Deputy Chief of Party

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Programme Operations

LOCATION: Mogadishu

GRADE: TBC

POST TYPE: 12 months

Open to fluent Somali speakers

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3: the role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work in country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

ROLE PURPOSE:

Save the Children is currently recruiting for upcoming USAID-funded education program in Somalia/SL, focusing on early grade reading, community mobilization for increase access to and delivery of education, capacity building of education sector actors like Government, and increasing access for girls and other vulnerable populations. The Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) will be accountable for supporting the strategic vision and overall leadership to the project team and will be managing the direct on the ground implementation, technical assistance and implementation methodology. S/he will also oversee the relationships with partners and sub-grantees and will be implementing activities in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, ensuring that all contractual requirements of the award are met. The DCOP will support the preparation and submissions of technical and financial reports requested by USAID/donor and will help to coordinate assistance with key governmental counterparts and other critical stakeholders.

Key for success in this role is the ability to build staff capacity for program activities, ensure that monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are in place to improve and measure its direct impact, represent Save the Children in national fora and share best practices regarding Save the Children’s experiences in increasing access to and quality of basic education. The DCOP will also be responsible for coordinating the timely preparation of implementation plans and oversee their effective implementation.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Chief of Party with technical line management by the Save the Children Deputy Country Director - Operations

Dimensions: This is a new and complex programme which will operate on national scale. The programme has 50 to 75 million USD budget.

Staff directly reporting to this post: Direct project implementation staff

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

The Deputy Chief of Party will be responsible for the technical oversight of the project and is specifically responsible for project implementation that relates to National, Regional states and community level service delivery. The DCOP reports directly to the COP and will take a leadership role in ensuring technical implementation and ensure the project meets stated goals and reporting requirements. S/he will coordinate with other technical leads of key stakeholders, other USG implementing partners, and GOS, particularly at the Regional state level. S/he should be knowledgeable of the dynamics of fragile states and conflict sensitive programing and project implementation and consortium service delivery approaches. S/he will assume the responsibilities of the COP in the absence of the COP.

The DCOP will be responsible for leading and overseeing the development and delivery of a high quality, innovative, cost effective and sustainable Education programme resulting in immediate and lasting change for children and build the capacity of the duty bearers. S/he will be responsible for provide technical leadership to the programme, documentation and dissemination of innovation and good practices and establishing, maintaining and expanding partner relations for the sector. This includes providing technical and program oversight in the design and day-to-day management of implementation to increase the demand for quality priority education services and community engagement activities. S/he will also ensure the technical and methodological soundness of activities and, in collaboration with the project team and partners, support the design of service delivery strategies, based on sound and up to date evidences. S/He will be based in Mogadishu but with frequent (approx. 50% travel) to the regional states in Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and Somaliland. This position is contingent on the issuance of USAID funding and the selection of applicants is subject to USAID approval.

Strategic planning and programme leadership

· Provide guidance and technical support, and supervision to SCI Somalia’s USAID funded Education Consortium Program ensuring strategic planning and quality insurance of overall achievement of program objectives and targets. Specifically support in the operational design and direct the Implementation of the education project through closely working with the other consortium partners and in collaboration with the government institutions.

· Oversee preparation of annual detailed implementation plans, monitoring of the program performance against work plan deadlines and all project reporting requirements.

· Provide technical guidance to ensure that all programme goals are met through delivery of integrated project activities to ensure the outcome of the Education project (an increase in increase utilisation and access to reproductive, nutrition, child) is met.

· Maintain effective and regular communication with other implementing partners and government institutions, working closely with and supporting partners in the efficient delivery of all operational research activities including design, roll-out and collection of on-going project monitoring data.

· Ensure the Education Consortium is consistent with Save the Children strategic and thematic objectives and full spectrum programming, that the project maintains a gender sensitive lens and work towards gender equity in all aspects of the project. Additionally, ensure that Education Consortium project is aligned to Government of Somalia’s priorities on gender equality, especially with respect to girl-child education

· Provide inputs into the Project Steering Committee in consultation with and as requested by the DCD Operations and the Country Director.

