Head of Programming I - Kenya, South Sudan and Somalia (KeSoSu) at Catholic Relief

Job Summary

As a member of the Country Senior Management Teams, you will provide overall strategic direction, leadership, and quality assurance to ensure the establishment and successful implementation of multi-country programming serving the poor and vulnerable. Your leadership and program quality expertise will enable the countries to deliver high-quality programming and continuously work toward improving the impact of their programming. As part of the Senior Management Team, you will proactively assess and advise on risk mitigation and management and accompany project managers for effective implementation. Your technical knowledge and program quality experience and skills will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive, innovative and scalable CRS’ programming is across the region. This position will support CRS program offices in South Sudan, Somalia and Kenya (KeSoSu).                                                                                                        

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• In collaboration with the Country Managers (CMs) provide leadership and strategic direction for the design of country strategic frameworks and plans, including the development of resource mobilization strategies to optimize the impact of CRS programming and drive changes at scale, in line with regional and agency strategic priorities. Represent and promote CRS at relevant for a.
• Lead high-quality project design with innovative approaches that incorporate project management standards and MEAL methods, appropriate to the scope, context, and technical requirements of multi-country projects. Contribute to the establishment of new technical quality and project management standards. Lead planning of activities across projects from different sectors to ensure integration and efficiency in implementation. 
• Effectively support and coach programming talent. Promote positive team dynamics and staff well-being. Support strategically tailoring individual development plans and complete performance assessment for direct reports. Contribute to developing staffing plans and to the recruitment process of senior project staff. Contribute to PQ orientation and training programs.
• Create and maintain proper conditions for learning. Establish a safe environment for sharing ideas, solutions, and difficulties and the capacity to detect, analyze, and respond quickly to deficiencies. Promote accountability, learning and knowledge management overseeing application of the MEAL policy, as well as cross-sectoral and cross-department learning.
• Coordinate with regional and country operations leads to ensuring appropriate project budgeting and efficient use and stewardship of project material sources.
• Advance positioning and proposal efforts, in alignment with the country strategy. Lead the business development cycle of increasingly complex, strategic, and competitive growth opportunities from intelligence gathering and positioning to proposal development to learning and marketing to ensure quality proposals per agency and donor standards. Support lead cultivation and donor engagement.
• Lead the identification, assessment and strengthening of appropriate partnerships and the appropriate application of partnership concepts, tools and approaches. Advance agency commitments to local leadership and support transition to effective technical assistance roles, where applicable.
• Ensure technical assistance and capacity strengthening for project teams and partners in project management standards and related MEAL, business development and operational activities. Identify training opportunities, develop training curricula, and deliver trainings.
• Advance knowledge management and learning by coordinating research studies, assisting with reviewing and documenting program impact, supporting design and delivery of learning events and sharing best practices, and coordinating production of internal/external learning products.
• Provide program quality management surge support to fill short-term CP gaps and support projects during program start-up, close-out, or other delivering key milestones in the project cycle. Coordinate with global teams for appropriate delivery of technical assistance.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in International Development, International Relations or relevant field.
• Minimum 5-8 years of relevant field-based program management, at least 2 years of senior management experience.
• Strong experience in humanitarian and development, project grants management for large and complex projects, including project design, budget preparation, expenditure tracking, monitoring and evaluation, reporting, etc., for projects funded by multiple public donors.
• Substantial experience with successful business development activities capturing significant public and private donor funding.
• Demonstrated application of technical principles and concepts. General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure proper cross-sectoral approach.
• Experience in business development, project design and proposal development including technical writing.
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, facilitation and training applying adult learning principles and practices.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation, including data collection tools and methodologies, data analysis, and data presentation.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience engaging partners and strengthening partnerships. Experience working with Church partners a plus.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

• Proficient in using MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, and knowledge sharing networks.
• Excellent strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions.
• Experience and abilities in capacity strengthening - developing curricula and facilitating trainings 
• Staff management experience and abilities that are conducive to a learning environment. 
• Experience coaching and mentoring senior program staff.
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Excellent English writing skills.
• Team leadership abilities with diverse/multi-disciplinary teams. Coaching/mentoring skills
• Presentation and facilitation skills
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions oriented and results-oriented