Policy and Administrative Coordinator

 Job Summary

The Policy and Administrative Coordinator plays a key role in supporting the Finance and Administration Division (FAD), and the External Funds Management (EFM) and Digital Solutions and Information Governance (DSIG) divisions. Reporting directly to the Director of Finance and Administration, this position is integral to the coordination of both Division-wide and Centre-wide initiatives.

The incumbent is responsible for revising organizational policies, coordinating business processes and managing change initiatives. They liaise with executive assistants to address requests and queries from senior management.

Additionally, the Coordinator provides administrative support to managers and their respective teams.

The Coordinator acts as the primary point of contact for internal and external clients. 

Primary Duties and/or Responsibilities

Policy maintenance

The Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that all policies in the Management Policy Manuals for FAD, EFM and DSIG are updated in accordance with the appropriate timeline. The incumbent supports the Managers and Directors in the update of policies, procedures and instructional guides (how to’s). The incumbent will:

• Coordinate with Divisions for any update required to a policy, procedure or instructional guide. 
• Research and keep up to date on current trends and advise Division management. 
• Work collaboratively with the Division to develop the parameters of the policy, procedure or instructional guide. 
• Coordinate the translation of new or revised documents. 
• Ensure the publication and accessibility of documents on IDRC’s Intranet. 
• Ensure proper version control and archiving of obsolete documents. 
• Coordinate any related transitional measures in the context of the overall change-management effort. 
• Assist Division managers with the interpretation of policies.  

Business process coordination and change management 

The incumbent is responsible for coordinating the review and assessment of business processes associated with the activities of the Divisions. One of the principal goals of the review is to seek economy, efficiency and effectiveness of processes. The incumbent will: 

• Liaise with the Director and all divisional managers and supervisors to compile, at the appropriate level, and maintain up to date the inventory of business processes used by divisional staff in the discharge of their responsibilities. 
• Carry out project management duties in support of policy changes, process changes or any other significant divisional initiative identified by divisional management. 
• Liaise with Managers and Regional Office Operations as needed for the process changes. 
• Maintain the documentation of all key business processes and the corresponding procedures, which must also be linked to existing policies. 
• Coordinate the translation of new or revised procedures. 
• Ensure proper version control and archiving of obsolete procedures. 
• Manage the organization of the manual of all procedures.

Changes in procedures can vary significantly in scope. Bigger changes are handled as projects, complete with a communication and change-management strategy. Project management work may involve securing external resources to supplement IDRC staff in conducting the project activities. The incumbent will: 

• Work closely with Divisional managers to define the scope of projects, confirm the resource requirements (internal and external) and provide the necessary support to ensure that the project or initiative is completed in a timely and successful manner.  
• Prepare a statement of work for external resources when required. 
• Administer a competitive process with the Procurement unit of the Division for the external resources. 
• Manage the supplier contract when needed. 
• Organize collaboratively with the appropriate divisional manager the necessary training sessions to adequately inform staff of policy or procedure changes and equip them with the tools to incorporate the changes into their day-to-day activities. 
• Prepare and issue change-management communiqués to IDRC staff as appropriate.

Administrative and support functions for FAD, DSIG and EFM Directors 

The Coordinator provides administrative and support functions to the Directors of the divisions. The incumbent will:

• Manage and control the flow of information and documentation to and from the Directors’ offices.  
• Monitor and screen all incoming information, reviewing, synthesizing and evaluating complex documentation, routing to the office of prime interest, and providing direction. 
• Develop lines of responses and alternate courses of action, prepare summary notes to supplement correspondence and/or documents, research additional information and provide the Directors, management and staff with all relevant material for consideration. 
• Serve as a focal point for advice and ensure liaison and coordination services between the Directors and management offices for administrative activities and the establishment of priorities and deadlines. 
• Maintain office supplies for the Branch, prepare and submit purchase requisitions and liaise with the Purchasing Department to perform necessary follow-up. 
• Perform quality control, editing and formatting for prepared material. 
• Follow-up on requests for action and bring urgent matters to the attention of the Directors. 
• Provide backup support and assistance as required in the absence of other staff or during peak workload periods. 
• Draft basic messages for review and for posting on the IDRC Intranet on various subjects as required. 

Job Knowledge

Education

• A university degree or college certificate in administration, or another relevant field. 

Experience 

• A minimum of three years relevant experience in areas such as business process review, policy review and development, and project management.  
• Experience providing administrative and support functions to a director’s office. 
• Ability to interact with all levels of management is an asset. 

Knowledge 

• Excellent knowledge of management processes, business systems and internal controls 
• Knowledge of data processing and management information systems  
• Project management body of knowledge (PMBoK knowledge is considered an asset)  
• Marshalling facts, figures and arguments to convince others 
• Business process review 
• Policy formulation 
• Procurement cycle and contract management 
• Word processing, spreadsheet calculations, flow-charting and project management planning and scheduling 

Skills and abilities

• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written; ability to synthesize and summarize for executive consumption 
• Ability to negotiate constructively and to persuade 
• Ability to make decisions 
• Sound judgment 
• Tactful 
• Empathic, easily establishing a rapport with front-line staff involved in the day-to-day business processes 
• Analytical state of mind 
• Calm and able to cope with pressure and stress 

Job Scope

The Policy and Administrative Coordinator is integral to the maintenance of policies, procedures and instructional guides that affect all aspects of IDRC operations at the head office as well as in regional offices.

The Coordinator plays a key role in the review and maintenance of business processes and in managing the procedures. They are also expected to contribute significantly  to change-management communication and strategy efforts.

The Coordinator operates effectively in a fast-paced environment, ready to continuously question the status quo. Bringing excellent communication skills, sound judgment and an ability to influence stakeholders, the Coordinator ensures that there is common ground for agreement that addresses the concerns raised when there are divergent points of view on particular policy issues.

Providing administrative support to the Divisions, the Coordinator acts as a focal point for internal and external clients. 

Other Comments

• Bilingual position (English and French), at the intermediate level.