Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Head of Programming: DRC

Job Title:
Head of Programming: DRC
Requisition Number:
I1302
Area of Interest:
Other
Position Type:
Full Time
Location:
DRC/Kinshasa
Job Description:
Job Title:                                Head of Programming (HoP)
Department:                           CARO/DRC
Position Type:                        Full-Time
Location:                                Kinshasa/DRC
Band:                                      D
FLSA:                                     Exempt
Reports To:                            Country Representative


Background:
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the most populous, vast and resource rich countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Decades of mismanagement, neglected infrastructure, corruption and conflict involving seven national armies over the course of 15 years have left the Congo with an 80 percent poverty rate, and an annual per capita income of just over $120, inadequate social and health services, and weak governmental institutions. A survey carried out for the ICRC found that: 76% of the country's population has been affected in some way by the armed conflict; 58% have been displaced; 47% have lost a close relative; and 28 % know someone who has fallen victim to sexual violence.
The CRS Program in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been operating since 1961 and currently manages a large portfolio of public and privately funded programs in the sectors of Health, HIV, Livelihoods Security, Education, Justice & Peace and Emergency Response and Resettlement. There is currently a national office in Kinshasa and five field offices in Bukavu, Goma, Kalemie, Dungu and Lodja. The three priority sectors over the next few years are WASH, Emergency and Food Security with sub-sector focus on health and nutrition, education, and justice and peace.

Primary Role:
The Head of Programming (HoP) is tasked with leading, managing, and coordinating all CRS/DRC program-related activities, including program planning and development, project implementation, relationships with donors and implementing partners, and all other organizational, operational and reporting activities. This position also requires an active role in supervising program staff, mentoring CRS Fellows and volunteer staff, making future employment decision for the country program, and serving on the CRS/DRC Senior Management Team.
The HoP will focus on program growth and quality, emphasizing capacity building of program staff and partners in order to strengthen the foundation of CRS/DRC’s Program. The HoP will also be responsible for strengthening monitoring, accountability, learning, and reporting systems that reinforce CRS as a learning organization. The Head of Programming will directly manage the Country Program’s M&E Coordinator, Business Development Specialist, Justice and Peace Program Manager, Deputy Head of Programming and Education Coordinator (all Kinshasa-based) and indirectly manage a team of international and national projects managers to develop and implement a large portfolio of projects.
S/He will be responsible for monitoring grant activities and building staff capacity to ensure programs are implemented and managed in accordance with CRS program quality principles and best practices; that all donor requirements are met and high quality reports produced by responsible staff.
S/He will be responsible for coordinating ongoing and new proposal development initiatives ensuring the quality of final documents. The opportunity at this point in time for CRS/DRC is to demonstrate its capacity to deliver high quality and innovative programming in DRC.
The HoP will lead the implementation of the country’s Strategic Program Plan through creative and dynamic leadership with the senior program staff: promote greater overall effectiveness in strengthening rural livelihoods, reducing poverty, and fostering pro-poor systems, institutions, and structures with a strong emphasize on women participation and empowerment.


Primary Functions:
·               Ensure good implementation of CRS/DRC Program Quality objectives designed for each fiscal year through the establishment and implementation of necessary systems, standards, staffing and strategies for quality programming;
·               Support the programming department to ensure necessary support and capacity building of staff and partners to implement high quality projects;
·               Support CRS/DRC in its institutional learning through the development of effective learning systems and processes;
·               Lead CRS/DRC efforts in the development of high quality proposals;
·               Work closely with programming to ensuring effective implementation of the CP’s SPP;
·               Collaborate closely with the Program Quality Managers, the Business Development Specialist, Sector leads and HoO in the identification of potential funding for CRS/DRC and representation of the country program to potential donors through the development of strong marketing tools;
·               Assist CRS/DRC staff in quality, timely and evidenced report reporting producing polished English documents for external donors.
·               Ensure coordination, information sharing and exchanges between projects and sectoral teams.
·               Support financial and resources planning, as well as a transparent and strong donors budget management.

Specific Responsibilities:
Focus on Quality
·               Establish systems that support program quality through adherence to agency principles and standards, compliance, learning and innovation
·               Ensure detailed and realistic project implementation plans are developed with partners. Oversee implementation of all projects, regularly reviewing progress against indicators
·               Ensure that all programming staff follow program quality guidance, M&E standards to ensure high quality project design
·               Coaches staff in the use of IHD, Justice Lens and partnership principles to strengthen participatory, innovative and holistic development approaches
·               Implement effective systems for financial management, budget management, knowledge management and risk management.
·               Ensure high quality and timely reporting
·               Regularly travel to the field to visit projects and assess progress
·               Ensure compliance to project closure process

Leads Growth in Program
·               Identify program priorities and actively develop a strategic plan to grow projects (with partners, CP staff, regional/HQ technical advisors, Business development team)
·               Assess business development environment as well as CRS’ strengths/opportunities. Take a lead role in identifying potential fund raising options.
·               Networks and identifies potential partners and consortiums for proposals
·               Assist the Country Representative in building donor relations.
·               Incorporate emerging trends into new or existing programs
·               Mobilize proposal design teams to draft and submit proposals that efficiently include value adding input from diverse sources
·               Ensure compliance to CARO’s proposal development and approval process

