Job Description

Plan International Sierra Leone

Job Announcement (1 position for nationals only)

11-01-2024 Head of Programme Development and Quality

Plan International is an independent non-profit development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion, and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters, and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national, and global levels using our reach, experience, and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 75 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

We are currently seeking to recruit:

Title:       Head of Programme Development and Quality

Grade:       Level 17 – Part of the Country Leadership Team

Location:       Country Office

Reports to:       Country Director

Direct Reports:    Technical Managers and Specialists 

Close Working Relationship: Head of Programme Implementation, Business Development Manager, Gender Advisor, Country Finance Manager…

SUMMARY OF THE POSITION:

The Head of Programme Development and Quality (PDQ) oversees Plan International Sierra Leone’s Programme Development and Quality department to ensure alignment with Plan International Inc. Global Ambition – All Girls Standing Strong Making Global Change and the Global Strategy and maintain internal and external standards of the organization. This role provides strategic leadership for designing, evaluating, and influencing gender transformative and sponsorship programmes and initiatives that advance children’s and youth’s rights and equality for girls in Sierra Leone.

DIMENSIONS OF ROLE:

• Ensures that PISL gender transformative programme, and influencing initiatives fully align to key global purpose, theory of change, strategies, country context, and other agreed standards.
• Supervises and coordinates all Technical Managers and Specialists including the Partnerships. 
• Lead and coordinate the idea and designing stage of the proposal development as a core aspect of fundraising for PISL sustainability.
• Maintains horizontal working links with all PISL Strategic Departments
• Works with and maintains sound and credible (win-win) partnerships that promote girl-friendly and youth-focused policy and practice,
• Promote a culture of learning/knowledge management, use of research-based evidence and capacity building to improve programme quality
• The impact of this role is significant internally and externally to Plan International

ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Policy Alignment and Influence:

• Responsible for ensuring that Plan International’s Global Policies, Strategy, and Procedures for Quality Programme and Influencing, Gender Equality and inclusion, Sponsorship Commitment, Child Protection, and Building Better Partnerships are fully embedded and practiced per applicable local context
• Responsible for seeking alignment of Plan’s work to local policies that promote child rights safeguarding and especially equality for girls
• Drive country initiatives that effectively influence laws, policies, budgets, norms, and behaviours for the benefit of marginalized/excluded children and youth, especially girls
• Coordinate continuous policy scans to support influencing initiatives towards the advancement of child rights and equality for girls.

Strategy design:

• Leads in formulating PISL Country Strategy Plan and Influencing Strategy that fully aligns with Plan International’s Global purpose, strategy, and Programme and influencing Quality policy/procedures
• Responsible for mainstreaming gender equality and inclusion approaches to programme, influencing, and project design.
• Support in the review and implementation of Partnership Strategy Guidelines and ensure appropriate global/local partners, particularly CSOs, youth-led and girls-led organizations to effectively and efficiently drive transformative change.
• Support the development and implementation of the PISL MERL Framework by PII and monitor the implementation of the Country Strategy Plan and grants.
• Responsible for developing, updating, and mainstreaming disaster risk reduction plans and disaster preparedness plans appropriate for PISL.
• Support the review and development of Youth Engagement Framework.
• Support the review and implementation of Safeguarding and Child Protection policies and guidelines.

Programme Quality:

• Responsible for ensuring that Plan International’s Global Policies/Procedures for Quality Programmes are fully embedded and practiced in every project and programme
• Coordinate field discussions, inputs, and presentation of issues that need Plan’s attention and action in terms of project identification and conceptualization that fully align with Plan International’s Global purpose, Country strategy, and Programme and influencing Quality policy/procedures
• Work collaboratively with the Head of Programme Implementation, Technical Specialists, and National Offices to ensure quality delivery and respond to issues proactively.
• Generate learning from PISL work and disseminate knowledge and promote good practice
• Ensure gender transformative and influencing outcomes are evident in all projects
• Provide oversight, supervision, and coordination of the MERL Manager to ensure that all projects and programmes follow MERL standards more effectively.
• Provide oversight, coordination, and supervision of the technical Specialists/Advisors to ensure their meaningful contribution to project designs, and contribute clearly to the Objectives, Outcomes, and Goals of the Country Strategy
• Support the establishment and continuous capacity strengthening of local implementing and national partners for effective and efficient programme delivery and influencing.
• Responsible, on a quarterly/annual basis, for achieving and reporting on the global programmatic KPIs (Sponsorship Commitment#2, programme quality, Influencing, Gender equality, partnerships, etc.)
• Responsible for effectively rallying technical and financial resources from across the organization around the most critical pieces of work
• Establish and implement intra- and inter-project control mechanisms to build synergies and minimize the risk of resource duplication and waste.

Partnerships and Networking:

• • Develop, implement, and evaluate partnership guide to support partner engagements for effective project delivery
  • Provide support in building partnership capacities to deliver projects
  • Develop and maintain strategic relationships/partnerships with relevant governmental institutions to facilitate the influence agenda
  • Design a framework for performance-based financing and coordinate its effective implementation and continuous improvement;
  • Develop and maintain relationships with coalitions, civil society actors, and research/academic institutions to advance Plan International’s work.

