Programme Director

About the role: This is an accompanied 24 month, replacement role based in Sanliurfa with frequent travel, including to Ankara, Gaziantep, and to project sites in NW Syria and with a grade 5 salary of €48,648 – €54,053.

You will report to the Country Director and you will line manage Programme Coordinators, MEAL Manager, Information Management Manager and the Programme Development Manager. You will liaise with the Systems Director, Country Financial Controller and other key support staff.

We would like you to start as soon as possible.

Your purpose: As a member of Concern Türkiye’s Senior Management Team, the Programme Director (PD) will manage and guide the development of Concern’s programme activities in SE Türkiye and NW Syria in line with the Country Strategic Plan and Concern Worldwide policies and strategies, ensuring quality, strategic purpose, participation and accountability.

You shall:

• Lead the strategic development and implementation of programmes in Türkiye and NW Syria through continuously improving programming methodologies and techniques.
• Lead the implementation of partnerships with local organisations, ensuring compliance with internal and donor requirements.
• Oversee the implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems in Concern programme in Türkiye and NW Syria, in line with Concern Worldwide programme polices, standards and strategies.
• Ensure the effective and professional management of donor relationships and grants and support the development of high quality proposals.
• Provide ongoing mentoring, support and advice to Programme and MEAL Coordinators and to the wider programme team.

You will be responsible for:

Programme Design, Implementation and Development:

• Lead the development of Concern’s country programme strategies ensuring they are responsive to the changing environment and needs of the participating communities. Concern’s focus in Türkiye and in NW Syria is on education, livelihood and protection for Syrian refugees and the local population.
• With the CD, lead the development of the programme strategy in the development, implementation, promotion and monitoring of the Country Strategic Plan.
• Lead programme assessments as required, in response to changing context or newly-identified needs.
• Support and when necessary lead emergency response programming for Concern as and when requested
• Facilitate high quality programme development processes through project concept notes, proposals etc., and by ensuring adherence to Concern Worldwide Project Cycle Management (PCM) guide.
• Promote appropriate and relevant innovations in programmes.
• Ensure the highest standards of mainstreaming by implementing Concern policies and best practices in accordance with the local context.
• Oversee expenditure on programme budgets to ensure programmes are implemented in a timely and responsible way, in compliance with donor budgets and requirements.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Ensure that programming meets high standards in terms of design, monitoring and evaluation through Concern Worldwide’s Project Cycle Management System, Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) accountability commitments, Programme Quality Guidelines and PME Framework.
• Facilitate programme launch meetings, quarterly and annual programme reviews and organise mid-term reviews and final evaluations in line with the organisation’s and donors’ requirements.
• Ensure that programme learning is captured through sound monitoring systems and that it is used to improve and adapt programmes.
• Ensure that the outcomes of technical advisor visits, evaluations and other recommendations and documented, tracked and implemented by programme teams.
• Develop the CHS Implementation Plan and other Accountability Frameworks and provide management and technical support to the MEAL department, Programme Coordinators and other relevant staff in its implementation.
• Promote joint planning and monitoring among programmes and ensure integration and effective learning across sectors.
• Ensure that reviews are documented and evaluations reports are in line with the Concern and donors’ requirements.

Donor Liaison, Funding and Reporting

• Work with the Country Director and the Desk Officer to actively identify potential new funding opportunities, to ensure future funding streams are known and developed to the greatest extent possible.
• Maintain and develop strong donor relations through provincial and national representation, as required.
• Ensure strict compliance with donor contract requirements/ reporting deadlines etc.
• Oversee the development of high quality and timely concept notes, proposals and reports
• Oversee the preparation of donor budgets to ensure that the timing and cost of planned programme work and systems support is accurately reflected, while taking relevant donor requirements into consideration.

Partnerships

• Oversee and manage the development and finalisation of partnership agreements and their management and implementation.
• With the help of the finance department ensure that effective controls and the monitoring of partners’ finances are in place.
• Serve as the national level focal point for contact with National Partners.
• Undertake further assessment of the potential for partner-based programming in the context of Concern’s country programmes.
• Analyse and evaluate the current partnerships approach and develop a partnership strategy for the country programme, including potential funding streams
• Support the partnerships team to identify capacity gaps and develop a capacity building plan for partners.
• Support the development of and design appropriate partnership relations as necessary.