· To ensure effective tracking of grants and in discussion with the project teams including the staff of the other consortium members, establish strategies to ensure efficient utilisation of the resources available to the programme

· Ensure that programme strategy supports and demonstrates good practice in child safeguarding and gender mainstreaming.

· Using a child rights programming lens, ensure that the Education is built around SCI’s Theory of Change and aligns with Global Initiative strategic direction.

· Working closely with the Humanitarian Director and the DCD Operations, ensure that emergency shocks that may affect the implementation of the Education program are monitored and the impact mitigated through utilising the available resources (re-alignment grants activity budgets) and seeking additional resources

Coordination, advocacy and representation

· Support DCD - Ops in developing and/or maintaining linkage between national level policy and implementation practice; generate evidence for good practice documentation.

· As a senior member of the Country Office team, contribute to supporting national level relationships with the Ministry of Education, and other relevant ministries to develop strong commitments to the success of the Education program.

· Be fully aware of national policies, strategies and other initiatives and developments by the Government of Somalia and other stakeholders relating to gender and gender equality, especially with respect to young/adolescent girls, child protection, education and creation of opportunities for youth.

· Collaborate and coordinate with other multi-sectoral stakeholders to ensure alignment with the and County Strategies and effectiveness of programming, consult with relevant stakeholders including USAID, DFID, UNICEF, EC and other actors including the private sector.

· Participation in working groups and technical meetings relevant to the programme goals of the Education Consortium, advising field teams to ensure adequate field visibility through attendance at technical meetings at Somalia’s Central Government and Regional States levels.

· Ensure presence at relevant partner coordination meetings (both at Nairobi and in Somalia), especially with the Government of Somalia’s Ministry of Education, donors and key Education actors in Somalia

· Travel frequently to implementation sites in order to support the project staff across, community leaders, local governments and beneficiaries to ensure continued participation and support for the project. It is anticipated that the position will be required to travel 50% of the time to project locations in Somalia.

· Ensure active dissemination of program information, results and lessons learned through the production of quality technical project documents and their effective dissemination to key stakeholders

· Participate in and contribute to SC Global Initiative activities for Education, as relevant.

Programme delivery and technical harmonisation

· Monitor and provide timely, relevant, accurate input on the SCI’s work in the Education Consortium. Liaise with the Programme Operations department to ensure all Education Consortium and other programme staff receive the necessary and appropriate technical support.

· In consultation with staff and project managers agree on the range of advice, support, training and/or other assistance required from you to facilitate high quality programming and ensure it is delivered in a timely fashion. This will involve regular visits to the Education Consortium ‘s operational areas.

· Ensure accurate internal reports and high quality reports are submitted on time and liaise with the Awards team in providing timely feedback to the members and donors during the finalisation of the donor reports

· Assist and/or oversee the development of tools for the Education Consortium’s work to support and improve the quality of project activities.

· Where necessary provide technical training for project staff and partners as required and participate in regular field based project review meetings including grant management, implementation and monitoring.

· Where external consultants (local or international) are required to technically support or monitor and evaluate projects, lead the recruitment and subsequent management of contracted consultants as per the recruitment guidelines.

· Review relevant monitoring reports ensuring that technical debates are well articulated and reports are of acceptable quality before submission. Provide support to project team where necessary to improve report writing skills.

· Analyse and provide feedback on programme implementation to ensure gender equity and adequate child participation.

· Meet regularly with the Ministry of Education and provide technical input to the education sub-sectors to build sustainability of the interventions through government systems.

Budget management and compliance

· As the primary budget holder grant, be responsible for the control and authorization of the grant activity budgets

· provide oversight of all financial management of the project including budget planning, expenditure and reporting

· Manage and revise a realistic budget, ensuring proper authorisation and monitoring expenditure in line with the budget and donor guidelines, Save the Children grant management and financial guidelines. This will include the supervision of monthly and quarterly variance analysis reports.

