Senior Programme Coordinator 

Job Description

Apply by Friday 23rd February, 2024 (women and young leaders are encouraged to apply)

About Restless Development:

Restless Development is a global non profit agency. We support the collective power of young leaders to create a better world. We are independently registered and governed in nine countries (India, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, UK, USA, Zambia and Zimbabwe) bound together by our vision for youth power. We run youth-led programmes to tackle the issues that young people care about the most –  We also run the Youth Collective – a growing network of over 4000 local youth civil society groups and organizations in 185 countries. We are committed to creating an agency that walks the talk on power shifting, using the power shifting checklist, both internally and externally.

Our approach to safeguarding

Restless Development considers the welfare and protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults to be an organizational imperative with primacy over the success of programmes or strategic objectives. We recognize that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and we expect all of our staff, volunteers and partners to ensure we protect the communities in which we operate from harm and abide by our Safeguarding Policy.

About the role

The four-year Youth Voices Lab’ (YVL) programme seeks to create a more youth-responsive and inclusive society.  The programme focuses, primarily, on interventions to support young Africans in the continent and the diaspora in Europe in their journey towards increased engagement, connection, and empowerment, and interventions that support enablers/decision-makers (AU and EU, governments, CSOs, Corporates, others) in their journey to develop equal partnerships with young people and to create the conditions to address the key needs and priorities of the younger generation. In turn, these outcomes contribute to the availability and implementation of budgeted and relevant youth-responsive policy frameworks (AU-EU cooperation plans/partnerships, strategies, others), leading to a more youth-responsive and inclusive society in which the aspirations of existing and future development frameworks are delivered, leaving no one behind.

The programme is driven by a consortium of five (5) partners; OXFAM (Lead), Restless Development, SEARCH for Common Ground (SEARCH), Youth Makers Hub (YMH), and  Make sense Africa, with in-country programming in 15 intervention countries, and youth and stakeholders engagement outside the intervention countries across Africa and Europe.

The programme has two interrelated objectives:

1. Young people and youth-led groups and networks effectively advocate for their concerns and priorities at various levels, including local, national, continental and cross-continental, and around the AU-EU partnership in Africa.
2. Institutions, governments, partners, and corporations are more youth-centered and meaningfully collaborate with youth in the development and implementation of their policies/decision-making moments and spaces.

The Senior Programme Coordinator is the person responsible for the overall efficient implementation of the programme for Restless Development Sierra Leone, ensuring objectives are met, budget is spent appropriately and results are achieved. The Senior Programme Coordinator will act as the in-country liaison for the project.

The Senior Programme Coordinator will ensure overall strategic programme delivery, coherence and alignment with other Restless Development countries of implementation, as well as contribute to global learning across the agency and establish strategic links between the Youth Collective in Sierra Leone and Youth Voices Lab. She/He will also engage with partners and youth networks in-country to guarantee strategy coherence, cross-learning, and collaborative advocacy.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership and Programme Performance.

• On behalf of Restless Development, ensure that the AU-EU Youth Voices Lab performs well in Sierra Leone and achieves overall consortium success.
• Provide strategic, technical and operational oversight for programme implementation.
• Lead planning, coordination and communication efforts with project leadership and colleagues in other Restless Development implementation countries, serving as the primary point of contact.
• Provide quality control oversight for the programme, and ensure adherence to set objectives, indicators, and targets.
• Oversee the design and implementation of monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks, ensuring continuous improvement and accountability.
• Participate in regular reviews to assess program effectiveness and identify areas for enhancement.
• Support program learning across Restless Development, enabling the agency’s learning and growth agenda while also allowing us to test and prove the value of youth leadership.
• Support youth-led research, or advocacy, or hacks, or accountability with marginalized young people.
• Ability to lead capacity strengthening progresses for emerging Youth civil Society Organizations both in Sierra Leone and diasporans in Europe.

Coordination and Collaboration.

