Programme Manager Job at Save the Children

Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Save the Children is working in Nigeria because one in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday. About 40% of children miss out on school and have to work to survive while nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Position: Programme Manager
Job Location: Cross River
Employment Type: Full-time

Description
The Programme Manager will:

• Strategically lead and manage the GPE funded refugees and host communities’ education project, which is to be implemented in Cross River, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Taraba and Adamawa States.
• Be accountable and responsible for the achievement of the project’s deliverables and oversight of partner project activities.
• Be responsible for effective stakeholder engagement, including developing and maintaining strong working relationships with the donor, state and federal government and development partners working in the education sector in the 5 refugees hosting states.

Under the guidance of the Deputy Director Programme Operations and state team leads of SCI Nigeria and working closely with the Executive Directors of  implementing partners in 4 states Cross River, Adamawa, Taraba and Akwa Ibom, the Programme Manager will ensure that the GPE funded project is implemented in a coordinated manner and in line with donor requirements and commitments. The Programme Manager will be responsible for leading the 5 refugees hosting states teams and ensure timely submission of regular narrative and financial reports.

Programme Technical Oversight and MEAL:

• Provide technical oversight, guidance and support to state team and project stakeholders to ensure an understanding of the project design and donor agreement.
• Ensure the right approaches are being used in implementation of the programme activities e.g. common approaches implemented with fidelity.
• Ensure that the project’s quality benchmarks (QBs) are used during implementation and monitored as per the programme design to meet programme quality in consultation and support of MEAL team).
• Ensure effective programs/ projects monitoring and evaluation systems are in place, to ensure quality, timeliness and adherence to both SCI Nigeria and SC-UK policies and procedures.
• Effectively manage projects design and study processes which include assessments, baseline, and evaluation studies, putting in place a functional Activity Tracking Table.
• Collecting and managing complaints and feedback in close coordination with MEAL and project teams in the respective states.
• Prepare quality progress reports acceptable to the standards of SCI Nigeria and SC UK and meet the programme reporting KPI.
• Ensure the project is implemented as per project design and if necessary to change design, the relevant TAs from PDQ should be consulted for inputs and concurrence before project design change or operational modalities. 
• Ensure regular monitoring of projects results, documentation of projects case studies, lessons learnt, significant changes and best practices and coordinating learning and reflection meetings/sessions. 

Project Coordination & Operational Planning and implementation:

• Oversee planning and implementation of project activities, including reporting, tracking of Performance Monitoring Plan and implementation of the project work plan;
• Develop and maintain positive working relations with the federal Ministry of Education (FMoE), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), National Commission for Migration, Refugees, Migrants and Internal |Displaced People (NCFRMI), UNHCR, State Ministries of Education, State Universal Education Boards (SUBEBs) and other relevant Ministries of 5 refugees hosting states, Donors, I/NNGOs, local and community-based organizations and program consortium partners;
• Build capacity of government institutions and local partners during implementation of the project to ensure buy in, ownership and sustainability of project activities;
• Working closely with Director, Programme Operations, Director Programme Development and Quality, Head of Education, State Team Leads, Awards, Operations Team, Supply Chain, HR and Admin, Finance and MEAL to ensure quality programme delivery, documentation and reporting of progress.
• Programme Manager ensures project planning, development of phased budgets, monitoring, documentation and reporting for GPE funded refugees and host communities’ education project.
• Effectively support the projects staff in developing weekly, monthly, and annual plans, in line with GPE funded refugees and host communities’ education project design and Save the Children International planning guidelines and ensure compliance with the agreed work plans and that programme objectives and targets are being realized in line with the contracts/agreements with the donors and consortium partners.
• Communicate regularly with Save the Children UK (member) & SCI Nigeria (Country Office) to provide updates and progress on the project;
• Supervise the recruitment, hiring, and supervision of all project staff, consultants, and vendors/contractors.
• Ensure that project is implemented with the highest consideration to security and safe programming standards of Save the Children
• Provide guidance to the SCI and implementing partners through the planning processes to develop plans that are cost effective and in line with project Agreement.
• Maintain high standard of transparency and accountability during programme implementation while ensuring integrity and timeliness of activities implementation in meeting programme objectives, compliance with donors & Save the Children policies.
• Provision of regular operations and implementation updates on project progress and challenges to allow for timely interventions and corrective actions by management.
• Identify and effectively manage all key risks related to the project.
• Ensure regular update of all relevant project management tools including but not limited to detailed implementation plans, risk register, procurement plan, issue log, stakeholder register, communication and knowledge management plans, MEAL plan, indicator performance tracking tool and log-frame. 
• Ensure compliance with the requirements of Save the Children’s Child Safeguarding Policy to ensure maximum protection for children.
• Ensure that all project assets and supplies are maintained and utilized in a safe, secure, and accountable manner.

