GENERAL MANAGER, MLINDA CHARITABLE TRUST JULY 2020
ABOUT MLINDA GROUP More than 734 million people still live in extreme poverty today, struggling to fulfil the most basic needs like health, education, and access to water and sanitation. Over the course of the last generation economic growth has helped more than a billion people leave the most destitute living conditions behind. But while consumption and production drive the global economy and lift people out of poverty, they deplete the earth’s resources and cause harmful greenhouse gas emissions. They threaten everything we care about: well-being, security, culture, landscape, and financial stability. Mlinda works in developing countries to create economic growth while reducing the threat of wasteful production and consumption. We build market-based solutions that are self-sustaining, replicable, and scalable. Mlinda is an international group of charities and one company, led by Mlinda Foundation CIO, a UK registered charity.
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MLINDA IN INDIA India has halved its poverty rate since the 1990s. Part of this story has been India’s unprecedented progress towards universal electricity access. But half of all grid-users face power cuts of at least 8 hours daily. In rural areas especially, this means it can be impossible to run a business or generate an income using the national grid. This limits the opportunities for the 50 million Indians who still live in extreme poverty. Since 2014, Mlinda has worked in India to develop a model of sustainable economic growth using rural solar electrification as a catalyst for change. We design, build, and maintain solar mini-grids and sell the energy for domestic and productive uses. The villages we work in experience positive environmental, social, and financial outcomes such as a reduction in CO2 emissions and increased household incomes. Women spend less time on domestic chores and children study longer under healthier lighting. Mlinda’s work in India is delivered by two organisations that work in close partnership - Mlinda Sustainable Environment Private Limited (MPL) and Mlinda Charitable Trust (MCT).
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MPL Mlinda Sustainable Environment Private Limited (MPL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mlinda Foundation CIO. MPL is responsible for installation, operations, and maintenance of solar min-grids in the Gumla district of Jharkhand. MPL will shortly achieve their goal to supply 50 villages with a total of 1124 kW of reliable electricity, reaching over 40,000 people.
MCT Mlinda Charitable Trust is an independent Indian charity and member of the Mlinda Group. The charity’s main aim is to support sustainable economic development in the communities where we operate. This is done by building up the local economic infrastructure, supporting the growth of financially and environmentally sustainable businesses, and performing research and development on innovative ways to do this. This is an exciting and challenging time to join the Mlinda Group. With the renewable energy infrastructure in place across 50 villages, the charitable trust will now hold a central role in the group, creating and implementing a vision of sustainable economic development using renewable energy as a catalyst for growth. At the same time, Mlinda has a challenge of leading the organisation through Covid-19 and the many changes to life for their employees and the communities they serve.
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THE ROLE Job Title:
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General Manager, Mlinda Charitable Trust
Reporting to:
Executive Director of the Mlinda Group
Location:
Gumla or Ranchi (with 5 days a week travel to Gumla), Jharkhand, India
KEY OBJECTIVES 1. Lead a resilient, agile, and flexible organisation in the best interests of all its stakeholders. 2. Take overall operational responsibility for MCT as part of the Mlinda Group. 3. Take a hands-on approach (must be based in Gumla or be present in Gumla at least 5 days a week. Presence in Kolkata office will also be required). 4. Ensure all strategic objectives of MCT are fully met. 5. Maintain full transparency and accountability to the Board. 6. Be a visible leader both internally and externally as a representative of the Mlinda Group in India. 7. Develop thought leadership on the use of renewable energy to support sustainable economic development.
SUPERVISION 1. Report directly to and communicate regularly with the MUK Executive Director on behalf of the MCT Board. 2. Provide reports for and attend MCT Board meetings as required. 3. Provide reports for and attend Board meetings as required. 4. Comply with all reasonable and lawful directions and policies received from the Board. 5. Ensure Directors are provided with information necessary to fulfil their responsibilities and obligations. 6. Develop, maintain, and support a strong Board of Directors actively involved in ongoing local operations.
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RESPONSIBILITIES LEADERSHIP 1. Provide strong leadership to the small (about 10-15) MCT team, setting and maintaining an inspiring direction in line with the Mlinda Group’s vision and strategy. 2. Set the ethical tone for the charity and model the organisation’s culture and values, enabling an energetic culture where high performance and success are celebrated. 3. Create a culture of integrity throughout the organisation.
FUNDRAISING & COMMUNICATIONS 1. Build and maintain a strong network, including relationships with industry, partner organisations, foundations, public officials, and other potential supporters. 2. Develop and maintain a high level of understanding of donor priorities and planned funding. 3. Support and, where appropriate, lead Mlinda’s efforts at raising donations and grant funding. 4. Direct the development of a public affairs program to inform and get feedback from the public and key stakeholders. 5. Support Mlinda’s local and national presence by communicating project results with an emphasis on the successes of the local project as a model for regional and national replication.
