Sudan: Assistant Country Director – Programs

General description of the Role:

The Assistant Country Director Programmes (ACDP), as a key member of GOAL Sudan senior management team, will contribute to the overall development and running of the country programme. The role of the ACDP is to provide overall leadership, management and strategic vision in the implementation and expansion of the GOAL Sudan (GS) program. The holder of this position has the responsibility for line-managing each of the sector leaders, currently (WASH, Health, Nutrition, Protection & REFLECT), as well as Partnership Coordinator, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Coordinator and the Grants and Communication Manager. This position works in close collaboration with the Assistant Country Director – systems (ACDS), Donor Compliance Manager, Financial Controller and Internal Auditor. The ACD-P has responsibility for ensuring that the cross-cutting agenda (Gender, Child Protection, HIV and Environment) is appropriately embedded in program design and implementation.

The holder of this post must possess strong leadership skills with the ability to maintain a broad perspective. S/he will undertake innovative approaches, be agile in the conceptualization of new program ideas and will be well versed in strategic thinking and planning. S/he will also have ability to work with tight deadlines to deal multi-tasking, and to calmly and diplomatically deal with unexpected events impacting program operations. The ideal candidate will demonstrate cultural knowledge and sensitivity, while also demonstrating skills and ability to build and maintain partnerships with international organizations, UN and donors. Must have strong interpersonal skills and an ability to communicate and manage expectations of many stakeholders.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

PROGRAM DELIVERY

• It is the responsibility of the ACDP to secure program funding from donors in-country where possible.
• The ACDP must be familiar with all relevant donors present in-country (i.e. OFDA, ECHO, CHF, UN system, DFID in addition to Irish Aid) and is responsible for developing GOAL’s working relationship and maintaining its reputation with them
• The ACDP should be familiar with the legal requirements of the donors providing support to GOAL’s programs as well as donor country strategies.
• Provide leadership and strategic direction in the design and delivery of GS program
• Oversee the country program and ensure the program is well designed, delivered on time and on budget, are appropriately monitored and evaluated and delivered as expected.
• Ensure solid understanding of the needs, challenges and priorities of the current programmes as well as understanding the opportunities in alignment with GoS priorities and the Sudanization/nationalization policy
• The ACDP is responsible for ensuring that the country team conducts regular Grant Management Meetings to ensure that projects progress in a timely manner, meeting set targets within the proposed budget.
• The ACDP will ensure that year on year planning of activities is participative, appropriate, and achievable.
• The ACDP will ensure that GOAL’s monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are effective and enhance project impact and planning
• Ensure that GOAL is delivering to our communities of operation in an integrated and unified way, which involves leading regular and appropriate forums for information exchange across and between program sectors, and effective grant and program planning and management
• Support the development of in country expertise in each sector and supporting a national staff capacity building agenda
• Ensure GOAL programs effectively mainstream Gender, Child Protection, HIV and Environment.
• Ensure GOAL policies and procedures for program management are known and are being implemented

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• The ACDP must ensure that there are procedures in place to support and encourage appropriate personal and professional development of staff within the context of the organization’s objectives.
• The ACDP is responsible for ensuring staff receive the necessary support and supervision they require. This includes the provision of training for staff in tasks such as project proposal preparation; report writing etc.
• The ACDP must ensure that ongoing informal review/evaluation of staff performance

PROPOSAL WRITING & REPORTING

• Lead on proposal development, coordinating and management the entire process and ensure a high quality submission on time. Management the proposal process will include proposal writing, editing, as well as co-ordination between various departments within GS, between GS and HQ and other stakeholders, including implementing partners and community and/or Government representatives.
• Grant management including project opening and closing meetings, donor reporting and seeking of necessary approvals from donors as result of changing in operating environment.
• Program update reporting to HQ and ad hoc reporting on program updates as required

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

• Budget management, work in collaboration with ACDS/Financial Controller to ensure Program budget holder complete monthly budget reviews and forecasts and variances addressed on monthly basis through the Budget Management process (BMT)s
• Development of proposal budgets in collaboration with ACDS/Financial Controller, ensuring appropriate resources are built into the budget process
• Compliance – work in collaboration with the ACDS, Donor Compliance Manager and Internal Audit to ensure donor compliance
• Guide and support program Budget Holders to ensure strong financial management of program budgets
• Assist where required with in-country donor financial audits.

