Call Center Supervisor (Roster) – UNOPS
Job Description
Organization | United Nations Office for Project Services |
Job categories | Communications |
Job Title | Call Centre Supervisor (Roster) LICA-7 |
Vacancy code | VA/2020/B5312/20807 |
Department/office | AFR, ETOH, Sudan |
Duty station | Khartoum, Sudan |
Contract type | Local ICA Support |
Contract level | LICA-7 |
Duration | Open-ended subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and/or to satisfactory performance |
Application period | 29-Nov-2020 to 09-Jan-2021 |
Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement.
Background Information – Job-specific
Sudan is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis fueled by years of economic sanctions, chronic underdevelopment, conflict and natural disasters. The country has seen an overall increase in the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance from 5.4 million people in 2015 to 9.3 million in 2020. Nearly 2 million people remain internally displaced, following decades of conflict. The majority are living in camps and settlements where conditions remain dire, and the root causes that led to their displacement remain unaddressed. Further, the country hosts more than a million refugees, providing safety and services, with host communities sharing their meagre resources. Some 6.2 million people are in need of emergency food assistance, and more than 2.7 million children suffer from acute malnutrition. Disease outbreaks, malnutrition, food insecurity, and climatic shocks, continue to affect the lives of Sudanese people. With fewer resources, people adopt negative coping mechanisms, exposing them to more protection risks—particularly gender-based violence and increasing school dropout and child labor.
Against this backdrop, the United Nations proposes a joint initiative between multiple UN agencies and partners, called Salaam Sudan, to ensure the vulnerable people have a platform to voice their concerns and receive critical information and support in times of need. Salaam Sudan will be a toll-free hotline center to enhance efficient and effective coordination of UN and partner agencies, funds, and programmes, and NGOs operating in Sudan. Under the leadership of the Government of Sudan (GoS), Salaam Sudan will collect and circulate information on the urgent and emerging priorities of affected populations, enhancing access to assistance, and linking callers to established protection referrals mechanisms. It will be an integrated call centre, based within the Humanitarian Aid Commission of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA), and serve as a single point of contact to provide information about assistance available throughout the country, and to register feedback and complaints about the support provided.
Functional Responsibilities
UNOPS is seeking a national Supervisor to be responsible for the day-to-day running of the Salaam Sudan Call center, including monitoring attendance, quality control, staff training. The outcome of this position is to further strengthen and streamline Salaam Sudan’s management processes as part of its overall objective to strengthen accountability to affected populations in Sudan. With this in mind, the Supervisor will perform the following duties with transparency and integrity, and in adherence to the humanitarian standards:
- Support the design and implementation of quality assurance standard operating procedures, including monitoring call handling performance and data entry against indictors, designing performance improvement/capacity building training programmes, and designing user satisfaction;
- Support in the design of key performance indicators (KPI) for operators (eg time to resolve issue, time per interaction, optimisation rate, number of interactions handled per day);
- Support in the hiring of new operators, and other personnel as required;
- Ensure Salaam Sudan Call Center personnel act professionally, abide by the code of conduct, respect the affected populations, and understand the need for confidentiality;
- Design training sessions for new staff and ongoing capacity building sessions for operators to maintain and advance core skills (active listening, stress management) and to augment existing skills, knowledge, and capacity on specific areas, including protection and gender-related issues. The Supervisor will engage with positive learning practices and strategies to build a positive learning environment and maintain team morale;
- Management of staff – including designing systems to monitor and approve leave, monitoring and managing performance against indictors, managing the daily operator schedule (including shifts and the balance of inbound and outbound calls), managing office keys, managing surge capacity and the extension of operating hours, ensuring a work environment that is positive; ensuring staff follow strict data protection and confidentiality principles;
- Hold regular meetings, ensuring minutes are uploaded to the shared drive;
- Design daily, weekly, monthly responsibility matrix, with assigned alternatives;
- Support in the development, implementation, and updating of standard operating procedures for every aspect of the daily call centre operations;
- Support in the development of operator scripts, IVR messaging, and the design of telephone routing systems to ensure that callers are quickly able to obtain the information they require;
- Ensure information management systems are up-to-date and relevant with timely information
- Check and respond to out-of-hours messages, follow up on attempts to connect to the Salaam Sudan Call Center during out-of-office hours;
- Liaise with IT support services to rapidly resolve technical issues;
