Position
Head of Programme – Strategy
Grade
F
Department & Location
Programme, Egypt Country Office
Date
June 2021
Reports to:
Country Director
Purpose: How does this post support Plan’s strategy and mission?**
Plan International is an independent 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 its 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 80 years, and are now active in more than 75 countries.
We need bold, forward thinking and innovative individuals to drive change and deliver results that will allow us to reach our target of 100 million girls.
Please see https://plan-international.org/organisation/strategy for Plan international strategy
Plan started working in Egypt in 1981 and has a presence in twelve of the 27 governorates in which the country is divided: two urban (Cairo and Alexandria) and five rural (Giza, Beheira, Kalyoubia, Damietta, Qena, Assuit and Sohag, Port Said and Luxor). Plan Egypt’s work focuses on child rights, implementing programmes designed to enable communities to improve the lives of the most marginalised children and their families. Plan Egypt’s Country Strategy will come to an end by June 2022. Its current focus includes five strategic objectives.
a) Improve the quality of early childhood care & education;
b) Promote economic empowerment of vulnerable young men & women;
c) Facilitate girls in realising their full potential in an enabling and gender responsive environment that protects them from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence;
d) Support adolescents and young people, particularly girls to become active drivers of change and lead the way towards more equitable and inclusive societies;
e) Promote adolescents and young people, particularly girls to be empowered to take informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health and live free from gender-based violence
The Head of Programme – Strategy (HOP-S) is a very senior position that will report directly to the Country Director (CD) and will assume direct responsibility and accountability for the effective support and oversight of all five Plan Egypt programme departments. These are; the Strategic Partnerships & Advocacy, Programme Quality and Partnership, Business Development, Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E), & Sponsorship. Together with the Country Director, the HOP – S will co-lead the design of the new country strategy for PIE. In addition, the HOP– S will undertake a senior internal and external representation role with donors, government counterparts, Plan National Offices (NOs) and other key stakeholders. The HOP – S will be a leading member of the Country Leadership Team (CLT) and work with her/his peers to ensure Plan is making progress towards its purpose.
Dimensions of the role:
§ The post holder will report to the Country Director, oversee the design of Plan Egypt country strategy, ensure the implementation of Plan Egypt’s country influencing strategy, strong technical support to programme implementation team – particularly in the area of gender transformation, promote programme quality and effectiveness, and support knowledge management & learning through robust M&E;
§ Supervise, support and mentor the managers of the Strategic Partnerships & Advocacy, Partnership Support, Programme Quality , Business Development, Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) & Sponsorship departments;
§ Ensure smooth teamwork within and across the different units and management lines within the departments, while enhancing integration with other departments. Of particular importance is supporting the creation of high performing teams through establishing effective working relationships between programme staff at the Country Office and in the Programe Units working in tandem with the Head of Programme – Implementation;
§ Support the CD directly in senior level representation, both internally and externally, including brokering and enhancing productive working relationships with key NO partners, donors and influencers for Plan Egypt;
§ Support the CD closely in realising the full income target for the Country Strategic period, to be sourced from both institutional grants and individual giving funds.
Typical Responsibilities – Key End Results of Position:
Strategic leadership in Programme Management
Co-lead the design and overall development of the new country strategy for PIE ensuring alignment with the revised global strategy as well as provide technical support to ensure quality
operationalization. Play a lead role in periodic reviews within the context of the global programme quality and influencing policy framework to ensure that all key strategies, policies and plans pertaining to CS and global strategy are in place and updated. Work with the programme teams at country office and field level to support the embedding of Plan’s global approach to programming and influencing with strong emphasis on gender equality and transformation.
· Promote new programming innovations and identify opportunities for national scale up through documentation and promotion of best practice models.
· Oversee the timely production of high-quality project concept notes and proposals.
Representation and networking
· Support the Strategic Partnerships & Advocacy Manager to define and drive forward Plan Egypt’s national influencing strategy and campaigns.
· Support the Country Director in a number of high-level representational responsibilities, both externally and also internally within Plan globally.
People Management
· Ensure a smooth and optimized working and enabling environment across the six departments that will enable excellent team work and contributions for a high performing team.
· Ensure a smooth and productive working relationship with other departments and functions, particularly supporting her/his teams in enhancing collaboration with field offices.
· Play an active role in the identification and recruitment of key programme staff, both at the CO and within the PUs working closely with the Head of Programme – Implementation.
· Provide leadership, coaching for results and support to the broader team as well as in their individual development and performance management.
Reporting
Other
· Actively participate in the CLT in an open, cooperative and proactive manner, ensuring full engagement of the five departments with other organizational initiatives led by other departments and teams, in order to enable a strong and productive Plan Egypt team.
· Ensure understanding and adherence by team members of Plan’s key policies, including but not limited to Child and youth safeguarding policy, gender equality and inclusion policy, Code of conduct, etc to be fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policies including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to her/his area of responsibility.
Dealing with Problems:
The position involves a high degree of complexity in resolving a wide range of challenges which typically occur in the management of large departments encompassing a range of management lines, and a range of contractual obligations, including grant specific deliverables. The post holder will demonstrate an ability to solve problems, thinking strategically while introducing innovations as needed to meet the demands of a dynamic and sometimes unpredictable operating environment, but also ensuring that Plan’s systems and policies are adhered to. The post holder is expected to play a key role in optimizing overall organizational performance and enabling a high performing country team as a whole. This will require innovation, flexibility and the ability to promote change in response to specific challenges and circumstances which may arise. The role will be tasked with strengthening accountability, planning, management, adherence to policies and procedures, and promoting a culture that aims for the consistent delivery of results.
Knowledge, Skills, Behaviours, and Experience Required to Achieve Role’s Objectives:
Knowledge
Skills
Behaviours (Plan International’s Values in Practice)
1. 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 organisation for all children, girls & young people.
2. 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 maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
§ Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.
3. 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.
4. We are inclusive and empowering
§ 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.
Physical Environment and Demands:
The position will be based in the Country Office (Cairo, Egypt) with frequent in country travel and some international travel. **
Level of Contact with Children:
Medium level: Occasional interaction with children
To apply, please use this link:
Post closing date: 1/7/2021
Tagged as: Egypt, Plan International
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