Programme Manager – Health & Nutrition – Concern Worldwide

Job Description

Organization:	Concern Worldwide
Job Title:	Programme Manager – Health & Nutrition (1600)
Salary:	€39,911 – €44,346
Based in Country:	Sudan
Contract Type:	Unaccompanied Fixed Term International Contract
Closing Date:	31 July 2022

About the role: 

This is a 12 month, new role with unaccompanied terms based in South Kordofan, Sudan with 80% of the time scheduled and spent in the programme areas in West and South Kordofan: You will have an annual salary Grade 3 €39,911 – € 44,346

You will report to the Area Coordinator and work closely with the Programme Support Officer, and other ERNE (Enhanced Responses to Nutrition Emergencies) programme staff. You will line manage the H/N Coordinator, Finance Team, and System Team. You will be the key focal point at country level for communications with the ERNE Programme Co-ordination Unit (PCU) based in HQ in charge of ensuring the overall coordination and management of ERNE Programme.

You will liaise with the Concern Sudan Country Director, the Health and Nutrition advisor, the Livelihoods Advisor, the MEAL Advisor, the Global CMAM Surge Advisor, and other key staff from local and INGOs in Sudan.

We would like you to start in August 2022

Your purpose: 

To manage and coordinate Concern Sudan’s ERNE project ensuring alignment with the multi-country programme strategy and in line with grant management and monitoring systems set for the programme.

ERNE is a multi-country pilot project supported by ECHO to increase the scale, efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian preparedness and response for food and nutrition security in targeted countries including Sudan. The project in Sudan is being implemented in South and West Kordofan. The project intends to achieve its objective through 5 results:

Result 1  focuses on increasing coverage & improving the quality of treatment of acute malnutrition by strengthening the government health system to implement CMAM services

Result 2 focuses on avoiding severe deterioration of food security of most vulnerable households affected by crises by establishing early warning and early action and cash transfer

Result 3 focuses on anticipating, preparedness and response to nutritional shocks by piloting an establishing CMAM SURGE approach in Sudan

Result 4 focuses on behaviour change at the household and community level to reduce malnutrition

Result 5 focuses on sharing the lessons learned from the pilots.

You will be responsible for ensuring delivering of all the components of the project by ensuring timely delivery of the plan and technical standards of each component.   You will also ensure accountability and learning within the programme. You will be the principal focal point for liaison with the Concern HQ-based ERNE Programme Co-ordination Unit, the donor (ECHO) in Sudan, and other stakeholders. You need to be dynamic, experienced in project implementation, technically conversant with the relevant programme components, managing partnerships, and coordinating with government entities, partner organizations, and program stakeholders.

You will be responsible for:

Project Management

• Providing overall leadership, management and strategic direction for the ERNE project;
• Responsible for ensuring the ERNE project achieves agreed outputs, outcomes and targets
• Oversee the ERNE project administration, implementation and financial management to ensure that activities aligns with programmatic approach, budget allocations, Concern policies, and ECHO regulations and procedures;
• Provide direction and guidance to the ERNE project staff on compliance issues, procurement

Standards/requirements, and other administrative questions related to the project.

• Ensure consistency in understanding of the project log frame, monitoring, funding and reporting requirements for the ERNE Project.
• Lead the implementation of the work plans and ensure project responds to changing conditions and operating environments;
• Work closely with the Concern Health and Nutrition Advisor, and Livelihoods Advisor to ensure a comprehensive integrated approach to meet the program objectives
• Coordinate the development and implementation of the project operational procedures, adapting the technical resources and tools as needed in line with the local context.
• Responsible for monthly and quarterly project reporting, including progress on indicators and objectives reported internally and by local partners and for ensuring consolidation of Sudan reporting based on HQ Programme Co-ordination Unit and donor’s requirements.
• Represent the ERNE project at conferences, working groups, and meetings and maintain positive relationships with implementing partners, local authorities, and the various office teams;
• Identify technical assistance needs and training resources among project staff, partners, government counterparts and beneficiaries and coordinate the provision of technical assistance;

Human Resources

• Manage ERNE teams and support partners teams
• Ensure the direct management of Technical Managers under your responsibility by ensuring that the leave plans, evaluations (PDR) and training are consistent and up to date
• Identify technical assistance needs and training resources among project staff, partners, government counterparts and beneficiaries and coordinate the provision of technical assistance;

Financial Management

• Ensure conformity with agreed Concern Sudan ERNE project budget, including co-fund commitments.
• Responsible for reviewing monthly management accounts including transactions, providing monthly feedback by the deadline on any corrections, missing transactions and justification for over/under spends and preparing monthly forecasts.
• Responsible for quarterly analysis of the project budget, target settings and reviewing spends with Concern staff and consortium partners, especially on burn rate and variances.
• Assist in the preparation of the consolidated financial report as pert the contractual obligations.
• When necessary, take the initiative in leading the proposal/budget revision processes with local partners

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• In collaboration with the Sudan MEAL Advisor and MEAL Team and the HQ PCU MEAL Coordinator, support the roll out of robust M&E mechanisms, project monitoring tools and efficient systems to ensure high quality implementation.
• In collaboration with the MEAL coordinator, oversee the production of capitalization report including lessons learnt and recommendations for future capacity development based in project experience in line with the global learning and advocacy strategy for the programme
• In collaboration with the MEAL Coordinator, contribute to the drafting of learning papers based on the project implementation and share with partners and stakeholders, to be incorporated into future preparedness and responses.
• Coordinate with local partners to ensure the M&E system of all partners is consistent and will measure achievement against indicators of the project log-frame.
• Ensure that the crosscutting issues (conflict, DRR, gender, disability, ethnic consideration, etc.) are prioritized while implementing project action plans.
• In collaboration with the MEAL coordinator, ensure monitoring data is regularly collected, analysed and reported to the HQ PSU.
• Ensure the work plans are on track and report any amendment or significant changes to the line manager and/or to the Steering Committee as required.
• Ensure appropriate reporting tools are in place, if not already in place to ensure reporting formats are understood and used by staff and partners and provide the information required for high quality donor reporting purposes. Provide regular feedback on reports.
• Undertake monitoring visits to the field sites locations covered by Concern and partners and provide feedback to partners and project team and MEAL TA for adjustment and improvement

