Ensuring Programme Quality across WWF Country Offices in Africa - Programme Quality Consultant at World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Kenya

WWF Africa seeks the services of a Conservation Programme Quality Assurance specialist to help support the roll out of the new QA system and standards across all Country Offices in the region. The QA specialist will work closely with the country offices, regional team, and International QA team to strengthen country office capacity, develop and implement training and awareness programmes, design and support online QA tracking tools, and ensure the smooth implementation and general streamlining and mainstreaming of the QA process across the Africa region.

Primary Activities and Responsibilities:

Key activities and outputs for this consultancy include:

1. To work with the Regional Management Team (RMT) to ensure quality delivery against WWF’s Global Goals on preventing species extinctions, habitat loss and reducing human footprint on the planet’s natural resources.
2. Provide leadership, direction and capacity to ensure quality programme and project design and implementation for conservation impact. Support the development and implementation of robust internal QA processes at country office and regional level - in alignment with the WWF International QA process. Including effective communications, feedback, and QA monitoring components.
3. Support Country Offices to ensure proposals are of a quality that include sufficient and adequate risk-related screening, documentation, monitoring and mitigation are built into successful projects and programmes (e.g. Risk Registers, CQC compliance, ESSF, Grievance mechanisms, etc).
4. In the context of 3) above, work with CEOS and CDs of country offices to support screening mechanisms are in place at the country level for risk identification in project development and that approvals processes, roles and responsibilities, and clear escalation protocols are in place for high risk projects;
5. Coordinate a regional QA process to ensure broad adoption of quality assurance principles in programme and proposal design, support the review of low risk projects at national and regional level, ensure high risk projects are escalated to QAC and CQC, facilitate interaction and communication between all QA stakeholders for the smooth implementation of the process, and ensure best quality design of projects.
6. Be responsible for the upkeep of a regional pipeline of all projects in development by offices, and support the implementation of the regional QA process as the secretary of the Regional Quality Assurance team. This includes coordinating the regional pipeline, communications with country and international teams, coordinating meetings, and general follow up.
7. Support understanding and capacity development in WWF’s social policies and their application as part of the QA process;
8. Support regional ESSF advisers in relation to monitoring the Environmental and Social Safeguards frameworks roll out from landscape screening, to mitigation plan development and reporting mechanisms in the context of the QA process;
9. Develop strategy and roll-out plan to increase proposal development and project management capacity in the region.
10. Monitor and provide regular updates to regional and Country Office leadership on global and regional initiatives related to risk, and quality assurance and ensure Regional and Country Office senior management is informed of best practice and changes;
11. Support the Regional Director Africa to embed a quality assurance culture within the country offices and establish the department as a centre of excellence within the Africa region.
12. Perform other duties as requested by the Regional Director Africa.

Deliverables and Timelines:

The consultant will deliver the following high-quality deliverables in a timely manner:

1. Establish and coordinate the Regional QA team and process - including developing ToR and membership and purpose.
2. Work with the online project and programme pipeline tracking tool that links to existing country and WWF International pipeline tools to manage the QA process.
3. Develop and implement QA training, workshops, webinars, and mentoring to embed a QA culture and process across the region - in collaboration with International QA team.
4. Ensure the timely delivery of projects, programmes, agreements, etc - including the submission all project documentation needed (Project approval with concept/proposal contract including list of activities, risk analysis & mitigation plans, budget etc) - for effective review by the Quality Assurance Committee, and support the smooth running of the process in the region.
5. Support the effective roll out of the ESSF across the region and the incorporation of human rights principles and social policies into programme development and project design.
6. Develop and implement a system to coordinate contract signature with QA approval and develop and implement a monitoring system for QA approval conditions during project development and implementation.
7. Support team with executing follow up and feedback actions from regional, QAC and CQC.

Required Qualifications:

• At minimum of a research-based Master’s Degree in conservation, project management, quality assurance or related field;
• Demonstrable experience in conservation delivery, quality assurance, programme management, monitoring and evaluation, fundraising and risk management in the non-for profit sector.
• Prior leadership roles at country and regional office levels managing multi-disciplinary departments and portfolios will be an added advantage.

Required Skills and Competencies:

• Ability to recommend and implement strategies and provide solutions which benefit both the department and organization.
• Leadership and communication skills, coupled with diplomacy, numeracy, and business acumen.
• Proven interpersonal and people-management skills, complimented by excellent written and spoken English. French language skills an added advantage.
• Strong background in project management and experience with proposal and project development.
• Proven experience of setting standards, and establishing operating policies and procedures, preferably in a project or programme management context.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain clear lines of communication within a wide network of contacts is necessary.
• Good appreciation of organizational and cultural aspects of effective accountability frameworks, including performance management techniques.
• Ability to work and communicate effectively with a broad spectrum of individuals within a broad range of cultural environments and at all levels.
• Strong influencing, advisory and coaching skills.
• Flexible, resilient and able to find pragmatic solutions where resource limitations exist.
• Able to take a strategic, ‘big picture’ view, making connections between individual issues for the purpose of sharing knowledge, experience and recommendations across the wider organization.
• Adheres to WWF’s values, which are: Knowledgeable, Optimistic, Determined and Engaging.
• Demonstrates WWF behaviours in ways of working: strive for impact, listen deeply, collaborate openly and innovate fearlessly.