South Darfur Senior Program Manager

POSITION TITLE:  South Darfur Senior Program Manager
COUNTRY PROGRAM:  Nyala, South Darfur, Sudan
RESPONSIBLE TO:  Country Director
STATUS:  Full Time
SUPERVISORY CAPACITY: Technical/Operations teams
DATE: May 2015

COUNTRY PROGRAM MISSION

The American Refugee Committee (ARC) Sudan Program started in 2004 in response to the emergency needs of some 500,000 conflict-affected IDPs and host populations in the Tulus and Gereida corridors in South Darfur. ARC currently works in El Salam, Tullus, Gereida, Bielel and Dismu Districts in South Darfur State including two large IDP camps (Kalma and Gereida Camps).  Although South Darfur remains the largest component of our country program, in 2014, ARC expanded its program in East Darfur State to include Adilla, Yassin, and Abu Karynka, Asalaya and El Ferdous localities, including El Neem IDP camp.

The overall aim of the program continues to be :  to improve the well-being of the target populations by addressing their immediate humanitarian needs and contributing to long-term community stabilization.

In conjunction with the Country Office in Khartoum, the field office in Nyala supports the delivery of primary health care services (health, nutrition/RH) at 13 rehabilitated community clinics and 5 camp based clinics:  2 in Gereida Camp and 3 in Kalma Camp,  in addition to reaching out with mobile clinic services to remote communities in which health facilities have not yet been rehabilitated. Water and sanitation services, including the construction/rehabilitation of boreholes, water yards, household and institutional latrines and hygiene promotion messages, are also delivered in over 70 conflict-affected communities. Although Health, Nutrition and WASH interventions comprise the majority of ARC’s project portfolio in South Darfur, additional small projects include Peace Building, Food Security and Livelihoods and emergency distribution of NFIs to displaced populations.

Major donors include USAID (OFDA), CHF (pooled humanitarian funds), UN funding from UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO, WFP and private funding.  ARC Sudan’s program has an annual budget of between $US 9-12million, with 12 expatriates and over 700+ national staff, some of whom are seconded from the line Ministries of the Sudan government.

PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

The Senior Program Manager in South Darfur is the leader of the South Darfur team and is responsible for the overall design and implementation of the ARC program in South Darfur. This is a key management position in the country program and a member of the Senior Management Team.

Major responsibilities include: leading the technical teams (sectors) in the strategic development of sector plans/proposals; internally and externally coordinating sector activities; establishing and maintaining public relations with state authorities, UN agencies, other NGOs and implementing partners; coordinating management support, including resource allocations and utilization among sectors and administration and accounting for them; monitoring program implementation and revising plans as appropriate, managing all program and support staff, including performance management and staff development; coordinating the production of ARC and donor program and financial reports (ARC and donors) with the program and support teams and ensuring program staff and assets are safe at all times.

This position is based in Nyala with periodic supervisory field visits within the State. Per HAC regulations, this position will appear as State Program Manager in the official job offer. 

MAJOR AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

PRIMARY DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES 

Program Management/Program Development - 40%

• Contribute to cross departmental activities such as development of country strategies, operational planning for South Darfur.
• Ensure full compliance with ARCs minimum operating standards for grant management including work with implementing partners.
• In close coordination with the CD, Country Program Manager (CPM), Country Health Director (CHD) and Finance Director (FD) and other sector leads, closely monitor budget spending and actively participate in monthly meetings/forums for explaining significant BVA variances and proposals for spending normalization.
• Together with the CPM and CHD and HR department ensure that any technical staff deficiencies/problems are identified and resolved.
• Prepare monthly management reports for submission to the Country Director.
• Ensure ARC monthly and donor reports (activities and financial are submitted in a timely manner.
• Promote strategic quality programming in the ARC South Darfur program by ensuring that all projects have well-defined performance indicators and routine M&E mechanisms in place by working in close collaboration with CPM and M&E manager.
• Provide technical advice and program support, as necessary.
• Coordinate program and support teams in the development of  new project proposals
• Support Technical Coordinators in the development of program structure, identification of human resource needs and preparation of individual job descriptions.
• Provide regular and emergency updates to the Country Director on the current and changing situation, on both program and security issues, especially those resulting in changing/moving IDP caseloads within the State.
• Advise the Country Director on current and potential needs of refugee and IDP populations in South Darfur in appropriate sectors (i.e. Health, Nutrition, WASH, NFIs/Shelter, Food Security/Livelihoods, etc).
• Participate as a member of a needs assessment team in response to emergencies or for the development of any potential new programs as required.

