Job Description
| Organization | The International Rescue Committee (IRC) |
| Requisition ID | req12189 |
| Job Title | Deputy Director of Programs |
| Sector | Program Administration |
| Employment Category | Fixed Term |
| Employment Type | Full-Time |
| Open to Expatriates | Yes |
| Location | Khartoum, Sudan |
In November 2019, the IRC deployed an emergency response team to Sudan to respond to immediate needs within the context of dire economic conditions, fragile political environment, and growing needs for social services post-transition. The IRC is focusing on urban health and WASH programming for mixed groups of refugees, IDPs and vulnerable migrants in informal settlements that were largely inaccessible before the political transition. With COVID-19 pandemic, the IRC has since expanded its emergency response to support COVID-19 preparedness and response efforts, and most recently to respond to mass displacement of Ethiopians in eastern Sudan. Planned programs include, Health, Environmental Health, Economic Wellbeing and Protection.
SCOPE
Reporting to the Country Director and serving as a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), the Deputy Director of Programs is responsible for overall program direction and implementation within the program framework, government policies and strategies, and in compliance with donor regulations, specifically in the areas of a) grant management b) program development, quality and implementation c) day-to-day representation with donor agencies and local and international stakeholders, and d) Monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning.
The DDP is expected to contribute to high levels of teamwork and inter-departmental and cross-sectoral collaboration. Through her/his leadership, Program teams will be guided by results-driven and data analysis, problem identification and problem as well as The DDP, under the leadership of the Country Director, will spearhead the rollout, operationalization and continuous adaptation of the Response Strategic Plan and will play a key role in Business Development. H/She will lead the Country team to eventually develop a Strategic Action Plan.
This position will be responsible for supervising the Program Coordinators, Program Managers and Grants Coordinator and has a close working relation with the Deputy Director Finance, Deputy Director Operations as well as Headquarters and region-based staff.
LANGUAGES: Fluency in written and spoken English required
Program Strategy, Design and Fundraising
• Lead the operationalization of the current IRC Sudan response strategy and actively engage in strategic planning processes for the longer term.
• Ensure, with Coordinators, and HQ-based Technical Unit staff, that project design reflects IRC program quality standards and industry best practices.
• Pro-actively design and implement fundraising strategies and lead efforts for sustainable program growth, proactively identifying opportunities for new programming initiatives and emphasizing longer-term funding to support them.
• Provide leadership support to the program and grants teams to develop competitive, evidence-based and cost-effective funding applications.
• Provide guidance, strategies, and tools to ensure that program choices are based on needs assessment findings (primary & secondary data) and analysis, input from communities, a thorough understanding of context, technical best practices, and operational viability.
• Formulate integrated program initiatives so that technical sectors complement each other and promote mainstreaming of protection principles and gender-responsive approaches.
• Provide leadership in the development of a localization strategy that supports local capacities and existing systems.
• Promote the IRC’s Partnership Excellence for Equality and Results system (PEERS). Contribute to building a strong understanding of PEERS throughout CRRD/RAI office, and to ensuring that IRC’s partnership principles, skills and approaches are applied by staff across programs and projects with partners.
Grants Management
• Provide strategic direction in terms of development of a funding strategy, widening and strengthening donor base, ensuring quality grants management, ensuring compliance with donor requirements, ensuring quality information management related to programs/ grants, and supporting directly in all aspects of the proposal development and reporting processes.
• Supervise all internal, external and reporting with programs and finance, ensuring high-quality, well-written and timely reports meeting donor and IRC and partner requirements; conduct thorough reviews and/or revisions of all external reports compiled by the Grants Coordinator.
• Ensure that Program Coordinators and Grants Coordinator conduct routine monitoring visits to implementation sites to ensure donor compliance and quality program implementation.
• Coordinate with the Program Coordinators and Grants and Finance teams to ensure sound budget management, expense control and timely contractual documentation.
• Support the Grants Coordinator to lead Grant Opening and Grant Closing Meetings with all relevant department and units and to ensure they take place on time. Also ensure that programming staff are well trained to properly manage project budgets.
• Ensure that the program coordinators review Budget vs Actual on a regular basis; provide leadership and management support to ensure effective monthly grant review meetings.
• Mitigate any potential risk by collaborating with the Finance Department to ensure that programming staff fully understand financial and administrative processes involved in project budget cycles.
External Representation and Advocacy
• Develop a sound understanding of the IRC’s programs in Sudan to be able to professionally represent the IRC to partners, the government and donors
• Assist the Country Director and the Regional and Deputy Regional Directors in building/maintaining relationships with donors, and in the development of appropriate advocacy actions.
• Coordinate donor and other visits, and support staff in preparing and conducting these visits as necessary.
• Act as the focal point for program-related communication between IRC country programs in the region and worldwide offices.
• Oversee and support inputs to advocacy efforts both within Sudan and globally.
Program Management – Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation
• Provide overall leadership and management of IRC Sudan portfolio, ensuring strategically coherent program direction, well-managed growth, and compliance with IRC and donor regulations.
• Continually seek out ways to build the capacities of the program team members, individually and collectively.
• Ensure that detailed, realistic, and feasible project implementation plans are developed, and modified as needed, in collaboration with the Program Coordinators and Operations team.
• Coordinate with other members of the Senior Management Team on appropriate management, compliance, and performance standards, as well as effective systems for budget management, knowledge management and risk management.
• Support programming staff to collect, document and disseminate lessons learned and best practices, incorporating these into new project designs.
• With program staff, develop effective and appropriate Monitoring and Evaluation plans, including methodologies and tools to strengthen the quality of data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Review M&E and accountability data with program staff to identify and address areas for operational improvement.
Staff Management and Development
• Provide guidance and supervision to the Program Coordinators, Program Staff and Grants Coordinator; to discuss job expectations, set objectives and provide appropriate and timely feedback on performance of direct reports, including timely implementation of performance management system.
• Create an inclusive team climate focused on the achievement of team and individual results that emphasizes the importance of mutual respect, trust, listening, ownership, learning, productivity, accountability, and openness
Adhere to IRC’s performance management system, providing regular, timely and thoughtful coaching, feedback, performance assessment, and professional development for all direct reports, while making sure that they do the same for their direct reports.
• Build capacities of programming staff in key project management principles, tools and approaches and ensure that these new skills are utilized on the job.
• Manage recruitment, hiring and development of high-performing national staff to assume greater levels of responsibility.
• Provide leadership support for the successful implementation of and adherence to the IRC Global HR Operating Policies and Procedures.
• Hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, at least bi-weekly, focusing equally on interpersonal exchange, as well as work
• Promote and monitor staff care and well-being and ensure to create systems and practices where work supports life and continuously role model such practices.
Qualifications
• Master’s degree in Development Studies, International Relations, Social Sciences, or a similar field.
• Minimum five years of management experience working in a humanitarian or development setting.
• Experience in managing health and protection programming is strongly desired.
• Proven ability to develop winning proposals to public and private sector donors.
• Familiarity and experience with US and European donors.
• Previous experience managing programs financed by USAID, DFID, EU, UN, foundations, and private donors, with previous experience in competitive environments.
• Proven ability to manage projects to completion on time, within budget, and with the anticipated results.
• Ability to respond to multiple priorities in a timely manner, producing high-quality outcomes.
• Demonstrated successful leadership experience with a multi-disciplinary team in a cross-cultural
setting, including active mentoring and coaching. Strong leadership, motivational and team building
skills.
The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-RetaliationNarrowing the Gender Gap: The International Rescue Committee is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including a flexible hour (when possible), maternity leave, transportation support, and gender-sensitive security protocols.
