Save the Children
Job Title: Programme
Operations Director, Madagascar
Team / Programme: Madagascar
Grade: National Pay Scale - Madagascar
Location: Andapa, Madagascar
Post Type: Malagasy Nationals
Role Purpose: The Madagascar
Programme Operations Director will represent Save the Children in Madagascar
and ensure that the Programme Office (PO) is managed in accordance with Save
the Children’s policies and practices, its Mission, Vision and Values.
He/she will manage and
provide operations oversight to the FSL programme in Madagascar funded by a
corporate donor.
This is Save the Children’s
first programme in Madagascar and the post holder will report to Deputy Country
Director - Programme Operations in Kenya with dotted line management to the
Senior Food Security and Livelihoods Advisor based in the UK.
He/she will, in addition,
receive technical, M&E and awards management support from staff based in
the region and London HO.
The Goal of the 3-year
project is “To contribute to the reduction of intergenerational transfer of
poverty in vanilla producing communities in SAVA region,
Madagascar”.
Scope of Role:
Scope of Role:
Reports to: Deputy Country Director Programme
Operations, Kenya (based in Nairobi)
Staff directly reporting to
this post: FSL
& Behaviour Change Manager; Finance & HR Coordinator; Logistics
Officer; MEA&L Coordinator
Country Dimensions: Madagascar ranks 151 out of 187 in the global Human Development Index, placing it in ‘the low human development’ category.
Country Dimensions: Madagascar ranks 151 out of 187 in the global Human Development Index, placing it in ‘the low human development’ category.
A challenging political
context influenced many global funding institutions to suspend foreign aid to
Madagascar between 2009 and 2014.
While funding is now
returning and the presence of international development and humanitarian
organisations is increasing, it will take time for the damage of these years to
be overcome.
Madagascar is the largest producer of vanilla globally, with local production representing between 50% and 80% of the global supply.
The SAVA region of Madagascar
is known as the ‘Vanilla Belt’ of the country and vanilla is at the heart of
its communities and local economies. Children in SAVA are directly linked to
and impacted by the vanilla supply chain.
However, 70% of households
living in these communities are classified as either ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.
Within this figure, 5% of households are identified as ‘extremely poor’.
This programme is funded by a
corporate donor and represents Save the Children’s first intervention in
Madagascar.
Programme operations have
been established during an inception phase of 6 months in 2016 and will be
supported throughout the project cycle by Save the Children’s Country Office in
Kenya.
A team of advisors in the
region and at Head Office level will provide consistent, high quality technical
support to the programme.
Our vision is to support the
vanilla market to work better for children and to prevent the intergenerational
transfer of poverty within communities engaged with the vanilla supply
chain.
Our approach takes into
account and aims to build upon the existing work of our private sector partner,
which aims to develop the sustainable sourcing of vanilla and improve farmers’
technical skills through Rainforest Alliance co-operatives.
Key Areas of Accountability:
As a member of the Senior
Management Team:
- Demonstrate
“collective leadership” of the Madagascar Programme, taking responsibility
for and appropriately representing decisions to staff and partners.
- To practise
behaviours that are consistent with Save the Children’s Mission, Vision
and Values and ensure their broader application by staff across the
Madagascar programme.
- Provide overall
leadership to the Madagascar Programme and act as Save the Children’s lead
representative in the country.
- To take
responsibility for the whole Madagascar programme by taking active
measures to promote Save the Children’s culture and values, create a
positive working environment and celebrate success.
- Help establish,
maintain, and improve active and regular working relationships with: host
government authorities at central, regional and district level, donors,
partner agencies including major institutional donors, and local and
international NGOs.
- Support the
development of an organisational culture that reflects our full spectrum
values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a team
culture of learning, creativity and innovation, and frees up our people to
deliver outstanding results for children and excellent customer service
for our Members and donors.
- To represent
Save the Children’s Madagascar Programme to the external world by
maintaining and developing external relationships with government of
Madagascar, donors, partners, communities, beneficiary groups and others.
Quality Program
Implementation, Management and Reporting
- Responsible and
accountable for Save the Children programme in Madagascar and ensure the
planning, implementation and management of programmes in accordance with
organization strategies and policies.
- Responsible and
accountable for Save the Children programmes in the area and for the
implementation and management of programmes, grants and awards in
accordance with organization strategies and policies for quality
programming.
- Ensure that the
programme is delivered with high quality by ensuring that the Programme
Office team receives appropriate and timely support from technical
advisers and programme quality teams for programme design and strategy, M&E,
advocacy and planning.
- Ensure that the
programme is appropriately monitored reviewed and evaluated on a
continuous basis, according to organisational quality standards and in
coordination with the technical advisers supporting the programme.
- Ensure appropriate
systems are in place for all aspects of programme cycle management and
ensure that lessons learned are taken into account.
