Country: Niger
Closing date: 25 Oct 2017
About the role: This is a 24 month, replacement role with accompanied terms based in Niamey with 50% of the time scheduled and spent in programmes areas (Tahoua, Diffa, etc.) and a salary of €40,402 to €44,892.
You will report to the Country Director and will line manage Health and Nutrition Advisor, Livelihoods Advisor, Equality Technical Coordinator, MEAL Coordinator, and Regional Programme Coordinator(s). You will liaise with all programme managers/budget holders, HR, CFC, GSM and other key support staff.
We would like you to start as soon as possible (ideally August) as the current post holder leaves in September.
Your purpose:
As a member of Concern Niger’s Senior Management Team, the Programme Director (PD) will manage and guide the development of Concern’s programme activities in Niger in line with the Country Strategic Plan and Concern Worldwide policies and strategies, ensuring quality, strategic purpose, participation and accountability.
She/He will:
Lead the quality development and control in programmes through continuously improving programming methodologies, techniques and through a mentoring programme with managers on programme tools and approaches.
Oversee the development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems in Concern Niger’s programme activities, in line with Concern Worldwide programme polices, standards and strategies.
Ensure the effective and professional management of donor grants and support fundraising with the development of high quality proposals.
You will be responsible for:
Programme Design, Implementation and Development
Lead the development of Concern’s country programme strategies ensuring they are responsive to the changing environment and needs of the participating communities. Concern is emphasising integrated resilience building programmes, with a particular focus on equality.
Facilitate high quality programme development processes through project concept notes, proposals etc., and by ensuring adherence to Concern Worldwide PCM guide.
Ensure that programming meets high standards in terms of design, monitoring and evaluation through Concern Worldwide’s Project Cycle Management System, Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) accountability commitments, Programme Quality Guidelines and PME Framework.
Help to ensure that Concern Niger retains and develops its capacity to respond to emergencies within its programme areas and other parts of the country as necessary.
Lead and support the programme coordinators and managers in developing their programmes’ results frameworks, in programme design, providing critical implementation guidance, PCN development oversight and proposal development support.
Facilitate programme launch meetings, quarterly and annual programme reviews and organise mid-term reviews and final evaluations in line with the organisation’s and donors’ requirements.
Develop a comprehensive and participatory programme planning and implementation process that includes programme participants, staff, and partners and other stakeholders as appropriate.
Oversee the development of Concern Niger’s CHS Implementation Plan and other Accountability Frameworks and provide management and technical support to Programme Coordinators and other relevant staff in its implementation.
Ensure the highest standards of mainstreaming (HIV&AIDS, Gender Equality, DRR and Protection) by implementing Concern policies and best practices in accordance with the local context.
Work with the Country Director and the Desk Officer to develop and implement a funding strategy to ensure future funding streams are known and developed to the greatest extent possible.
Maintain good donor relations through the production of high quality and timely donor proposals and reports.
Promote joint planning and monitoring among programmes and ensure integration and effective learning across sectors, particularly within Irish Aid funded programmes.
Maintain monthly control over all programme related expenditure and ensure that managers understand and follow Concern procedures and controls on all expenditure.
Support managers to develop accurate financial forecasting in line with the budget and projected expenditure.
Assist the Country Director in coordinating and managing country strategic issues through involvement in decision making at the Senior and Core Management Team Meetings and other Concern Worldwide forums.
Staff Development and Organisational Learning
Lead and manage staff, contributing to their capacity building and career development. Support career development initiatives of staff in programmes (especially national staff) to develop their skills and widen their international perspectives.
Provide technical support and on-going on-the-job training and coaching to staff, including in particular a thorough induction at the start of their contract.
Ensure that all positions have accurate job descriptions and that each member of the team fully understands outcomes which are expected of them, by setting SMART objectives, and that they are aware of the success criteria relating to their work.
Ensure that all staff are aware of and comply with Concern’s policies and procedures.
