Afghanistan: Head of Programs

BACKGROUND

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a humanitarian, non-governmental, non-profit organisation that has been working in Afghanistan since late 2011.

DRC believes that no refugee must be in want of help to find protection and durable solutions.

In Afghanistan, DRC provides immediate relief to displaced people in the form of cash and non-food items, and longer-term protection and livelihoods support for displaced and returnee communities in urban and peri-urban areas.

DRC’s regional approach links our country programmes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Tajikistan across the Afghan displacement axis, in line with the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees, which is endorsed by UNHCR and the Afghan, Iranian and Pakistani Governments.

THE JOB

The Head of Programme is a member of DRC Afghanistan’s Senior Management Team and is responsible for overseeing the development and resource mobilization of high quality, innovative programs as well as ensuring the delivery of DRC Afghanistan’s programmes in terms of high quality implementation.

The overall goal of the DRC Afghanistan programme is that displaced, conflict and shock-affected people in Afghanistan can access their rights to life-saving assistance, protection and durable solutions. In this context, DRC Afghanistan’s programming covers three sectors, emergency response, protection and livelihoods. It concentrates on urban programming through activities in Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Herat. The programme has an annual budget of approximately 11 mln USD. It is estimated to increase to 13 mln USD in 2016, and it is funded by seven donors.

Under the supervision of the Country Director, the Head of Programmes is responsible for (1) Planning and Implementing all programs in the country, (2) developing the monitoring and evaluation system, (3) project development, including donor relations, relations with relevant ministries such as DoRR, proposal writing and submission, (4) on time high quality reports on projects to donors, (5) recruitment and retention of all staff working in the Emergency Response, Livelihoods and Protection departments and (6) maintaining the Grant Management System.

The Head of Programmes is a member of the Country’s Senior Management Team and in that capacity, on occasions, will be required to officiate as Officer In Charge during the Country Director’s absence from the country.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Working closely with HQ and Regional staff, to identify strategic funding leads and concepts and identify and nurture funding opportunities to ensure adequate resources are secured.

• Lead proposal development and conceptualization and design of cost effective, innovative and high quality programmes. Work closely with the Head of Finance and Administration to develop detailed budgets for the proposals

• Working with the three Program Managers, who report to this position, draft high quality monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual reports to donors, and relevant Government ministries.

• Ensure that all three departments are coordinated, integrated and support each other to optimize programs and projects

• Ensure that all three Program Managers attend relevant cluster meetings on a regular basis.

• Ensure the integration of all cross cutting issues into design and implementation, in particular gender mainstreaming.

• Monitor project implementation and provide technical or other support to project managers where necessary.

• As eventual budget holder, supervise project budget forecasts, support project budget revisions and supervise the preparation of budget revision drafts and justifications, in close coordination with the finance team

• Supervise program implementation by monitoring progress versus target, support program teams in identifying the need for activity revisions and draft and submit revisions as appropriate

• Maintain and strengthen the project management system; this includes (1) organisation of monthly grant management meetings between program, finance and operations, (2) development of detailed implementation plans (activity, finance, procurement and M&E) for each project, (3) supervision of the monthly monitoring system (monthly updated budget forecasts, procurement plans, activity plans and delivery vs contract indicators)

• Strengthen and oversee the Monitoring and Evaluation department to measure achievements and progress toward national, regional and global programme goals and results.

• Foster and champion a culture of evidence building and learning across the organisation

• Ensure the timely delivery of high quality internal and external program/project evaluations

• Ensure our work is accountable to our beneficiaries and other stakeholders through the establishment and management of effective accountability mechanisms and processes

• Develop program strategy, through participatory approaches with Kabul program managers and field based area managers and staff. This consists of development of sector-specific overall objectives, identification of the most and least effective program activities, development of future programming directions and adaptation of programs to particular contextual needs.

• Responsible for the establishment, maintenance and improvement of an active and regular working relationship with: host government authorities, partner agencies including humanitarian donors, UN agencies, cluster coordinators and local and international NGOs.

• Ensuring compliance with donor rules and regulations and liaising with headquarters to ensure updating of appropriate systems

• Supervise the updating and maintenance of the Grant Management System.

• Portfolio management including supervision of portfolio management system updating, identification of areas with low funding (sectors or geographic areas) and implementation of plans to address these areas

• Coordinate with relevant Senior Management Team (SMT) members to ensure appropriate safety and security measures are in place for beneficiaries and DRC staff

• Directly manage 3 program managers. Through them develop a culture focused on quality and ensure appropriate staffing, recruitment, training, and promotion of program staff.

• Organisation of capacity building for direct reports and senior program staff in key priority areas (project cycle management, planning, monitoring and evaluation)

• Oversee that all technical sector staff proactively build and maintain technical skills and competencies required for leading DRC Afghanistan’s programs

• Ensure that the staff implementing activities respect the code of conduct and report on all observations of non-compliance to the Country Director or other relevant persons.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

Essential

• Masters Degree in humanitarian assistance, sociology, psychology, law, development, human rights, management or similar

• Fluent in written and spoken English

• Minimum 5 years of experience in an NGO environment at senior levels of directing and coordinating programs in humanitarian contexts

• Experience in more than one of DRC’s priority sectors: emergency response, protection and livelihoods

• Demonstrated leadership and management skills in a complex international setting

• Significant experience in programme design and proposal development

• Experience with portfolio management

• Experience in successfully establishing and managing collaborative relationships and partnerships with donors, government counterparts and local NGOs

• Ability to effectively establish a learning culture within an organisation

• Strong understanding of different methodologies of monitoring and evaluation and operational research and experience in developing integrated Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning systems

• In terms of behavior characteristics, demonstrates through behavior and action outstanding accountability (of self and of his / her team); ambition (sets challenging goals for himself / herself and his/her team); collaboration (strong team player); creativity (innovative, replicable and sustainable solutions) and outstanding integrity.

• Strong planning skills

• Experience of management of diverse workforce including effective performance management and utilisation of capacity building, coaching, and mentoring skills

• Strong representation and influencing skills

• Remote management

• Demonstrated use of positive coping strategies in stressful environments

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills

• Microsoft Office skills

• Willingness to travel

• Commitment to and understanding of DRC’s aims, values and principles

• Strong understanding of monitoring and evaluation, including implementation of pilot approaches

Desirable

• Working knowledge of Dari and/or Pashto

PRACTICAL DETAILS

LEVEL

A7

CONTRACT LENGHT

Two years

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS

31 Jan 2016

START DATE

April 01, Negotiable

FAMILY DUTY STATION

Unaccompanied Family Duty Station

CONTACT PERSON

Mustafa Karim: cd.drc.afghanistan@drc.dk