Director of Programme Development and Quality

Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organization for children, we work in 120 countries. We save children’s lives; we fight for their rights; we help them fulfill their potential. We work together, with our partners, to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. 

Save the Children is seeking qualified candidate to fulfill the following vacancy in its Ramallah Country Office:
 

Director of Programme Development and Quality

Position Ref.: SCI/ PDQ Director /oPt

Director of Programme Development and Quality shares in the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the country program. S/he champions a team culture of learning and continuous improvement and is responsible for overseeing development of programme strategies and advocacy initiatives to deliver immediate and lasting change for children. S/he manages a team focused on design, funding, monitoring, evaluation, learning, advocacy and communications.

Main Responsibilities:

Strategy, Senior Management and External Relations:
-Provide leadership, strategic vision and direction to the Palestine country programme as a member of the SMT.
-Lead the development of high quality country and programme strategies and annual plans, and reports.
-Support the development of an organisational culture that reflects our dual mandate values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation, and frees up our people to deliver outstanding results for children and excellent customer service for our members and donors.
-Support the design and implementation of a coherent organizational structure that is consistent with agency practices and appropriate to programme needs.
-Support the establishment, maintenance, and improvement of an active and regular working relationships with: host government authorities, partner agencies including humanitarian and development donors, and local and international NGOs.
-In collaboration with the Director of Program Operations, Head of Awards Management Unit, the Compliance and Quality Senior Manager and CD, ensure the Palestine Country Office complies with all Save the Children programme Essential Standards and Procedures in the Quality Framework.

Programme and Proposal Design and Development:
-Identify strategic fundraising leads and concepts and identify and nurture funding opportunities to ensure adequate resources are secured.
-With Director of Program Operations and Head of Awards, lead proposal development and the conceptualization and design of cost effective, innovative and high quality child-focused emergency and development programmes, informed by child participation where possible.
-Ensure the Palestine Country Office has a first class, multi-sectoral and dual mandate program reflecting all priority technical and sector aspects of the Save the Children global strategy.
-Enhance capacity of Specialists and Programme Operations to ensure implementation of quality national programs and proposal documents.

Technical Assistance and Knowledge Management:
-Ensure the provision of high quality technical assistance and capacity building to all country office programmes, projects and staff by managing all internal and external technical assistance, including surge capacity during emergencies and ensure application of  the Specialists protocols and tools.
-Ensure that the different technical sectors are coordinated, integrated and support each other to optimize programs and projects.
-Ensure the integration of cross cutting issues into design and implementation including gender, non-discrimination, child participation and child safeguarding.
-Ensure learning by country programme from relevant internal and external thematic trends and best practice.
-With the Director of Operations and CD, ensure engagement in relevant national and global networks.
-Provide oversight and vision in participation of Save the Children within the national humanitarian framework with special focus on Education and Child Protection leadership.
-Provide oversight and vision in participation of Save the Children within the national development framework with special focus on Education in Emergencies Working Group, the Child Protection sector working group and the Education Sector Working Group and on area specific forums like East Jerusalem.
-Lead the identification and capacity development of partners from government, civil society and child led organizations.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning:
-Foster and champion a culture of evidence building and learning across the organisation.
-Develop and oversee a robust MEAL system to measure achievement and progress toward national and global programme goals and results, including reach and global outcome indicators, and to drive learning and improved programme quality.
-Ensure the delivery of internal and external program/project evaluations as per the Evaluations Essential Standard and donor requirement, and execution of baseline, and periodic research in coordination with Director of Program Operations.
-Ensure our work is accountable to children and other stakeholders through the establishment and management of effective accountability mechanisms and processes.
-In collaboration with the Director of Program Operations, provide leadership to use data for programme decision making, of commitment to management action on the findings of monitoring, and of listening to feedback from beneficiaries to inform programme development.
-Identify, develop and oversee operational and analytical research, coordinate the publication and dissemination of results and ensure that research informs advocacy

 
Advocacy and Communications:
-Provide overall leadership, vision, strategic direction and management of advocacy towards national stakeholders, support the development and delivery of policy change and advocacy strategies towards international stakeholders, and ensure that advocacy is an integral part of Save the Children’s Theory of Change and strategic planning .
-Position Save the Children as the leading organisation for children’s issues in Palestine, with child rights at the core of the advocacy work.
-Ensure policy and advocacy coherence at local, national and global level and reinforce strong and effective synergies between programmes and advocacy to maximise Save the Children impact, especially ensuring evidence and best practice inform advocacy.
-Lead on the development of relevant and realistic policy change and advocacy and communications plans and coordinate their effective implementation  with coalitions
-Coordinate the production of high quality policy briefing papers, statements, external communications products and case studies to influence target audiences.
-In collaboration with CD, Policy and Advocacy Manager, and Director of Program Operations, identify and manage potential risks associated with Save the Children’s public positions and design strategies to mitigate the risks that have been identified.
-Ensure the branding, communication and sign off guidelines of Save the Children are uniformly and consistently followed.
-Develop and deliver a clear and effective system for internal communications.

Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development:
-Develop a culture and focus on quality in the Programme Development and Quality team and ensure appropriate staffing, the recruitment, training, and promotion  of  staff as appropriate.
-Manage the Programme Development and Quality team through: effective use of the Performance Management System; regular evaluation of direct reports; provision of coaching, mentoring and other developmental opportunities.
-Ensure that all staff understand and are able to perform their role in an emergency.
-Oversee that all technical sector staff proactively build and maintain technical skills and competencies required for leading and/or advising first class programs – both development and emergency programs.

Applications will be considered based on the following essential criteria:

-Masters’ degree in Social Sciences, in an area of social development, or 5 years related years of work experience in relevant thematic fields.
-Minimum of 10 years’ experience in an NGO environment, including experience directing and implementing programs for children in the Palestinian emergency and development contexts.
-Experience in more than one of the Save the Children priority sectors: education; child protection; child rights governance; health and nutrition; food security and livelihoods; emergencies.
-Demonstrated leadership and management skills in a complex international setting.
-Demonstrated experience leading strategic planning and in programme design and proposal development.
-Strong understanding of different methodologies of monitoring and evaluation and operational research and experience in developing integrated MEAL systems.
-Ability to effectively establish a learning culture within an organisation.
-Experience in successfully establishing and managing collaborative relationships and partnerships with donors and government counterparts.
-Strong representation and influencing skills.
-Experience of management of diverse workforce including effective performance management and utilisation of capacity building, coaching, and mentoring skills.
-Demonstrated use of positive coping strategies in stressful environments.
-Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s aims, values and principles including rights-based approaches.
-Fluency in English, Arabic language skills a strong advantage.


Application Process:

Applications should be submitted to the
 

Apply Now

no later than December 20, 2016, please make sure to mention the position ref. in the subject.  The selection committee will review all applications as they are received. All applicants must meet the minimum requirements described above, and those unable to meet these requirements will not be considered.

Application package should include the following:

Cover letter with the applicant’s current contact information and position applying for in the subject.

Resume including Professional References (minimum of three, with complete contact information).

Applications not including all of the above information will not be reviewed. Only short listed candidates will be contacted. All applicants will also be subject to Save the Children’s Child Safeguarding Policy and reference checking process.

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