Contract Management & Liaison Lead

Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in Business Administration, International Development, Law, Finance, or related field.
  
• Desirable: Postgraduate diploma or Master’s degree in Contract Management, Procurement, Project Governance, or a related field. Professional certification such as Contract Management Certification (CCMP) or equivalent, Procurement certification, or Project Management certification (PMP/PRINCE2).
  
• Position requires a minimum of 8 to 10 years of experience including 4+ years of experience in senior leadership or Lead/ Head of unit roles within international NGOs, donor funded programs or other international organizations.
  
• Experience in contract management, procurement, office management, or business administration within international NGOs or donor-funded programmes.
  
• Demonstrated expertise in drafting, negotiating, and managing contracts in compliance with donor regulations and organizational policies.
  
• Experience conducting compliance reviews, identifying risks, and supporting mitigation measures.
  
• Exposure to financial coordination tasks such as budget verification and assessing the cost implications of contractual decisions.
  
• Knowledge of financial management practices, including financial impact assessments, cost–benefit analyses, and managing budget implications related to contractual decisions.
  
• Experience contributing to risk management and audit readiness, including the implementation of compliance processes and support for contract audits.
  

Strategic Leadership & Federation Contracting Coordination

• Provide strategic leadership and direction for the CML unit. Lead and manage a globally distributed CML team operating within a complex international matrix.
  
• Provide strategic direction, coaching, prioritization, and performance oversight to MAs Relationship Advisor, contracting advisors, and coordination staff.
  
• Advise the COO, Executive Board, and IDS Leadership Team on strategic contractual governance, operational coordination, and Member Association relationship matters.
  
• Promote strong collaboration and alignment between IDS, MAs, PSAs, donors, and internal support structures.
  
• Provide strategic analysis, briefing materials, risk assessments, and scenario modelling to support leadership decision-making.
  

Contract Portfolio Leadership & Governance

• Provide strategic oversight of the IDS agreement portfolio, including Support Domain Agreements (SDA), Cooperation Agreements (CA), Externally Funded Agreements (EFA), Actual Use Agreements (AU) frameworks.
  
• Ensure effective coordination of agreement lifecycles from demand capture through planning, implementation coordination, amendments, monitoring, reporting, and closure.
  
• Oversee contract governance, compliance, risk management, and escalation mechanisms across agreement types.
  
• Coordinate with Legal, Finance, MA IDS Leads and operational teams on strategic contractual matters and governance decisions.
  
• Support standardization, simplification, and continuous improvement of contracting and engagement processes across IDS.
  

Demand Capture, Service Planning & Operational Coordination

• Lead federation-wide coordination of the IDS demand capture and support planning process.
  
• Ensure strategic alignment between MA demand, operational capacity, resource availability, funding outlooks, and service delivery priorities.
  
• Support scenario planning and operational modelling related to funding risks, MA participation trends, and service sustainability.
  
• Guide optimization of support catalogues, service packages, operational coordination models, and engagement frameworks.
  

MAs Liaison & Relationship Management

• Lead the strategic relationship management and liaison framework between IDS and Member Associations across the federation.
  
• Serve as a senior engagement focal point for National Directors, MA leadership teams, PSAs, and key federation stakeholders regarding IDS services, support frameworks, and operational coordination.
  
• Ensure proactive engagement, communication, follow-up, and relationship continuity with MAs throughout the lifecycle of support planning, contracting, implementation coordination, escalation handling, and service delivery follow-up.
  
• Support early identification and management of relationship risks, operational concerns, funding uncertainties, dissatisfaction trends, and escalation cases requiring leadership intervention.
  

Digital Transformation & Operational Excellence

• Lead design and utilization of dashboards, Power BI reporting, analytics tools, portfolio insights, and management information systems.
  
• Lead modernization and digitalization initiatives related to contract lifecycle management, stakeholder coordination, service tracking, workflow automation, e-signature solutions, and reporting systems.
  
• Support implementation of integrated digital platforms for operational coordination, contract governance, effort tracking, and portfolio management.
  
• Promote operational excellence, process simplification, scalability, and standardization across federation engagement and coordination processes.
  

Responsibilities to uphold safeguarding standards and promote a safe environment

As someone working for or on behalf of SOS Children’s Villages, you are responsible for helping to create and maintain a safe and protective environment for staff, as well as for the children, young people, and adult programme participants supported and cared for by SOS Children’s Villages. You are expected to:

• Commit to the Code of Conduct and reflect on the safeguarding implications of your work on an ongoing basis.
  
• Actively participate in team discussions to identify risks and share and apply preventative and mitigation measures and strategies.
  
• Integrate safeguarding principles into your daily decisions and tasks.
  
• Report any safeguarding concerns promptly and in line with procedures.
  
• Promote values-based culture, accountability and zero tolerance of harm.