Program Manager and Project office Operations Manager – Save the Children

JOB SPECIFIC ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITES

Overall Programme Management  

·       Responsible for the timely development of annual and quarterly work plan, recruitment plan, procurement plan, and phased budgets for projects.

·       Work closely with area office management team to ensure coordination among projects, country office technical specialists to ensure quality of project implementation and timely completion of the activities and allocated budgets.

·       Works closely with the Support Services – HR/Finance/supply chain/Admin to provide them with advanced plans so that they can efficiently carry out their job.

·       Support the Area Manager in the drafting and submitting project related MOU with the relevant regional partners, follows up on the review and revision processes, as well as finalization and signing.

·       Responsible for budget holder role, proper planning, quality implementation, regular monitoring of activities

·       Manage all activities, resources and assets for projects under supervision

·       Liaises with the relevant sector offices at the location as it relates to the projects under supervision; represents as necessary and upon delegation

·       Identify critical issues in the implementation of projects and take the necessary actions to address problems and constraints

·       Leads project activity and budget revisions, prepares justification for request of amendments in keeping with donor regulations and procedures, closely working with the relevant award team to ensure timely action in Monthly meetings, provides up to date information on the progress of the project and flags any concerns in a timely manner.

·       Facilitate and ensure the involvement of children as primary stakeholders in all project work

·       Ensure that strategies for phasing out are taken care of during implementation; and project close outs are properly planned and executed

·       Ensure project activities are in line with proposed project technical documents and proposed new activities toileted to project goals

·       Ensure active beneficiary participation and ownership at all phases of project management to ensure sustainability  

Program team management

·       Ensure and manage appropriate project staffing within area of responsibility.

·       Ensure all new recruited staff gets proper induction, Fraud, safeguarding and all mandatory training and monitor the progress

·       Leads thematic project coordinators and project team including support function department leads at the office

·       Ensure all direct reporting team have accurate and up –to- date job descriptions, have oriented on project goals, strategies and activities

·       Sets standard and agreed performance objectives for all direct reports, monitor progress regularly and document

·       Identify and prevent potential issues for conflict; develop strong, productive team

·       Conducts quarterly performance review, documents and submits to HR

·       Identify staff capacity gaps, incorporate staff development strategies and Performance Management Systems into team building process & Establish result based system and follow up

·       Ensure submission of quarterly project staff profile/status update using standard format

·       Ensure staff submit accurate time sheet/ER on regular bases before end of the month and line managers follow up and approve ER on time

·       Conduct at least monthly biweekly core team and monthly/quarterly all program team planning and review meeting with appropriate documentation and sharing  

Partnership management

·       Orient NGO, government and community partners on project goals, strategies and activities to develop common understanding for smooth project implementation.  

·       Create medium and help partners understand SCI policies and procedures including child safeguarding, fraud, procurement and financial management

·       Support in partners’ capacity assessment and support; ensuring SCI standards for partnership development are met.

·       Develop/ Review/Check partnership agreements, memorandum of understanding; ensuring SCI formats and standards are adhered to

·       Identify area of activity overlap through proper mapping, develop joint plan and ensure coordination for efficient resource utilization. 

·       Serves as key liaison with regional and zonal sector government offices and the project

·       Closely work with partners to support the course of project planning (joint plan where required), including project proposal development, implementation, and follow up and monitoring of projects

·       Facilitate regular dialogue and information sharing with partners including government, non-government partners and civil societies through regular review and coordination meetings

·       Support partners in preparing annual and quarterly project budgets and making budget revisions. Monitor project budget under partner’s agreement  

·       Build and maintain strong collaborative working relationships with Regional or Zonal relevant sector Bureau, UN Agencies, international and national NGOs working in the location

·       Conduct regular planned monitoring visits, support partners at the project sites and prepare reports for documentation and follow-up actions.

·       Ensure documentation of good practices in partnership and report trends and performances of partner’s activities. Ensure that all relevant partnership documents are centrally maintained both in hard and electronic copies.

Coordination and integration

·       Ensure integration of gender equality and women’s empowerment, a rigorous learning agenda, sustainable approaches

·       In collaboration with key partners, ensure/support the establishment of coordination body and technical committee as relevant, at regional and woreda level, identify implementation gaps/challenges and enhance capacity to ensure its proper functioning. 

·       Coordinate with the Area manager to manage the project and area operations, supervise the project support staff, and coordinate activity of projects

·       Works closely with the technical team to ensure quality of interventions and on timely completion of activities.

·       Coordinate and work with the area office management team and ensure that the project’s administrative processes, such as logistics, procurements, and policy compliance are well established and fully implemented according to Save the Children and donor policy and procedures.

·       Coordinate/lead technical staff working in the region; lead weekly, monthly and quarterly regional planning and review meetings.

·       Ensure that weekly schedules/travel plans are coordinated and completed, and manage project coordinators under his/her supervision.

