Vacancy Announcement

Programme Manager- Resilience

Concern Worldwide is an international non-governmental humanitarian organization dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for the following position:

Job Title: Programme Manager- Resilience

Reports to: Somaliland Coordinator

Direct Reports

Project Officer- Resilience

Liaises with: The Programme Manager will report directly to Somaliland Coordinator and administratively to Programme and Coordination Manager. The Resilience PM will liaise with Resilience Coordinator and other programme and systems staff as necessary.

Job Location: This position will be based in Concern’s Borama office, but with frequent travel and considerable time for technical support to Concern Partners.

Contract Details: 1 year & renewable

Job Purpose:

In direct coordination with the Somaliland Coordinator and with support from the Resilience Programme Coordinator, the Resilience Programme Manager will be primarily responsible for the leadership, management, coordination and successful implementation of the resilience programme activities planned in Somaliland in line with Concern and BRCiS consortium approaches. The Resilience Programme Manager will also provide technical support to other resilience projects, particularly on the implementation and monitoring of, Value Chain, Graduation and Self Help Group activities.  Additionally, the Resilience Programme Manager will be responsible for providing direct technical support to the Implementing Local Partner organizations to ensure that the resilience programme activities are accomplished in accordance with established priorities, strategies, timelines and budgets, and that all reports and information required are produced on time and to a high quality standard.

The Resilience PM is also responsible for contributing to the strategic direction for the Resilience program as well as providing program quality and learning (PQL) oversight.

Main duties & Responsibilities:

Programme Management and Quality:

·         Responsible for planning, managing and monitoring the Resilience Programme with the Partner organization in Somaliland.

·         Develop and keep detailed activity plan and ensure that project activities are commenced in a timely fashion and implemented to a high standard, in compliance with Concern standards, policies and donor guidelines.

·         In coordination with all programme staff, notably the M&E unit and the Somaliland Coordinator ensure activities are evaluated against Value for Money criteria and replaced or modified as required.

·         Plan and manage the project budget in compliance with Concern and donor regulations through reviewing field monthly funds requests, approving expenditures and reviewing monthly budget versus actual reports.

·         Facilitate the development of marketing strategies for specific value chain

·         Facilitate multi stakeholder processes for market systems development

·         Facilitate the identification of training needs for staff and partners and conduct trainings aimed at developing their technical capacity in various methods and approaches/techniques in resilience and market systems development.

·         In relation to identified value chain, identify products and entry points where value adding activities in terms of primary processing, packaging, increasing storage life as a way to quality improvement and price returns;

·         Support partners to develop training manuals and programmes for producers, traders and processors in product and marketing development;

·         Facilitate and coordinate mobilization and capacity building of partners, value chain actors, commodity groups in line with the objectives of agribusiness management and market development activities.

·         Support partner staff to conduct trainings, workshops and seminars with market actors to explore linkages to enhance mutual benefit;

·         Facilitate the development and implementation of user friendly market information systems;

·         Support partners to develop procedures and systems for managing agro enterprise such as eggs and milk that ensure fair returns to producers;

·         Support in preparation of periodic reports pertaining to implementation of the program as is required by the partner organization and donors

·         Support the documentation of  success stories, best practices and lessons learnt that can be used for experience sharing and lobby

·         Support to Partner Organisations in the preparation and timely submission of monthly, quarterly, and annual reports including both narrative and financial reports. 

·         Where necessary, support Partner organisation in the procurement of project goods and services and liaise with Concern Somaliland Logistics Coordinator for any additional support regarding procurement for project activities.

·         Play strong leadership role in the implementation of Resilience programs/projects in Somaliland including resource management and administration

·          M&E, Learning and Accountability.

·         Ensure that the Resilience team are working closely and proactively with the MEAL, logistics and finance teams and adhering to required procedures in implementing program activities on a timely, transparent and accountable manner.

·         Support Partner organisation as well as Concern Worldwide’s Resilience team to collect required information and case studies about project activities, progress, challenges and the impact activities have on the lives of beneficiaries.

·         Carry out or participate in rigorous monitoring of field activities against the projects’ activity plan. Provide written reports on all field visits carried out.

·         In consultation with Concern’s M&E unit and Somaliland Coordinator, support the Partner organisation and/or Concern Worldwide teams to conduct needs assessments, baseline/annual/ end line surveys and shock-triggered monitoring with appropriate and participatory approaches and tools.

·         With support from the M&E unit support the Partner organisation to set up and manage a functional complaints & response mechanism (CRM) within their field operations.

·         Ensure staff compliance with the commitments and rules of Concern’s Programme Participant Protection Policy and Code of Conduct (P4 and CoC), including the respect of confidentiality amongst relevant staff and partner organizations.

·         Frequently travel to field areas to monitor staff performance and achievements against work plans and provide on-the-job feedback and instigate corrective measures to ensure the optimal productivity and efficiency of staff

·         Foster a stable and participatory working environment by promoting experience sharing and lessons learnt.

