Head of Programmes Job in Nairobi

Job Title: Head of Programmes
Job Grade: National / Expatriate Accompanied
Preferred Location: Nairobi, Kenya with extensive regional travel (up to 50%)
Contract Length: Three years contract, accompanied position
Reporting to: Regional Director, Africa Region
Responsible for: Country Directors, Regional Technical Team Lead, Regional Manager- Research, evidence, & learning, Regional Programme Manager- Grants and Fundraising.
Key relationships: Regional Head of Network Coordination & Development, Head of Finance and operations, Country Representatives, Head of Global Technical Unit, Director Network Coordination, Advocacy and Communications, Head of Humanitarian Unit, Humanitarian Team, UK Operations Unit and other senior team members
Background: HelpAge International (www.helpage.org) is the secretariat to the HelpAge Global Network, which brings together a wide range of organisations and individuals working to promote the rights and meet the needs of older women and men, nationally and/or internationally.
Our long-term vision is to establish a global movement of strong connected age focused and older people led platforms in every country in the world.
Only by collaborating together can we achieve a world in which all older people can lead dignified, active, healthy and secure lives.
We aim to extend the reach and influence of the HelpAge Global Network to all those in a position to help bring about our vision for older people– including Governments, regional institutions, policy makers, development partners, the private sector, UN organisations and academic institutions.
In Africa region we will deliver this through a combination of programme, policy and communications work focused on our core themes of social protection, health and care.
HelpAge International is going through a period of exciting organisational change, looking at positioning itself robustly as an organisation that works with and influences through a strong network of organisations.
One of the key changes is having reduced number of regions and countries globally where HelpAge has full operational presence. Accordingly, two regional offices in Africa have been combined together into a single regional office (located in Nairobi), and a corresponding regional management/ technical structure that provides Africa wide overview and leadership.
A process for staff re-organisation and transition has been ongoing since September 2016 and will be completed before March 2017.
Through much of 2017, the Africa team will work together to shape the network of partners on the issue of ageing as well as review and reposition engagements (as necessary) in order to effectively deliver the organisational theory of change.
Job Impact:
The role Head of Programmes- Africa is expected to impact and influence in the following critical areas.
·         Effective management of country offices in line with organisational priorities
·         Delivery of organisational strategy across the Africa region
·         Strategic and long term fundraising to sustain and grow regional impact
·         Scale up and offer high quality technical support to country offices and network
·         Develop and manage a performing team and ensure cross-function collaboration
·         Institutionalise learning outcomes from programmes by country teams and network
Specific Job Responsibilities and Key Tasks
Strategic Programme Leadership
·         Provide leadership in program strategy development on priority themes of social protection, health and care, both in development and emergencies contexts
·         Undertake reviews and ensure maximum alignment between Africa regional and country strategic engagements
·         Develop a clear approach and ensure full spectrum of technical support to countries and network, encompassing humanitarian and development contexts
·         Ensure strategic presence of HelpAge staff, network members and partners in key humanitarian and development forums and clusters. Represent the organisation in strategic forums
·         Develop and foster partnerships with donors, key UN agencies, INGOs and other key regional bodies
·         Ensure cross cutting themes (gender, disability and accountability) are integrated in programme engagements
·         Work closely with Head of Finance and Operations in ensuring relevant, effective and efficient operations support systems to programmes are in place
Oversee country operations
·         Provide line management leadership to the HelpAge International country programmes in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania
·         Provide overview support to country programmes that are managed by the country teams in line with the country cluster arrangement
·         Ensure Africa regional and organisational priorities and policies are implemented in the country programmes
·         Undertake programmatic review in the countries to make sure the country teams are engaged and delivering across all areas of the organisational theory of change with network coordination/ development a core way of working (Programme Delivery, Building Knowledge & Evidence, Strengthening Voice; and Advocating for Change)
·         Ensure fundraising efforts at the country level are coordinated and strategic
·         Sufficient cost recovery from donor grants in line with HelpAge policies
·         Maintain overview of internal and external audits and any findings/ recommendations are acted upon
·         Ensure close working relationship between regional and country offices
Programme Quality and Standards
·         Ensure regional teams, country teams and network members, benefit from tools, training, minimum standards and wider best practices in HelpAge International’s Africa region priority thematic areas
·         Lead the development of a cross-organisational plan to strengthen our approach to research, evidence and learning, internally and across the network. Oversee the development of the Africa Learning Hub
·         Provide strategic leadership around any future investments needed in systems related to programme monitoring and learning
·         To work with affiliate and partner organisations supporting their capacity to engage in policy/advocacy, identifying and developing effective programmes that meet the needs of older people
·         Facilitate for the contributions to Global Leadership and work on the topical themes in the Africa region
Resource Mobilisation
·         Ensure regional and country teams have clear resource mobilisation plans, and an efficient system of coordination of roles with resource mobilisation functions is in place
·         Facilitate for capacity building and support to network partners on various resource mobilisation issues
·         Develop strategic relationships with key technical counterparts in UK, global donor agencies and partner organisations
Talent Management
·         Oversee work of a multi location and multi skill team, ensuring quality outcome and collaboration within the team to achieve organisational strategy
·         Facilitate for the regional support to countries especially deployment of technical capacities as and when is required
·         Performance management of staff in line with organisational priorities, and used as an enabling tool for engagement and development of concerned staff
Policy and advocacy work
·         Working closely with team members within regional office and global team, oversee the work of the regional and country program teams in developing clear evidence based positions on key policy and advocacy issues, working closely with network members.
·         Represent and articulate key HelpAge program and policy positions at key regional and global fora.
Person Specifications
Senior Management
·         Proven leadership skills and the ability to manage, motivate and inspire a diverse regional team
·         Proven ability to influence others to achieve successful outcomes, including government, UN agencies and donors through successful advocacy
·         Extremely strong communication, negotiation and representational skills and ability to work at a regional level
·         Superior numeracy and information analysis skills
Technical / Programmatic
·         Experience at having successfully designed and delivered strategies for programmes, country or regional offices at scale
·         Substantial experience of international development and/or humanitarian work, including both at regional and field levels
·         Understanding and experience of humanitarian and development issues in the Africa region
·         Skills and proven background in monitoring and evaluation and the ability to provide organisational leadership in this area
·         Excellent skills in one or more social development issue related to ageing (social protection, health and care, protection, gender and disability).
·         Proven fundraising skills and the ability to positively influence donors
·         Experience in successfully developing networks and / or innovative partnerships around different social development issues.
Behavioral Competencies
·         Results Orientation towards own and team’s role in line with organisational priorities, decisive, passion and drive for high quality work
·         Working with others, in a team environment, receiving and providing feedback, contributing to the team’s success, and managing conflicts if it occurs
·         Leading Others by defining organisational and team’s vision, supporting development of team members
·         Self Management, by demonstrating Integrity and credibility, leading by example, committed, knowledgeable and confident on the job functions and superior communication skills
Others
·         Ability to engage, seek and provide clarity and deliver on issues that are not always clear
·         Previous experience working on issue of older persons a strong advantage
·         Willingness and interest to work with a network focussed approach, engaging with, supporting and maximising on potential of network members
·         Language skills
How to Apply
To apply for this role, submit a ‘Competency Statement’ and curriculum vitae outlining your suitability in line the job description to jobs.ewca@helpage.org.
Deadline for submission: 25th November, 2016