Director of Programmes – Niger

Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organisation for children. We work in 120 countries. We save children’s lives; we fight for their rights; we help them fulfil 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.

We have over two million supporters worldwide and raised 1.9 billion dollars last year to reach more children than ever before, through programmes in health, nutrition, education, protection and child rights, also in times of humanitarian crises.

Following a major transition, our international programmes are now delivered through a merged operation with c15,000 staff, managed through seven regional hubs and reporting to a relatively small, central office. We’re changing to become more efficient, more aligned, a better partner, a stronger advocate, a magnet for world-class people and relevant for the 21st century.

Contract length: 02 Years

The role

The Director of Programme shares in the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the Country Office program. As a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) in Niger, the Director of Programme is responsible for overseeing the development of high quality, innovative programs that deliver immediate and lasting change for children and monitoring the quality of the implementation of those programs. Provide technical assistance and appropriate monitoring and evaluation in emergency responses

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

As a member of the Senior Management Team, contribute to:

Leadership of the Niger Country Office
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
Help design and implement a coherent organizational structure that is consistent with agency practices and appropriate to programme needs
Help establish, maintain, and improve active and regular working relationships with: host government authorities, partner agencies including humanitarian and development donors, and local and international NGOs

Ensure Niger Country Office complies with all Save the Children Management Operating Standards and Standard Operating Procedures

Ensure that all required support is provided promptly, at scale and in line with the rules and principles during emergencies, working closely with the Regional Office

Strategic Planning

Develop strategic vision and direction to the Save the Children Niger program
Take a lead role in developing program strategies and annual plans ensuring coordination of all technical input to country strategy, proposals and reports
Participate in conceptualizing and designing cost effective, innovative and high quality programs to serve difficult to reach children
Ensure that programs are relevant to children in Niger and to the global program and advocacy objectives of the Save the Children members
Program Design and Technical Assistance

Ensure that the Niger 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
Ensure the design and development of child focused emergency and development programs of a high quality that contribute to the Country Office’s strategies and plans, informed by child participation where possible
Support the Director of Program Operations in the implementation and monitoring of all longer term technical goals, objectives and policies
Ensure that the different technical sectors of the Country Office are coordinated, integrated and support each other to optimize programs and projects
Ensure that technical directors and advisors provide input into proposals and proactively and regularly communicate planned requirements for program design and implementation to relevant CO departments/function
Coordinate overall funding process from both grants and SC members. This including: developing funding strategies, creating grant proposals, and identifying strategic leads and concepts
Ensure that all sectors apply a risk lens to program design and implementation in line with the Save the Children policy on Disaster Risk Reduction
Ensure appropriate levels of technical assistance and capacity building is provided to partners
Works with the Member Services Manager to seek the involvement of member technical assistance
Ensure excellent coordination and cooperation with incoming technical advisors as well as surge teams during emergencies
Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning

Maintain a robust M&E system to measure achievement and progress toward program goals and results
Measure achievement and progress toward program goals and results through the M&E system
Ensure coordination between the technical advisors in establishing integrated impact of programming
Lead on internal and external program/project evaluations as necessary and ensure the execution of baseline, periodic, and final evaluations as necessary in coordination with Director of Program Operations
Ensure that beneficiary accountability is fully mainstreamed in all programmes
Ensure learning by the country program from relevant best practice and assess performance regularly against agreed program objectives and indicators
Ensure learning by the country program from relevant best practice internally and externally both nationally and globally and make learning from Niger available for other programs.
Engage in relevant national and global networks
Advocacy

Lead the development of an advocacy strategy for the Niger Country Office. Support Technical Advisors to articulate their top priority advocacy objectives in line with the new Country Strategic Plan
Identify key opportunities and events for Save the Children Niger to position itself as the leading organisation for children’s issues in Niger
Ensure that Save the Children receives national recognition for achieving proven and innovative national impact from well-managed child development programs and emergency response
Oversee Technical Advisors and other program staff in their work, including development of a plan for achieving their priority advocacy objectives in both an emergency and development context. This should include guidelines on the meaningful and safe participation of children in advocacy
Emergency Response

In coordination with Country Director and Director for Program Operations maintain consistent and coherent engagement in key inter-agency emergency preparedness and response coordination mechanisms including the Cluster system
Ensure that the CO designs, updates and implements a full set of emergency preparedness actions, drawing on SC member input and resources
Innovation

Oversee Save the Children Niger’s operational research programs, deliver existing projects and develop new ones. Ensure the publication of results
Spread information relating to the outcome of research projects widely and – in particular – to the Government and to other humanitarian and development actors
Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development – Program Development and Quality

Ensure appropriate staffing within Program Development and Quality
Ensure that all staff understand and are able to perform their role in an emergency
Manage Program Development and Quality team; define expectations, provide leadership and technical support as needed, and evaluate direct reports regularly
Ensure the recruitment, training, and promotion of staff as appropriate and ensure availability of appropriate professional development opportunities for staff
Incorporate staff development strategies and Performance Management Systems into team building process. Establish result based system and follow up
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
Manage the performance of all staff in the Program Development and Quality work area through:
Effective use of the Performance Management System including the establishment of clear, measureable objectives, ongoing feedback, periodic reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations
Coaching, mentoring and other developmental opportunities;
Recognition and rewards for outstanding performance;
Documentation of performance that is less than satisfactory, with appropriate performance improvements/ workplans
Qualifications and experience

Recommended a minimum of [8 years] management experience in a corporate or an NGO environment, including experience directing and implementing programs for children in both emergency and development contexts, preferably with solid experience in more than one of the Save the Children priority sectors: education, protection, rights governance, HIV/AIDs, health and nutrition, and emergencies
Recognized leadership role in relevant technical areas at both field and country level
Masters degree in Social Sciences, in an area of social development
A general appreciation of the issues concerning the NGO sector, both development and humanitarian issues
Solid experience of developing and managing monitoring and learning systems
Good analytical skills. Effective negotiator, with the ability to positively influence cross departmental and cross sector working
Credibility to lobby, influence and represent Save the Children at all levels
Resource management, training , capacity building, coaching, and mentoring skills
Ability and willingness to dramatically change work practices and hours, and work with incoming teams, in emergencies
Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s aims, values and principles including rights-based approaches
Ability to operate in English and French
We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

To see a full a job description, please visit our website at www.savethechildren.net/jobs

Please apply in English or French using your CV and covering letter as a single document, including your salary expectations for this role.