Regional Program Manager Africa at Relief International (RI)

Program Management Support 

• Provide comprehensive in-person and remote guidance and support with the implementation of sound project cycle management in accordance with RI’s Program Management Framework (PMF)
• Support timely project mobilization for all new projects in the region, as well as close out for existing projects, involving relevant country program, regional and GSO departments and ensuring follow-up and appropriate documentation is in place
• Participate in project review meetings with Program Managers for on-going projects  and provide regular project progress updates to the Regional Programs Team
• Support and ensure that the program teams regularly update, share and follow project management tools, such as detailed implementation plans, spending projections, procurement plans, M&E plan as set out in RI’s Mobilization Tool
• Ensure timely reporting of Programs KPI to GSO and take a lead in the roll-out of KPI feedback processes and improvement plans
• Work with the Global MEAL team to support MEAL activities and ensure they are carried out regularly, including data collection & analysis, monitoring of project progress against established workplans, monitoring of established indicators and utilization of results to inform program adaptation
• Travel to country offices to provide support, monitoring, capacity building as per program needs, including gap filling of key program positions and/or surge capacity as needed
• Provide program coverage for country offices during peak times or Program Director gaps
• Actively support the constant improvement of program quality and management efficiency through contributions to country, regional and global initiatives, such as SOP/tool/template development/refinement
• Lead the induction and onboarding for newly recruited Program Managers and country grant focal points on the required tools and processes set out in RI’s Program Management Framework 
• Provide programs input for the monthly Global Portfolio updates  to RI’s Leadership Team

Grants Reporting and Management Support 

• Take a lead role in monthly Portfolio/BVA review meetings with country teams, ensuring documentation of program implementation status, challenges, achievement and risks and follow-up on action items in a timely fashion, flagging risks and issues for under or overspending of budgets, under-achievements and other implementation challenges. Liaise with country teams on issues that need support from GSO or RSO units (HR, Ops, Security, AMU, Finance, etc.)
• Provide support for grant mobilization and close out,  engage country teams in delivering mandatory mobilization and close out tools, and flagging relevant reporting information to country teams 
• Work with the Regional Reporting Officer,  and Program Director to ensure quality and timeliness of all donor reports. 
• Ensure high quality content and compliance with guidelines and requirement for donor reports. Review reports and supporting documentation and annexes for accuracy and compliance with donor regulations as required.
• Provide final copy  editing and/or support in writing assigned sections of reports, upon request.  When needed, deploy to country programs to assist in writing reports. 
• Collaborate with the Regional Program Officer (RPO) to maintain and update the Regional Awards Matrix, which includes awards, and reporting trackers, as well as donor contact information.
• Ensure that online SmartSheet grant reporting tracker is regularly updated in coordination with the Country Office Grants Focal Persons.
• Support overall coordination of grant modifications by taking a leading role in coordinating amendment of projects between country offices and RSO facilitating reviews/input from regional and global departments as needed. 
• Write, review, and edit proposal narratives, budgets, and other project amendment documents in close collaboration with country offices and the Regional Management Team.
• Provide other grant management and compliance tasks as needed

Communications and Representation Support  

• In collaboration with the Regional Program Director, serve as a focal point with selected donors (i.e. USAID, BHA, GAC, ECHO), coordinating with appropriate RI colleagues to ensure accurate and timely communication. Lead and coordinate on program related meetings and calls with donors, providing program updates and facilitating information sharing between country program teams and donors
• Attend and participate in external meetings, workshops, conferences etc. and brief the Asia/Africa team as needed
• Coordinate and participate in regular management meetings with field, RSO and GSO colleagues, including the documentation and sharing of the minutes and action items, encourage overall program cohesion through coordination and information sharing with and between program teams, RSO and GSO
• Work with the RPO  to produce regular programmatic updates/briefing materials/capacity statements/country profiles for business development purposes
• Work closely with the Communications Team to gather content and stories for use on RI connect and for donor engagements and updates.  , social media and other channels. Work with the Regional Communication Coordinator to produce updates and content from Asia/Africa country offices for the RI Intranet 

 Safeguarding 

• Uphold and promote RI’s commitment to ensuring the safeguarding and safety of the vulnerable communities we serve.
• Consistent with RI’s safeguarding and protection policies, ensure all people who come into contact with Relief International are as safe as possible. 

About You

You will bring the following experience and skills.

This position demands a highly dynamic, proactive, autonomous and flexible individual with solid and effective, quality project  cycle  and  grant  management  skills  who  is  ready  to  provide  substantive contributions and explore advancing their leadership capacity for achieving results in a demanding and fast paced environment. An excellent communicator and team player with fluency in English and who is at ease working in a highly diverse team, capable adapting communication styles to different audiences. 

• Master’s degree in International Development, Humanitarian Studies, Management Studies, or a related field in alignment with the relief and development sectors 
• Demonstrated progressive professional experience managing humanitarian/development programming or supporting the management of programs in a regional capacity; including field experience 
• Exceptional and demonstrated skills in program cycle management, covering the entire program cycle
• Familiarity with US Government grants, as well as ECHO/EC and or/ UN grants 
• Excellent independent and collaborative report writing and data analysis skills
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate complex activities, meet deadlines, and exercise sound judgment and discipline
• Logical and critical thinking skills, and a comfort working with complex budgets and spreadsheets
• Strong independent task management skills and techniques, ability to prioritize and organize own workload
• Willingness to think outside the box, approach challenges with creative solutions
• Comfortable absorbing workload under stress periods
• Superior oral and written communication skills in English, including consensus building and triangulation of information from multiple stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of a team with a high degree of drive, initiative and autonomy
• Willingness to accept and absorb direct critique and participate in two-way dialogue with peers and managers to improve work quality and results
• Proven high level of computer literacy and advanced Microsoft Office Suite skills (with emphasis on Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Ability to travel internationally to support country programs