Partner Support and Capacity Building

·         Assist the Partner organisation to comply with donor requirements and Concern Worldwide standards as stipulated in the Partnership Agreement.

·         Assist the Partner organisation to monitor actual budget expenditure against planned and, together with the Resilience Project Officer advise on necessary actions where applicable.

·         Support the Partnership Advisor to undertake capacity needs assessment and to facilitate training required to build the capacity of the Partner staff.

·         In collaboration with other Concern staff, support partner organization in the development and implementation of crosscutting Gender mainstreaming plan.

External and internal relationships and coordination

·         Actively participate in relevant programme coordination meetings.

·         Provide timely and relevant information to the Somaliland Programme Coordinator and Somaliland Coordinator to help ensure good collaboration and working relationship with government and other relevant partners.

·         Link field offices to Hargeisa Office and keep the Somaliland Coordinator well informed,  by providing oversight of the Resilience projects/programmes 

·         Represent Concern Worldwide at consortia and other relevant coordination meetings at field level, in close coordination with all Managers/Coordinators.

·         Act as Resilience Focal Point for Somaliland, actively participating in meetings and learning activities and providing context and programme updates relevant to BRCiS CMU programme in the region.

·         Ensure networking and coordination with local government authorities, other NGOs and UN at field level.

·         Collect information on the humanitarian situation in target regions and provide these updates to the Humanitarian Program Manager and Somaliland Programme Coordinator on a regular basis.

General and other duties:

·         Contribute to support emergency response action when requested by Somaliland Coordinator.

·         Provide surge-assistance for training, data collection or Resilience programme implementation as requested.

·         Ensure application of donor and Concern visibility in compliance to guideline and standards

·         Be aware of Concern’s security procedures and guidelines in place, abide by them and ensure other staff are aware of and follow them.

·         Ensure the application of Concern policies & procedures, Program Participants Protection Policy, Code of Conduct and Core Humanitarian Standards and assist in their proper applications.

·         Ensure that partner relationships are managed effectively, in line with Concern Somali’s Partnership Policy.

·         Work in an interactive and coordinated manner with the other Concern staff and identify and encourage synergies within and across programmes to achieve an integrated approach that supports the overall country strategy.

Accountability 

·         In line with Concern’s commitments under the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS): 

·         actively promote meaningful community participation and consultation at all stages of the project cycle (planning, implementation, M&E); 

·         work with relevant colleagues  to ensure that the Complaints and Response Mechanism (CRM) is functional and accessible, that feedback and complaints are welcomed and addressed; 

·         Work with relevant colleagues to ensure that information about CRM, safeguarding and expected staff behavior is disseminated among programme participants and communities.

Concern's Code of Conduct (CCoC) and its associated policies

Adhere to the standards of conduct outlined in the (1) Programme Participant Protection Policy; (2) Child Safeguarding Policy; and (3) Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy.

QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Essentials:

·         Masters level degree in Agriculture, Community development, Economics, Natural Resource Management or closely related discipline

·         At least 5-8 years practical experience with an international development organisation managing, value chain,  agricultural/Resilience projects under complex operating environments similar to that found in Somaliland

·         Demonstrated practical project management experience covering all aspects of the project cycle from design through to evaluation.

·         Experience of managing programme implementation through partner organisations

·         Experience with participatory methodologies including participatory assessments, participatory monitoring tools and community-based approaches

·         Good understanding of Resilience approaches, Market Based Programming, Cash Based Programming, Value Chain Development, Household livelihood security framework and approaches

·         Strong analytical skills and fluent writing skills.

·         Experience of proposal writing, logframe development and donor reporting.

·         Excellent IT skills including strong knowledge of MS Word applications

·         Excellent communications, interpersonal and training skills and track record of building/developing cohesive teams

·         Willingness to take responsibility for personal security and adhere to Concern’s security guidelines

·         Experience working with Government and coordination with other stakeholders.

·         Strong leadership and management skills and ability to work and build a good team and team spirit. Strong mentoring and capacity building skills. Ability to work autonomously with minimum supervision.

·         Ability to be flexible, adaptive and responsive to a continuously changing environment.

·         Strong commitment to social justice, promoting gender awareness and equality

·         Already worked in complex crisis areas, difficult rural locations, able to work and deliver under stress;

·         Strong project cycle skills: assessments, design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and strategic planning.

·         Financial management and monitoring skills

·         Ability to work effectively in a culturally diverse organisation. Very high attention to detail and presentation

This job description is not exhaustive and may be revised by the line manager from time to time.

How to Apply

Interested candidates, who meet the above requirements, should submit their applications (cover letter and updated CVs) by email to [email protected] with the subject line “Programme Manager-Resilience” by Tuesday 24th  October 2023.

ONLY shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the written test and interview.  

                  Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Concern Code of Conduct and its Associated Policies

Safeguarding Policy and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy. 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.