Head of REALM

The Opportunity

Save the Children has large and expanding Health and Nutrition projects. The overall portfolio is over $10 million, working in 13 provinces of Afghanistan, both directly and through partners.
The Head of Health and Nutrition will have direct oversight of the full Health and Nutrition portfolio, managing a team of Programme Managers (budget holders) and supporting the wider team of Project Managers and Coordinators (direct implementors). The post holder will be expected to monitor progress of all projects against budget and implementation plans, ensuring all high-risk awards are effectively managed, and ensure high-quality, on-time delivery of all results. Effective monitoring and evaluation must be carried out, and all donor reporting must be high-quality and on-time. Where projects are implemented with partners, s/he will also be expected to deliver quality partnerships in line with Save the Children’s partnership principles.
This role works within a complex matrix management structure, and the post holder will be expected to coordinate with multiple layers of this structure, including the Head of Provincial Office, Sector Managers, Programme Managers, and the Technical team. Additionally strong working relationships must be developed with Supply Chain, human Resources and Finance, to ensure the smooth running of the projects, and to facilitate problem solving.
The Head of Health and Nutrition will spend a minimum of 50% of their time in the Provinces, working directly to capacity build the programme managers, and ensure the project design being implemented feeds int the wider SC-Af strategic direction. They will work closely with the Deputy Head of Office in each Province, who is responsible for programme oversight.
The development of skills in budget management, project cycle management, and project delivery within the project team will be a key part of this role. Whilst day to day management of the projects is done by the team, the Head of Health and Nutrition will support the proposal development process, ensure delivery is in line with our strategy and develop the capacity of the team.
In both the Provinces and in Kabul the Head of Health and Nutrition will represent SC-Af externally. They are expected to closely follow the latest changes in our engagement with the de facto authorities, including being aware of changes in global trends that affect our ability to programme. They must be able to negotiate on our behalf without damaging our reputation or compromising on our humanitarian principles. Additionally, the Head of Health and Nutrition will negotiate with SCI Members and with our Donors, providing updates and ensuring the continuation of our work and funding. Lastly, the post holder will play an active role in the coordination mechanisms in country, including attending clusters at Provincial level, and coordinating with the Health and Nutrition Technical advisors on attendance at Kabul level coordination mechanisms.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
Strategic planning and learning
– Mapping out strategic evidence gaps and establish Afghanistan Country Office Learning Agenda
– Work with PDQ Director to develop a culture of learning that is driven by the Country Strategic Plan, initiatives, Program results frameworks, thematic/sector learning agendas.
– Support Country Office to ensure the Theory of Change is at the centre of building and utilising evidence to inform innovations, scale up interventions, partnership, and advocacy.
– Ensure evidence generated through programming and research initiatives is packaged for decision making, program strategy development, and learning, including contextual dynamics of resilience, gender, disability, ethnicity, and geographic remoteness.
– Network and develop strategic partnerships with national and international research institutions and Save the Children technical leadership in evidence building.
– Establish engaging forums for reflection, learning and evidence-sharing within the Country, Region and across CO teams.

Capacity Building for Evidence-Based Programming
* Build capacity of country office and partner teams to generate and use evidence in program design and project cycle management.
* Work with staff and line managers to identify and support application of new skills, incorporating into ongoing work plans, supportive supervision, mentoring, and program implementation
* Identify opportunities to leverage external engagement of research institutions, consultancies, SC Technical Assistance, and the global Analytic Capacity Initiative towards capacity building priorities.

Knowledge Management
– Support the PDQ unit in establishing and rolling out Country Office knowledge management strategy and systems, with special attention to storing and sharing program experience, data, learning and results within a user-friendly structure
– Ensure a strong interface with regional and global Knowledge Management initiatives by supporting staff to contribute to and use global and regional Knowledge Management guidelines and platforms.
– Support documentation of the CO program by sharing learnings nationally, at Regional and internal platforms.
– Support thematic Technical Advisors/Specialists in the collection, storage and utilization of external evidence and research, including trends and reports, to inform program development and strategic direction of the CO.

Research and Evidence Building

– Provide input on proposal development to maximise strategic evidence generation against Afghanistan Country/Thematic Learning Agenda, through project evaluation/research design
– Ensure evidence generated through programming and research has advocacy & external engagement applications for the Country Office.
– Support projects and programs to develop reports and publications for advocacy that utilises new evidence.
– Gather and increase use of evidence (documents, studies, etc.) to advocate for replication and scale up of programs proven to be impactful for children, and lessons learned for programs.
– Oversee priority research initiatives, working with SC teams and researchers to ensure that evidence generation and evaluations are of high quality and produce valid, reliable, and relevant outcomes towards learning objectives.
– Collaborate with donors on request for research and studies on Aid Effectiveness.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL)
– Lead in strengthening MEAL systems in the country office to ensure a right fit for purpose to ensure compliance with SCI and donor requirements.
– Support the MEAL unit to embrace the MEAL sector trends, developments, and to adapt and promote introduction of new methodologies, innovations and best practices.
– Provide leadership in managing performance and professional development of the MEAL unit and develop team in line with strategy need.
– Lead internal capacity building for MEAL including the development and provision of trainings and mobilizing internal and external capacity-building opportunities.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)
Accountability:
* holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
* holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.
Ambition:
* sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
* widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
* future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.
Collaboration:
* builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
* values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
* approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.
Creativity:
* develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
* willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:
* honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

QUALIFICATIONS
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Education:
● Masters degree in Economics, Public Health, Epidemiology, Statistics, Social Research or relevant equivalent, with at least significant coursework in quantitative or qualitative research methods

Experiences:
● At least 10 years’ experience in social research, impact evaluation studies, leading/overseeing Baselines/Endlines, knowledge management and knowledge translation.
● Experience in more than one of the Save the Children priority sectors: education, child protection, child rights governance, child poverty, health and nutrition
● Previous work experience in Afghanistan or similar context

Skills:
● Excellent interpersonal communication and leadership skills
● Passion for evidence-driven development programming and interest in ongoing international research
● Demonstrated skills in designing and carrying out qualitative and quantitative research and using research to inform program design and advocacy.
● Demonstrated experience in developing or overseeing data management solutions, and familiar with technologies in social research.
● Excellent analytical skills and appreciation for the complexities of social research, especially as pertains to deprivations of children’s rights.
● Effective at collaborating and influencing across departments and sectors
● Excellent skills in training, capacity building, coaching, and mentoring
● Ability and willingness to dramatically change work practices and hours, and work with incoming teams, in emergencies
● Previous experience working in the field and understanding of Afghanistan Country program operations. Experience working in Afghanistan or similar context is a plus.
● Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s aims, values and principles including rights-based approaches
● Fluency in written and spoken English.
Desirable:
● Significant experience of MEAL approaches
● Significant experience research and quantitative/qualitative study designs

Application Information

Please apply using a cover letter and up-to-date CV as a single document. Please also include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/careers

Closing Date for Application: 16 November 2022
We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our global anti-harassment policy.