• Ensure effective coordination with project colleagues in other Restless Development implementing countries, youth networks and the Ministry of Youth Affairs, fostering effective communication and collaboration.
• Participate in monthly and quarterly strategic reviews.
• Contribute to the development of a technical support framework for the project.
• Lead in-country engagement with diverse stakeholders including government bodies, civil society, and local partners to strengthen collaboration and garner support.
• Coordinate internal and external platforms for effective knowledge sharing, learning and networking.

Communications and visibility

• Ensure effective communication and visibility of programming outcomes linking them to the global.
• Contribute to the development of all (internally and externally produced) communications materials in support of the YVL programme.
• Support Restless Development’s efforts to create and maintain positive and effective relations with media outlets and professionals.
• Create media packages and draft reports and disseminate them to media outlets.
• Support, when needed, in the implementation of advocacy activities, especially locally.

Financial management and compliance:

• Ensure compliance with key donor financial requirements and Restless Development finance policies, and procedures are adhered to.
• Lead rigorous budget management by tracking programming spending, ensuring accurate reporting and managing variance in collaboration with the finance team.
• Prepare budgets and requisitions, understanding the approved budget position per item line.
• Review periodic financial reports and ensure they are aligning well with the narrative project reports.
• Ensure requisitions and retirements are appropriately implemented and that expenditures are backed by the required supporting documentation.

Other

• You may occasionally be required to work on weekends and/or public holidays, for which time off in lieu will be granted.
• Other duties as required.

Leadership and Programme Performance.

• On behalf of Restless Development, ensure that the AU-EU Youth Voices Lab performs well in Sierra Leone and achieves overall consortium success.
• Provide strategic, technical and operational oversight for programme implementation.
• Lead planning, coordination and communication efforts with project leadership and colleagues in other Restless Development implementation countries, serving as the primary point of contact.
• Provide quality control oversight for the programme, and ensure adherence to set objectives, indicators, and targets.
• Oversee the design and implementation of monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks, ensuring continuous improvement and accountability.
• Participate in regular reviews to assess program effectiveness and identify areas for enhancement.
• Support program learning across Restless Development, enabling the agency’s learning and growth agenda while also allowing us to test and prove the value of youth leadership.
• Support youth-led research, or advocacy, or hacks, or accountability with marginalized young people.
• Ability to lead capacity strengthening processes for emerging Youth Civil Society Organisations both in Sierra Leone and diasporans in Europe..

Coordination and Collaboration.

• Ensure effective coordination with project colleagues in other Restless Development implementing countries, youth networks and the Ministry of Youth Affairs, fostering effective communication and collaboration.
• Participate in monthly and quarterly strategic reviews.
• Contribute to the development of a technical support framework for the project.
• Lead in-country engagement with diverse stakeholders including government bodies, civil society, and local partners to strengthen collaboration and garner support.
• Coordinate internal and external platforms for effective knowledge sharing, learning and networking.

Communications and visibility

• Ensure effective communication and visibility of programming outcomes linking them to the global.
• Contribute to the development of all (internally and externally produced) communications materials in support of the YVL programme.
• Support Restless Development’s efforts to create and maintain positive and effective relations with media outlets and professionals.
• Create media packages and draft reports and disseminate them to media outlets.
• Support, when needed, in the implementation of advocacy activities, especially locally.

Financial management and compliance:

• Ensure compliance with key donor financial requirements and Restless Development finance policies, and procedures are adhered to.
• Lead rigorous budget management by tracking programming spending, ensuring accurate reporting and managing variance in collaboration with the finance team.
• Prepare budgets and requisitions, understanding the approved budget position per item line.
• Review periodic financial reports and ensure they are aligning well with the narrative project reports.
• Ensure requisitions and retirements are appropriately implemented and that expenditures are backed by the required supporting documentation.

Other

• You may occasionally be required to work on weekends and/or public holidays, for which time off in lieu will be granted.
• Other duties as required.

Leadership and Programme Performance.

