Organization: Counterpart International
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 02 Oct 2015
The Senior Program Manager (SPM) provides HQ oversight support and management to Counterpart’s Afghanistan program. The SPM will serve as an integral member of the HQ Senior program leadership team and will have line management responsibility for mid to junior program staff. In consultation with the Director and VP of Programs, the SPM will provide strategic, technical and operational guidance to field leadership as well as broad managerial support for program implementation. S/he will also provide leadership and support to the development of new business in Afghanistan and other countries as appropriate.
The Afghan Civic Engagement Program (ACEP) is a five-year, USAID-funded project at the total authorized budget of $70million. The goal of ACEP is to promote civil society and media engagement that enable Afghan citizens to influence policy, monitor government accountability, and serve as an advocate for political reform. The program aims to achieve this goal through five program areas: (1) regular CSO engagement with government; (2) increased CSO and media thematic expertise in democracy and governance; (3) expanded civic engagement; (4) improved access to independent news and public affairs information; and (5) increased CSO organizational capacity.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Provide overall HQ program leadership, strategic planning, management and quality assurance
• Support development and implementation of the annual work plans. Support the field team in establishing programmatic targets, collecting and maintaining the program monitoring records, and writing program and financial reports.
• Provide strategic, technical and operational guidance to field leadership in areas such as civic engagement, grant making, NGO capacity building, youth development, and other technical support as needed.
• Monitor and evaluate program performance through regular tracking and analysis of financial, programmatic reports, M&E data, regular communication with the field teams, and periodic travel to country.
o Monitor program finances and monthly pipelines, and provide guidance to field teams concerning program expenditures, budget projections working closely with HQ accountants and field finance managers.
o Review and evaluate program work plans, program performance and evaluation plans; ensure their timely implementation;
o Review and evaluate biweekly, quarterly and final program reports.
o Conduct quarterly or as needed monitoring trips to program site.
• Identify best practices and lessons learned, and based on that learning, develop suggested amendments/revisions to Counterpart’s methodologies as appropriate.
• Monitor the grant making and management cycle:
o Ensure that RFAs are strategically designed to contribute to the overall programmatic goal;
o Review sub-recipient grant packages for quality control before they are processed by Compliance, Grants and Contracts for signature;
o Review the grant tracker to ensure timely reporting on advanced disbursements;
o Ensure the cost share requirement is met and booked appropriately.
• Provide leadership to the headquarters team; manage headquarters recruited consultants; manage daily correspondence and oversight of international implementing partners.
• Engage in personnel decision-making: screen and interview candidates for key field personnel, HQ positions, and potential new staff for proposals.
• Develop scopes of work and support selection of technical consultants in consultation with designated program managers in Afghanistan.
• Support coordination of program implementation activities with internal and external partners and stakeholders.
• Identify and recommend relationships with strategic stakeholders, corporate, non-profit or governmental partners and donors, and with the Director, support negotiations to achieve program excellence.
• Participate in the proposal review and development of budget process.
• Represent Counterpart at conferences, professional forums, workshops, events related to Afghanistan, and/or technical practices relevant for current program portfolio. Requirements• Advanced degree in international development or related field preferred but not required, with the minimum of eight years of relevant experience including at least two years of experience managing or backstopping USAID-funded programs in post-conflict environments..
• Prior experience working in Afghanistan or on Afghanistan project(s) is required.
• Demonstrated leadership, versatility and integrity
Ability to motivate and inspire teams to perform well, producing high quality deliverables throughout project cycle from planning, management, and execution to troubleshooting.
• Experience in project start-ups, close-downs, budget monitoring and realignment
• Sound and demonstrated project management experience, including budget and financial management.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills,
• Strong interpersonal skills,
• Thorough knowledge of applicable Federal government regulations (FAR, AIDAR, ADS, CFR, OMB).Experience with M&E and program planning, implementation and reporting
• Strong internet and computer software skills, including MS Office Suite program, and web-based research tools
• Ability to work in multi-cultural and multi-lingual settings
• Strong and demonstrated inter-personal and negotiation skills, sound judgment, ability to manage diverse teams
• Proven multi-tasking skills and attention to detail under time-pressure and on short-deadlines required
• Fluency in English required
• Ability to travel internationally, often under conditions of hardship required
How to apply:
https://rew12.ultipro.com/COU1004/JobBoard/JobDetails.aspx?__ID=*8F33ABB63124A4C2
EmoticonEmoticon