Project Director at Marie Stopes International

MSI seeks a qualified Project Director for a five year, multi-million pound sexual and reproductive health programme funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID). The programme will increase access to family planning for women, men and young people in 19 counties in Kenya through a combination of: (i) increasing awareness of the benefits of modern contraception; (ii) increasing access to quality contraception in the private and public sector; and (iii) improving the supply of quality family planning services in the public sector. The project will be strongly committed to leaving no one behind and will have a strong focus on reaching young people, people who are poor, disabled and people who are marginalised. The Project Director will lead the programme, ensuring that it delivers the expected results and provides value for money to the donor. S/he will be the main point of contact with DFID-Kenya and manage relationships within the consortium. S/he will have ultimate authority on all aspects of the programme and will ensure that it is implemented with the highest standards of quality and efficiency, working closely with the Country Director and technical teams. S/he will ensure that the programme meets MSI’s internal standards and donor compliance.

The Role

The Project Director will be the overall lead for the Delivering Sustainable and Equitable Increases in Family Planning in Kenya project, and will be accountable for delivery of agreed project results and KPIs across all intervention areas. S/he will be the technical focal point and will be expected to provide technical oversight for the day-to-day implementation of the project across all consortium members. S/he will ensure that donor standards are reached in the implementation of the project and that all technical specifications of the project are delivered to a high quality. S/he will ensure that the implementation of the project aligns with MSI’s global standards for clinical quality, project management and data management and verification.

S/he will be responsible for stewardship and coordination of the consortium of organisations implementing the project. S/he will work closely with the programme leadership of each agency to ensure that the activities of all partners are aligned and implemented efficiently and effectively, in order to meet agreed country-level targets and deliver good value for money. S/he will provide strategic guidance to all members of the consortium, and will ensure synergy between the various work streams of the programme, avoiding duplication and ensuring that resources are deployed effectively to deliver on project commitments. S/he will manage the preparation, review and periodic revision of detailed country-level implementation plans, monitor and respond to partner performance and be responsible for driving communication between the partners in country, and across the programme.

The Project Director will steward the flexible and adaptive programme approach at a national level, monitoring effectiveness, environmental opportunities and challenges, and risk levels. The Project Director will work with MSI’s DFID team in London (responsible for stewardship and management of all MSI’s DFID-funded projects globally) to refine and adjust the programme approach to maximise opportunities, mitigate risks, and continue to deliver high impact.

S/he will be the face of the project to the government, the donor and other development partners. The project works closely with the Ministry of Health at central level as well as regional and district level, and supports their targets for sexual and reproductive health. The Project Director will work closely with the Ministry of Health to integrate the project into ongoing sexual and reproductive health initiatives and projects, and to engage in relevant policy dialogue and advocacy for a.

This role is subject to the successful award of the contract and the project is due to commence in 2018. The role will be for a minimum of one year and may be extended for the full duration of the project (5 years).

Key Responsibilities

Leadership

• Lead the effective and efficient delivery of the programme within budget, ensuring that DFID expectations and programme KPIs are met and exceeded.
• Provide overall leadership for the programme team at country level, ensuring collaboration between all implementing partners in the project consortium and coordination across implementation areas and regions.
• Ensure high quality programme delivery, following donor and MSI compliance and standards, to agreed workplans.
• Provide guidance, support and oversight to the consortium partners to ensure the programme is implemented efficiently, effectively and providing good value for money.
• Ensure robust, accurate and meaningful monitoring, evaluation and learning across the project, ensuring learning is integrated into ongoing implementation.
• Improve operations by strengthening capacity, building high performance teams, identifying and promoting talent, managing performance.

Governance / Programme Management

• Ensure compliance with donor requirements at all levels and provide guidance to the consortium on donor compliance.
• Effectively manage the project budget, ensuring efficient use of resources and managing expenditure in line with the agreed budget, including across implementing partners.
• Ensure the programme adheres to guidelines in MSI’s Project Cycle Management manual.
• Compile and submit regular technical and financial reports to DFID-Kenya, ensuring all reports are reviewed by the required approvers internally.
• Regular review of progress ensuring delivery against agreed workplans, identifying issues and developing solutions, and supporting relevant departments to adjust their work plans accordingly

Representation

• Representation of MSI and the project at strategic level, including with DFID-Kenya, and engage and influence relevant stakeholders including the Ministry of Health and associated institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral agencies, and Ministries at central and de-centralised level.
• Uphold all Marie Stopes core values and lead by example
• Lead by example and promote “One-Team, One Spirit” approach **

Skills and Experience (essential/ desirable)

• Significant experience in delivering clinical family planning and sexual and reproductive health programming in Kenya or a similar context at a senior level of management (essential)
• Demonstrable experience managing large and complex programmes funded by DFID and other institutional donors with budgets of upward of £10 million (essential)
• Significant experience leading consortia and managing local and international implementing partners to deliver results across a range of work streams (essential)
• Proven general management experience in operationally demanding and challenging environments, including recruitment, training and supervision of direct reports (essential)
• Track record in building and maintaining strong relationships with government (Ministry of Health and local governments), the private sector, and UN agencies to deliver sexual and reproductive health programmes (essential)
• Demonstrated capacity to manage financial resources effectively and transparently to achieve maximum impact and value for money
• Proven knowledge and experience applying DFID compliance and familiarity with DFID terms and conditions, duty of care requirements, etc. (desirable)
• Fluent in English (essential)

Personal Attributes

• Approachable with strong interpersonal & listening skills together with the ability to empower their team
• Track record of delivering targets
• Ability to push the boundaries and develop market share
• Results focused
• Self-motivated and a self-starter
• The highest levels of integrity, strong ethical attitude
• IT literate

Team Member Behaviours

Work as One MSI

• You contribute, use, and share accurate data and evidence to improve understanding, insight and decision-making across MSI, enabling us to maximise our ability to influence others
• You share relevant knowledge, expertise and resources to strengthen teamwork and prevent duplication of effort
• You actively work as part of a team, providing support and flexibility to colleagues, demonstrating fairness, understanding and respect for all people and cultures.

Show courage, authenticity and integrity

• You hold yourself accountable for the decisions you make and the behaviours you demonstrate
• You are courageous in challenging others and taking appropriately managed risks.

Develop and grow

• You seek feedback to enable greater self-awareness and provide the same to others in a way which inspires them to be even more effective
• You manage your career development including keeping your knowledge and skills up to date.

Deliver excellence, always

• You strive to consistently meet and exceed expectations, putting clients at the centre of everything, and implement smarter, more efficient ways of performing your role
• You build and maintain effective long-term working relationships with all stakeholders, and are a true MSI ambassador.

Leadership (For Leaders only)

• You inspire individuals and teams, through situational leadership, providing clear direction
• You seek and provide opportunities which motivate team members, helping to develop skills and potential whilst strengthening our talent and succession pipeline
• You are aware of emerging developments in our sector, demonstrating strategic insight about our clients and business and encourage this in your team You articulate a vision of the future which inspires and excites others.

MSI Values

• Mission driven: With unwavering commitment, we exist to empower women and men to have children by choice, not chance
• Client centred: We are passionate about our clients and dedicate our efforts to delivering agreed objectives to the highest possible quality
• Accountable: We are accountable for our actions and take responsibility for everything we do to ensure long-term sustainability and increased impact
• Courageous: We recruit and nurture talented, passionate and brave people who have the courage to push boundaries, make tough decisions and challenge others in line with our mission.