United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Conflict & Peacebuliding Programme and Learning Manager

Position: Conflict & Peacebuliding Programme and Learning Manager

Reports to: Head of Grants and Frameworks

(dotted line reporting to Senior Technical Adviser – Governance)

Location: London, with international travel (approx. 20% of time)

Salary: Circa £40,000 depending on experience

Contract: Fixed term to end of December 2020

Hours: Full time 37.5 hours per week

BACKGROUND

Over the past 80 years the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has developed unparalleled expertise in responding to emergencies and helping uprooted communities to rebuild. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC’s mission is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future.

The International Rescue Committee UK (IRC-UK) is part of the IRC global network, which has its headquarters in New York and London. The IRC is on the ground in more than 40 countries, providing emergency relief and rebuilding lives in the wake of disaster. Through 28 regional offices in cities across the United States, the IRC also helps refugees resettle in the US and become self-sufficient.

The IRC is committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation in all aspects of our work, creative partnerships and, most crucially, accountability to those we serve. The IRC is a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable.

IRC-UK

Our European headquarters, IRC-UK, were established in London in 1997 to support the organisation’s global activities and particularly to diversify its donor base and be able to better advocate with European policy-makers on behalf of the people we serve. Since its establishment IRC-UK has grown rapidly and is now acknowledged for its high quality project management, technical expertise in governance and rights and economic recovery, and innovative thinking on early recovery and gender based violence. IRC-UK comprises approximately 100 staff across five departments.

The IRC also has offices in Berlin, Brussels and Geneva.

The Awards Management Unit (AMU)

Established in January 2016, the Awards Management Unit (AMU) is a global unit spanning New York, Washington DC, London, Nairobi and Amman. It has responsibility for identifying, securing and managing all funding from statutory donors. The Unit is organized into five directorates: Strategic Partnerships and Analytics; Grants Management and Frameworks; Compliance and Policy; Programme Development; and Training. The AMU contributes to the mission of the IRC by ensuring the growth and sustainability of public funding.

Purpose of the Role

The IRC seeks a full-time Programme and Learning Manager to join the the AMU Grants and Frameworks Team, which is responsible for the oversight and management of IRC’s existing framework agreements with key European donors. The purpose of the role is to lead and manage a three-year programme funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) on conflict prevention and peacebuilding in Somalia and Democratic Republic of the Congo. This programme is funded by Sida’s Sustaining Peace Strategy (2018-2022) and it is the intention to include other country programmes during the implementation period and hence donor relationship management is a crucial component of this position.

Based in IRC’s UK office in London, the Programme and Learning Manager will be responsible for oversight and management, ensuring that the programme is implemented in accordance with Sida regulations, IRC policies, and international standards for programming and learning. The Manager will be Sida’s focal point in relation to this programme and will manage communication with Sida as well as represent the programme with key stakeholders, partners and donors at various fora and related workshops. The Programme and Learning Manager will also be the link with external and internal stakeholders, including Sida staff, ensuring regular updates, communication and joint planning and implementation is taking place. Finally, the Manager will be responsible for the preparation and submission of reports to Sida, including the programme audit report.

This position will report to the Head of Grants and Frameworks in the AMU with daily programme activities reporting to Governance Senior Technical Advisor (STA). The post holder will interact frequently with key members of the Governance as well as the Research, Evaluation, and Learning Technical Units, and the two participating country programmes.

Scope and Authority

Authority:

The Programme and Learning Manager will have authority and responsibility for the oversight, coordination and management of the programme from implementation, monitoring to reporting in line with Sida and IRC’s requirements. He/she will be responsible for managing the relationship with the donor, sharing updates, challenges and progress, and delivering on the annual meeting.

Responsibility for Resources:

· The Programme and Learning Manager will be responsible for keeping track of and reporting on progress against programme milestones, and notifying the Head of Grants and Frameworks of any issues or opportunities which have arisen.

· The Programme and Learning Manager will be expected to write communications and reports to the donor according to the grant agreement.

· This position has a direct budget to manage with supervision and approval by the Head of Grants and Frameworks.

· This position has no line management responsibility.

Key Working Relationships

The position reports to Head of Grants and Frameworks and dotted line management to Senior Technical Adviser – Governance for technical oversight. In addition:

§ Works as part of the wider AMU team

§ Works in close co-ordination with Regional Leadership including Regional Measurement Action Coordinators (RMACs); Governance; Protection Rule of Law under Violence, Prevention and Response Unit (VPRU), as well as REL Technical Advisers supporting programme countries.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Programme Coordination, Management and Reporting

· Provide coordination, effective management, and leadership to the programme to achieve the greatest impact possible and secure additional funding when possible.

