-paced, and dynamic environment.
• Able to think strategically, critically, innovatively, and in a resourceful manner.

Role: Director of Strategy & Operations

Start Date: Immediate

Employment Type: Full time, 3-year contract

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Mission for the Role

The mission of this role is to drive Teach For Malaysia’s overall strategy, performance, and operations. This role is part of the Senior Leadership Team and reports directly to the CEO. The Director of Strategy & Operations plays a central and critical responsibility in the life of a mission-driven, ambitious and innovative organisation that is going through a critical period of consolidation and growth.

The Strategy & Operations Director primarily focuses on (non-exhaustive):

1. Driving formulation and implementation of strategies across TFM’s strategic pillars, including generating buy-in from stakeholders to ensure that the organisation is able to effectively translate TFM’s strategic plan into actions with measurable impact.
2. Overseeing all areas of organisational sustainability, implementing any operational changes, and delivering measurable improvements.
3. Leading an organisational transformation journey by designing, improving and implementing strategic and operational planning & processes.
4. Working with the Chief Executive Officer and Leadership Teams to build the organisation’s culture and chart its course.
5. Providing financial, strategic, governance and operational advisory in assisting the leadership team to make timely and informed decisions and subsequently to communicate the organisation’s impact to internal and external stakeholders.

Key Measures of Success

• Overall effectiveness of the strategic planning process and on-going organisational performance.
• Financial governance as measured by the annual external audit process.
• Financial sustainability as measured by TFM’s cash runway and other financial health indicators.
• Corporate Governance - ensuring full compliance of TFM’s work with the various authorities.
• Staff engagement as measured by an annual staff engagement survey run by BCG.
• Overall efficacy of finance, talent, office management, operations, governance and technology - including ensuring day to day operational excellence and driving strategic thinking in each area.

Duties and Responsibilities

We are a fast growing and evolving organisation with more than 100 (and growing) passionate and high performing individuals that come to work every day because of the collective belief in the vision. As the Strategy and Operations Director, you will be part of a dynamic senior leadership team that collectively steers Teach For Malaysia. Therefore, we are not only looking for someone with the right technical expertise but also someone who believes in our mission and is committed to embodying our core values.

You are expected to achieve success in your role through a team of 10-13 people and outsourced partners cutting across finance and governance, talent, operations, events, strategy and technology functions. Apart from driving day-to-day operational excellence, you are expected to build a strong team culture – so that they can help other teams to achieve their goals by leveraging on your team’s support. Your ability to manage and lead is therefore crucial.

While you don’t need to have expertise in all these areas, expertise in finance, governance is a must while you need to be able to effectively manage the team, stakeholders and individuals with expertise in the other areas.

Your portfolio includes the following:

• Strategic Planning - Drive the setting of TFM’s annual and quarterly goals, monitoring progress towards these goals using data on a fortnightly basis as well as the budgeting and capacity planning; you will be facilitating this process with the senior and extended leadership team. In addition, you will also be leading the Extended Leadership Team “ELT” and their respective meetings, to ensure the ELT operates smoothly and conduct an annual evaluation of its effectiveness.
• Finance (With close working relationship with the fundraising team) - Financial reporting (including audit process), management reporting, budgeting and tracking, setting policies and procedures as well as matters of risk, governance and driving the Audit and Risk Committee agenda; you will be working with a Finance Manager and the Finance team. Additionally, in order to ensure overall organisational sustainability, you will work closely with the fundraising team to develop a diversified and sustainable funding base and generate additional funding opportunities for the organisation, leveraging especially on ESG frameworks.
• Talent - Building a strong culture reflecting the organisation’s core values by overseeing the Talent & Operations team in charge of hiring, on-boarding, talent management and development, performance management, culture building and HR operations as well as driving the Remuneration and Nomination Committee agenda; you will be working with 3-4 staff members in this area.
• Organisational Transformation -While some systems and processes are already in place, you are expected to uphold the integrity of existing processes; review, design and implement new systems and processes when needed to continuously improve the overall effectiveness of the organisation.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Organisational Representation - As a senior leadership member, supporting Federal government, Ministry of Education and corporate engagement strategies, building the capacity of the CEO and Senior Leadership Team against those strategies through effective organisational sustainability plans, and performing representational work yourself; Building partnerships that position Teach For Malaysia as a go-to education partner for the MOE and the community.
• Office management & Technology - Ensure smooth running of the office, adherence to statutory and regulatory submissions, maintenance of TFM’s IT infrastructure, project manage digital transformation initiatives; you will be working with 2 staff members and outsourced service providers / third party vendors in this area.

This role is responsible for overseeing the overall Strategy & Operations scope, which covers the following teams: Finance, Talent, Operations, Technology, Strategy & Governance and Events. Additionally, the Head of Strategy & Operations is expected to directly manage approximately 4-5 staff members, inclusive of matrix reporting lines.

The existing support for the role includes the Senior Leadership Team as general thought partners, Teach For All network for best practices among peers and consulting firms that have contributed pro-bono services before.

Required Competencies

• Minimum experience of 7 years, which includes significant leadership roles, expertise in strategic planning / corporate strategy and finance.
• Strong business and financial acumen.
• Working experience in management consulting is an added advantage.
• Exposure to talent management is an added advantage.
• Chartered Accountant qualification is an added advantage.
• Exposure to non-profit organisations or social enterprises is desirable.
• Experience creating financial models, planning, setting and monitoring budgets.
• Managing people – proven track record in achieving results through a team; able to develop people and team and have difficult conversations when required.
• Process expertise – proven track record in designing, implementing, maintaining and reengineering systems and processes.
• A solid understanding of the education sector including key system actors and recent policy directions, is desirable.
• Experience engaging with Board of Directors or Board-level executives is highly preferred.
• Strong written and verbal skills and excellent proficiency in English and Bahasa Malaysia.

Ways of working that are aligned with TFM’s core values:

• Collaborative approach – Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively with all levels of employees and stakeholders.
• Continuous learning – drive continuous learning to advance our organisation.
• Solution driver – ability to formulate and implement effective solutions.
• High performing – set high standard and ability to persist through challenges and obstacles.
• Aligned to TFM Core Values: Sense of Possibility, Excellence, Collaboration & Integrity.
• Passion for TFM’s mission, the education field, and developing people’s potential.
• Ability to be adaptable in an entrepreneurial, fast-paced, and dynamic environment.
• Able to think strategically, critically, innovatively, and in a resourceful manner.