- Contribute to
strategy and proposal development within the area under the overall
leadership of the Programme Development and Quality team. Responsible for
ensuring that proposals are relevant, contextualized and inclusive of all
required support and staffing costs at the field level.
Operational Management
- Lead the
Programme Management Team in ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of
field operations and ensure that programme plans are clearly prioritized
and communicated to the operations team;
- Conduct regular
Programme Management Meetings to enhance information sharing and the
effectiveness of operations;
- Work closely
with the Kenya Country Office Operations Director to ensure adequate
logistical support to deliver high quality programmes effectively.
- Lead the
development and monitoring of field-based detailed programme
implementation and grant management work plans. Responsible for ensuring
that field-based teams implement programmes on schedule and within budget.
- Responsible for
the delivery of high quality, timely reports for donors and internal
purposes, as well as the development of relevant case studies, success
stories and other documentation.
- Lead
field-based start-up meetings of new projects with relevant CO staff to
guarantee a joint understanding among team members of donor requirements,
budget responsibilities, technical requirements and other considerations.
- Ensure
standardized systems, policies and procedures are in place, well
understood by all staff and in line with the country programme system and
are implemented in an appropriate manner
- Ensure that the
principles of child safeguarding and ‘do no harm’ are embedded in all
programme planning, implementation and reporting and that staff receive
regular, up to date training on same. Ensure transparency in targeting
beneficiaries, delivery of services and participation of beneficiaries and
partners in planning and monitoring of process is reflected in programme
delivery.
- Ensure all Save
the Children Management Operating Standards are followed, implemented and
maintained.
- Ensure all
contingency and Emergency Preparedness Plans are continually updated
according to Save the Children operational standards and implemented when
appropriate.
Financial, Budget, Grant
& Award Management
- Responsible for
all donor and Save the Children budgets managed by the Madagascar
programme. Lead monthly awards management progress review meetings at
appropriate levels with team and in close collaboration with the Grants
and Awards Manager. Ensure timely report providing a variance analysis on
each budget is submitted to the Kenya CO and SCUK HO.
- Identify any
budget challenges or issues such as over or underspends and propose
solutions to line manager as soon as issues are identified. Ensure that
these are identified through the monthly variance meetings and immediately
addressed.
- Oversee the
general application and observance of financial procedures and guidelines
set out in SC financial manual and donors’ requirements
- Ensure the
grants are managed as per Save the Children’s and donors’ requirement
including the quality and timely submission of reports
- Prepare annual
budgets for the programme, assessing costs and budget/expenditures from
projects and asset inventory.
- Prepare, and
submit for approval, program budgets and expenditure forecasts.
- Responsible for
certifying and authorizing disbursements according to SC and donor
guidelines.
Staff management, mentorship
and development
- Oversee
effective management of performance of all staff in the Madagascar
Programme Office through:
- Effective use
of the Performance Management System
- Manage
performance of direct reports, including the establishment of clear,
measureable objectives, ongoing feedback (including 360 degree feedback),
periodic reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations; coaching, mentoring
and providing other developmental opportunities;
- Ensure
recognition and reward for outstanding performance;
- Documentation
of performance that is less than satisfactory, with appropriate
performance improvements/work plans
- Ensure CO staff
are trained on all internal policies and procedures and ensure prompt
action is taken in the event of breach of policy.
- Maintain
appropriate staffing levels and structures in the programme team, whilst
planning and implementing specific actions to recruit, manage and motivate
staff.
- Ensure
appropriate gender and ethnic diversity within the programme team as far
as possible;
- Ensure that
programme staff have clearly defined objectives and understand their
responsibilities under the matrix reporting structure
- Ensure
technical line manager’s input into the performance evaluation process.
- Maintain clear
communication with both the functional (direct) line manager and the
technical manager to foster a smooth working relation under existing
matrix structure.
Partnership Management
- In
collaboration with other staff, develop standardised approaches and best
practices in assessing the capacity of local partners for the programmes.
- Develop and
lead the implementation of a partnership strategy in accordance with Save
the Children’s guidance and the Quality Framework.
- Develop the
capacity of field-based partnership focal persons by conducting training
and providing technical advice as well as field visits and ensure
documentation of partner support at area office level is maintained and
wider/collective issues for capacity building are collated to allow joint
support visits.
- Lead agency-wide
capacity strengthening strategies including the assessment and improvement
of SC and partners and through linkages with the relevant technical
advisors and support departments.
- In
collaboration with relevant international Technical Specialists and Operations
support staff, coordinate agency-wide learning processes in partnership
and capacity building.
- Establish
relationships with all partners involved in the children’s sector. Advise
on advocacy issues and opportunities for SAVE THE CHILDREN to lead in the
children’s sector.
