Closing date:

Deputy director of programs

City/location:
Islamabad and field sites
Organization:
International Rescue Committee

This job posting has closed

Background

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

Scope

The Deputy Director Programs provides a leadership, decision-making and coordinating role on programmatic issues, both in the development of quality proposals as well as the effective implementation of IRC’s projects across Pakistan. With a focus on refugees, internally-displaced populations and flood-affected communities, IRC is currently implementing programs in five lead sectors, namely Protection, Health, Environmental Health (WASH), Education and Livelihoods.

A senior member of the country management team, the Deputy Director Programs leads on the development of strategies and implementation of programming in the three geographic areas where the IRC is operational: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Sindh.

The Deputy Director of Programs supervises the Grants Coordinator, M&E Coordinator, Partnership Advisor, Gender Mainstreaming Manager, Education Advisor and Internally Displaced Persons Vulnerability Assessment and Profiling (IVAP) Coordinator as well as the Provincial Coordinators for Khyber Paktunkhwa and Sindh. The Deputy Director Programs reports to the IRC Pakistan Country Director.

Responsibilities

Strategic planning & preparedness

• Support the implementation of the IRC Pakistan Country Program Strategic Plan, in line with IRC’s Program Framework.
• Oversee the development of program sector strategies, including the integration of cross-cutting issues of gender, partnership, disaster risk reduction and advocacy.
• Together with other SMT members, build IRC Pakistan’s disaster preparedness and emergency response capacity, as appropriate to country context, needs and operational capacity.
• Program Development
• Provide overall guidance and leadership in the rollout and use of IRC’s Program Framework.
• In coordination with the Country Director, pro-actively design and implement fundraising strategies, incorporating donor mapping and communication plans, to ensure program sectors are adequately financed.
• Support the Grants Coordinator and M&E Coordinator to ensure that high quality and needs-based project proposals are developed, according to the Proposal Flowchart and in compliance with IRC and donor regulations as well as within the parameters of the Country Program Strategic Plan.

Program implementation

• Support the Provincial Coordinators to ensure that program implementation is managed closely through the development of structured work-plans and approved monitoring plans based on project proposals and that expenditures are monitored monthly; with well-structured corrective action is initiated and tracked where required.
• Provide the Country Director with accurate and up to date advice of developments and opportunities in program and project implementation together with any necessary recommendations for action.
• Support the M&E Coordinator in developing, rolling out and monitoring the use of a country-wide M&E strategy and tools for the collection and analysis of program information (qualitative and quantitative) to inform all stages of the project cycle to increased shared learning internally and externally.
• Oversee the development of timely and high quality reporting by the grants team and program staff for submission, per IRC and donor guidelines.
• Coordinate donor visits, and support field staff in preparing and conducting these visits as necessary.
• Support the Partnership Advisor in the development of a Partnership Strategy as well as the development of required implementation tools.
• Provide leadership and support the Gender Advisor in integrating the cross-cutting issue of gender across all IRC Pakistan programs.
• Ensure the provision of appropriate technical assistance from IRC’s Technical Units, external consultants or partner agencies as necessary.

Human resources and staff development

• Provide supportive guidance and supervision to direct reports. Provide appropriate and timely feedback to staff regarding their performance, including timely implementation of the annual staff performance management system.
• Support the identification of staff development opportunities for senior field staff.
• Assist in developing job descriptions and in the recruitment of senior program staff (national and international). Ensure that regular and quality staff evaluations are conducted for all staff.
• As a member of the Human Resources Working Group, together with the Country Director, Deputy Director Operations, Finance Controller and Human Resources Coordinator, review/revise and develop appropriate policies and address issues.
• Promote an open, diverse and participatory work environment.
• Ensure staff are properly oriented to IRC Pakistan prior to commencement of their work.

Liaison/representation and coordination

• Maintain a sound understanding of IRC’s programs to be able to professionally represent the IRC and the IRC’s interests with implementing partners, government, donor s and other stakeholders.
• Assist the Country Director in developing a strong relationship with donors to ensure sustainable funding of programs in the portfolio sectors.
• Encourage and support improved program cohesion through coordination initiatives and information sharing with and between all key country program staff.
• Promote the IRC Pakistan vision and mission amongst all staff.
• Serve as an active member of the country program’s Senior Management Team and deputize for the Country Director as necessary.

Requirements

• Post-graduate degree in International Development, International Relations, relevant social sciences or equivalent demonstrable experience in relevant fields.
• Excellent professional track record with 6-8 years of overseas experience, preferably in a post-conflict environment with program leadership responsibilities. Successful experience working within a complex security environment is a preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically, prioritize and meet deadlines in a complex and challenging environment; must be culturally sensitive
• Excellent leadership, people management, interpersonal and negotiation skills and a demonstrated ability to develop harmonious teams in a multi-ethnic context.
• Strong diplomacy skills; ability to establish and maintain good working relationships with partners, donors and other stakeholders in a sensitive environment.
• Have fluent spoken and written English
• Strong computer skills: must be competent in the use of Windows MS office programs (Word, Excel), email programs, etc.
• Willingness to travel outside Islamabad to field sites under demanding conditions.

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