Syria Programme Manager

Do you have what it takes to be a successful Programme Manager for our support programme in Syria?

Purpose of the role

The Programme Manager will play a key role in supporting British Red Cross on managing it supported programmes in Syria. The Programme Manager will need to have the knowledge, skills and experience as well as the institutional capability to be able to support the design, delivery, reporting and learning on BRC supported programmes. This role will guide, coach and strengthen capacities in the host national society to ensure sustainability and ownership of the programming, while conducting adequate planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting on the programmes to ensure compliance with BRC plans and regulations, in close coordination with the Cash and Voucher Assistance Coordinator and the Finance, Compliance and Risk Management delegate. The position will be based in Damascus, Syria, with travel to the field as required.

About the team

The bilateral partnership between the British Red Cross (BRC) and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) is well established and focused on jointly identified priorities in line with the SARC 2023-27 Strategy. National Society Development remains a priority in our Partnership to strengthen the humanitarian assistance provided by the SARC. BRC-supported programming focuses heavily on the use of CVA as a complementary modality of humanitarian assistance, aligning strongly with the nature of the earthquake response. On behalf of the federation-wide Red Cross Red Crescent Partners, BRC has also taken the lead in supporting SARC in a unified CVA response to the earthquake.

BRC will continue supporting in cash preparedness, cash-based programming, Accountability to Affected Population, strengthening Protection Gender Inclusion and safeguarding policies and integration of Gender based Violence into the different programmes we are currently supporting. BRC programmes aim to bolster up community resilience and early recovery together with Disaster Management.

The position sits within the Syria team, part of the MENA regional office which is part of the Programmes and Partnerships division which provides single oversight of BRC programme work and our long-term capacity building partnerships and disaster management. The department works in partnership externally with National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the IFRC and ICRC, and internally within a matrix relationship of technical advisers and policy professionals in other teams. The BRC office in Syria is managed by a country manager with a Programme Manager, Finance, Compliance and Risk Management Delegate, two technical cash delegates, one Programme Officer and one admin coordinator.

As a member of the International Directorate you will be part of a directorate responsible for BRC’s international humanitarian response and disaster management, support to resilience programmes and organisational development of our partner Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world. The work of the International Directorate also includes humanitarian policy and advocacy activities and upholding and promoting International Humanitarian Law. British Red Cross’ international work is carried out in coordination and partnership with the International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement.

About the person

To be a successful Programme Manager you will need:

• Comprehensive understanding of the current political, social and humanitarian situation in the Middle East, especially around the Syria Crisis
• Experience of analysing humanitarian contexts and operations, identifying pertinent issues, making operational and strategic recommendations
• An understanding of the various standards that are applied to humanitarian operations (e.g. SPHERE, the Red Cross Code of Conduct, etc)
• Ability to quickly, rigorously, and accurately write documents / reports and prepare financial analysis for a wide variety of uses (e.g. strategies, plans, terms of reference, MoUs etc.)
• A general knowledge of the key sectors in which BRC is likely to programme (i.e. livelihoods, CVA, DRR)
• Experience with the design and implementation of Cash and Voucher Assistance and Livelihoods
• Proven and considerable experience in the development and management of multi-million pound and multi-faceted humanitarian assistance programmes
• Strong staff management experience and clear evidence of leadership qualities
• Demonstrable experience of managing humanitarian, recovery and/or development programmes in the Middle East
• Proven track record of working through, and in support of, partner organisations (preferably local National Societies) including working to develop their organisational capacity to respond
• Demonstrable experience working in demanding environments to multiple deadlines
• Considerable experience of programme design, proposal writing, monitoring and evaluation
• Demonstrable experience of working with donors and managing donor funded programmes (FCDO is essential and DEC and ECHO experience are desirable)
• Experience with the design and implementation of Cash and Voucher Assistance

*** Please refer to the full Role Profile/Job Description for more information about the role including responsibilities and full person specification