ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
Adeso is an expanding and vibrant African-based international organization, working with communities to create environments in which Africans can thrive. We work to prevent and overcome situations that adversely affect community well-being by: reinvigorating the economy, developing skills for life and work, providing humanitarian aid, and influencing policy. Our belief that economic, social and environmental security is the bedrock of a healthy community drives the nature and intent of our programming.
Adeso has been strengthening rural livelihood and delivering innovative humanitarian aid and development programs for the past 20 years. Currently, we have programs in Somalia, Kenya and South Sudan.
Adeso is an exciting, dynamic organization experiencing managed rapid growth. It offers sound employment conditions with opportunities for personal growth and development.
POSITION SUMMARY
The core function for this position is the leadership and management of the Program Development and Quality Unit, which provides technical and program development support to Adeso Country Programs. The position holder will be responsible for:
· Lead, direct and supervise the staff and systems of the Program Development and Quality Unit;
· Coordinating all new business development, including fundraising, brokering partnerships where required, leading proposal and concept note development, and provide quality control oversight for all reporting and submissions to donors;
· Oversight of monitoring and evaluation ensuring the integration of robust M&E plans into all projects and best practices for accountability to quality programming are tracked and reported;
· Providing relevant technical support to programs, including promoting technical excellence and cross-country learning and documenting and disseminating good practice guidelines based on Adeso’s program technical competencies.
SPECIFIC ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Program Development and Quality Unit (30%)
Lead, direct and supervise the staff within the unit to ensure staff goals, performance and guidance;
Collaboratively establish, execute and track annual strategic goals and objectives of the unit and in line with the Adeso strategic plan(s);
Ensure that the business processes, systems, reporting, grant management and proposal documentation is maintained and enhanced for efficiencies going forward.
New Business Development (50%)
· Lead the concept note/proposal preparation process for institutional donors.
· Coordinate across the agency to oversee the “proposal development pipeline” i.e. keep track of fundraising opportunities and agree on workload allocations to ensure that all deadlines are met with maximum efficiency.
· Quality control of concept notes and full proposals drafted by other staff members, in line with both donor requirements and Adeso strategic priorities.
· Coordinate the provision of technical inputs to proposals by Program Development and Quality Unit (PDQU) staff members.
· In liaison with Country Directors and Program Managers, prepare Terms of Reference for technical consultancy inputs to proposal development when required.
· Assist with the identification of appropriate partner organizations and the management of consortia during the proposal development process.
· Develop and implement a proactive and engaging approach for building the capacity of program staff to improve their ability to develop and write proposals/concept notes, as well as reports for submission to international donors.
Monitoring and Evaluation (10%)
- Ensure the integration of the principles of quality, accountability and learning into the overall management of country programs through the M&E team of the unit;
- Ensure the development of related program frameworks, capacity statements and guidelines for use by country program staff.
- Support implementation of systems to promote accountability to beneficiaries by ensuring that:
(a) Beneficiaries widely participate in needs and baseline assessments and program design;
(b) Beneficiaries affected by our programs are informed about who we are and what we do;
(c) Beneficiaries affected by our programs are aware of their entitlements and selection criteria;
(d) Regular feedback from beneficiaries informs and affects the design of programs.
- Support and ensure the development of Program Impact Measurement system and appropriate M&E tools for Adeso programs.
- Enhance knowledge management and learning across all programs, including the development of a cloud-based data management system for program information.
- Set up systems for sharing of evaluation findings, lessons learned, case studies and other qualitative data from programs.
- Ensure that field project managers get related support to conduct regular progress reviews and ensure there is a clear process for staff/teams to raise concerns over program implementation and quality.
Technical Guidance, Support & Learning (10%)
- Participate in relevant external technical forums and disseminate information as appropriate to country program and HQ teams.
- Support that technical visits to projects occur to impart knowledge and enhance and provide recommendations to improve programming strategies and actions.
- In close coordination with country program teams, ensure that technical and proposal development and report writing trainings occur at HQ, country and/or project levels.
SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
· Master’s Degree in international development, social science or other relevant subject.
· Minimum 8 years progressively responsible and directly relevant field-based and HQ-based experiences in programming and business development.
· Effective results in formulating and executing strategy and performance metrics across an agency.
· Demonstrable experience in at least one of the following program sectors; humanitarian assistance, economic development/empowerment/market-based solutions, rural livelihoods/ agricultural development and/or natural resource management programming in diverse contexts in Africa.
· Track record of successful department leadership, management, fundraising and proposal development.
· Knowledge of the global donor funding environment and how these relate to Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Africa
· Established peer agency, multi-lateral and donor networks/relationships.
· Skills in training, mentoring and capacity building of staff.
· Excellent interpersonal, communication and representation skills; highly engaging.
· Meticulous attention to detail with a preference for knowledge and experience with related qualitative and quantitative research methods.
· Ability to initiate, develop and maintain cross-departmental communications.
· Proactive problem solver.
· Ability to analyze information, evaluate options, and think and plan strategically.
· A natural networker with substantial experience of building relationships with both the private and public sectors.
· Ability to work in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with respect for diversity.
· Willingness to travel regularly, in particular within the region (security permitting).
· Excellent written and spoken English and a critical eye for editing and grammar.
HOW TO APPLY:
This is a challenging opportunity for a dedicated and highly motivated professional. If you would like to join this dynamic team, please submit your application to jobs@adesoafrica.org , quoting the position in the email subject matter, by 4th September 2015.
Each application should be addressed to HR Director and include the following:
• An updated CV with updated contact details: Phone No., Email Address and Skype ID; and
• An application letter which should include cover letter, remuneration requirements and contact information for three work-related referees.
Applications not including all of the above information will not be reviewed. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
Adeso is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on one's background, beliefs, gender or sexual orientation.
