CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3:  the role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work in country programs; or are visiting country programs; ore because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

ROLE PURPOSE:

As a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), Programs Director has a significant share in the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the Programs.  The incumbent is responsible for the strategic leadership of long-term development programs and humanitarian preparedness, ensuring the design and implementation of innovative and contextually relevant programs that address the rights and needs of children across diverse contexts.   S/he plays a key role in defining and pursuing the strategic direction for Save the Children’s programs in Pakistan, ensuring the relevance, coherence, quality, safety and impact of our programs for children in all contexts. The role includes leading a small team of technical experts to develop cutting-edge, scalable prgramming solutions and strengthening cross-sectoral integration to ensure sustainable impact.  It is essential that the incumbent builds and maintains strong relationships across functions within the CO, including with team members from Support Services and s/he should lead by example in demonstrating this cross-functional collaboration. He/she will be also working very closely with the Business Partners of Global Team.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Country Director

Number of direct reports: Supply Chain Senior Coordinator, Senior Manager PQEI and NBD, Area Managers, Project Manager ECW, Project Manager UNICEF CP & Nutrition, Project Manager CEFM, Programme Operations Coordinator GFFO

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

As a member of the Senior Management Team:

• Provide the leadership for Program Implementation and contribute to country office leadership.
• Support the development of an organisational culture that reflects our values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation, and frees up our people to deliver outstanding results for children and excellent customer service for our Members and donors
• Help establish, maintain, and improve active and regular working relationships with: government, donors, partners including major institutional donors, and local and international NGOs
• Provide the leadership to implement the Country Strategic Plan under the guidance of the Country Director support the implementation and follow up of CO KPI Improvement plan, Audit recommendations and other general CO Risk management plans and Quality Self-Assessment Process
• Contribute to strategic development and delivery of programming, in both humanitarian and development contexts, in line with the Save the Children mandate, strategy and theory of change.
• Contribute to global knowledge and learning in Save the Children.
• Working closely with Snr. Manager PQIE & NBD to ensure quality proposal and field operations dynamic to be factored in the proposals.
• Ensure CO progress  is well aligned with the KPIs around Operations, PQIE, NBD, supply chain  especially.

Strategy, Planning & Reporting

• Lead the development/updating of the Child Rights Situation Analysis, including analysis of country context and taking into account child rights principles, ensuring participation and buy-in from all relevant staff, partners and other stakeholders as necessary
• Lead the SMT to develop/update and drive forward the Country Strategy Plan (CSP) that is in line with the global strategy, Ambition 2030, with child rights at the core of all programming and advocacy work.
• Provide leadership on development of the Country Annual Plan, monitoring of progress against the plan, and completion of accurate, on-time Country Annual Report of outcomes and impact for children, aligned with the Global Results Framework.
• Facilitate the development and pursuit of thematic and cross-cutting strategic priorities in line with the CSP, including gender equality and Save the Children’s Common Approaches, to guide current and future SC programming and Humanitarian Strategies.
• Drive strategic thinking that incorporates emerging trends in development financing, including engagement with non-traditional donors and innovative financing mechanisms. Lead efforts to position Save the Children as a partner of choice for institutional donors, private sector partners, and global funding mechanisms.  
• Support ownership and commitment to the Country Office strategy by all staff and departments through clear communication, regular feedback on progress and engagement of all functions in updates.
• Participate in global discussions and working groups to represent country office, and the voice of children, in strategy design and technical leadership.
• Support change processes and roll-out new ways of working in support of the CSP.
• Drive strategic thinking that is underpinned by thought leadership & Innovation.
• Support CD to provide leadership and direction for the country office to become a Learning Organization.

Oversight and Management of Programs

• Responsible for ensuring Save the Children delivers high-quality, evidence based programs through robust technical leadership. Lead efforts to design and implement innovative and scalable program models, leveraging global best practices and local knowledge, in line with the objectives of the country strategy
• Work closely with the New Business Development (NBD) team to identify, pursue, and secure funding opportunities from bilateral and multilateral donors, UN agencies, and global vertical funds.
• In collaboration with the SMT, define and implement a cost effective, efficient and sustainable operating model, including defining and developing the role of Save the Children and its partners.
• Serve as overall budget holder for most programming; manage and support budget holders for individual projects and grants
• Ensure programs are implemented in ways responsive to the communities, and children in line with Save the Children principles, values and strategic plan and following Save the Children compliance procedures. This includes working with government and national NGO-partners to strengthen national capacity
• Ensure preparation of timely and high quality progress reports, program reports, and donor reports
• Oversee all field offices and ensure all relevant SCI processes and procedures are in place with the support of the various heads of departments.
• Ensure systems are in place to monitor on-time, high-quality, sustainable delivery of programs (including regular spot checks of Field Offices)
• Support Country Director to coordinate with all relevant functional leads to make sure all the SCI KPIs are within the acceptable variance. .
• In close coordination with the members of Senior Management Team participate in program proposal process and ensure that all programs progress in accordance with grant agreements, are completed within time and on budget
• Support the Country Director in conceptualizing and designing cost effective, innovative and high quality programs to serve difficult to reach children

Provision of Technical Assistance

• Provide strategic leadership to technical advisors in thematic areas, ensuring programs are innovative, evidence-driven, and responsive to the evolving needs of children and communities.
• Ensure provision of high-quality technical assistance through the thematic leadership unit to all programmes
• Ensure appropriate coordination between the thematic leadership unit and field operations
• Ensure appropriate levels of technical assistance and advice are provided to partners.

