National Support Officer

Position Identification

Position Title: National Support Officer – Programmes Department

Organisation: Islamic Relief South Africa

Location: Durban

Reports to: HOD – Programmes

Islamic Relief

Islamic Relief South Africa (IRSA) is an independently registered NGO affiliated with Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), the world’s largest, independent Muslim humanitarian organization. Islamic Relief’s mission is to help the poor and those in need regardless of race, colour, political affiliation, gender or belief to live sustainable, self-reliant lives within safe and caring communities.

Purpose of Position:

The National Support Officer provides administrative, coordination, consolidation, and information-management support to facilitate effective oversight of the Programmes Department. The role does not exercise line management or decision-making authority over any staff. Instead, it supports by:

• Consolidating inputs from roles that report to the HoP.
• Tracking actions, deadlines, and documentation.
• Supporting planning, reporting, and follow-up processes.
• Ensuring information flows efficiently across the departments/regions.

Duties and Responsibilities:

A. Administrative & Coordination Support on a National Level:

• Provide dedicated administrative and coordination support
• Manage follow-ups, reminders, and tracking of actions items
• Coordinate information requests issued by the HoP to the National Coordinators/ managers, Programme Managers, RPPCs, and support functions
• Compile inputs received from different roles for HoP review (without altering authority or content ownership).

B. Planning & Performance Tracking (Support Function):

• Support consolidation of quarterly and annual operational plans submitted by Programme Managers.

• Maintain trackers for: Operational plans submission, KPI submissions, Reporting timelines, Cross-cutting risks and challenges.
• Track completion status and escalate gaps to the HoP only, not directly to line staff.

C. Reporting & Documentation Support:

• Coordinate compilation of: Quarterly programme reports, Annual Programmes Department reports.
• Ensure reports are: Submitted on time, structured consistently, properly filed and version controlled.
• Support linking reports to approved KPIs and operational plans, without evaluating performance independently.

D. Meetings, Minutes & Follow-Up:

• Coordinate meetings convened by the HoP (leadership engagements, reviews).
• Prepare agendas in consultation with the HoP.
• Take accurate minutes and circulate action points.
• Track agreed actions and timelines and report progress to the HoP.

E. Information Management & Quality Support:

• Maintain organized electronic and hard-copy filing systems for the Programmes Department.
• Support document reviews for: Completeness, Consistency, Alignment with agreed templates.
• Support preparation of briefing packs and summaries for internal and external engagements.
• Liaise with the relevant team members to develop and finalise the Programmes Newsletter (Ubuntu), ensuring key programme achievements, impact stories, updates, and highlights are properly captured.

F. Liaison & Internal Coordination (Non-Supervisory):

• Liaise with the subordinates and support departments only for coordination and information purposes.
• The role does not issue instructions to these functions and does not replace reporting lines.

G. General Support Duties:

• Arrange logistics, travel, scheduling, and documentation linked to the HoP’s responsibilities.
• Support digitization and continuous improvement of programme administrative system.
• Support the PDM where needed.
• Perform any other support tasks assigned by the HoP.

Educational Qualification:

• A Senior Certificate or equivalent qualification,
• Microsoft office programs, MIS, and AI skills,

• Proven experience in financial analysis, reporting, and data visualization,
• Excellent communication skills for presenting complex financial information clearly,
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment,
• Strong analytical mind-set and attention to detail.

Key Islamic Relief Qualities Required

• It is essential that the post holder shows a good understanding and sympathy with Islamic values and principles as well as commitment to IR’s vision and mission as per below:

• • Excellence (Ihsan): Our actions in tackling poverty are marked by excellence in our operations and conduct which are deserving of the people we serve.
  • Sincerity (Ikhlas): In responding to poverty and suffering our efforts are driven by sincerity to God and the need to fulfil our obligations to humanity
  • Social Justice (Adl): Our work is founded on enabling people and institutions to fulfil the rights of the poor and vulnerable. We work to empower the dispossessed towards realising their God-given human potential and developing their capabilities and resources.
  • Compassion (Rahma): We believe the protection and well-being of every life is of paramount importance and we shall join with other humanitarian actors to act as one in responding to suffering brought on by disasters, poverty and injustice.
  • Custodianship (Amana): We uphold our duty of custodianship over the earth, its resources and the trust people place in us as humanitarian and development practitioners to be transparent and accountable.