Contract Grade: C
Contract Length: Two
year
Status: Accompanied
Exact Job Location:
Lilongwe
Reports To: Country
Director
Responsible For:
Overall coordination, development, and management of all programmes in Malawi;
leading development and implementation of cross-cutting approaches, advoc
acy,
and accountability processes; and direct line management of Programme
Coordinators and the Malawi Civil Society Organization Nutrition Alliance
(CSONA) Project Manager.
Liaises With:
Country Director; Food Income & Markets (FIM), Education, and Health and
Nutrition Coordinators; CSONA Project Manager and staff; Systems Director;
logistics, finance, and HR staff; Concern Malawi programme teams; Desk Officer
(HQ)
****Job Purpose:****
To assist the
Country Director in the direction, management, development and implementation
of Concern Worldwide Malawi poverty outcome and results focused country
programme; ensure the effective and professional management of the donor
grants; ensure compliance with Concern’s organisational procedures, policies
and people centred values and principles. The Programme Director is a key
member of the Country Management Team (CMT).
Concern Worldwide is
a humanitarian organisation committed to the reduction of suffering and
elimination of poverty. The Programme Director is expected to be committed to
the humanitarian goals and identity of the organisation, and may be asked to
contribute to humanitarian response activities in the event of an emergency.
****MAIN DUTIES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES:****
*Strategy and Programme
Development:*
- Take a
leading role in the development, review, and implementation of Concern
Malawi’s Strategic Plan 2014-2018 - Provide
leadership in the effective planning, development, management and
integration of Concern’s programmes in Lilongwe, Nkhotakota, Nsanje and
Mchinji and any future areas of intervention as identified in the - Design
new programmes, proposals / budgets / work plans / procurement plans – in
line with Concern’s global Strategic and Country Strategic,, programme
development guidelines and Government /donor priorities. - Encourage
reflection and critical thinking necessary to achieve high programme
quality with lasting impact on beneficiaries lives, adapting and improving
interventions as we learn from failure and success - Fostering
team spirit and collaboration necessary to achieve programme and
organisation goals in Malawi and globally - Identify
and actively pursue opportunities for partnership with private sector and
working in consortia, including establishing relationships and developing
programmes with Alliance 2015 partners and other strategic
networks/alliances. - Contribute
to the review and revision of country partnership strategy, providing
learning and direction to the future of the partnership approach in
country
*Programme Coordination and
Management:*
- Supervise
all projects to ensure that work plans are followed and that strategies
designed and written in the project document are undertaken to a high
standard - Support
capacity building of the team and partners on Concern’s organizational
strategies and approaches, including ‘How Concern Understands Extreme
Poverty’ (HCUEP) - Contribute
to the development of a country level funding strategy through the
delivery of high quality funding proposals to seek donor funding - Lead
the process of partnership development with relevant local NGOs and other
stakeholders to achieve country strategic objectives; - Ensure
that potential partners are thoroughly assessed before any commitment is
made (even verbally) and that new potential partnerships are approved by
the CMT, CD and Regional Desk; - Ensure
mainstreaming of equality, HIV/AIDS and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) into
programme work
****Staff
Development and Organisational Learning****
- Actively
contribute to maintaining a strong and committed team of programme staff
though mentoring and skills development; - Ensure
that direct reports set objectives, conduct reviews and perform
Performance Development Reviews (PDRs) with their staff against a clear
calendar; - Proactively
seek, receive, synthesise and disseminate programme relevant material to
all programme managers and senior systems staff; - Promote
opportunities for senior staff; building on their career development.
Support career development initiatives of staff in programmes (especially
national staff) to develop their skills and widen their international perspectives; - Build
clear processes in each programme to ensure organisational learning is
prioritised and systematically used in PCM, external exchange and
advocacy. - Assist
in the recruitment of international and national staff; - Capacity
build and support in the management of technical advisors and consultants
for quality focused programming through all stages of the PCMS;
*Grant Management:*
- Rigorously
manage all programme related finances e.g. budget expenditure tracking and
analysis with key budget holders. - Oversee
the preparation of donor budgets to ensure that the timing and cost of
planned programme work and systems support is accurately reflected, while
taking relevant donor requirements into consideration and with the
involvement of the Financial Department wherever possible; - Work
closely with the budget holders and the Finance Department for annual
organizational budget development and revision processes, as well as
quarterly financial reporting to Dublin; - Ensure
effective donor grants management and maintain high quality narrative
reporting in a timely manner; - Ensure
strict compliance with donor contract requirements/ reporting deadlines
etc.; - Facilitate
the preparation and development of new funding proposals or project/budget
realignments in collaboration with the finance Unit;
*Planning, Monitoring,
Evaluation, and Learning:*
- Facilitate
and document annual review and planning workshops; provide leadership and
participate in quarterly programme reviews, including making field visits
to programme areas - Support
the on-going development of participatory monitoring systems, particularly
accountability downwards with communities and full compliance with the
roll out of the HAP standards. Support the implementation of a Complaints
Response Mechanism (CTM) and continue to monitor its effectiveness so that
the mechanism can be strengthened over time; - Actively
use existing Country and Programme Results Frameworks, logframes and PME
plans to monitor appropriateness, efficiency, effectiveness and effects of
all interventions and systematically revise planned activities and
strategies accordingly - Ensure
the Planning, monitoring and evaluation requirements are fulfilled for
each on-going and new projects: Contextual analysis, M&E plan,
baseline, mid line and end line surveys, mid-term review, final external
evaluation and routine monitoring consisting in collection of progress
data and programme case studies - Research,
analyse and disseminate relevant/ new approaches, concepts and frameworks
applied to poverty alleviation, as well as information on national
government initiatives - Ensure
effective line management of fellows, volunteer, and interns providing
support and research capacity to our programmes (develop TORs etc.); - Write
and disseminate occasional technical briefing papers on lessons learned
and best practice.