Line management

· The Deputy Chief of Party will directly supervise the entire project team manage their performance and build their capacity

· Responsible for all HR responsibilities relating to the Education program team including developing annual work plans and mid-term and annual performance review.

Others

· Participate in programme operations meetings, planning and review activities, ensuring that the wider SCI teams are fully informed about Education Consortium’s past and future activities

· The Deputy Chief of Party may be responsible for additional tasks and duties as and when required to support the overall Country Programme priorities

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES (our Values in Practice)

Delivering Results

· Translates complex contextual information into planning and achieving results effectively

· Ability to take a range of potentially complex and conflicting information and make decisions

· Designs and reviews large and complex operations to ensure maximum impact

· Ensures measures and metrics are in place to track performance in large and complex programmes

· Establishes clear and compelling objectives with teams and individuals and monitors progress and performance

· Holds others accountable for achieving results and challenges underperformance

Working effectively with others

· Puts mechanisms in place to ensure effective collaborative working across boundaries

· Enables people from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives to contribute to positive outcomes

· Breaks down silo working and challenges behaviours that are not collaborative

· Knows when to follow and lend leadership to strengthen other leaders

Problem Solving and decision making**

· Identifies and addresses root causes of long-term problems facing the country programme

· Brings in external perspective to ensure strategic decision making remains relevant and future focused

· Provides a strategic framework to support decision making

· Explores and analyses external trends and their potential impact on strategic choices

· Takes calculated risks and has the courage to stand by decisions despite resistance

Leadership and Developing Others

• Delivers needs-based results in complex and fast-changing contexts
• Evaluates the opportunities and risks of each idea and solution to make informed strategic decisions
• Demonstrates managerial courage by willingness to confront difficult situations and take potentially unpopular decisions
• Actively encourages a team environment where team members feel able to contribute, champion or challenge decisions
• Conveys complex strategic issues with clarity, brevity and confidence
• Develops and implements processes to ensure that the workplace is inclusive and the talents of individuals are harnessed to achieve individual and organisational success.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Essential:

• Master’s Degree in education or related field in social science is a requirement.
• Minimum of seven years’ experience with progressively increasing responsibility in managing and implementing complex Education and capacity building programming in fragile states with projects of similar size and scope.
• At least five years of proven experience in managing and supervising a technical team and in project design.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with government representatives, for-profit private sector entities, local community organizations, donors, consortium members and other stakeholders, at national and sub-national levels.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience in building Ministry of Education and devolved structures capacity in developing and realizing education strategic plans to provide quality Education services
• Demonstrated experience of supervising and mentoring technical staff
• Demonstrated in-depth understanding of the dynamics in Somalia Education system
• Proven track record managing a project team composed of several technical experts and fostering team work
• Strong management skills, leadership qualities, professional reputation, ability to create synergies where applicable, interpersonal skills, and written and oral presentation skills to fulfil the diverse technical and managerial requirements of the project description.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English (professional level proficiency) and Somali language is mandatory
• Knowledge for Somalia language a must
• Female candidates are encouraged to apply

Desirable:

· Experience in, and/or knowledge of Somalia/land or the region is preferred

• Familiarity with USAID or other USG administrative, management and reporting procedures and systems

HOW TO APPLY:

Interested candidates are required to submit a CV and mandatory cover letter quoting the Job Title and Vacancy Announcement No. SCI/SOM/12B/16 on the subject line. The file name of the CV and attachments must be the applicants name and sent to Somalia.vacancies@savethechildren.org. For more information please visit www.somaliangoconsortium.org

Applications close on 14th October 2016. Those who had previously applied need not re-apply

Disclaimer:

Save the Children International does not charge any kind of fee at whichever stage of the recruitment process and does not act through recruitment agents

*Only shortlisted candidates will be contactedFemale candidates are encouraged to apply*