Humanitarian and Emergency
Response
- Work with the
Humanitarian Preparedness and Response Manager (HPRM) and Director
Programme Operations (both based in Nairobi) to develop an Emergency
Preparedness Plan and ensure that responses are assessed, prioritized and
actioned in a timely and effective manner.
- Work with the
HPRM to identify opportunities to strengthen the programme office’s
capacity and resourcing for emergencies and prepare the right response to
these opportunities.
- Ensure a
continuous emergency monitoring mechanism is in place, ready to generate
analysed information and able to respond to requests for this information
both internally and externally to SAVE THE CHILDRENI.
Security Management and
Context Monitoring
- In close collaboration
with the Safety and Security Manager (based in Nairobi), supervise the
Support Services Manager in proactively monitoring the political, military
and security situation at local level and regularly report on its
potential impact on Save the Children’s activities
- Develop a clear
safety and security management plan for all areas of operations. Ensure
that staff understand and can implement this plan – and that it is
reviewed and updated regularly.
- Manage and
report on all security incidents in accordance with SC’s Safety and
Security procedures
Representation
- Establish,
maintain, and improve active and regular working relationships and take
the lead role in representing the principles and work of SC to
representatives of other organizations (UN, NGOs, INGOs, counterparts,
donors, government authorities etc) who are working in or visiting the
Programme Area.
- Oversee that
local implementing partners are discharging their responsibilities, live
up to stipulations stated in the partnership agreement and take
appropriate action.
Child Safeguarding: All staff have an obligation to ensure
they fully understand the provisions of the Child Safeguarding Policy, the Code
of Conduct and related policies. They must conduct themselves in accordance
with the rules of the Child Safeguarding Policy, in their personal and
professional lives – which includes reporting suspicions of child abuse.
All staff must ensure the way
they are carrying out their work is not putting children at risk (or further
risk). This includes an obligation to report cases of child safeguarding to the
relevant focal point.
Skills and Behaviours (our Values in Practice)
Skills and Behaviours (our Values in Practice)
Accountability:
- Holds self
accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently,
achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
- Holds the team
and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving
them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the
necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences
when results are not achieved
Ambition:
- Sets ambitious
and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes
responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to
do the same
- Widely shares
their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
- Future
orientated, thinks strategically
Collaboration:
- Builds and
maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, members
and external partners and supporters
- Values
diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
- Approachable,
good listener, easy to talk to
Creativity:
- Develops and
encourages new and innovative solutions
- Willing to take
disciplined risks
Integrity:
- Honest,
encourages openness and transparency
Qualifications and Experience
Essential:
- A minimum of 7
years of management experience in an NGO or similar environment, including
significant field operations experience running development programmes or
emergency response programmes.
- Master’s degree
in development or other social sciences (desired).
- Experience in a
senior role with programme and country management skills in addition to
previous experience in food security/poverty reduction.
- Substantial
experience of managing high quality programme implementation and
operations.
- Substantial
experience and knowledge of managing effective financial and budgetary
controls.
- Experience of
working with local, international and government partners.
- Fluency in
written and spoken English and French.
- Commitment
to and understanding of Save the
Children’s aims, values and principles, including
rights-based approaches. Good partner management and coordination skills.
- Proactive
approach to programme design, review and modification.
- A very good
understanding of at least three of the sectoral programmes and a working
knowledge of the programme priorities of the Country Office.
- Good
understanding of internal procedures (support services) and ability to
hold staff to account.
- Previous
experience of security management.
- Previous
experience in external representation.
- Ability to
function autonomously whilst ensuring rigorous internal reporting.
- Ability to live
and work in remote area with limited social life.
- Previous
experience of programming in Madagascar is highly desirable.
- Knowledge of
spoken Malagasy language a distinct advantage.
Child Safeguarding
Policy: Any
employee, consultant, contractor or the supplier undertaking an activity on
behalf of SCI must sign the Child Safeguarding - Declaration of
Acceptance Form] and comply with the SCI’s Child Safeguarding Policy
which is a statement of SCI’s commitment to preventing abuse and protecting
children with whom it comes into contact.
This extends not only to
children with whom SCI and its partners work directly, but also includes children
whom staff are responsible for. SCI believes that the situation of
children must be improved through the promotion of their rights supported and
demonstrated by all members of staff.
Save the Children
International's Code of Conduct sets out the standards which all staff members
must adhere to.
How to Apply
The application process is now open and will close on Monday 9th January 2017.
How to Apply
The application process is now open and will close on Monday 9th January 2017.
To apply for these positions
visit the SCI Kenya Website:https://kenya.savethechildren.net/jobs.
The system allows CVs &
Cover letter as One(1) document.
Applications will be reviewed
on a rolling basis.