REPRESENTATION & SENIOR MANAGEMENT

• Represent GOAL in liaison with Government partners, regional and local authorities; donors; local agencies etc. at all levels of project implementation in collaboration with and as determined by the CD
• Actively participate in the Strategic Planning Group and Senior Management Team to provide overall leadership and direction to the program
• Attend relevant coordination meetings, as delegated by the CD, representing GOAL and providing updates and flagging key issues of concern and develop advocacy messaging.
• Support in the development of policies aimed at improving quality and efficiency of program
• Ensure GOAL policies and procedures as related to programs to ensure GOAL and donor compliance

MEDIA/PR/VISIBILITY

• Support the Grants and Communications Manager in the development of publicity materials, including project and program brochures, case studies in collaboration with the CD
• Actively participate in donor and/or media visits to field activities as determined by CD
• The ACDP is also responsible for ensuring that the visibility of GOAL is promoted appropriately at field level.

SAFETY & SECURITY

• It is the responsibility of the ACDP to be fully informed regarding the political, security and humanitarian conditions within their country of assignment.
• Appropriate information should be collected, collated, analyzed and forwarded to the CD on a regular basis.
• The ACDP supports the CD to be accountable for the overall safety and security of staff and for ensuring there is a culture of security within the organization.
• The ACDP supports the CD through agreed communications protocols immediately in the event of a security incident relating to GOAL staff, assets or programmes. Regular updates and communications on security must be shared with the Regional Security Advisor (RSA) and GOAL Dublin as per agreed reports and protocols and as requested

OTHER

• Ensure logistics, HR and finance protocols are followed by all programmes team members, and collaborate closely with Internal Audit and Donor Compliance Manager to ensure the integration of compliance concerns into the work of the program department.
• Carry out other duties as requested by the Country Director.

REQUIREMENTS

• At least 5years of previous overseas management experience in humanitarian assistance programmes in complex emergency situations;
• Master’s degree in Development Studies or other relevant discipline
• Sudan specific experience in working in the development sector strongly preferred.
• Experience of staff management;
• Strong demonstrable experience in project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, including the use of planning tools such as log frames;
• Experience in dealing with and securing resources from donors such as OFDA, ECHO, CHF, Irish Aid, EC, DFID & UN and private sector.
• Excellent analytical and writing skills;
• Experience of managing security, as it related to staff and program activities;
• Robust management skills with the ability to effectively and proactively manage work plans and deliverables from various sectors and units with GOAL.
• Strong networking and relationship management skills are essential.
• Budgetary control and financial management skills;
• Commitment to national staff capacity building
• Excellent presentation, oral and writing skills;
• To be familiar with and abide by the NGO Red Cross Code of Conduct, the People in Aid code and Sphere Minimum Standards.

This Job Description only serves as a guide for the position available. GOAL reserves the right to change this document.

GOAL has a Staff Code of Conduct and a Child Protection Policy, which have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants and children from exploitation. GOAL also has a confidentiality policy ensuring the non-disclosure of any information whatsoever relating to the practices and business of GOAL, acquired in the course of duty, to any other person or organisation without authority, except in the normal execution of duty. Any candidate offered a job with GOAL will be expected to adhere to these policies any job offer made is also subject to police clearance. GOAL is an equal opportunities employer.

This Job Description only serves as a guide for the position available. GOAL reserves the right to change this document. Any published closing dates are estimated. Due to the nature of GOAL’s work we aim to fill vacancies as quickly as possible. This means that we will close adverts as soon as we have found the right candidate and this may be before the published closing date. We would therefore advise interested applicants to submit an application as early as possible.

https://www.goalglobal.org/careers?gh_jid=102510