STRATEGY 1. Assist the Board with the development of Sustainable Economic Development Strategy and Strategic Plan, in line with Mlinda Group strategies. 2. Ensure that building local climate resilience is a key outcome of the strategy. 3. Ensure that gender equality and in particular women’s economic empowerment, is effectively mainstreamed through the strategy. 4. Ensure that impact is effectively evaluated and measured to the highest standard on a regular basis, and that learning from the data is maximised and new strategies are adopted to increase impact. 5. Ensure that MCT can clearly demonstrate, disseminate, and promote the impact of its work through annual impact assessments. 6. Using the learning and achievement of projects, develop new project proposals, ensuring that the beneficiary communities are involved in the process.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 1. Ensure the accuracy, completeness, and integrity of the company’s financial statements. 2. Ensure financial controls are in place to support financial security, sustainability, and compliance. 3. With the Board, prepare an annual operating budget in line with the Mlinda group budget. 4. Prudently manage organisation’s resources and performance in line with the agreed annual budget. 5. Provide the board with accurate and timely management accounts and a financial reforecast. 6. With the MUK Executive Director, oversee the annual audit in line with international auditing standards.
RISK AND COMPLIANCE 1. Ensure compliance with all Mlinda Group policies and procedures, all statutory and regulatory requirements under Indian law, UK law & charity regulation, and requirements of funders, lenders, etc. 2. Provide the Board assurance that the proper systems are in place to identify and manage business risks within the guidelines established by the Board.
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OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT 1. Provide general management of day-to-day affairs within the guidelines established by the Board. 2. Develop an Annual Operating Plan for Board review and approval, including business plans, operational requirements, organisational structure, staffing and budgets that support the Strategy. 3. Ensure all strategic objectives of MCT are fully met. 4. Implement, maintain, and manage effective systems to monitor and report on performance against targets. 5. Design and implement a knowledge management system to ensure access across the Mlinda group to all policies, practices, procedures, and learning to support training and programme replication. 6. Develop and lead a culture of knowledge sharing that is proactive, transparent, and collaborative. 7. Identify best practices and improve internal systems with an eye toward future needs.
OTHER 1. Any other appropriate duties and responsibilities assigned by the Board.
PERSON SPECIFICATION ESSENTIAL 1. A post-graduate qualification in Rural Development, Development Economics, Business, Agriculture or related discipline relevant to the requirements of this post. 2. Extensive experience of rural livelihoods programme management, including extensive field experience working and living in rural India. 3. Expertise in practical application of economic intervention approaches such as Market Systems Development, Market Facilitation, M4P, or alike. 4. Experience using participatory methodologies. 5. Experience building personal networks at a senior level. 6. Good financial literacy skills (prepare budgets and financial reports). 7. Strong interpersonal and communication skills. 8. Excellent oral and written English & Hindi. 9. Commitment to Mlinda’s mission and values. 10. Participative and collaborative working approach. 11. Passionate, trustworthy, and decisive leader who communicates effectively and works to high standards. DESIRABLE 1. Previous experience as a Senior Manager for an NGO. 2. Understanding of solar energy systems. 3. Experience living or working in Jharkhand.
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HOW TO APPLY All correspondence, at this stage, should be via Oxford HR. To apply for this post, click on the “Apply� button on the job advert page and complete our online application form. Please provide a CV and cover letter in ONE single document. The cover letter should be no more than two pages long, explaining why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit. The document should be saved in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name-Date (yymm) e.g: Pat-JonesCVandStatement-2007. TIMELINE Closing Date: First stage interviews: Final interviews:
30 August 2020 TBC TBC
SELECTION PROCESS All candidates will be notified about the status of their applications. We advise candidates to add the role email to their safe senders list and regularly check their spam folder. Shortlisted candidates may be required to undertake an additional assessment prior to the final interview. QUERIES If you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or would like to have an informal discussion, please email Gazal Srivastava / Erica Turley at mlinda@oxfordhr.co.uk in the first instance.
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ABOUT OXFORD HR Oxford HR operates globally - mainly within the international development and charity sectors. We carry out retained executive search mandates at board and senior management levels. We also offer human resource and organisational development consultancy. Oxford HR has many years of experience in search as well as an extensive network of international development, social sector, corporate, public sector, and academic contacts from across the world. We carry out comprehensive and often international searches designed to meet the specific needs of our client.
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