Africa Regional Program Director at Relief International (RI)

Location: London, England, or RI Field Office in Nairobi, Juba, Khartoum, or Kampala. Substantial travel required

Reports to: Regional Director (RD), Africa

Position Summary: Relief International (RI) seeks a Regional Program Director (RPD) for its programs in Africa based in London or in one of the Africa region country offices (Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Uganda), with regular travel to regional country offices. Under the leadership of the Regional Director, the RPD has five main tasks:

• Support, monitor and ensure the quality implementation of the projects in the region;
• Ensure the grant management function for Africa;
• Play a substantial role in promoting the RI way and strengthening Accountability to Communities Frameworks;
• Help strengthen Monitoring and Evaluation and Learning systems; and
• (Represent RI with the donors and other partners supporting the region.

The Regional Program Director will have significant management and international experience, a passion for humanitarian relief and development work, and be capable of successfully guiding and supporting program teams in the region.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Project Cycle Management
  • Help country teams in their efforts to implement RI country, region and global strategy in particular in the design of new programs and technical capacity building of teams.
  • Support country teams for the development, implementation and analysis of needs assessment tools and surveys and the preparation of related reports.
  • Carry out the timely project mobilization for all new projects in the region, involving country Program, regional and GSO relevant departments.
  • Participate in international program personnel recruitment and on-boarding; performance evaluation of international personnel; grievance management; international deployments and repatriations.
  • Carry out bi-annual project follow-up coordination meetings for projects that are longer than 6 months.
  • Undertake multi-faceted strategy to promote elements of the RI way in our programmes
  • Support and ensure that the programme teams develop and follow project management tools such as action plan, budget projections, procurement plans, M&E plans.
  • Ensure appropriate Monitoring and Evaluation activities are carried out regularly (including data collection & analysis, monitoring of project progress against established work plans, monitoring of established indicators and utilization of results to inform program design).
  • Closely monitor, review and analyze monthly budget vs. actual expenditure reports, and make recommendations on the basis of these and ensure that appropriate action is taken in a timely fashion.
  • Review and approve country Request For Funds (RFF) and ensure that they accurately match with programmatic requirements.
  • For each project, design and monitor with the country team, project progress tools.
  • Ensure that program implementation complies with RI and donor policies for projects.
  • Assist country offices in drafting and finalizing agreements such as MOUs, registrations, etc.
  • Act as liaison and Point of Contact between program teams and relevant internal departments such as finance and operations.
  • Conduct regular field visits to provide support, monitoring, capacity building as per program needs.
  • Provide content and updates for websites and communication materials relating to programming.
  • Carry out the timely project close-out for all closing projects in the region, involving country Program, regional and GSO relevant departments.
  • Prepare regular updates on programs implementation and alert the Regional Director of any issues arising.
• Grant Management
  • Be responsible for the timely submission of proposals, reports, fund requests and amendments.
  • Contribute substantially to reporting and ensure that all donor report submissions are fully compliant with donor regulations and of the highest quality.
  • In close coordination with the Regional Director, conduct regular meetings with Country Directors and senior field staff for follow up of programming and operations.
  • Ensure that soft copies of all program and grant related documents are archived and easily accessible.
• Program Development
  • Take a pro-active role in identifying new programme opportunities in collaboration with Africa RD and Country CDs and PD Department.
  • Attend meetings with potential donors to represent RI.
  • Consult with peer and UN agencies on international standards with regard to programme design and implementation.
  • Work with relevant staff to develop high quality concept notes.
  • Support and participate in the completion of funding proposals that meet RI program quality standards and donor priorities.
  • Assist in marketing proposals to appropriate donors.
  • Provide technical proposal review for the Africa region.
  • Contribute to and upon request of the RD lead the final negotiations with donors in particular those based in the US.
  • Participate in planning and implementing programme development assessments for new opportunities and in new countries.
  • Contribute to the integration of programme activities to create coherent, quality and complimentary programming.
  • Provide regular updates on program development activities to the RD.
• Representation
  • Represent RI in meetings such as Interaction, and other relevant meetings with implementing agencies and partner organizations.
  • Participate actively to relevant conferences and events related to Africa or one of the countries where RI has programs.
  • Act as focal point between RI and US-based donor agencies.
  • Regularly and actively organize meetings with donor representatives which are based in Washington DC and the US.
  • Facilitate the interaction and regular meeting (on-line or in person) between US-based donor representatives and country/program teams.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Graduate degree in Development Studies, International Relations, Public Health, or related field preferred.
• At least 10-year experience in implementing multi-sector humanitarian relief or development projects in RI’s countries/regions of operations.
• At least 5-year experience developing and implementing operations and administrative management activities for an INGO.
• Excellent spoken and written English is required.
• Strong leadership and teambuilding skills, staff management and capacity building experience.
• Highly organized and systems-oriented.
• Knowledge of donor guideline requirements (e.g. USAID, UN, DFID, ECHO EuropeAid)
• Experience in proposal writing and programme development activities.
• Experience of external relation, networking and representation in particular with donors.
• Field experience with an INGO working on program implementation.

RI Values:

We uphold the Humanitarian Principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence. We affirmatively engage the most vulnerable communities.

We value:

• Inclusiveness
• Transparency and accountability
• Agility and innovation
• Collaboration
• Sustainability