- Support internal and external information management structures to ensure the timely accurate delivery of information to both affected populations;
- Establish and maintain effective relationships with stakeholders. Support and act where required as the accountability focal point between partners and the Salaam Sudan Call Centre and ensure information flows in accordance with established information management and reporting standards and procedures;
- Represent the Salaam Sudan Call Centre at meetings upon request, including but not limited to cluster-level meetings. Design and deliver cluster-specific, and other tailored presentations as required;
- Remain informed of accurate and up-to-date information on the humanitarian response and information relevant to affected communities. Ensure this information is shared with the team in a time sensitive manner;
- Handle calls when required. Handle calls that on occasions can be distressful, ensuring that such calls are treated with the degree of empathy and understanding commensurate with the sensitivity of the call and the vulnerability of the caller;
- Support visibility efforts to raise awareness of the Salaam Sudan Call Center among affected populations and humanitarian actors – this may involve field visits and/or representation at meetings, among other activities;
- If required, conduct daily and weekly analysis of call log, referring cases and tracking cases referred to partners and their level of feedback as it comes in. Document this feedback from partners in a systematic way to facilitate analysis and reporting of impact, closing the loop on complaints, and support the overall accountability of humanitarian actors to the affected population;
- Demonstrate an ability to learn quickly, follow procedures, and act professionally at all times;
- Ensure data protection and data entry is accurate;
- Guarantee that all information collected is confidential at all levels;
- Build and foster a pleasant and effective working environment;
- Attend briefings, meetings, and trainings called by supervisor;
- Remain informed of accurate and up-to-date information on the humanitarian response and information relevant to affected communities;
- Perform other duties as required by his-her supervisor
Candidate will be required to work in shifts (day-night-weekends)
Education/Experience/Language requirements
- Bachelor in political science, international relations, journalism, management, communication, business administration or other related field
- At least three years of work experience in call center, customer service managerial and/ or supervisory role is required;
- A secondary education in combination with a total of 7 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above;
- Advanced experience in usage of computers and Google suite/Office software packages is required and experience in handling of web based management systems;
- Advance knowledge of automated procurement systems, and experience in handling of web based management systems is desirable;
- Knowledge and proven experience in application of protection principles;
- Strong background in managing teams, fostering a positive work environment;
- Strong background in data collection, analysis and presentation of data;
- Knowledge of Accountability to Affected Populations and Communicating with Communities
- Experience working in the humanitarian sector is desirable;
- Availability to work in shifts, including night shifts and weekends.
- Fluency in English and Arabic is required.
Competencies
Integrity & Inclusion: Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.
Leading Self And Others: Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles.
Partnering: Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role).
Results Orientation: Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries.
Agility: Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements.
Solution Focused: Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving.
Effective Communication: Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.
Contract type, level and duration
- Contract type: ICA
- Contract level: Local ICA Support 7
- Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.’
Additional Considerations
- Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
- Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
- Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
- Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
- UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
- Work life harmonization – UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
- For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
- For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
- The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.
It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.
Background Information – Sudan
Sudan
The UNOPS Sudan office is based in Khartoum and works closely with the Government of Sudan and international partners to support humanitarian response, recovery and development initiatives. UNOPS is the United Nations sector lead for the Basic Infrastructure Sector in Sudan and helps partners achieve their project goals in sectors including: water resource management, education, census and elections, human resource management and mine action.
Background Information – UNOPS
UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.
UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.
Working with us
UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.
Diversity
With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.
Work life harmonization
UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.