• Develop partnerships with universities and knowledge institutions to support Plan’s evidence-based programming and influencing work.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL):

• Establish and implement a MERL that effectively and credibly tracks programme/project performance (results),
• Generate learning from our work and facilitate the establishment of a KM system to disseminate knowledge and promote good practice
• Establish effective mechanisms to promote sharing and learning among project teams and partners including children, especially girls
• Responsible for annual internal reviews of the Country Strategy that promote broad-based ownership, learning, and quality improvement
• Monitor the programme/project performance vis-à-vis agreed milestones and indicators and initiate action to improve where and when necessary
• Coordinate quarterly management and annual reporting on Plan International Sierra Leone programmes
• Support quarterly and annual reporting on various projects (against output and outcome targets);
• Participates in Technical Support Team meetings to discuss work progress and develop appropriate strategies to ensure the attainment of project/programme objectives
• Support capacity enhancement of project teams and partners on MERL.

Programme Development and Funding Growth:

• Lead PISL project design to ensure alignment with Country Strategy and Sponsorship Commitment while incorporating best practices to improve grant and sponsorship programme funding growth and diversification 
• Lead the review and development of Multiyear Sponsorship Strategy 
• Collaborate with the BDM to ensure PISL is well-positioned with NOs, donors, and other potential partners to pursue appropriate funding opportunities.  
• Review and support implementation of the PISL Resource Mobilization Strategy for better planning and preparation, and guide all relevant actors.

Staff Development:

• Direct reports are guided with appropriate key performance indicators
• Technical specialists’ performances are recorded and recognized
• Organize Coaching/counselling sessions regularly whenever necessary
• Professional development needs are identified and addressed in association with HROD.
• Works with the direct reports closely on programme implementation issues
• Recognizes and records the performance of the direct reports
• Provides coaching, mentoring and counselling to the direct reports as and when required.
• Identifies professional development needs for the direct reports
• Assists HR in arranging appropriate staff development events.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Works closely with the Country Leadership Team

• Liaises with the Head of Programme Implementation, Business Development Manager and Country Finance Manager with regards to grants projects design/execution; and budgets respectively
• Influences staff in Plan International and develops effective relationships with external bodies.

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, SKILLS, AND KNOWLEDGE

Qualification and Experience:

Essential:

• Qualification – At least Master’s / degree in Development Studies, Social Sciences or any related area

• Functional Area Experience: Good knowledge and experience in policy analyses and formulation, rights-based and gender transformative programming, and influencing. Experience working and collaborating with diverse sets of stakeholders, such as local NGOs, government officials, donor representatives, and local and international staff.

• Strategic thinking and innovation: Set strong strategy in own team; makes an effective contribution to wider strategy, sees contribution of own team in wider Plan and external context, balances future vision with practical delivery; critically evaluates work effectiveness and searches for better ways of working.

• Striving for high performance: Strongly drives performance forward in policy and programming; involves others in setting and achieving goals; creates a strong sense of purpose within own team and with stakeholders.

• Decision making and risk management: Sound judgement and decision-making in complex situations; alerts others to risks inside and outside the organisation; willing to make judgements about managing risks and ready to take responsibility for such judgements.

• Influencing and Communications: Effective communicator using clear messages drawn from Plan’s work; cross-culturally adept; ready to work to influence leaders in governments, partners and communities; can reach out and influence large groups of people; effective communicator with children and young people.

• Building effective teams and partnerships: Acting as a team player, even if this results in adjustment of own priorities; develops mutually trusting relationships with complex partnerships to deliver excellent programme/project outcomes.

• Developing people: Supports learning and a sense of mutual purpose in diverse teams; sets a strong learning culture; effective coach, adaptable to high performers and those in difficulty; uses opportunities across Plan to develop others.

• Self-awareness and resilience: Remain calm and positive under pressure and in difficult situations; aware of impact on others and adjusts own behaviour accordingly; has a positive impact on those around them; leads major change while keeping staff and partners on board.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, including Word, PPT, Excel and Outlook.

• Language: English

    Desirable:

• Understands Plan’s work, and implements processes and practices that support

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Typical office environment and visit to programme/project implementation areas

External and Internal contact

• Work closely with the specialist and other heads of department
• Government ministries
• Children and young people

LEVEL OF CONTACT WITH CHILDREN

Mid contact: Occasional interaction with children.

GENERAL ACCOUNTABILITY

Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Child Protection (CPP) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

Ensure staff understands Plan International’s commitment to driving a feminist agenda within the organization, and the ambition for gender equality and gender transformative leadership is embedded in our value-based leadership framework.

PLAN INTERNATIONAL’S VALUES

We are open and accountable

• Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
• Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
• Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
• Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
• Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organization for all children, girls & young people

We strive for lasting impact

• Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
• Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
• Focuses resources to drive change and maximize long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
• Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We work well together

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering

• We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential
• We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge equality in our programs and our workplace
• We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives.

Applications:

The last date for submission of the Application (CV and cover letter) is: 24th January 2024 by 5:00 pm

Your application should include: 
·         A cover letter
·         A comprehensive CV including details of two referees, one of whom should be your current of most recent supervisor

  Send applications to the below link: Sierra-Leone.Recruitment@plan-international.org

Only short-listed candidates shall be contacted. References will be taken and background and anti-terrorism checks will be carried out in conformity with Plan International’s Safeguarding Children and Young People’s Policy. 

Plan International follows an equal opportunity policy and actively encourages diversity welcoming applications from all especially women and people living with disability.

Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.