· Ensure country programmes are continuously involved, consulted and informed of ongoing progress.

· Manage the overall programme by planning and tracking activities in accordance with the project agreement and across countries, Technical Units, partners, and the AMU.

· Establish work plans, set performance targets, and identify challenges and strategies to achieve programme aims in coordination with the Governance and other relevant Technical Units.

· Address challenges and resolve issues around programme performance with country programmes and Technical Units, as appropriate.

· Lead on the coordination, preparation, and submission of donor reports, in collaboration with participating countries and AMU.

· Liaise with the Sida over any modifications and changes to the programme agreements;

· Review financial progress, identify realignments where needed, and ensure resources are being effectively and efficiently used.

· Ensure implementation is in compliance with Sida and IRC policies and procedures in consultation with countries, Technical Units, and the AMU.;

· Responsible for management and report on the Coordination, Quality Assurance & Learning budget.

Coordination and Representation

· Represent the IRC with Sida, partner organisations, and government officials.

· Act as focal point and liaison between Sida focal point responsible for the Sustaining Peace Strategy, country programmes, AMU, Technical Units, and other stakeholders, where necessary.

· Ensure information about project achievements and lessons learned is distributed within IRC, Sida and with peer organisations.

· Ensure that IRC meets regularly with Sida and leads on the Sida annual meeting amongst others.

Technical Support and Learning

· Ensure technical issues are flagged and effectively addressed with country programmes in a timely manner.

· Coordinate with the Governance and Protection Rule of Law (VPRU) Technical Advisors and other relevant staff to ensure programme objectives and outcomes are being met and that technical support is streamlined and delivered.

· Identify synergies across countries and outputs as well as opportunities to produce and share global learning throughout the implementation of the project.

· Support the delivery of the learning activities lead by the country programmes in collaboration with the Governance and other TUs.

· Lead the review of project documents for quality and consistency before external dissemination.

Programme Funding

· Identify potential areas to secure additional funding in coordination with the AMU Programme Development Team and Governance Technical Unit.

· Negotiate with Sida focal point responsible for the Sustaining Peace Strategy for the expansion of the programme and inclusion of additional country programmes.

· Lead on the inclusion and submission of additional country programmes into the overall framework application in coordination with the AMU Programme Development Team and Governance Technical Unit.

· Negotiate the contract agreement in collaboration with AMU Policy and Compliance Team.

Other

· Other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Person specification

Essential

Skills, Knowledge and Qualifications:

· Masters’ Degree or in-depth experience in relevant field required (e.g. International Relations, International Development, Peace and Conflict Studies etc.).

· Excellent planning, strategic, networking and influencing skills.

· Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.

· Ability to work in a fast paced environment.

· Ability to travel at least 20% of the time and at times in insecure areas.

· Strong attention to detail to ensure own work, and work of others is of a consistent high quality.

Experience:

· Solid experience in coordinating, managing, implementing and reporting on complex and multi-country programmes in development or/and humanitarian contexts.

· Experience of donor liaison and developing and contributing to successful funding proposals.

· Strong understanding of how learning contributes to effective programming and better outcomes for clients/beneficiaries.

· Experience of reviewing, writing and producing timely and high quality documents to donors (including correspondence, reports and briefings).

· Proven ability to operate in a complex organisation, across functions and work collaboratively as part of a diverse team.

· Experience representing an organization and building strong relationships at the local, national, and international levels.

· Experience of managing a complex and varied work load, working under pressure, and travelling regularly to insecure environments.

· Experience of preparing and managing budgets.

· Excellent IT skills (i.e. Word, Outlook, Excel).

Desirable

· Experience of conflict prevention and peacebuilding programming.

· Experience of coordinating multi-country programmes.

· Experience of working with Sida and/or other large international donors.

· Proficiency in written and spoken French.

IRC-UK strives to be an equal opportunities employer. IRC-UK is committed to equality of opportunity and to non-discrimination for all job applicants and employees, and we seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs, nationality, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.

Deadline for submission is 9th January 2018, with interviews anticipated for the week of 18th January 2018.

Please follow the link to apply https://rescue.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?site=1&id=849

Candidates must have the right to work in the UK.IRC-UK strives to be an equal opportunities employer.

IRC-UK is committed to equality of opportunity and to non-discrimination for all job applicants and employees, and we seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs, nationality, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.
If you have any questions or need assistance with the online recruitment process, please contact the UK HR team at applications@rescue-uk.org