Job Description
Job Description
Job Title: Programme Director
Reports to: Country Director
Terms: 24-month Fixed Term, Full time, accompanied
Salary: Band 5 (€50,107 – €55,674)
Requirements: Based in Lilongwe, Malawi
About Concern:
Established in 1968, Concern is a non-profit, non-governmental humanitarian organisation, dedicated to the reduction of suffering and the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.
Concern’s vision, our mission and our work are all defined by one goal – ending extreme poverty, whatever it takes. Concern strives for a world free from poverty, fear and oppression.
Our culture is values driven and we believe that our people are central to all that we do and are key to delivering on our goal of Reaching the Furthest Behind First. We are committed to ensuring a workplace where everybody feels valued and are enabled to succeed in their work and contribute to delivering on our mission.
Role Purpose:
The Programme Director will play a leading role in the achievement of a strong multi-annual funding base for Concern in Malawi, which supports the delivery of quality programmes in line with our Strategic Plan, assisting the Country Director in the direction, development, management and implementation of Concern Worldwide Malawi’s high quality country programme. The Programme Director is a key member of the Country Management Team (CMT).
Responsibilities:
Strategy & Programme Development
- Provide leadership in the effective planning, development, management and integration of Concern’s programmes.
- Design new programmes, proposals, budgets, work plans and procurement plans in line with Concern’s global Strategic and Country Strategies, programme development guidelines and Government /donor priorities.
- Fostering a positive team spirit and collaboration necessary to achieve programme and organisation goals in Malawi and globally.
- Identify and actively pursue opportunities to build partnerships with local NGOs on the basis of a shared vision and values and complementary expertise.
Programme Coordination and Management
- Supervise all projects to ensure 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.
- Ensure mainstreaming of equality, HIV/AIDS and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) into programme work.
- Lead the appraisal of potential partners’ capacities and work with finance and logistics on capacity reviews.
- Oversee the development and finalisation of partnership agreements and capacity strengthening plans and their management and implementation
Staff Development and Organisational Learning
- Actively contribute to maintaining a strong and committed team of programme staff through 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.
- Lead / assist in the recruitment of international and national programme 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.
- Ensure strict compliance with donor contract requirements / reporting deadlines etc.
Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
- Support the on-going development of participatory monitoring systems, particularly accountability downwards with communities and full compliance with the roll out of the CHS standards.
- Ensure that all programme staff are familiar with the principles underpinning accountability, safeguarding and Concern’s Complaints and Response Mechanism (CRM) and ensure that information about Concern’s commitments on accountability and safeguarding are disseminated among programme participants and communities.
- Actively use existing Country and Programme Results Frameworks, Theory of Change, Logframes and PME plans to monitor appropriateness, efficiency, effectiveness and effects of all interventions and systematically revise planned activities and strategies accordingly
- Research, analyse and disseminate relevant / new approaches, concepts and frameworks applied to poverty alleviation, as well as information on national government initiatives
Networking & Representation
- Maintain good donor relations through the production of high quality and timely donor proposals, reports and sharing of project briefs.
- Represent Concern and maintain coordination and networking relationships with the government, donors and other national and international development actors when requested by the CD.
- Ensure Concern liaises with other agencies, training/academic/research institutions and networks that can enrich and enhance the quality of our work relevant to increasing Concern’s learning and provide for potential funding/consortium work and joint advocacy efforts
- 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 Programmes Director will:
- Be familiar and comply with Concern Worldwide Staff Code of Conduct and associated policies, the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4), Anti-Fraud Policy, Safeguarding Policy and the Dóchas Code of Conduct on Images and Messages.
- Ensure that those he/she directly line manages are conversant with and adhering to the Code of Conduct and Associated Policies and will institute mechanism to follow-up and verify that this is the case.
Role Holder Requirements:
Essential:
- Degree in Development Studies or a relevant technical area (programme focus under the new Strategic Plan includes economic development, sustainable livelihoods, food security, women’s empowerment, disaster risk reduction, and water and sanitation, heath).
- A minimum of 5 years’ experience working in a developing country context at least 3 years of which should be in senior programme management, including experience in planning, developing and evaluating complex programmes in technical areas similar to those in the Malawi programme.
- Experience of developing and managing large scale and multi sectoral programmes in a development context.
- 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.
Desirable:
- Strong commitment to helping the poorest people in the world to improve their wellbeing and achieve their goals.
- Work experience in Southern Africa.
- Willingness to undertake frequent travel to rural field locations where Concern programmes are implemented.
- Understanding and application of PRA / RBA, working with partners.
- Experience in Field research especially in participatory impact assessment for outcome level PM&E.
- Good interpersonal skills.
- Strong written and spoken abilities in English.
- A strong team player with a can-do attitude.
- Effective data management and analysis skills – basic statistical analysis of programme M+E.
- In depth knowledge of development.
- Ability to work to deadlines and under pressure.
- Strong proven delegation, time management and prioritising skills.
- Effective networking abilities.
- Skills in Digital Data Gathering, statistics and statistical analysis software packages (desirable)
- Methodical and thorough
To apply: CVs should be submitted through our website at https://jobs.concern.net by the closing date.
Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be shortlisted on a regular basis and we may offer posts before the closing date.
Please note that Concern Worldwide does not provide Visa sponsorship.
If you have any concerns about our recruitment process and need particular assistance – for example if you have a visual impairment or are neurodivergent – please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.
Concern has an organizational Code of Conduct (CCoC) with three Associated Policies; the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4), the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy accessible here. These 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 behavior 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 Concern Staff Code of Conduct and Associated Policies as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Concern Code of Conduct, candidates acknowledge that they have understood the content of both the Concern Code of Conduct and the Associated Policies and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these policies. Additionally, Concern is committed to the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable adults and children in our work. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those who are suitable to work or volunteer with vulnerable adults and children are recruited by us for such roles. Subsequently, working or volunteering with Concern is subject to a range of vetting checks, including criminal background checking.
Your Personal Data
During this job application, you will provide Concern with your personal data. Concern takes its responsibilities towards this personal data very seriously and is committed to complying with all relevant data protection legislation.
For additional information please consult our web site or contact the Human Resource Division in our Head Office.
You have certain rights under data protection legislation. For more information on how to exercise those rights please visit www.concern.net/about/privacy
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.