Regional Project and Programme Management Specialist

Role Purpose

The purpose of this position is to:

• Contribute to the success of Project and Programme Management strengthening work including supporting the development of a strong project and programme management culture. This will include developing material for project managers, providing virtual and on-site support to project managers and supporting project managers to access and successfully participate in Plan’s externally validated project management training.
• Contribute to build a high-quality project and programme management network of practitioners, ensuring peer sharing and the identification of best practices across the Country Offices that can lead to improvements in the quality of the projects and programmes in the Region.
• Assess Project and Programme Management capacity strengthens and weaknesses in the region and support the development of tailored capacity building processes and materials to Country Offices and Regional Teams.
• Provide inputs to the finalisation and implementation of a new global ERP system (Y.O.D.A.) including the project management module to ensure that Project Managers are able to manage analyse and report on the progress of projects and results in an effective and consistent way.
• Support Project Managers and Business Development teams to work in the Y.O.D.A. system including the project management module, to ensure Plan’s approach to project management is fully informed, transparent and effective
• Support relevant Country Office teams to develop and manage the relationship between projects and funds, and the management of funds, in the Y.O.D.A. system.

Dimensions of the Role

This position reports into in the Regional Hub Head of Programmes and Influence and is matrix managed by the GH Programme Delivery and Resources (PDR) team.

The PDR department is focussed on supporting our Country Offices to design, plan, implement, monitor and close projects according to best project management standards. We aim to support Project Managers to deliver maximum impact on the lives of girls and young people whilst ensuring that the needs of other stakeholders, especially our funders and donors, are efficiently met. The department does this by developing guides and tools to support project managers, by providing virtual, face-to-face and ad hoc training and support and through the provision of a Plan adapted vocational course (Project DPro), which may lead to an external qualification.

The Programme and Project Management Specialist will lead specific projects to strengthen Programme and Project Management across Country Offices, provide technical inputs to relevant regional initiatives and strengthen project management capabilities. Initially the role will focus on building the necessary capacities on PM and prepare and support the rollout of the Y.O.D.A. ERP system.

Accountabilities

Outlined below are the key responsibilities for this position.

• Support continuous Programme and Project Management improvement.
• Provide technical support to Country Offices, and the Regional Hub, including to implement the new online project management disciplines and approaches and to provide high quality guidelines, tools and upskilling as prioritised by Country Offices as part of the preparation for Y.O.D.A.
• Enhance programme and project management capacity of different teams across the organisation and an understanding of good project management at senior levels in GH, Regional Hubs and Country offices.
• Support the preparation and roll out of the new Y.O.D.A ERP and PM system functionalities within the Country Offices and Regional Hub.
• Support the transition of high quality projects into the new Y.O.D.A solution.

Provide high quality technical expertise

• Provide technical support to Plan International’s Technical Networks, specifically at Country Office level, including the development and testing of methods and tools for project idea, design and planning.
• Provide ad hoc technical inputs to Regional Hub project management needs e.g. Programme Quality and Transformation.

Drive continuous learning

• Promote and facilitate active project management network across the region with the aim of sharing best practices and lessons learned.
• Develop, promote and embed learning processes and practices across Country Offices.
• Contribute to drafting learning papers that capture lessons from Plan International’s work in order to inform better project management to improve programmes and influencing.
• Input into the development of Plan International case studies, to showcase insights and instances of success and failures in order to ensure ongoing learning and use of evidence.

Provide support to Country Offices and project managers

• Be available to provide ad hoc in-country and virtual support to Country Offices and project managers at all stages of the project (Idea, Design, Planning, Implementation, Closing).
• Be responsive to concerns and requests from other stakeholders including partners, donors and Plan’s National Organisations and provide support and problem solving as required.

Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

Key relationships

• Country Office Project Managers to provide technical inputs to the implementation of project management.
• Country Office Programme Managers to provide programme and portfolio management capacities.
• Deputy Country Directors for Programmes to ensure that issues at Country Offices with respect to project management are raised and addressed.
• Country Management Teams and Regional Management Teams including Directors of Sub – Regions on progress, capacity and status of project management.
• Global Technical Leads and coordinators to ensure that projects are well planned and integrate best project management practice, informed by appropriate technical experts.
• Country Office Project Managers, Business Development and Finance teams to ensure projects and funds are set up and effectively managed in Y.O.D.A.
• Colleagues at the Global Hub and Regional Hub with responsibilities to or dependent on good project management.
• Colleagues from offices from around the Plan federation with responsibilities to or dependent on good project management, with particular reference to RH and GH Finance and National Organisations.
• Colleagues from Plan’s Learning and Development team in support of the Project DPro course and the development of tailored training materials.
• Other organisations and forums externally, for coordination, collaboration, learning.

Technical expertise, skills and knowledge

Essential

Knowledge

• Expert knowledge of project management in development work, across a wide range of technical areas.
• Strong understanding of rights-based development programming, particularly in relation the major technical areas of Plan’s work.
• Significant experience and a strong understanding of processes, approaches, tools and methodologies that facilitate project management, and organisational learning, that is up to date with best practices in the sector.
• Strong understanding of the realities of NGO project management and limitations that impact project implementation, financial control, monitoring, reporting evaluation and learning.

Skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Able to develop appropriate guidelines, tools and templates for improved project management and implement them at scale.
• Able to develop global guidance that is simple and practical for field colleagues to understand and use.
• Able to analyse large amounts of data and generate powerful reports and information from them.
• Communicating complex technical project management concepts and terminology in simple language to non-experts. Writing in plain English.
• Strong collaboration skills, able to build cooperation and negotiate compromises.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Proven experience of using online technology for communication and learning.
• Ability to communicate in Spanish and English (French and Portuguese will be a plus).

Behaviours

• Listens to and consults with others with genuine curiosity and interest to learn.
• Co-creates with diverse staff across the organisation.
• Demonstrates genuine curiosity and enthusiasm to find win-win solutions when facing challenges and ambiguity.
• Facilitates joint understanding and the development of good practices.
• Inspire trust and support from others.
• Promotes innovation and learning.
• Takes responsibility for achieving significant results.
• Able to build rapport with wide range of groups.
• Demonstrably committed to Plan’s goals and values.
• Committed to child safeguarding.

Desirable

• Capacity in languages appropriate to the region will be an advantage.
• Experience in or supporting project management in multiple countries.
• Proficient with Excel and Power BI.

Plan International’s Values in Practice

We are open and accountable

1. Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
2. Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
3. Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
4. Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
5. Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people

We strive for lasting impact

1. Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
2. Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
3. Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
4. Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We work well together

1. Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
2. Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
3. Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
4. Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering

1. We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential
2. We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge equality in our programs and our workplace
3. We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives.

Physical Environment

Regional travel, approximately 40-50%.

Level of contact with children

Low contact: No contact or very low frequency of interaction.

Location: One of the locations where Plan International has a legal entity in the Region of the Americas and which you have the pre-existing right to live and work(Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Rep.Dominicana, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay or Peru).