Director-General

Director-General

SPC - Secretariat of the Pacific Community

Noumea, New Caledonia

The role – the Director-General serves as SPC’s chief executive and public representative. This is a high-trust, high-impact role requiring strategic leadership, diplomatic acumen, and a commitment to serving all members equally.

The key responsibilities of the role include the following:

Vision, leadership and management

• Provide the vision, leadership and direction of the organisation, and uphold and promote its corporate values;
• Advocate and lead efforts to enhance SPC's image, including its role in the region's development at national, regional and international forums;
• Oversee staff appointment and management processes, including the selection and appointment of the senior management team and appointment of SPC's executive team. Lead, motivate and inspire staff and drive the performance of the senior management team;
• Explore opportunities to develop new partnerships and secure new resources to address members' development priorities;
• Guide SPC's engagement in the region's development agenda in a changing economic, social and political environment;
• Support initiatives that enhance synergies in addressing members' national priorities through regionally delivered services.

Policy, development and change management

• Lead continuous improvement and reform across SPC to maximise the efficiency, coordination and effectiveness of its work and service delivery;
• Oversee the observance of organisational policies, with particular emphasis on SPC's bilingualism policy;
• Maintain a vibrant policy agenda and recommend reviews and changes for consideration by the governing body to keep the organisation attuned to its regional working environment;
• Manage changes in SPC's organisational structure to consolidate its place and role in regional development and maintain efficiency and effectiveness;
• Oversee SPC's cohesive operation as a decentralised organisation and regularly appraise the effectiveness of its decentralisation policy;
• Set annual objectives for SPC and its executive management team and be accountable for the results achieved;
• Ensure good communication is maintained within SPC and with external constituencies in regard to policy innovation and change.

Governance

• Ensure the effective leadership and management of SPC in accordance with the Director-General's accountability to the governing body;
• Drive effective organisational governance, including proper servicing of Conference, CRGA and other key organisational meetings;
• Oversee CRGA and Conference agendas, the preparation of papers and outcome documents, and distribution of an annual report to members and development partners covering SPC's programme activities and financial operations;
• Oversee SPC's regulations, rules, policies and associated procedures and systems.

Work programme service delivery and performance

• Liaise at the highest level with SPC member countries and territories to ensure SPC's programmes are relevant and effective;
• Oversee the development and implementation of SPC's work programmes and reporting of impacts to members, donors and stakeholders;
• Maintain the continued relevance and quality of SPC's work and ensure that divisional and programme strategic plans address the key priorities of SPC members;
• Ensure continual improvement of the platform for delivery of SPC's technical services to individual members;
• Oversee the implementation of corporate-wide systems for performance management, including monitoring and evaluation, to enable assessment of SPC's services, and the reporting of results and outcomes achieved at the national level.

Financial security and property

• Oversee SPC's financial security, including preparation and revision of SPC's annual budgets, monitoring of expenditure and cash flow, and annual audit of accounts;
• Drive resource mobilisation efforts and represent SPC at the highest levels, in particular with its donors and members;
• Drive efficiency and effectiveness measures and performance, and effectively plan for and manage risks;
• Support initiatives to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of expenditure, work programmes and administrative structures;
• Identify and pursue funding opportunities to support interventions addressing members' new and emerging priorities that are likely to benefit from regionally delivered services;
• Ensure appropriate protection and maintenance of SPC property.

Relationships and advocacy

• Maintain strong working relationships across SPC;
• Drive, develop and maintain strategic collaborative relationships with all member governments and administrations of SPC, development partners and other stakeholders, and ensure they are kept informed of developments within SPC;
• Advocate on behalf of members at national, regional and international forums;
• Champion SPC's key role in the Pacific region's development agenda at the highest political and leadership levels;
• Develop and maintain cooperative working relationships with all regional organisations, including the Pacific Islands Forum, and take advantage of the mechanism provided through the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific (CROP) to better coordinate activities and minimise duplication of work programmes;
• Convene annual planning meetings with SPC's key donors;
• Establish formal understandings or agreements with other regional and international organisations working in the same areas as SPC to maximise opportunities for cooperation.

Key selection criteria:

Qualifications

• Master’s degree.

Technical expertise

• Understanding and appreciation of the key technical and regional issues;
• Technical experience in areas relating to the purpose of the organisation;
• Extensive understanding of the geopolitical aspects of the region;
• Demonstrable experience in formulating and articulating a vision;
• Extensive leadership and management experience in a development organisation;
• Experience in the management and delivery of organisational change.

Language skills

• Ideally, proficiency in both English and French, or a demonstrated commitment to bilingual and bicultural leadership.

Interpersonal skills and cultural awareness

• Experience in driving, developing and maintaining strategic collaborative relationships with member governments, development partners and donors.

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