Networking
& Representation:
- Represent
Concern and maintain coordination and networking relationships with the
government, donors and other national and international development actors - Ensure
Concern liaises with other agencies, training/academic/ research
institutions and networks that can enrich and enhance the quality of our
work - Ensure
that relationships and formal agreements with the government are
maintained and updated as appropriate; - Oversee
advocacy efforts at the national level to contribute towards achievement
of country strategic objectives; contribute to the development and review
of programme and country advocacy strategies and objectives.
****Other
Duties:**** The ACDP
- be familiar
and comply with Concern Worldwide Staff Code of Conduct, the Programme
Participant Protection Policy (4Ps), Anti-Fraud Policy and the Dochas Code
of Conduct on Images and Messages; - ensure
that those he/she directly line manages are conversant with and adhering
to the P4 and will institute mechanism to follow-up and verify that this
is the case. - be
familiar and comply with Concern Worldwide Malawi Security Management
Plan; - undertake
additional duties as mutually agreed with the Line Manager. - actively
participate in the Country Office Country Management Team (CMT). - actively
participate in the Country Office Senior Management Team (SMT). - Coordinate
and provide overall management support for emergency response activities
in the country - Ensure
capacity and preparedness to strengthened and built to respond to
potential emergency situations; - annually
review and update Concern’s ‘Preparing for Effective Emergency Response’
(PEER) plan and ensure that the plan is implemented
PERSON
SPECIFICATION
Education, Qualifications
& Experience Required:
ESSENTIAL
- A third
level degree in development studies, business administration, social
sciences, or development-related field - Programme
management experience of at least 5 years (overseas) in similar or related
senior management experience with Concern or other reputable INGOs; - Experience
of developing and managing large scale and multi sectoral programmes in a
development context; - Demonstrated
abilities in staff management and development including distance
management; - Proven
ability to make sound management decisions in difficult situations and
also be able to work in a participatory manner with colleagues. Must be a
self-starter and a proactive manager; - Understanding
and proven application of partnership, advocacy, social protection,
participatory planning, monitoring and learning in the context of
development programmes; - Ability
to design and/or lead programming so as to address the root causes of
poverty and the factors blocking lasting improvements in the lives of the extreme
poor; - Practical
experience in participatory development approaches, facilitation, capacity
building and building effective teams to work in poor rural and urban
communities; - Experience
of programme development, the project management cycle and participatory
planning methodologies, including distance management; - Excellent
understanding and experience in developing and utilizing rigorous
planning, monitoring, and evaluation processes - Experience
of strategic planning; - Proven
leadership ability, including ability to motivate and develop skills of
others; Training, capacity building and facilitation skills;
****DESIRABLE****
- Work
experience in Southern Africa, particularly in Malawi - Understanding
and application of PRA / RBA, working with partners, gender equality
programming, and DRR - Experience
in Field research especially in participatory impact assessment for
outcome level PM&E;
Special Skills,
Aptitude or Personality Requirements:
- Excellent
command of computer, internet and MS Office; - Empathy
with organisational Vision, Mission, Goals and objectives; commitment to
humanitarian principles and actions; - Highly
organized individual, with strong critical thinking and analysis skills - Flexible,
reliable, culturally sensitive and with the ability/willingness to
frequently spend periods of time away from the capital; - Ability
to work with culturally diverse groups of people; - Ability
to adopt a very participatory and inclusive team working approach; - Ability
to prioritize and handle a diverse and very heavy workload; ability to
work under pressure to strict deadlines; - Strong
communication and writing skills in English; comfortable with public
speaking and high level representation - Initiative
and ability to work with minimal supervision; ability to work both as part
of a team and independently.
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 organization, and the standards of
behaviour expected of them. In this context staff have a responsibility to the
organization 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.