Finance Management and Reporting:

• Manage the Project budget in coordination with Director of Programme Operations, Finance Director and State Team Leads.
• Overseeing the budget performance to ensure that projects implementation is on course as per the detailed implementation plans and phased budgets. 
• The Programme Manager will conduct budget monitoring, suggest necessary revisions, and prepare budget revision for SC and donor approvals. 
• Ensure the realistic phasing of project budgets in line with the project activities for each month and ensure that budget variance is kept at minimum.
• Ensure strong financial management and compliance with Save the Children financial policy and procedures. 
• Ensure effective demonstration of value for money to the project’s donor.
• Regularly analyze the project’s financial performance and develop appropriate mitigations as required.
• Work closely with the project teams to ensure that partners are well guided, supported and their capacity built in sound management procedures.
• Preparation of timely and high-quality progress and end of project narrative and financial reports which are in accordance with the donor reporting schedule and formats.
• Review all programme financial reports ensuring that donor guidelines have been followed and high standard met, prior to submission to management.
• Organize and facilitate quarterly follow-ups and progress review meetings to address key performance issues from the reports.

Internal and external engagements:

• Ensuring that the program experience is represented and given recognition at programme steering committee, technical committees and stakeholder meetings, workshops, donor meetings, networks, and any other engagements. 
• Develop and maintain regular channels of communication with partners and key stakeholders at all levels (LGA, State and National).

Human Resources Management and Development:

• Working together with the Project Team to identify learning and development needs of the project teams and develop specific plans to address the learning needs. 
• Support implementation of the Save the Children performance management system, by supporting, supervising, and reviewing performance of the programme coordinators and other staff reporting to Programme Manager.
• Coaching and mentoring the direct repartees and project staff on the provision of technical support and implementation of quality programme interventions.
• Capacity building of staff directly reporting to them and other Project staff through trainings, coaching, performance management, implementation as well as in learning and reflection events 
• Setting and managing staffing targets, performance and priorities for staff directly reporting to the Programme Manager and other Project staff 
• Participate in weekly/monthly staff meetings, project teams meetings to enable adequate staff support for the project. 

Safeguarding:

• Ensure that the field office and all staff comply with Save the Children’s safeguarding policies in all project implementation and conduct
• Provide guidance to project implementing team and partners on safe programming
• Work with the project safeguarding officer to ensure that all activities have a safeguarding risk assessment and mitigation measures in place before proceeding with implementation

Qualifications
Essential:

• A Postgraduate Degree in Education, Social Sciences, Development Studies, Management, or another related field
• At least 10 years of accrued working experience in education programme implementation with a minimum of 7 years in a management level position in an international NGO or equivalent organization.  
• Minimum of 7 years’ experience managing complex international and donor-funded education projects.
• Commitment to SCI’s mission, values, and approach (includes gender equality, child safeguarding and equal opportunities)
• Demonstrated ability to assess priorities and handle multiple tasks simultaneously to meet deadlines with attention to detail and quality.
• At least seven years’ demonstrated experience in managing, coordinating, and supervising multi-location teams working with governments and development partners.
• Demonstrable understanding of Value for Money and donors’ results agenda.
• Significant project management experience
• Prior experience on education projects/programs
• Excellent budget and financial management skills
• Excellent communication and writing skills.

Desirable:

• A Degree or professional certification in project management
• Experience in business development/proposal development
• Ability to coach and mentor project teams.
• Experience managing sub-grantees or downstream partners.
• Skilled in influencing and obtaining cooperation from individuals.

Administrative & General Skills:

• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Strong analytical skills.
• Excellent computer skills (MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and Power Point).