Budget Management

• Ensure expenditure is authorized in accordance with the budget authorization procedures within the scheme of delegation. (SoD) 
• Monitor for significant variances between budget and actual expenditure   
• Ensure appropriate action is taken for budget under/overutilization identified working closely with relevant project managers/lead, Award  and Finance
• Ensure that budget holders under direct report prepare reports on financial performance of their award as required either by donors or by other, internal demands.

Humanitarian Response Management

• Strengthen the Pakistan CO organisational readiness to respond to emergencies in line with global SCI humanitarian goal and benchmarks
• Ensure that the CO designs, updates and implements a full set of humanitarian preparedness actions, drawing on SC member input and resources
• Mount appropriate and timely responses at scale to all emergencies consistent with established benchmarks, plans and organizational policies, and in close cooperation with incoming surge teams
• Ensure that all CO staff across departments and sub offices are familiar with, adhere to and implement the procedures and processes detailed in the Rules and Principles for humanitarian response
• In coordination with Country Director and Director ACCM maintain consistent and coherent engagement in key inter-agency emergency preparedness and response coordination mechanisms including the Cluster system

Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development – Programs

• Ensure appropriate staffing within programs, including Project based Staff, PQEI and NBD, MEAL, and Supply Chain.
• Ensure that all direct reports understand and are able to perform their role and support as needed
• Manage programs, PQEI, NBD, MEAL teams; define expectations, provide leadership and technical support as needed, and evaluate direct reports regularly
• Ensure the recruitment, training, and promotion of staff as appropriate and ensure availability of appropriate professional development opportunities for staff and implement the talent review program

Representation and Networking

• Proactively seek and maintain, active and regular working relationships with - host government authorities, development, humanitarian and corporate donors and partner agencies (e.g., USAID /BHA, FCDO, DEC, EC /EU, ECHO, SIDA, SDC, FFO, Danida, CIDA and embassies, etc.), the UN system, and local and international NGOs etc.
• Interact regularly with the international donor and NGO community to ensure awareness of SC programmes and to collect up to date information about the plans and programs of other actors

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Recommended 10+ years of experience in non-profit environment, including senior leadership experience and field operations experience ideally running both emergency and development programs.
• Excellent conceptual and analytical skills, effective negotiator, with the ability to positively influence cross departmental and cross sectoral working relationship.
• Experience of solving complex issues through analysis, definition of a clear way forward and ensuring buy-in.
• Demonstrated experience working on complex, multi-partner projects in an international setting.
• Master’s degree in development or other social sciences or relevant degree plus experience.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills; excellent people management skills, experience of managing and developing a team.
• Demonstrable experience in engaging with non-traditional donors, including private sector entities, vertical funds, and blended finance mechanisms. Proven track record in designing and implementing programs for diverse donor portfolios including USAID, EU, Nordic donors, and UN agencies.
• Experience in leading resource mobilisation teams for large-scale development funding, with a successful track record in securing multimillion dollar grants.
• Excellent external representation skills at high level with the government, donors and other partners.
• Solid project management skills related to organisational development projects and international, cross-functional teams with a proven history of delivering results.
• Significant knowledge of international humanitarian and development systems, institutions and donors, and of procedures, accountability frameworks and best practices in emergency management.
• Ability to think creatively to solve problems with effective and efficient ways to accomplish goals.
• Ability to make decisions, work under pressure on a number of competing tasks meeting deadlines.
• Ability to work successfully in a complex political environment and on sensitive issues.
• Flexible and adaptable to dynamic changes and fast-paced work environment.
• Good understanding of sectoral programs (i.e. Education, Livelihoods, WASH, Child Protection, Health & Nutrition) and a working knowledge of the program priorities of the Country Office.
• An in-depth understanding of national and international development issues in particular in relation to children
• Willingness to travel to implementation sites for technical monitoring and supervision visits.
• Ability and willingness to change work practices and hours, and work with incoming teams in the event of major emergencies.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s aims, values and principles including rights-based approaches.

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI’s global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Gender Equality Policies, supported by relevant procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Safeguarding our Staff:

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy.

Health and Safety:

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.

Save the Children holds its Safeguarding principles and policies with high importance and commits to rigorous procedures to ensure all our personnel and programs are safe, particularly for children. All candidates will, therefore, be subject to strict background checks.

Qualified candidates from minorities, indigenous groups, women and people with disabilities are highly encouraged to apply.