• On behalf of Restless Development, ensure that the AU-EU Youth Voices Lab performs well in Sierra Leone and achieves overall consortium success.
• Provide strategic, technical and operational oversight for programme implementation.
• Lead planning, coordination and communication efforts with project leadership and colleagues in other Restless Development implementation countries, serving as the primary point of contact.
• Provide quality control oversight for the programme, and ensure adherence to set objectives, indicators, and targets.
• Oversee the design and implementation of monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks, ensuring continuous improvement and accountability.
• Participate in regular reviews to assess program effectiveness and identify areas for enhancement.
• Support program learning across Restless Development, enabling the agency’s learning and growth agenda while also allowing us to test and prove the value of youth leadership.
• Support youth-led research, or advocacy, or hacks, or accountability with marginalized young people.
• Ability to lead capacity strengthening processes for emerging Youth Civil Society Organisations both in Sierra Leone and diasporans in Europe..

Coordination and Collaboration.

• Ensure effective coordination with project colleagues in other Restless Development implementing countries, youth networks and the Ministry of Youth Affairs, fostering effective communication and collaboration.
• Participate in monthly and quarterly strategic reviews.
• Contribute to the development of a technical support framework for the project.
• Lead in-country engagement with diverse stakeholders including government bodies, civil society, and local partners to strengthen collaboration and garner support.
• Coordinate internal and external platforms for effective knowledge sharing, learning and networking.

Communications and visibility

• Ensure effective communication and visibility of programming outcomes linking them to the global.
• Contribute to the development of all (internally and externally produced) communications materials in support of the YVL programme.
• Support Restless Development’s efforts to create and maintain positive and effective relations with media outlets and professionals.
• Create media packages and draft reports and disseminate them to media outlets.
• Support, when needed, in the implementation of advocacy activities, especially locally.

Financial management and compliance:

• Ensure compliance with key donor financial requirements and Restless Development finance policies, and procedures are adhered to.
• Lead rigorous budget management by tracking programming spending, ensuring accurate reporting and managing variance in collaboration with the finance team.
• Prepare budgets and requisitions, understanding the approved budget position per item line.
• Review periodic financial reports and ensure they are aligning well with the narrative project reports.
• Ensure requisitions and retirements are appropriately implemented and that expenditures are backed by the required supporting documentation.

Other

• You may occasionally be required to work on weekends and/or public holidays, for which time off in lieu will be granted.
• Other duties as required.

Job title: Senior Programme Coordinator

Location: Freetown, Sierra Leone

Salary: SLL146, 227 Gross per annum (@ band 0)

Preferred start date: March 2024

Length of contract: 12-month initial contract – renewed annually until 2027 dependent on funding from the European Commission.

Reports to: Direct programmatic relationship with Consortium Programme Manager (Uganda) and dotted line relationship with Head of Programmes (Sierra Leone)

Direct Reports: Two Programme Support Interns

Expected travel: Regular national and intermittent international travels

About you.

About you

We are looking for people with the right competencies and skills for the role, and who

demonstrate the personal qualities consistent with our values.

Our value: HEART – We are who we serve. We are brave.

Embeds a values-led culture within their team; both recognizing and rewarding behavior which upholds the Restless Values and professionally challenging behaviors which do not. Fosters a climate of innovation and continual improvement across their team. Considers external best practices when adapting plans; acts positively and quickly to assess and resolve issues.

Our value: HEAD – Delivers Quality. We are 100% professional.

Takes full accountability for performance and value-for-money within their team. Ensures team capacity to deliver quality against strategic priorities, and guides their team to develop solutions for anticipated problems. Takes full accountability for managing a budget and/or programme and/or incidents. Considers the organizational vision, Restless Values, external influences, and long-term impact when making decisions. Supports more junior staff with difficult decisions.

Our value: VOICE – We generate leaders.

