FSL PROGRAM MANAGER Full Time NEW

• TEAM/PROGRAMME: FSL/R
• LOCATION: Afar/Semera
• GRADE: 2B
• POST TYPE: NATIONAL

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3: the role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more) because he/she works at the community level. The role holder should be well acquainted with and act towards ensuring the organization’s Child Safeguarding Policy inclusive of awareness creation for prevention, reporting, and responding.

Scope of Role

• Reports to: Field Operation Manager
• Staff Directly Reporting to this Post: 6-7
• Duration: One year with possible extension

Program Overview:

The overall goal of the Food Security and Livelihood/Resilience (FSL/R) program is to create opportunities for drought- and conflict-affected pastoralists and agropastoral communities, including vulnerable women and girls, in the target areas of the Afar region. The program aims to enhance community cohesion and resilience by providing access to livelihood opportunities and improving agricultural productivity. Additionally, it seeks to empower these communities to become resilient to various shocks by ensuring their meaningful engagement in development processes, enhancing their technical and transferable skills, and promoting equal access to capital, resources, and services. This approach will help them achieve economic self-sufficiency and overall well-being. Furthermore, youth and young women will receive the necessary resources to scale their businesses, support their families, and become agents of change, role models, and leaders in their communities.

Scope of Role

• The FSL Program Manager will be responsible for the overall direction, coordination and ensuring the high quality of FSL programs/projects under Semera FO. Implement, monitor and evaluate program interventions as per the project document, overseeing the overall program activities, and effectively communicating and escalating issue in a timely and appropriate manner. The Program Manager will ensure adherence to overall technical and programmatic quality in implementation, and for timely submission of all deliverables, including annual work plans, performance-monitoring plans, and reports as required. In addition, the jobholder will be responsible to manage the program budget in line with SCI’s finance policy, field office and donor requirements.

Job specific roles and responsibilities

• Budget holders/Project managers and Area Office Directors are accountable for accurate, timely and quality procurement plan development and submission to supply chain department and working closely for a subsequent revision and updates.
• Hold overall responsibility for high-quality design and implementation of all aspects of the program, based on actual needs and response analysis
• Provide strategic guidance, strong leadership and ensure technically sound decision-making processes in coordination with the FSL/R Technical Advisor.
• Lead, coach, support and mentor project staff and implementing partner(s) in the areas of responsibility in the delivery of the program’s goals and objectives.
• Ensure timely start up and implementation of the program in collaboration with program staff, partner(s) and relevant departments.
• Ensure regular and on time monitoring and monthly reporting on all program management aspects including the Award Action Plan (phased budget and actual expenses analysis, work-plan progress and updating, procurement plan revision, IPTT data collection and analysis and monitoring of indicators, partner sub-awards and capacity building plans). Flag and troubleshoot when issues arise during implementation.
• Take full responsibility for the delegated budget holding function on the programmatic aspects of the program, participate actively in award review meetings and contribute to financial decision-making, ensuring that value for money can be effectively demonstrated to the donor.
• Ensure that MEAL tools are systematically implemented and used by project staff and partner(s), in cooperation with the Program Development and Quality (PDQ) team.
• Support baseline surveys, regular monitoring, review and evaluation, and assessment of learnings and evidence in cooperation with the PDQ team.
• Foster an integrated approach by coordinating and cooperating with all other thematic areas during program implementation and for future program design and development.
• Produce high quality reports within agreed reporting schedules.
• Ensure program staff is deployed on respective target areas and training centres
• Ensure project Coordinators engage in community mobilization, need identification, planning and effective implementation of program activities.
• Regularly visit field activities and provide formal and informal feedback to the project staff in terms of adequate and inadequate progress as well as recommendations for improved performance.
• Continuously assess project’s context, assumptions, and changes in the working environment to ensure that the project focus, strategies, and activities remain relevant and to propose adjustments when needed
• Represent the program & the implementation of the FSL program action plans
• Accountable and responsible to facilitate or create a detailed implementation plan (DIP) of the projects
• Ensure the implementation of project activities in accordance with the DIP and with the aim of 100% achievement of project results and approved budget.
• Ensure feedback are gathered from participants and beneficiaries on the Youth livelihood curriculum, leadership & economic empowerment of women, and overall program activities for further improvement and possible actions.
• Prepare budget forecasts and AIR Reviews regularly for budget management
• Deliver donor expectations in line with the project objectives and overall goal
• Work closely with the project donor, attend donor meetings, organize donor visits and share program updates.
• Coordinate & ensure team spirit development among program staff at all levels.
• Maintain program files and related program inputs are properly documented and available at safer places.
• Facilitate on extract, synthesize and produce evidence and learnings and work closely with evidence and learning team in disseminating findings internally and externally including SCI
• Facilitate on contextual analysis on the ground for new program designing and expansion of the existing projects
• Carry out other duties as requested by the Field Operations Manager

Performance management and capacity building:

• Line-manage program staff in the areas of responsibility, ensuring they have clear objectives and receive meaningful feedback on their performance regularly, in collaboration with the human resources department.
• Identify capacity-building requirements of staff and implementing partner(s), and lead on development of capacity building plans, ensuring resourcing and implementation.

Networking & External Engagement:

• In alignment with Country Office strategy and leadership, participate in coordination meetings/cluster meeting at regional level and national level
• Establish/strengthen public-private partnership
• Represent SCI at different meeting and advocate the attribution of SCI.
• Organize quarterly base joint mentioning visit with government and private stakeholders

Essential:

• MA/ BA Degree preferable in field (s) such as Economics, Marketing, Social work, Gender and Rural development, Agricultural engineering, Animal science, Business Management, MBA, Developmental Economics, Agricultural Economics, and related courses
• 10 years of relevant progressive experience, out of which 6 years in Youth Livelihood / women economic empowerment program positions
• Experience of working specifically with youth/ young women livelihoods development programs in rural and urban setups
• Experiences in managing Food Security and Livelihood programs in rural and urban areas
• Excellent understanding of the culture of and ways of living of target operational Areas
• Good written and spoken English
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with private sectors, communities, government structure, existing NGOs…etc
• Good team player and open for new ideas and learning
• Good report writing skill, able to collect, document and share program records and information
• Experiences of working in INGOs, Communities at grass root level, local training institutes are advantageous
• Knowledge of computer applications
• Ability and willingness to travel and work in rural areas where the program is implemented, within approved security frameworks

Desirable

• Extensive experience in Budget Management
• Work experience in facilitation, partnership development, networking and supporting livelihood development.
• Work experience in Gender and Sexual and Reproductive Health services for youth
• Ability to travel throughout the focus zone, woredas, kebele and other rural areas as needed.
• Strong results orientation.
• Experience in multi-sectoral coordination.
• Proven project technical field staff management skill with professional certificate in project management is an added advantage.
• Ability to manage complex and demanding workload.
• Experience in NGO setup.
• Experience working in the region and understanding of local context.

Skills And Behaviours (Our Values In Practice)

Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds suppliers accountable to deliver on their responsibilities

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and takes responsibility for their own personal development
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale

Collaboration:

• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to; builds and maintains effective relationships with colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• Values diversity and different people’s perspectives, able to work cross-culturally.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Cuts away bureaucracy and encourages an entrepreneurial approach

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency, builds trust and confidence
• Displays consistent excellent judgement