Program Development Director

Job Title: Program Development Director
Application Deadline: 05 May 2010

Website Address:
https://jobs.wvi.org/WebJobs.nsf/WebPublished/CFAB49FD63E4641F882577050020109E?OpenDocument

To provide leadership and direction to the WVA (WV Afghanistan) Program department. WVA has is a large multi-discipline program for which you will be responsible. You will take the primary role within the Program department for the preparation of proposal submissions, donor reports, and monitoring and evaluation plans for all projects. You will ensure that all projects are implemented according to donor requirements, grant specifications, and WV’s internal policies. You will manage the program officers and oversee their projects including those projects operating outside Herat.

The Program Manager will lead and provide technical assistance to the Operations Department on all aspects of project design, monitoring, and evaluation.

Main sectors of responsibility include Program Design and Development, Funding Acquisition, Program Monitoring and Evaluation, Information Management, Capacity Building, and Compliance.

Program Design and Development:
* To provide leadership in WV Afghanistan’s strategic planning process
* Assume a lead role in all aspects of project development, including needs assessments, concept paper design, and proposal preparation.
* In collaboration with the Operations Director, assign or conduct needs assessments in current and projected project areas to ensure that WV Afghanistan programming is justifiable and well designed.
* Ensure that the Afghanistan in-country program database is maintained and actively engage in other databases as and when they are developed
* Supervise the work of the program officers and monitoring & evaluation manager.
* Coordinate the planning processes across WV Afghanistan, ensuring integration and WV policies and LEAP requirements are met.
* Lead in the development of WV organizational documents such as the National Strategic Plan and Annual Operations Plan.
* A critical component of this role is to ensure a high level of support to Zone Managers and project staff in the collection and analysis of essential planning information & data
* Ensure assessments, developing project concept papers, monitoring projects, tracking project indicators, and liaising with project staff.
* Work alongside finance staff during the project design process to develop appropriate projects budgets, according to WV’s internal activity-based costing requirements.

Funding Acquisition:
* Ensure that funding concepts and proposal are accurate and professionally prepared and that they meet both donor and World Vision requirements & standards.
* Stay abreast of funding trends and opportunities and prepare briefs to be shared on a regular basis within National Director and key counterparts within the Partnership. There are currently many opportunities available for increased funding.
* Maintain a catalogue of concept notes and proposals that can be presented to potential donors on short notice.
* Liaise with donor representatives in process of proposal development, negotiation and revision.
* Establish and maintain effective relationships with support offices to maintain and build engagement and funding levels.
* Identify, develop and maintain good relationships with existing and potential donors
* Liaise with donors, other agencies and communities to ensure that WV’s development strategies are well understood
* Provide donors with accurate information on possible programs/projects
* Develop proposals to meet needs identified at zone and community levels, and which fit within the WV Afghanistan strategic plan
* Facilitate Support Office and donor field visits

Program Monitoring and Evaluation:
* Oversee the development of a monitoring system that will effectively track implementation to original design documents/proposals and ensure compliance with WV and donor standards.
* Ensure that M&E plans are developed for each new project with the M&E Manager and Operations staff.
* Lead Learning and Evaluation through Evaluation and Planning (LEAP) integration and compliance efforts.

Technical Support
* Provide leadership and support to program and technical project staff
* Develop capacities of project staff to improve their work outputs
* Liaise with Zone Managers to ensure effective operation, management and appraisal of project staff
* Liaise with HR in provision of training courses and mobilizing funds

Information Management:
* Ensure that the Program team compose quality and timely narrative reports in compliance with internal and donor requirement.
* Support the Communications Manager to prepare program overviews, newsletters, and informational material for WV and external donor stakeholders.
* Review as required WV Afghanistan’s organizational documents (National Strategic Plan, and Disaster Preparedness Plan) as required.
* Maintain good communication with other key non-governmental organizations (NGOs), national and international and UN agencies.
* Keep well informed of the current political and socio-economic context, as well as donor missions, relevant government, donor, UN, and NGO reports in order to maintain a comprehensive understanding of the needs and situation at the regional and local levels.
* Respond to general queries for information and provide information support for field personnel.
* Develop and roll out training modules for DME in the WV Afghanistan context.
* Assess staff capacity levels and organize opportunities to increase capacity levels.
* Work with M&E Officer to provide staff trainings on LEAP and Transformational Development Indicators (TDI).

Compliance:
* Ensure fulfillment of project visibility and donor branding requirements.
* Establish and oversee process of periodical review of implementation plans and other initial design documents to ensure contractual obligations and spirit of program are met.
* Coordinate with operations and finance staff to ensure compliance with implementation and financial standards and policies of both the Partnership and the donor.
* Provide leadership and manage and mentor Program team.
* As a member of the WV Afghanistan senior Leadership Team, participate in regular team meetings and contribute to the effective leadership of the overall program.
* Lead focus on cross-cutting themes of transformational development to ensure inclusion in program design, implementation, and strategic development.

REQUIRED:
* Masters degree or equivalent in a related field, or an equivalent combination of related schooling and work experience.
* Minimum 3 years in leadership and management positions within an NGO or UN entity, working in both relief and development.
* Leadership experience in one or more of the following: Program Design and Development, Funding Acquisition, Program Monitoring and Evaluation, Information Management, Capacity Building, and Compliance Previous.
* Experience with major donor proposal writing and budget preparation (eg USAID, EU, ECHO, AUSAID, UN agencies)
* Staff management and mentorship experience in a cross-cultural environment.
* Capacity building experience in project design, implementation, reporting, and evaluation.
* Computer competency including MSWord and Excel. Experience with Lotus Notes a plus.
* Fully fluent in the English language.
* A committed Christian who is able to provide Christian leadership

PREFERRED:
* Work experience in volatile and conflict-affected context preferred.

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