Programme Director – South Sudan

Tearfund is offering an exciting opportunity for an experienced senior professional to lead our programme in South Sudan. You will understand the concepts and be able to integrate development and humanitarian work, have a solid understanding of root causes to conflict and poverty, and are dedicated to localisation and work with partners.
The successful candidate will:

• understand the concepts of humanitarian and emergency work , and how to facilitate a transition to recovery and development in the long term
• have knowledge and experience working in Partnership, Nutrition, WASH, Food Security and Livelihoods, resilience programming including Cash programming, Gender and SGBV, protection, peacebuilding and disaster risk reduction activities

Tearfund’s 3 corporate priorities: Church and Community Transformation; Economic and Environmental Sustainability; and Fragile States are all included in the complex South Sudan programme, and implemented through Tearfund’s own operational team and local partners. Our strategy for the work in South Sudan outlines a continuing shift in our focus from emergency response to resilience and peace building activities with a strong focus on localization and durable solutions.
Based in Juba (but with frequent field visits), the Programme Director will lead the operational teams and partnership teams in different field locations, as well as the technical advisory group. She/he will coordinate and collaborate with relevant professionals of the Regional Office and Headquarters. She/he is the overall person responsible for ensuring that technical and international programming standards are followed.
She/he will support the Country Director in the implementation of the country strategy in line with Tearfund’s vision, strategy, policies and procedures and during her/his absence may represent Tearfund to the government, donors and the UN as well as coordinating with Clusters and NGOs, including our local partners.

She/he is a member of the senior management team. The role will involve travel within South Sudan, the East Africa region as well as to the United Kingdom.

Key Responsibilities

A. Programme Strategy

• Ensure Tearfund’s purpose, values and the programme objectives are communicated amongst programme staff to foster understanding and ownership

• Contribute towards the ongoing monitoring of emerging socio-economic, political and security developments, and the evolving humanitarian situation.

• Support the Country Director in developing and implementing the strategic direction for the complex programme

• Delegated responsibility for the development and outworking of implementation plans, and area specific strategies.

• Assist the Country Director in identifying and securing donor funding in accordance with budget targets and maintaining a diversity of funding options and ensuring all proposals are of consistently high quality.

• Advise and assist with defining the required team composition and structure for the programme in accordance with Tearfund standard structure.

• Provide strategic Leadership and Programme Integration between partnership and Operations

• B. Project / Support function management

• Oversee needs assessments and design of project concepts and proposals, including logframes, budgets and supporting documentation, in accordance with a complex programme

• Ensure projects are designed and implemented in accordance with Tearfund’s Quality Standards, PCM good practice, and reflect the priorities outlined in the Quality Standards action plan

• Supervise the Area Coordinators, Programme Advisors, and Church and Community Transformation Coordinator.

• in the management and implementation of projects.

• Ensure adequate monitoring, reviewing progress, reviewing beneficiary feedback, identifying corrective actions required and capturing lessons learned.

• Oversee the work of the Sector Advisors with equitable support to all project locations according to their need for technical input.

• Ensure operational work and partner work are integrated and aligned with Tearfund’s corporate priority on Fragile States.

• Facilitate the submission of quality donor reports, ensuring timely submission in accordance with required reporting formats.

• Manage the timely provision of operational updates as well as additional information to East and Central Africa -ECA region and UK Staff for fundraising, advocacy and media as required.

• Promote and encourage openness to welcoming feedback from beneficiaries and communities.

• Create structured opportunities to encourage learning from all staff,

• Ensure internal and external evaluations, reviews and audits are undertaken as appropriate.

• Ensure recommendations are implemented and learning is shared within ECA and in the wider International Group.

• Assist with staff recruitment, induction and training as required.

• Ensure good relations are maintained between the programme staff and support functions such as finance, logs and HR, and actively promote these relations as well as actively resolve issues arising, all leading to a smooth collaboration of programmes and support within the country programme.

• C- Corporate policy and compliance

• Ensure that staff are adequately trained on appropriate actions to take in the event of a security incident (e.g. immediate response, information gathering, incident reporting, pastoral support and lesson learning).

• Responsible for ensuring that the health and safety policy is understood by all programme staff and any accidents are recorded appropriately.

• Assist the HR Manager in ensuring there is comprehensive briefing and induction for all programme staff, ensuring their familiarity with Tearfund’s mandate, values, Quality Standards, policies and complex programme objectives.

• Ensure compliance with the Tearfund procedures for the development of project proposals, reporting, monitoring, evaluation, audit, learning, project completion and for compliance with donor rules.

• D. Team management

• Provide supervision, guidance and mentoring, encourage effective team work and inclusiveness and build a team spirit through regular meetings and events.

• Provide management support to direct reports in their management of others, and their implementation of role objectives, work plans and budgets.

• Implement Tearfund’s performance management system with direct reports and within the operational programme by setting objectives, review probations, plan regular catch ups, 6- monthly performance appraisals, development planning and conduct exit interviews for programme staff.

• Conduct programme staff disciplinary and grievance procedures as required, in conjunction with the HR Manager.

• Provide spiritual and pastoral support to staff where appropriate.

• Contribute to developing and model a team culture characterised by a shared vision, commitment and mutual accountability that reflects Tearfund’s desired corporate culture being servant-hearted, Christ-centered, compassionate, Truthful, and courageous.

• E. External representation

• Assist the Country Director with representation to the government, helping to ensure constructive working relationships are maintained to allow humanitarian programming.

• Represent Tearfund to other NGOs, Clusters, Forums, UN agencies and visitors ensuring coordination and attendance at relevant technical, sectoral and security coordination networks.

• Represent Tearfund and programme work to in-country donor representatives, supporting positive relationships and ongoing communications.

• As a strong leader, you will have substantial senior experience in development work and humanitarian response along with a proven and successful record of strategic planning and thinking; programmes and project cycle management, monitoring, learning and evaluation and fundraising; people and team management and development; operational programmes budget management; and ensuring compliance to donor and corporate systems and procedures.
  We are looking for a leader with vision, commitment and energy, someone who is a committed and who shares and supports Tearfund’s values and vision. If that describes you, we would like to talk to you! Tearfund is a faith based organisation and candidates must be sympathetic to our Christian beliefs.*

The recruitment process will include specific checks related to safeguarding issues. In addition, personal identification information will be submitted against a watchlist database to check against criminal convictions as a counter terror-terror measure.

Documents

• Programme Director – South Sudan Job Profile March 20202 – Google Docs.pdf (309.54 KB)