Concern Worldwide Programme Director Job Vacancy in Liberia

Closing
date: 06 Jan 2016

Reference: KK/PD/LIB

Country: Liberia

Job Title: Programme Director- Liberia

Contract Grade: C

Contract Length: 2 years

Date Needed By: 15th January 2016

New Post or Replacement: Replacement

Accompanied /
Unaccompanied:
Accompanied (partner only)

Exact Job Location: Monrovia,
Liberia (with
frequent travel to the field)

Reports To: Country Director

Responsible For: Programme Coordinators (Education,
Health, BRED); Area Coordinators (Lofa); Grants & Information Manager

Liaises With: Systems Director, Country Financial
Controller, systems department managers, partners, consortium members,
government counterparts, donors, other NGOs, Dublin personnel (RD, Desk Officer, SAL
technical advisors, etc).

Job Purpose:

As a member of the Country
Management Team (CMT) contribute to the development of the overall country
programme, ensuring an integrated multi-sectoral approach in both a development
and an emergency context. Reporting to the Country Director (CD), take specific
responsibility for coordinating and managing the implementation of Concern’s
programme in Liberia
in accordance with relevant policies and the country strategy. Represent
Concern to relevant external stakeholders as necessary.

Main Duties &
Responsibilities:

Senior Management role:

Participate in the development of Concern Liberia’s
Country Strategic Plan (CSP) and other strategic frameworks (Preparing for
Effective Emergency Response (PEER), Security Management Plan (SMP) etc)
in collaboration with all relevant staff and third parties as necessary.
Participate in the management of the country programme’s
strategic issues through involvement in decision making.
Produce strategic analysis and plans for programme
expansion, including in a new area, if required.
In collaboration with the CD identify and secure
appropriate sources of funding to support current and new programme
activities in Liberia.
In conjunction with the Grants & Information Manager
and relevant programme personnel, ensure that internal and external
reporting requirements are met in an effective and timely manner through
effective contract management and monitoring
Take a lead role in ensuring that Concern Liberia adhere
to international minimum standards of accountability and quality, through
the application of external standards such as HAP and internal documents
relating to policies and procedures.
Disseminate organisational learning through documenting
case studies, cross-visits, newsletters/bulletins etc.

Programme management:

Ensure high quality programme development by developing
in a participatory manner appropriate Project Concept Notes, Proposals and
associated budgets, ensuring adherence to Concern Worldwide PCMS, the
Liberia CSP, and all relevant global Concern policies & procedures.
Provide management support to senior programme staff to
ensure effective implementation and monitoring of programme activities.
Ensure M&E and analysis is undertaken in a timely
and appropriate manner, including overseeing support visits by regional
and SAL Advisors and consultants and ensuring that recommendations in
mission reports are implemented.
Provide technical and management support to the Grants
& Information Manager and relevant programme personnel in developing
and implementing an effective multi-sectoral M&E system, ensuring that
achievements of programme goals and objectives are captured and lessons
learned documented.
Develop a comprehensive and participatory programme
planning process that includes beneficiaries, staff, partners and other
stakeholder as appropriate.
Oversee the development of Concern Liberia’s
Accountability Frameworks and provide management and technical support to
the Programme Quality Coordinator and other relevant staff in its
implementation
Ensure the highest standards of mainstreaming
(HIV&AIDS and Equality) by implementing Concern policies and best
practices in accordance with the local context.
Ensure new projects are launched with appropriate staff
training / induction and programme planning activities (recruitment
schedule, procurement plan, etc).
Ensure any project closures are carried out in
compliance with all relevant donor and Concern requirements, working closely
with other members of the CMT.

Resource Management:

Identify technical expertise gaps in relevant sectors
and help ensure those gaps are filled (through consultants, Dublin
advisors and / or the creation of new Concern Liberia positions)
Work with the Country Financial Controller and the
programme budgetholders to ensure close management of relevant budgets
& expenditure.
Ensure that annual programme budgets (and budget
revisions) are complete, realistic and comply with relevant Concern and
donor requirements
Ensure that project proposal budgets are complete,
realistic and comply with relevant Concern and donor requirements.

