South Sudan: Deputy Director of Programs

BACKGROUND:

IRC began working in South Sudan in 1989. South Sudan declared independence in July 2011 following decades of brutal civil war rooted in disputes over religion, ethnicity, resources, governance and self-determination. In December 2013, a new armed conflict erupted and the security situation remains volatile and unpredictable; testing operational challenges abound. IRC South Sudan operates a country office in Juba along with programs in Central Equatoria, Lakes, Unity, and Northern Bahr el Ghazal across 8 field sites. IRC South Sudan implements emergency and longer-term programs in health, community case management, nutrition, environmental health, economic recovery and development, women's protection and empowerment and protection.

JOB OVERVIEW:

Based in Juba, the Deputy Director of Programs (DDP) provides overall leadership in the development, management, oversee implementation of the strategic action plan (SAP), quality and managed growth of IRC's programming portfolio in South Sudan, with particular emphasis on responsiveness to needs, program quality and evidence of impact. The DDP will be coming in at a time when capacity building and partnership with local institutions - both Governmental and non-governmental - is essential to our long term strategy. In coordination with the Country Director, the DDP builds and sustains strong donor relationships. Reporting to the Country Director and a member of the Senior Management Team, the DDP directly supervises Technical Coordinators who are responsible for proposal development, program quality and grants management. This position has close working relationships with the Deputy Director of Operations, Finance Controller, HR Coordinator as well as field-based staff. The DDP position is unaccompanied and requires extensive in-country and occasional regional travel.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Program Strategy, Design and Fundraising

• Provide leadership to implementation of the South Sudan Program Strategic Action Plan.
• Ensure, with Coordinators, and HQ-based Technical Unit staff, that project design of projects reflects IRC program quality standards and industry best practices.
• Develop a strategy leading to more sustainable long term programming implemented through capacity building and partnership with local and national institutions.
• Lead efforts for sustainable program growth, proactively identifying opportunities for new programming initiatives and emphasizing multi-year funding to support them.
• Provide leadership support to the programming and grants teams to develop competitive, evidence-based and cost-effective funding applications.
• Provide guidance, strategies and tools to ensure that programming choices are based on needs assessment findings (primary & secondary data) and analysis, input from communities, a thorough understanding of context, technical best practices, and operational viability.
• Formulate integrated programming initiatives so that technical sectors complement each other and promote mainstreaming of protection principles and gender-responsive approaches.

Program Management - Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation

• Provide overall leadership and management of IRC South Sudan's programming portfolio, ensuring strategically coherent program direction, well-managed growth, and compliance with IRC and donor regulations.
• Continually seek out ways to build the capacities of programming team members, individually and collectively.
• Ensure that detailed, realistic and feasible project implementation plans are developed, and modified as needed, in collaboration with the Deputy Directors of Field Management.
• Regularly travel to the field to visit projects.
• Regularly review progress against indicators.
• Coordinate with other members of Senior Management Team on appropriate management, compliance and performance standards, as well as effective systems for budget management, knowledge management and risk management.
• Put accountability mechanisms in place for beneficiary feedback.
• Support programming staff to collect, document and disseminate lessons learned and best practices, incorporating these into new project designs.
• With programming staff, develop effective and appropriate M&E plans, including methodologies and tools to strengthen the quality of data collection, analysis and reporting.
• Review M&E and accountability data with programming staff to identify and address areas for operational improvement.

Grant Financial Management

• In coordination with finance and operations, oversee grants to ensure compliance with donor requirements.
• In collaboration with finance and operations, contribute to the development and periodic reforecasting of the annual operating budget.
• In collaboration with the Deputy Directors of Operations and Finance Controller, ensure that programming staff are well trained to properly manage project budgets.
• Meet with programming, grants and finance staff regularly to review budget comparison reports.
• Mitigate risk by collaborating with the Finance Department to ensure that programming staff fully understand financial and administrative processes involved in project budget cycles.
• Ensure that risks limiting achievement of objectives are reported and rapidly addressed.

Staff Management and Development

• Create a supervisory environment focused on the achievement of team and individual results that emphasizes the importance of learning, productivity, accountability and openness
• Communicate regularly with staff and promote positive conflict resolution among team members.
• Provide guidance and supervision to all Technical Coordinators and Grants Coordinator; discuss job expectations, set objectives and provide appropriate and timely feedback on performance of direct reports, including timely implementation of performance management system.
• Adhere to IRC's performance management system, providing regular, timely and thoughtful coaching, feedback, performance assessment, and professional development for all direct reports, while making sure that they do the same for their direct reports.
• Build capacities of programming staff in key project management principles, tools and approaches and ensure that these new skills are utilized on the job.
• Manage recruitment, hiring and development of high-performing national staff to assume greater levels of responsibility.
• Provide leadership support for the successful implementation of and adherence to the IRC Global HR Operating Policies and Procedures.
• Lead with commitment, integrity and accountability to the "IRC Way" - Global Standards for Professional Conduct.
• Promote constructive, collegial teamwork between programming staff and operational support staff.

Representation and Communication

• Enhance IRC South Sudan's profile among relevant stakeholders: donors, national and local government partners, international and national NGOs, etc.
• Represent IRC South Sudan at NGO, interagency and governmental meetings/forums.
• Act as the focal point for program-related communication between IRC country programs in the region and worldwide offices.
• Oversee programmatic inputs to advocacy efforts both in-country and globally

REQUIREMENTS:

• Education: Advanced degree in international relations, development studies or relevant discipline
• Must have at least six years of international management experience, including technical staff supervision.
• Must be experienced in the development of sustainable approaches to programming through local and national partners.
• Demonstrated success managing programs with 400+ employees in multiple locations within the region or global environment required.
• Strong experience is required in the management of humanitarian and recovery projects, including specific skill in people management, program budget management, project cycle management and donor relations (proposal negotiation, reporting, and donor compliance).
• Fluent English
• Previous experience managing programs financed by US government agencies, USAID/OFDA, DFID, EU, UN, foundations and private donors a must, with previous experience in competitive RFA/P environments a plus.
• Proven ability to manage projects to completion on time, within budget, and with the anticipated results.
• Demonstrated successful leadership experience with a multi-disciplinary team in a cross-cultural setting, including active mentoring and coaching.
• Extensive experience with monitoring and evaluation tools and systems for complex programs
• Ability to respond to multiple priorities in a timely manner, producing high-quality outcomes.
• Ability to work and live in an emergency environment while maintaining a positive attitude.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT:

Security level orange - The situation in the country in general is calm but remains tense and unpredictable; concerns include criminality, presence of armed troops, and looting. There is active conflict in many parts of the country and a possibility for further expansion of the conflict and violence into other areas and other states.

The position is based in Juba. Lodging is a private bedroom in a shared IRC guest house - with electricity, internet and cable TV. Food is the individual's responsibility. Field office housing is more basic, i.e. in traditional huts or tents with separate shared latrines and showers.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

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