Kansas City Operations Director

C.U.R.E. Community Operations Director

Kansas City Distribution Center

Position Overview:

Each C.U.R.E. Community is led by an Operations Director. The primary function of the Operations Director is to recruit, develop and support a team of volunteer leaders, and to oversee the successful management of the transportation, processing and shipping of life saving medical supplies and equipment to the poorest people in the world.

Location:

Project C.U.R.E. Distribution Center

8800 N.E. Underground Drive, Pillar 364

Kansas City, MO 64161

Responsibilities:

• The most important element of this position is the ability to recruit and train individuals who can take responsibility to do the work of Project C.U.R.E. The Operations Director must build a team of key volunteers to lead hundreds of other volunteers each month.
• The Operations Director is ultimately responsible for the areas of
• Procurement & Transportation – collecting the medical donations;
• Inspection & Repair – checking the equipment and repair malfunctioning items;
• Processing & Sorting – checking quality of supplies, sorting into categories;
• Inventory & Warehousing – maintaining the supplies and equipment in the warehouse;
• Packing & Shipping – loading the containers.
• The scope of the job is too big for one person to perform without significant assistance from a team of active, involved volunteers.
• A significant amount of the Operations Director’s time will be spent interacting with organizations to recruit volunteers, the recognition of volunteer’s leadership potential, conducting regularly scheduled training sessions and team meetings, and assessing volunteer effectiveness. The Operations Director is the one to motivate and appreciate the volunteers for their efforts.
• The Operations Director is the primary “face” of Project C.U.R.E. with gift-in-kind donors, and must maintain a relationship with hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, wholesale sellers and local manufacturers who give medical supplies and equipment. In addition, the Operations Director is responsible to seek in-kind donations of other materials and equipment for the successful functioning of the warehouse.
• The Operations Director maintains an effective working relationship with the staff at the International Headquarters and the Operations Directors in the other C.U.R.E. Communities by participating in bi-weekly conference calls, sharing “best practices,” attending semi-annual Town Hall meetings. And the Operations Director ensures that key metrics are collected and reports are sent to International Headquarters on a timely basis.
• The Operations Director must ensure that the warehouse is a safe place for visitors, staff and volunteers. Additionally, the Operations Director schedules and executes the necessary maintenance on the trucks and equipment, and notifies the right people for issues with the warehouse building.
• The Operations Director must preferably have knowledge of warehouse operations including inventory management, procurement, logistics and processing.

Qualifications:

The Operations Director must demonstrate alignment with Project C.U.R.E.’s mission and be passionate about addressing health care inequalities in the developing world in a sustainable manner. The ideal candidate for the position:

• Is qualified: Holds a bachelor’s degree and has at least three to five years of volunteer development or other leadership training.
• Understands the task: Has a working knowledge of recruiting and training volunteers and how they can be motivated to high performance, and understands the flow of materials through the warehouse.
• Has a Proven Track Record: Recruits, inspires and leads volunteers, mentees and interns to achieve goals within the context of building a “performance culture.” Is accessible to volunteers and associates at all levels, interacting consistently, openly and honestly to assure everyone is treated with dignity and respect. You must be able to demonstrate the ability to develop others.
• Is a problem solver: Identifies, diagnoses and quickly resolves complex problems to improve results; is continuously pursuing innovation and process improvements to increase efficiencies and competitive advantage.
• Is organized: Must be highly organized and have the ability to multi-task in a fast paced work environment, with a high degree of professionalism and integrity. The successful Operations Director has the ability to pay attention to detail.
• Is teachable: Has an attitude of openness, is eager to learn new things, and does not get stuck in a repetitive pattern of doing the same things the same way for too long. Can quickly comprehend complex concepts and will accept instruction.
• Is “bottom line” oriented: Is capable of securing in-kind donations, negotiating discounts and benefits with vendors and venues, and can meet budget and resource challenges.
• Is a good person: Is a recognized leader that accepts feedback and continually looks for ways to develop themselves, and who maintains the highest ethical standards and values in order to represent Project C.U.R.E. well.
• Works well with others: The successful candidate possesses excellent relationship management and interpersonal skills; the ability to work effectively with donors, volunteers, staff and interns; displays mature judgment, superior diplomatic skills.
• Is an effective communicator: Can demonstrate effective communication skills including writing, interpersonal communication and public speaking skills and is good at listening.
• Is goal oriented: Manages to Key Performance Indicators, including setting revenue and expense goals/objectives for each event, monitoring performance and reporting results; is a “self-starter” who is internally motivated and does not require significant supervision.
• Is motivated: Has an obvious passion and enthusiasm for saving lives and strengthening health care systems in the developing world with an attitude of never giving up or accepting “no” for an answer.

Reports To: The Kansas City Operations Director reports to the Vice President of Operations and Logistics.

Compensation and Benefits: This position offers competitive compensation commensurate with experience, including health insurance, paid vacation, holidays, and a 403(b) plan.

About Us: Healthcare in many developing countries is a global crisis. The severe lack of healthcare disrupts social and economic stability in almost every developing nation. Disease causes nine-out-of-ten preventable deaths in developing nations among children and adults. Millions of children under the age of five die each year from preventable disease, and more than 70% of these deaths occur from pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, malaria and malnutrition.

Founded in 1987, Project C.U.R.E. (www.projectcure.org) has grown to be the largest organization in the world delivering 180 forty-foot ocean freight cargo containers of donated medical supplies and equipment each year. Each project begins with an onsite Needs Assessment to ensure that Project C.U.R.E. delivers the right items to the right people. Project C.U.R.E. has delivered medical relief in 133 countries. In addition, Project C.U.R.E. conducts C.U.R.E. Clinics, Helping Babies Breathe trainings, bio-technical trainings to approximately 300 hospitals and health care clinics in 40 developing nations.

On average, the value of a Project C.U.R.E. Cargo container is worth $450,000, providing an amazing 20-to-1 “return on investment.” Project C.U.R.E. operates Distribution Centers in Denver, Phoenix, Houston, Nashville, Philadelphia and Chicago where over 25,000 volunteers sort more than 26,000 types of non-perishable medical supplies and certify medical equipment for shipment abroad. Project C.U.R.E. also operates nine Collection Centers throughout the U.S. Project C.U.R.E. receives both new and quality used medical items from hundreds of hospitals throughout the United States and medical manufacturers, such as Stryker, Medline, Medtronic, Kimberly-Clark, Steris, and Hill-Rom.

Project C.U.R.E. operates on 1.9% administrative overhead and has earned numerous awards for being the industry leader in international medical donations. Project C.U.R.E. has been a Platinum organization by Guidestar and Charity Navigator and was ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the 20 most cost effective nonprofits in the United States.