Deputy Director of Programs
Requisition ID: req27616
Sector: Program Administration
Employment Category: Fixed Term
Employment Type: Full-Time
Open to Expatriates: Yes
Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Job Description
For over half a century, Tanzania has been a country of asylum, hosting one of the largest refugee populations in Africa. At present there are 66,370 Congolese refugees, many of whom have lived in Tanzanian camps for 20 years. Tanzania also now hosts 200,000 Burundian refugees, many of whom arrived over the last 16 months as violence in Burundi intensified. Refugees from DRC and Burundi continue to arrive in Tanzania daily, and are received at a dozen reception centers close to the Burundian border, before being transferred to a longer-term refugee camp. Sectors include: Gender Based Violence, Child Protection, Youth, Protection of Persons with Specific Needs, Education, Health, Reproductive Health and Mental Health.
Job Overview/Summary:
The International Rescue Committee currently seeks to recruit the position of Deputy Director of Programs (DDP) for its Tanzania program, based in Dar Es Salaam. The position will lead the program unit in the areas of strategic programming and planning, ensure design, implementation, program quality, promoting strategic growth and strong external and internal representation and advocacy. They must be able to motivate and lead a diverse staff as well as effectively manage programs, partnerships and budgets. Particular emphasis will be placed on responsiveness to beneficiary needs and evidence of impact. In coordination with the Country Director, the DDP builds and sustains strong donor relationships. Reporting to the Country Director and a member of the Senior Management Team, the DDP directly supervises eight senior staff who are responsible for proposal development, program quality and implementation. This position has close working relationships with the Senior Supply Chain Coordinator, Finance Controller, HR/Admin Coordinator, Grants Coordinator as well as field-based Field Coordinators. The DDP position is limited accompanied and requires extensive field travels.
The position requires extensive travel to Kigoma region, supporting programs and teams at field sites
Major Responsibilities:
Program Strategy, Design and Fundraising
- Provide leadership in development and implementation of a needs-based programming for the country program.
- Ensure, with Coordinators, and HQ-based Technical Unit staff, that project design of projects reflects IRC program quality standards and industry standard methodologies and includes theory of change
- Ensure program meetings are held regularly encouraging an broad approach ensuring cross sectoral collaboration and innovative strategies
- Lead efforts for sustainable program growth, proactively finding opportunities for new programming initiatives and emphasizing multi-year funding to support them.
- Provide leadership support to the programming and grants teams to develop competitive, evidence-based and cost-effective funding applications.
- Investigate opportunities to expand existing programming and to develop new programming relevant to IRC capacities and strategic priorities.
- Provide guidance, strategies and tools to ensure that programming choices are based on needs assessment findings (primary & secondary data) and analysis, input from communities, a thorough understanding of context, technical standard methodologies, and operational viability.
- Formulate integrated programming initiatives so that technical sectors complement each other and promote mainstreaming of protection principles and gender-responsive approaches.
Project Management
- Provide overall leadership and management of IRC Tanzania’s programming 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 programming team members, individually and collectively.
- Ensure that detailed, realistic and feasible project implementation plans are developed, and modified as needed, in collaboration with the field management.
- Regularly travel to the field to visit projects.
- Support M&E Coordinator to regularly review progress against indicators.
- Coordinate with other members of Senior Management Team on appropriate management, compliance and performance standards, as well as effective systems for budget management, knowledge management and risk management.
- Work with M&E Coordinator and technical coordinators to put accountability mechanisms in place for beneficiary feedback
- Support programming staff to collect, document and disseminate lessons learned and standard methodologies, incorporating these into new project designs.
- With M&E coordinator and programming staff, develop effective and appropriate M&E plans, including methodologies and tools to strengthen the quality of data collection, analysis and reporting.
- Review M&E and accountability data with programming staff to identify and address areas for operational improvement.
Financial Management
- In coordination with finance, operations, and grants, ensure compliance with donor requirements
- In collaboration with finance and operations, contribute to the development and periodic reforecasting of the annual operating budget.
- In collaboration with the field management, ensure that programming staff are well trained to properly manage project budgets.
- Meet with programming, grants and finance staff regularly to review budget comparison reports.
- Mitigate risk by collaborating with the Finance Department to ensure that programming staff fully understand financial and administrative processes involved in project budget cycles.
- Ensure that risks limiting achievement of objectives are reported and rapidly addressed.
Staff Management and Development
- Create a supervisory environment focused on the achievement of team and individual results that emphasizes the importance of learning, productivity, accountability and opennes
- Communicate regularly with staff and promote positive conflict resolution among team members
- Provide guidance and supervision to all program coordinators and sector managers; discuss job expectations, set objectives and provide appropriate and timely feedback on performance of direct reports, including timely implementation of performance management system.
- 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 applied 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.
- Lead with commitment, integrity and accountability to the “IRC Way” – Global Standards for Professional Conduct.
- Promote constructive, collegial teamwork between programming staff and operational support staff.
Representation and Communication
- Enhance IRC Tanzania’s profile among relevant stakeholders: donors, national and local government partners, international and national NGOs, etc.
- Represent IRC Tanzania at NGO, interagency and governmental meetings.
- Act as the focal point for program-related communication between IRC country programs in the region and worldwide offices.
- Oversee programmatic inputs to advocacy efforts both in-country and globally
Job Requirements
- Education: Advanced degree in international relations, development studies or relevant field
- Must have at least six years of progressively responsible international management experience, including technical staff supervision.
- Proven ability to develop winning proposals to public and private-sector donors
- Fluent English
- Previous experience managing programs financed by US government agencies, DFID, EU, UN, foundations and private donors a must, with previous experience in competitive RFA/P environments a plus.
- Proven ability to manage projects to completion on time, within budget, and with the anticipated results.
- Demonstrated successful leadership experience with a multi-disciplinary team in a cross-cultural setting, including active mentoring and coaching.
- Extensive experience with monitoring and evaluation tools and systems for complex programs
- Ability to respond to multiple priorities in a timely manner, producing high-quality outcomes.
- Ability to work and live in a sometimes-insecure environment while maintaining a positive attitude.
- Excellent English essential with Kiswahili a strong advantage
Working Environment:
Security level yellow – The situation in most of the country is calm. Some parts of Kigoma experience insecurity-highway banditry.
Diversity, Inclusion and Gender Equality
IRC acknowledges and honors the fundamental value and dignity of all individuals. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status or disability. IRC is also 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 parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits.
Professional Standards: IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, IRC operates and carries out policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Respect at Work Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.
#LI-GR2.