Monitor and review performance and hold staff accountable for meeting the success criteria; give corrective feedback where required and take decisive action in the case of poor performance.
Ensure that work within the team(s) is planned and organised in a way which will meet the organisation’s needs in the most cost effective manner possible; ensuring that team members are given appropriate workloads and are working efficiently.
Take an active part in the definition, implementation and monitoring of a staff capacity development plan.
Proactively seek, receive, synthesise and disseminate programme relevant material to all programme managers, Advisors and senior systems staff.
Build clear processes in each programme to ensure organisational learning is prioritised and systematically used in PCM, external exchange and advocacy.
Country Strategy and Networking
With the CD, lead the development of programme strategy in the development, implementation, promotion and monitoring of the Country Strategic Plan.
Lead the development and implementation of a Concern Niger Advocacy framework.
Engage with and support national level networks relevant to increasing Concern’s learning; provide for potential funding/consortium work and joint advocacy efforts.
As agreed with the CD, ensure active purposeful participation in Donor/Implementation Partner groups and relevant Government forums both at national and field levels.
Contribute to policy dialogue with the Government of Niger at various forums.
Lead the development a partnership strategy and advocacy strategy for Concern Niger.
Lead the appraisal of potential partners’ technical competencies and work with finance and logistics on CLOFAT and CLOSAT reviews.
Serve as the national level focal point for contact with National Partners.
With the help of the finance department ensure that effective controls and the monitoring of partners’ finances are in place.
Oversee and manage the development and finalisation of partnership agreements and their management and implementation.
Reporting
Produce monthly, quarterly and annual programme progress reports timely and to a high standard.
Participate and provide input to the SMT and CMT reporting.
Reviews are documented and evaluations reports are in line with the organisation’s and donors’ requirements.
Other
Lead or actively participate (as required) in collective exercises such as preparation or updates of the Preparing for Effective Emergency Response (PEER) plan, Security Management Plan (SMP), and Country Strategic Plan when requested.
Take active measures to address equality issues, particularly relating to gender, in programme as well as in operational (e.g. HR, logistics, etc.) activities.
Ensure the highest standards of accountability through ensuring good communication and information sharing within and outside the programme and enabling staff, beneficiary and other stakeholders’ participation at all stages of the project cycle.
Be aware of, understand and comply with all of Concern’s policies and procedures (finance, logistics etc.).
Be aware of, understand, comply with and be a model of Concern’s HR policies like P4 and Code of Conduct.
Ensure that every member of the programmes team is aware of, understands and complies with all of Concern’s policies and procedures.
Fully adhere to security protocols and procedures and ensure that all members of the programmes team also do so. Contribute to on-going security management and planning as necessary.
Undertake other related duties as may reasonably be assigned by the Country Director (the line manager for this role).
Your skills and experience will include:
Essential:
- Third level qualification in Development Studies, livelihood, Agriculture, Education, Nutrition, Public Health or other related discipline.
- At least three years overseas experience in similar or related senior management positions.
- Experience of programme development, the project management cycle, budget management and participatory planning methodologies.
- Strong understanding of and commitment to the promotion of equality.
- Knowledge and experience of Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies and emergency preparedness.
- Fluent French and English (written and spoken). Previous experience of managing a diverse team of senior staff including international staff. Proven strong management ability, including the ability to lead and motivate others; Strong training and mentoring skills.
- Excellent communication skills both verbal and written.
- Excellent organisational and planning skills. Strong problem solving and analytical skills.
Desirable:
- Masters in Development or a related field
- Previous experience with Concern.
- Work experience in West Africa, particularly in Niger
- Experience working in the education, sustainable livelihood, health and emergency sectors.
- Experience in advocacy and/or influencing change at national level
- Experience of working in an insecure environment
How to apply:
All applications should be submitted through our website at https://jobs.concern.net by closing date. CV’s should be no more than 4 pages in length.
Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be short listed on a regular basis and we may offer posts before the closing date.