Budget management

·       This role is a budget holder role for the project in the office

·       Prepare annual and quarterly project Budget planning based on approved Detailed Implementation Plan (DIPs)

·       Manage project budget through proper budget planning, efficient budget utilization ensuring acceptable performance, regular BVA reviews and actions and cost share reporting

·        Manage Projects budgets, including phasing of budgets as per work plans, lead monthly review of spending reports, identification of errors and required actions to address same

·       Ensure effective and efficient utilization of project budget and other resources; follow up on budget utilization and project expenditure through regular BVA reviews

·       Ensure that partner finance planning and reports are in line with the project agreement and requirements from donors and governments; support partners as necessary to ensure proper financial management, utilization and reporting

·       Facilitates communication and interaction between partners and the SCI Awards Team;

·       Closely work with the Awards Team to efficiently monitor and track burn rates, reporting and financial compliance issues

·       Plan, monitor, document and report cost share as per the donor requirement

Monitoring, evaluation and quality assurance and reporting

·       Support and oversee development of M&E systems, tools, and procedure in the region 

·       Coordinate and undertake situation analysis including issues related to emergencies, in the location, establish baseline data for impact monitoring, as well as for use in for new business developments

·       Facilitate/coordinate all project related surveys/assessment planned at regional level; lead and coordinate the development of TORs and management of tasks, including quick assessments, evaluations, and documentations, for projects under supervision as required

·       Monitor the performance of project and project team according to DIP and budget plan/ annual work plan and systematically document project results

·       Identify, monitor and systematically document implementation lessons, best practices and innovations for projects under supervision; and ensure that such information is fed into new business development

·       Plan and facilitate regularly scheduled reviews of projects with partners and stakeholders

·       Ensure that implementation progress data are generated, cleaned, compiled and stored in project specific IPTTs

·       Prepare monthly and annual reports on the implementation of project activities as per the requirements of SCI, regional MOUs and specific project donors.

·       Ensure high quality and timeliness of periodic reports, use standard reporting formats 

·       Facilitates visits to donors, members and others as necessary

·       Ensure proper documentation of all inputs and services, with special focus on auditable once, provided to target beneficiaries 

As part of and under the supervision of the Area office and project office management

·       Ensure internalization and adherence to Save the Children’s Vision, Mission, Core Values and Principles.

·       Represent Save the Children in the respective Woreda’s, Zones and Regional States in which the Project office (PO) is located or is overseeing

·       Coordinate the facilitation of concepts and proposals development for resource mobilization

·       Provide overall coordination and management for all programs implemented in the area under the oversight of the project office

·       Provide the overall supervision (through the PO SMT) and lead all personnel working in the PO and operational area and ensure and promote the matrix management

·       Liaison and network with all local stakeholders to enhance relationship and program ownership and implementation.

·       Ensures effective and steward utilization of available resources for intended purposes whilst safeguarding the quality of Save the Children Programs.

·       Facilitates capacity building and human capital development in the PO and operational area.

·       Provide overall supervision and management of resources utilization

·       Provide regular communication and coordination with the area office leadership and various Country Office departments

·       In the event of a major humanitarian emergency or other crisis, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

·       Ensure Staff Safety and Security through context analysis and as well as Child Safe Guarding, PSEA and gender mainstreaming in program operations

·       Ensure that all projects are implemented in line with Technical Programme standards and processes

·       Lead and support on preparation of quality and timely detailed Implementation Plan (DIP) for program/projects of all new awards/funding

·       Lead on the recruitment and on boarding of required program and support functions for each projects timely and anticipate and forecast ahead of time to ensure early start-up of the projects.

·       Lead and Ensure on preparation of quality and timely monthly, quarterly, bi-annual and annual reports

·       Coordinate with humanitarian team for timely sharing of information and updates on ongoing activities and plans

·       Regularly monitor performance of these projects to achieve the set project’s objectives

·       Ensure that the budget for projects are phased and spent per the plan maintaining the SCI financial policy and procedures and approve expenditures per SOD.

·       Track and monitor monthly expenditures of awards budget to ensure that all spending is in line with approved budget and timelines

·       Support and ensure that these projects have procurement plan and the required items/inputs are procured timely per the time lead

Emergency Response Management

·       Ensure that the Project Office has an up-to-date, context-based and achievable Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) shared from Area Office

·       With support from the Humanitarian team and under the leadership of the Area Manager, mount appropriate and timely responses at scale to all emergencies consistent with established benchmarks, plans and organizational policies, and in close cooperation with incoming surge teams

·       Working with Field team and the Humanitarian team, ensure that all relevant staff across all work sectors are familiar with, adhere to and implement the procedures and processes detailed in the Rules and Principles for emergency response

·       Close monitoring of humanitarian situation through active engagement at different forums as well as establishing relations to available information sources and prepare updates

Security Management and Context Monitoring

·       Responsible for safety and security of all SCI staff and assets under the management of the Project Office

·       In close collaboration with the Area Manager and the Security Focal Points, proactively monitor the political and security situation at both national and local level and ensure that a clear and updated security management plan is in place for all areas of operations under his/her responsibility.

·       As far as possible ensure that all staff are involved in the sharing of security related information, review of guidelines, protocols and developing security plans that should be formally reviewed on a weekly basis, as appropriate

·       In close collaboration with the Area Manager,  Head of Safety & Security, and the Security Focal Points, report and manage any significant security incident in her/his area of operation. If this involves a “critical incident” the Head of Safety & Security, the DCD-Program Implementation and the CD must be informed immediately, in addition to supervisor.

·       Adapt to security constraints and ensure that staff are adequately aware of security risks and management issues in order to deliver projects for children

·       Support the Area Manager, Director of Program Implementation, and the Head of Safety & Security to ensure that all safety and security minimum operating standards and in country guidelines and procedures are met by all offices under her/his responsibility

·       Support the Area Manager, Director of Program Implementation, and the Head of Safety & Security in promoting a culture of security awareness and a shared duty of care amongst staff in field teams