We are proud to carry the banner for youth-led development. Plays a key role in strategy development. Taking accountability for team performance and creating a compelling leadership vision for their team. Inspires and supports others to take on a leadership role. Drives their personal development, committing to new challenges which build capacity for the organization. Supports team members to fulfil their potential through effective performance management, mentoring and other growth opportunities.

Our value: HANDS – We are in it together.

We listen and learn. Builds consensus and commitment amongst staff and national partners, using effective communication to navigate difficult topics. Coaches others to communicate effectively. Utilizes their internal and external relationships to enable others to expand their network; creating opportunities for others to broaden their awareness of other parts of the organization and/or current issues. Cultivates national partnerships.

Restless Development is an Equal Opportunities Employer and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community. Restless Development will ensure that no applicant or staff member receives less favorable treatment on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, marital status, social status, caste, race, ethnic origin, religious belief, age, HIV status, disability, or any other factor that cannot be shown to be relevant to performance.

Skills and experience

Essential

• Demonstrated ability to lead strategic programmes across Sierra Leone and ability to connect with global programmes.
• Understanding of a matrix style of working and the ability to build meaningful relationships across the global agency.
• Practical experience supporting capacity enhancement for emerging Youth Civil Society Organizations. Excellent facilitation of online and in-person training sessions both locally and internationally (including designing, organizing, coordinating, delivering, and following up on interactive training sessions) using participatory approaches.
• Outcome-focused and proven ability to think strategically and plan, priorities and organize a team’s work to meet organization-wide strategic objectives.
• An eye for detail and a concern for accuracy, together with the ability to keep sight of the broad picture.
• Experience in writing technical documents for internal/external purposes, and delivering training for African diasporans, presentations to colleagues, donors and stakeholders.
• Experience in continental and cross-continental level advocacy.
• Fluent in English – both written and verbal

Desirable

• Experience in implementing an EU-funded programme will be a plus.
• Good, up-to-date knowledge of youth engagement and participation approaches.
• Good knowledge of global, regional, and country-level frameworks like the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, the UN Youth Strategy, the African Youth Charter and the EU Youth Strategy among others.
• Experience working with AU/EU youth engagement structures and frameworks in-country.
• Demonstrated experience in financial management and budget oversight.
• Experience to coalesce and synergize with youth-led organizations.

What we do for you

Remuneration

We are proud to commit to a transparent global salary scale, ensuring a fair and comparable

system of pay across all global locations. In addition to salary, we offer pension contributions (NASSIT) and other benefits following the local Hub.

Values and Culture.

At Restless Development, we’re proud that the strength and integrity of our Values have been recognized by staff, young people, donors and others who we work with. Beyond this, we have a culture of recognizing and celebrating both our Values and our global achievements with an annual Values Day.

Work-life Balance.

We work hard at Restless Development. We also recognize the importance of helping staff to maintain a positive work-life balance by offering:

• 24 days annual leave (in addition to public holidays and with an extra day of annual leave given for each full year of service, up to a maximum of 28 days).
• Birthday Leave
• Access to flexible working.
• Generous study leave, maternity, paternity or adoption leave, and other leave allowances.

Professional Development

Restless Development is proud to be an employer that recognizes potential and invests in the development of its staff.  We are committed to the professional development of our staff through:

• Empowering opportunities to work on significant projects which stretch and inspire staff – allowing them to develop on the job.
• Regular performance management.
• Training and development opportunities, including supporting our staff to identify mentors both within and outside of the agency.
• Quarterly Staff Workshops for all staff to give and receive agency updates, receive training, and socialize.

Travel and Medical Insurance

When travelling abroad for work, all staff will be covered by Restless Development’s travel

and medical insurance.

To Apply:

FOLLOW LINK BELOW TO APPLY:

https://restlessdevelopment.bamboohr.com/careers/102?source=aWQ9OQ%3D%3D

Please submit your CV and a cover letter that provides tangible examples of how your skills, knowledge and experience will support your ability to perform the key priorities outlined in the above job description (using no more than 750 words).