Coast Region Programme Manager 328 views1 applications

For nearly 50 years, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF or the Foundation) has been partnering with communities, governments and other sectors to improve the quality of life. The Foundation’s work is rooted in core values of self-reliance, pluralism, and respect for human dignity. AKF is a member of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), one of the world’s leading poverty solutions networks. The AKDN’s integrated approach makes long-term investments, builds permanent institutions and cultivates an active civil society, impacting tens of millions of people annually in over 30 countries. Alongside its sister AKDN agencies, the Foundation implements innovative, community-driven solutions that are based in decades of experience, learning and evaluation.

Position Description:

The Coast Region Programme Manager (CRPM) will provide overall leadership and management for the programme portfolio for AKF in the Kenya Coast Region. Under the direct supervision of Head of Innovation and Strategy, the CRPM will develop strategies and project targets. S/he will be responsible for periodically adjusting and/or reviewing project progress and learning with the Head of Innovation and Strategy, as well as effectively developing and monitoring the work plans and validating the budgets for approval of the respective projects.

S/he will also oversee compliance and implementation of relevant institutional procedures, policies and systems by project teams and in alignment with donor compliance requirements and eligibility regulations in coordination with the operations team. The CRPM will manage project resources and funding strategies in the Coast Region to achieve their targets and maximise the effectiveness and efficiencies

Overall, the CRPM, will be responsible for initiating and setting goals for projects according to the strategic objectives of AKF, planning the projects from start to completion involving deadlines, milestones and processes and developing or approving budgets and operations. S/he will supervise a wide range of projects with the responsibility for the delivery and overall success of each project as part of a coordinated programme portfolio. S/he will supervise project leads and inform management on progress and performance.

Principle Responsibilities

1. Project and Programme Management

• Lead all aspects of the project management cycle ensuring high quality inception, workplans, implementation, and reports that comply to internal and donor requirements.
• Ensure all project funds are fully accounted for and financial reports and documentation are accurate and in-line with project delivery.
• Support project leads to write all narrative reports and review these to ensure quality and accuracy. Ensure all narrative and financial reports are submitted through AKF’s reporting structure on time and with quality.
• Effectively line manage, hold accountable, and support project leads to deliver impactful projects that are coordinated and aligned to deepen impact and collaboration as a programme portfolio meets the needs of the communities AKF serves.
• Ensure all project operations and interventions adhere to government legal requirements, internal policies, and donor compliance. Manage all operations to maximise efficiencies in management and delivery.
• Ensure all project management processes comply with AKF’s gender and social inclusion and child and community safeguarding policies.

2. Programme Quality, Learning, and Communications

• Ensure the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team have established and operationalise project M&E frameworks and tools within a programmatic strategic framework and deliver high quality M&E compliant with donor minimum requirements.
• Ensure all frameworks are gender responsive and data collection tools are integrated in project activities, not parallel to them.
• Ensure M&E team effectively establish a high-quality M&E data management system integrating ICT where appropriate. Ensure all data management systems adhere to AKF’s safeguarding and data protection policies.
• Ensure M&E team input accurate M&E data into all donor and AKF reports (quarterly, semi-annual, and annual). This will include the timely data input into AKF’s internal programme management systems.
• Apply change, risk and resource management principles to improve quality of programme implementation.
• Ensure data management system has feedback loops to enable all project staff to access and understand project progress and challenges and promote participatory project planning and reviews.
• In collaboration with M&E team, lead on ensuring project learning is effectively communicated internally to the project team, AKF East Africa (EA) senior leadership, and relevant technical advisors. Ensure this learning is responding to and promotes gender and social equity in AKFs programming and the broader socio-economic and political ecosystem.
• Collaborate with AKF (EA) senior leadership and technical advisors to establish and manage a gender responsive programme quality system to assess programme quality and project decisions, interventions, and proposed changes are informed by data and evidence.
• Conduct project site visits to validate project quality.
• Work with the Coast Advisor and broader AKF EA team to ensure programme learning and evidence is being effectively communicated at the local, national, and international levels to inform policy, practice, and broader education discourse, particularly with respect to gender politics, social inclusion, equity, and pluralism. This will explicitly include the communities and institutions in which AKF is operating.

3. Partnerships

• Manage operational partnerships with all implementing partners to ensure the timely and impactful implementation of all interventions and projects.
• Actively seek out and identify partnership opportunities able to increase AKF’s impact and influence on the Coast and in Kenya. Contribute to developing these into funded projects.
• Establish and develop, with the support of the Coast Advisor, positive and collaborative partnerships with government and non-government organisations operating in the social programming space in the Coast Region.
• In collaboration with the Coast Advisor, AKF EA senior leadership, and the Regional Education and ECD Advisor to establish and develop collaborative partnerships with government, non-government, and development partners at the national level.

Required Experience and Skills

The successful candidate must have a broad knowledge of programme management principles with a strategic mindset as well as be able to lead and develop their direct reports. The overall goal of this position is to ensure every project will be delivered successfully, while ensuring quality of implementation.

The key requirements are;

• Graduate degree in social development, international relations, political science or management. Post-graduate highly desirable
• Proven experience in managing high impact social programming in challenging contexts. Minimum of eight years of project experience, five in management
• Proven experience in managing complex and high-impact projects in partnerships with other organisations. Excellent planning, conceptual and strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills required
• Proven experience of managing diverse budgets and financial management capacity
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of gender and social inclusion issues and proven experience of delivering programmes that explicitly address these inequalities
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of child and community safe-guarding issues and proven experience of operationalising relevant policies and procedures
• Evidence of drawing on learning and evidence to inform and improve internal project delivery
• Evidence of developing strong partnerships with government, development partners, and no-government partners to increase impact and influence in practice and policy
• Strong inter-personal skills and working collaboratively with internal teams and project and non-project partners
• Ability to manage culturally diverse teams and demonstrate non-discriminatory behaviours
• Ability to operate with discretion and always maintain confidentiality of information
• Strong communication skills, written and oral, and fluency in English
• Strong leadership skills with diverse competencies in organisation, multi-tasking, critical thinking, and M&E
• Strong ICT skills and experience operating with Microsoft and emerging new software