People Management:

Lead and manage staff, contributing to their capacity
building and career development.
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.

Partner Support &
Capacity Building

Lead on the identification and evaluation of potential
partners with a good fit in the country programme.
Liaise with the CFC and Systems Director to ensure that
finance and systems evaluations are carried out and that appropriate
capacity building plans to address identified weaknesses are agreed with
the partner and implemented. Ensure that capacity and support is provided
from Concern programme and M&E staff to address any other capacity
gaps identified.
Ensure that each partner’s contract is managed
appropriately such that the rights and obligations of all parties are
complied with and the relationship between the organisations is
progressively strengthened.
Identify ways and means for building the capacity of key
partner organisations beyond the day to day implementation of specific
projects.

Representation:

Stand in for the CD when necessary to represent Concern
at relevant government, donor, UN or inter agency meetings.
With the CD, contribute to national-level NGO / UN
coordination efforts to facilitate effective humanitarian intervention in
the country.
Ensure that Concern is appropriately represented and
participates in relevant coordination structures at the field level

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 operational (eg
HR) 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.
Actively participate in any emergency response if
necessary.
Undertake other related duties as may reasonably be
assigned by the Country Director or the line manager.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualifications &
Experience:

Essential

3rd level qualification in relevant field
humanitarian assistance, development, social sciences or other related
professional fields
Fluent English (written and spoken)
At least 6 years overseas experience with an NGO with an
emphasis on programming and 2-3 years at a senior management level.
Experience of leading and managing a diverse team of
senior staff including international staff. Proven strong management
ability, including ability to motivate and develop skills of others.
Experience of mainstreaming accountability, equality,
HIV&AIDS, protection and DRR; ensuring accountability to
beneficiaries, staff, partners and other stakeholders; monitoring &
evaluation processes, ensuring programme quality.
Knowledge of rights based approaches, equality issues
and advocacy skills. Strong understanding and commitment to the promotion
of equality.

Desirable

Experience of managing USAID funded programmes.
Work experience in Liberia or West Africa
Knowledge of Concern Policies and Programming
Approaches.
Experience of managing projects transitioning from
emergency response to early recovery and development would be an
advantage.

Special Skills, Aptitude
or Personality Requirements:

Essential:

Excellent organisational and planning skills. Strong
problem solving and analytical skills.
Willingness to travel frequently to rural field
locations and spend periods of time away from the capital in which the PD
position is based and experience fairly basic conditions.
Excellent interpersonal skills
Cross cultural awareness and sensitivity.
Good sense of humour
Empathy with Concern’s goals and a commitment to
capacity building, protection and participation.
Excellent communication skills
Training / capacity building skills.
Demonstrated experience of team building and working in
a participatory manner.
Proven organisation, planning and management skills.
Ability to work on own initiative.
Flexible and adaptable approach to working in a changing
environment.
Ability to work under pressure with numerous deadlines,
and priorities.

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.

Concern Worldwide is an
Irish-based non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation
dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate
elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.

Concern has a Staff Code of
Conduct and a Programme Participant Protection Policy which have been developed
to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation
and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to
the programme and partner organisation, and the standards of behaviour expected
of them. In this context staff have a responsibility to the organisation to
strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in
their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any
candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the
Programme Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct
as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Programme
Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct candidates
acknowledge that they have understood the contents of both the Concern Staff
Code of Conduct and the Programme Participant Protection Policy and agree to
conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these two documents.

Concern receives a substantial
amount of funding from external donors each year. Increasingly donors are
introducing requirements whereby future funding is conditional on Concern
ensuring that the names of any new employee or volunteer do not appear on
terrorism lists generated by the European Union (List of person, groups and
entities to which Regulation (EC No. 2580/2001 applies), the US Government
(Office of Foreign Assets Control list of specially designated Nationals and
Blocked Persons) and the United Nations (Consolidated List). Any offer of
employment (either paid or voluntary) with Concern Worldwide will not be made pending
a clearance check being conducted on the applicant. For additional information
please consult our web site or contact the Human Resource Division in our Head
Office.

Concern Worldwide is an equal
opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the
community.