Support Department Management/Accountability - 50%

• Overall responsibility for managing the South Darfur operations budget and individual donor budgets.  
• Overall responsibility/oversight for the support departments’  including Finance, Logistics, Admin/IT, Security, and HR in Nyala State Office and the Gereida sub-office ensuring control mechanisms are in place and close coordination between departments to ensure accountability and quality programming. 
• Ensure compliance to ARC Policies as well as Government Policies and Regulations including but not limited to  Labor Law and Tax Laws.
• Monitor expenditures to ensure compliance with contracts obligations (donor policy/guidelines and procedures) and effective budget management practices.
• With the support of the Country Director and Finance Director, maintain a culture of accountability among budget holders.
• Facilitate monthly management meetings to review progress on plans, spending on budget and other management issues.
• As a member of the Country Senior Management Team (SMT) feed all field management issues into Country SMT meetings
• In conjunction with the Security & Staff Safety Manager, ensure that Field Security Manual and Security Standard Operating Procedures are current and are being implemented in line with ARC and UN guidelines.

Representation – 10%

• Represent ARC at official meetings or events such as INGO and UN/OCHA coordination meetings or meeting with Government (HAC/line ministries/Labor office) etc. involving security, administrative or programmatic matters.
• Represent/sign on behalf of the CD as requested--- to staff, Government, donors, UN agencies, other humanitarian organizations, partners and beneficiaries.

                                                              

EDUCATION, TECHNICAL SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED

• Minimum of 5 - 7 years of overseas experience with an INGO in a mid/senior management position in complex emergency or post-conflict settings.
• University degree required, preferably a Masters degree in Public Health or Humanitarian Studies, Social Sciences, International Relations or related field.
• Proven program development/management skills as well as general management of support department functions.
• Experience in managing large multi-sector, integrated emergency and early recovery programs in remote areas often requiring remote management. (Sector experience in Health, Nutrition, WASH a plus).
• Proven ability to oversee the management of HR, Finance, Logstics, Admin/IT Departments. 
• Experience in managing large multicultural teams (including expatriate and national staff)
• Experience managing assets & staff safety.
• Experience and/or knowledge of Sudan (history, politics, culture, etc.) and sensitive to issues involved in working in Sudan is preferable.
• Strong verbal and written communication.
• Strong computer literacy; strong skills in Microsoft Office is essential.
• Must be fluent in English. Knowledge of Arabic is a plus.
• Good participatory leadership and interpersonal skills
• Strategic thinker with good planning skills
• Experience working with and coordinating with donors including USAID (OFDA), UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, WHO, WFP, pooled funds/CHF, and private foundations and knowledge of donor policies and procedures.
• Experience working and coordinating with UN/OCHA and other humanitarian actors including INGOs, national NGOs and government agencies and working with local partners.
• Excellent networking and public relations skills
• Proven organizational and coordination skills

KEY BEHAVIORS & ABILITIES

• Highly motivated self-starter who takes direction well, but also works independently.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines, effectively managing multiple priorities.
• An exemplary team leader/player.
• Ability to motivate and counsel staff working in a complex emergency environment
• Extremely flexible/patient with the ability to cope with stressful situations.
• Willingness to travel to and live in remote and insecure environments.
• Must be able to multi-task
• Results oriented
• Cultural sensitivity is essential.
• Humanitarian spirit

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