Staff Management and Development

• Lead and manage staff, contributing to their capacity building and career development. Support career development initiatives of staff in programmes (especially national staff) to develop their skills and widen their international perspectives.
• Provide technical support and on-going on-the-job training and coaching to staff, including in particular a thorough induction at the start of their contract.
• Ensure that all positions have accurate job descriptions and that each member of the team fully understands outcomes which are expected of them, by setting SMART objectives, conducting regular Programme Development Reviews (PDRs) and that they are aware of the success criteria relating to their work.
• Ensure that all staff are aware of and comply with Concern’s policies and procedures.
• Monitor and review performance and hold staff accountable for meeting the success criteria; give corrective feedback where required and take decisive action in the case of poor performance.
• Ensure that work within the team(s) is planned and organised in a way which will meet the organisation’s needs in the most cost effective manner possible; ensuring that team members are given appropriate workloads and are working efficiently. Take an active part in the definition, implementation and monitoring of a staff capacity development plan.
• Proactively seek, receive, synthesise and disseminate programme relevant material to team members.
• Build clear processes in each programme to ensure organisational learning is prioritised and systematically used in PCM, external exchange and advocacy.

Representation and Networking:

• Engage with and support national level networks relevant to increasing Concern’s learning and improve programme implementation; provide for potential funding/consortium work;
• Participate and represent Concern in relevant sectoral Coordination meetings and technical working groups, as required;
• Ensure that relationships and formal agreements with the government are maintained and updated as appropriate;
• In consultation with the CD represent Concern and/or ensure Concern is represented at district, provincial and central level coordination fora as appropriate

Other:

• Lead or actively participate (as required) in collective exercises such as preparation or updates of the Preparing for Effective Emergency Response (PEER) plan, Security Management Plan (SMP), and Country Strategic Plan when requested.
• Assist the Country Director in coordinating and managing country strategic issues through involvement in decision making at the Senior and Extended Management Team Meetings and other Concern Worldwide forums.
• Participate and provide input to the SMT and CMT reporting.
• Take active measures to address equality issues, particularly relating to gender, in programme as well as in operational (e.g. HR, logistics, etc.) activities.
• Ensure the highest standards of accountability through ensuring good communication and information sharing within and outside the programme and enabling staff, beneficiary and other stakeholders’ participation at all stages of the project cycle.
• Be aware of, understand and comply with all of Concern’s policies and procedures (finance, logistics etc.).
• Be aware of, understand, comply with and be a model of Concern’s HR policies like P4 and Code of Conduct, and ensure that every member of the programme team is aware of, understands and complies with all of Concern’s policies and procedures.
• Fully adhere to security protocols and procedures and ensure that all members of the programmes team also do so. Contribute to on-going security management and planning as necessary.
• Undertake other related duties as may reasonably be assigned by the Country Director (the line manager for this role).

Your skills and experience will include:

Essential:

• Third level qualification in Development Studies, Education, Social Sciences or other related discipline.
• At least three years overseas experience in similar or related senior management positions.
• Experience of programme development, the project management cycle, budget management and participatory planning methodologies.
• Strong understanding of and commitment to the promotion of equality.
• Knowledge and experience of Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies and emergency preparedness.
• Fluent English (written and spoken).
• Previous experience of managing a diverse team of senior staff including international staff.
• Proven strong management ability, including the ability to lead and motivate others.
• Strong training and mentoring skills.
• Excellent public relations, negotiating and written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent organisational and planning skills.
• Strong problem solving and analytical skills.

We would also like:

• Turkish and/or Arabic language skills.

• Experience participating in and working under a Cluster coordination system.
• Previous experience working in the region.
• Previous experiencing managing programmes in education, livelihoods or protection
• Affinity with organisational values, mission and vision, commitment to humanitarian principles.
• Experience of managing multiple simultaneous grants from donor such as EU, USAID, ECHO, and UN Agencies