Liaison and Coordination

• Act as the primary focal point for communications with the HQ-based Programme Co-ordination Unit (PCU) including regular update calls, participation in quarterly co-ordination meetings, technical working groups, joint reviews and multi-country learning events
• Serve as overall communications/liaison with the Sudan ERNE Project Management Unit (PMU), implementing partners, and key stakeholders including government representatives of project area. (The ERNE PMU under the leadership of the Programme Director will be composed by the Country Director, Programme Director, Health and Nutrition Advisor, Global CMAM Surge Advisor; Livelihood Advisor, MEAL Coordinator)
• Liaise with other NGOs/INGOs, relevant government agencies and the ECHO country office to ensure coordination and learning across partners.
• Be responsible for the representation of Concern to consortium partners, donors, government, UN agencies and other NGOs in relation to the project

Accountability

• In collaboration with the MEAL team and Technical Advisors, be responsible for coordinating and documenting project activities (includes case studies, etc.)
• Ensure the programme is in line with Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) by ensuring the roll out of accountability plan.
• Roll out a robust Complaints Response Mechanism for the ERNE project in coordination with MEAL TA, in alignment with overall CRM processes in the programme area, included documented consultation and participation of communities, documented information to communities on appropriate behaviour and how to report, appropriate mechanisms to report, and active monitoring and response to complaints.
• Ensure local partners have appropriate CRM mechanisms in place.
• Communication, information sharing within the programme and promoting participation of staff, beneficiaries and other stakeholders to all the steps of the programme cycle.
• Contribute to relevant and secure spaces to archive good documentation (Server Folders, Yammer etc.)
• Actively promote meaningful community participation and consultation at all stages of the project cycle (planning, implementation, M&E);
• Work with relevant colleagues  to ensure that the Complaints and Response Mechanism (CRM) is functional and accessible, that feedback and complaints are welcomed and addressed;
• Work with relevant colleagues  to ensure that information about CRM, safeguarding and expected staff behaviour is disseminated among programme participants and communities.

Your skills and experience will include:

• Masters or advanced degree in Public health, Nutrition, Agriculture or other relevant subjects;
• At least 6 years of working experience in the relevant sector with NGOs/INGOs/UN with at least three years overseas experience and at least 2 years in similar programme management position.
• Experience in in implementing CMAM Surge and / or CMAM activities
• Good understanding of early warning, early action and cash programming
• Experience in building relationships with governmental organizations as well working with partners and in consortia;
• Experience of achieving results within difficult working environments;
• Strong presentation, communications and interpersonal skills and ability to interact productively with partners and stakeholders (community, government technical services and institutions).
• Experience in security management in an insecure context including remote management

We would also like:

• Experience in implementing early warning – early action activities or rapid response mechanism
• Experience in implementing cash transfer programming
• Experience in crops and livestock market systems and experience in implementing livelihood programs in emergency context preferably in Sahel region
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and capacity in Arabic language skills is a plus
• You to be able to work under pressure and to strict deadlines;
• You to travel frequently to rural field locations and spend periods of time in fairly basic conditions
• You to be able to work independently and manage a high volume work flow.
• You to have relevant computer software skills, including at a minimum, MS Office, etc.

All applications should be submitted through our website at https://jobs.concern.net by the closing date and CV’s should be no more than 4 pages in length.

Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be short listed on a regular basis and we may offer posts before the closing date.

Your Personal Data

During this job application, you will provide Concern with your personal data. Concern takes its responsibilities towards this personal data very seriously and is committed to complying with all relevant data protection legislation.

Concern receives a substantial amount of funding from external donors each year. Increasingly donors are introducing requirements whereby future funding is conditional on ensuring that the name of any employee or volunteer (existing or new), does not appear on terrorism lists generated by the European Union (List of person, groups and entities to which Regulation (EC No. 2580/2001 applies), the US Government (Office of Foreign Assets Control list of specially designated Nationals and Blocked Persons) and the United Nations (Consolidated List). Any offer of employment (either paid or voluntary) with Concern Worldwide will only be made following a successful clearance check being conducted on the applicant and such checks may be updated periodically during the course of the period of employment.

By submitting a formal application for paid or voluntary employment to Concern, you agree to Concern carrying out a clearance check as outlined above and that Concern will not proceed to recruit you should your name appear on any of the aforementioned lists. In certain circumstances, donors may request that personal data relating to employees to work on the activities that they fund be provided directly to them – so that they can perform their own counter terrorism checks. This may involve transferring some basic personal data outside the EEA. It will be a condition of your employment contract that Concern be allowed to share this information with institutional donors for these purposes. For additional information please consult our web site or contact the Human Resource Division in our Head Office. You have certain rights under data protection legislation. For more information on how to exercise those rights please visit www.concern.net/about/privacy

Please only apply for this position if you are satisfied with the proposed processing of your personal data as outlined above.

Concern Worldwide is an Irish-based non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.  

Documents

• 2022 T&C’s Band 3 Unaccompanied.pdf (31.20 KB)
• JD ERNE Programme Manager Sudan July 2022.pdf (76.32 KB)

Further Links

• Concern Sudan