Supervises and Develops Program Staff
·               The HoP supervises directly the 3 International staff (M&E Coordinator, Education Coordinator, Business Development Specialist) and 2 national staff (DHOP and Justice and Peace PM) based in the Kinshasa office.
·               Orients new staff to CRS culture, identity, tools and processes.
·               Coach program staff in all aspects of project design and implementation. Meet regularly with staff individually for coaching, mentoring and support.
·               Promote the ongoing development of program staff skills (in technical and non-technical topics) in areas where they lack capacity
·               Indirectly supervise programming teams based throughout the country.
·               Identify training needs and opportunities for staff and organize/facilitate training events as appropriate.
·               Coach staff on building effective partnerships.
·               Mitigate risks by ensuring staff understand financial/administrative processes
·               Complete all aspects of CRS performance management on time and effectively.

Partner capacity building and support
·               Together with Program Quality Managers, programming staff and partners, identify capacity building needs for partners through the development of a capacity building plan and ensure that needs are addressed.
·               In collaboration with HoO, Program Quality Managers, Budget Holders and the Grants and Compliance Unit, ensure that partners are closely involved at all stages of the project cycle, including in the development of projects; create tools with partners and programming staff that will facilitate communication and relationship building.
·               Ensure that partners are involved in Project Quality events, such as DIP workshop, SMILER workshop, reviews and evaluation.
·               Ensure all partner programming staff is aware of CRS partner principles, overall guiding principles/Catholic Social Teaching and are applied consistently.

Monitoring and Evaluation, Accountability and Learning
·               Keep abreast of lessons learned with donors through coordination of Overseas Support Development (OSD), Business Development Team, (BDT), Deputy Regional Director (DRD) and Program Quality Support Department (PQSD). Maintain documentation of lessons learned in the DRC context and disseminate as appropriate.
·               Take the lead in organizing writing and publication of success stories and case studies.
·               Work with M&E staff and PMs in the design and enhancement of M&E tools, protocols, surveys and evaluation instruments to strengthen quality data collection, analysis and reporting on projects/programs core indicators.

SPP implementation
·               Identify potential donors (Foundations, Embassies, Bilateral organizations, INGOs, other non-traditional sources)
·               Conceptualize and oversee the production of appropriate marketing materials for CRS/DRC portfolio in collaboration with programming and administration (Project fact sheets, sectoral and/or geographic focus brochures, and past performance documentation).
·               Ensure, in collaboration with the M&E Unit, that progress towards the SPP is evaluated on a regular basis and discussed during annual PQ retreats.

Financial and resources planning
·               The HoP will support preparation of the Annual Program Planning in collaboration with the Country Representative and Head of Operations.
·               Collaborate with finance department to ensure budget holders are trained on budget management and meet CRS budgetary cycle deadlines
·               Ensure that the Detailed Implementation Planning per project includes a comprehensive planning for resources (staffing, procurement, transportation plans) for a good use of donor resources

Building and Leading Effective Teams
·               The HoP will ensure transparent coordination mechanisms and regular and relevant information-sharing with relevant staff considering the rapid geographical coverage of the CP.
·               Ensure good utilization of the SharePoint and champion the use of PIMS.
·               Actively participate in senior management meetings.
·               Oversee regular programming and coordination meetings between program and support departments.
·               Maintain good level of communication with Deputy regional Director and Headquarters as appropriate.


Key Relationships:
Internal: CR, DHoP, M&E Coordinator, Business Development Specialist, Program Quality Managers, Head of Operations, Grant Complaince Manager, Finance Manager, HoO, Program Managers, Technical Advisors, Admin Managers, HR and IT Officers, Procurement Officer and Finance Managers.
External: NGO partners, External/Internal Audits


Head of Programming Competencies:
HOPs are expected to use these competencies in the accomplishment of the responsibilities above.
·               Builds and Leads Effective Teams
·               Supervises and Develops Program Staff
·               Leads Growth in Programs
·               Focuses on Quality


Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff):
These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

·               Serves with Integrity
·               Models Stewardship
·               Cultivates Constructive Relationships
·               Promotes Learning


Qualifications:
·               Minimum of a Master's degree in business management, public health, international development, or related field.
·               Five years minimum experience working in a development setting.
·               Understanding of U.S Government grant provisions and guidelines, including proposal formats and reporting requirements.
·               Capacity to work closely, understand, and support local Church partners
·               Excellent oral and written communication skills
·               Experience developing successful proposals and strategic alliances
·               Strong capacity in project design, project management and M&E
·               Familiarity with policies, procedures, and priorities of USAID, UN agencies, and Caritas agencies preferred
·               Strong computer skills: Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint; Microsoft Publisher preferred
·               Experience in staff development and partner capacity preferred
·               Knowledge of CRS’ program quality standards, the justice lens, and Catholic Social Teaching principles preferred


Foreign Language Required:
Good French language skills


Physical Requirements/Environment:
S/He will be based in Kinshasa office, and spend up to 50% in the field. CRS/DRC is operational in 10 provinces of the 11 provinces and has sub offices in Katanga, South Kivu and North Kivu. CRS/DRC also has staff based in Kasai, Equateur and Orientale Provinces.


Disclaimer:
This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

EOE/M/F/D/V


For fastest consideration, please create an online profile to apply.


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