Program Manager

Women Now For Development is looking for a Programme Manager
Based in: Preferably based in Berlin, Germany
Reporting to: the CEO
Contract type: 100% full time; 1 year contract (subject to successful completion of 3 month probationary period included in the 1 year), with possibility of extension
Start date: as soon as possible in January 2020
End date: 31st December 2020 with possibility of extension

Background:
Women Now for Development is a feminist, women-lead non governmental organization dedicated to deepening and strengthening women’s role in Syrian and Lebanese communities by enhancing their social, economic and cultural participation. Women Now was established in June 2012 by in response to the conflict in Syria and ensuing humanitarian crisis. Today, we implement programmes in four Women and Girls Safe Spaces (WGSS): two in Idlib, Syria and two in Bekaa, Lebanon, reaching thousands of beneficiaries annually. We work in four integrated programmatic areas:
- Protection - Psychosocial support,
- Empowerment - Education and Vocational Skills training,
- Participation - Leadership training and Rights Awareness
- Advocacy and Campaigning - at the local and international level.
At Women Now we work from the ground up, to empower ourselves, and the community around us in order to bring about significant, long-term change.

Purpose of the postion:
The Programme Manager holds a pivotal role within Women Now for Development, guiding implementation of the programmatic strategy inline with Women Now values and priorities, overseeing implementation of all core programming across the organisation and upholding the quality of our work.
You will be adept at donor networking and partnership-building, and highly professional in your internal and external communications at all times. You will be an ambassador for the organisation – able to share your enthusiasm for our work and inspire donor confidence in our ability to manage crises when things go wrong. You will be exceptionally attentive to detail, experienced in negotiating contracts, ensuring compliance with contractual obligations, and producing high quality narrative reports. You will be able to foster teamwork and collaboration across the organisation, remain calm and bring out the best in your colleagues whilst they are working under pressure in highly challenging and unstable contexts. You have a strong track record of writing winning proposals, but you understand the importance of developing programmes from the ground up in consultation with implementing teams and being pragmatic about the limitations of the context, capacity and funding. The successful candidate will be a feminist to the core, and approach her/his work from the heart.
This is an exciting role for someone who is passionate about women’s rights and who wants to grow with the organisation in a strategic and challenging role.

Role and responsibilities:
Under the supervision of the CEO, the Programme Manager will work to complete the following tasks:

Line management/Supervision
 Supervising Programme Coordinators and MEAL Officers/ or Grants Managers
 Cultivating a positive team spirit, a culture of collaboration within and across teams, accountability, initiative and trust
 Identifying gaps in staff capacity and helping to secure appropriate training from third organisations (donors, partners, consultants etc.)
 Working with the HR Manager to recruit project management/MEAL staff as necessary
 Conduct probationary reviews and performance appraisals in a timely manner for your supervisees
 As a member of the management team, you are jointly, directly responsible for upholding PSEA/Safeguarding standards and the principle of non-discrimination across the organisation in order to promote social cohesion

Programme Management:
1. Overseeing the management of project implementation throughout project cycles and ensuring that projects are implemented inline with workplans and targets, or adjusted in response to changes in the context or needs
2. Ensuring that project staff report to you regularly regarding participant feedback, spending monitoring, changes in need, the context and other challenges. Supporting the project team in developing appropriate programmatic responses.
3. Where possible, providing technical guidance on Protection, Education (informal for adults and youth), Vocational Training/Livelihoods,Women’s Political Participation, Programming for Women and Adolescent Girls, Gender Mainstreaming, PSEA/Safeguarding, MEAL and/or consulting the Technical Advisors in Protection and Participation and/or seeking external support or advice.
4. Drafting narrative reports or carefully checking those submitted by the Programme Coordinators and MEAL Officers; following up with programmatic issues highlighted in reports, providing constructive feedback to ensure high quality work.
5. Supporting the Security Officer and Country Managers with contingency planning and risk mitigation
6. Keeping abreast of international standards and other guidance on Protection, GBV Services, Child-friendly spaces PSEA, community-lead social action etc., disseminating such information within the organisation and ensuring its application when appropriate

Programme Design and Development:
 Designing new programmes inline with the Women Now ethos and strategy, taking into consideration learning from previous programmes, consultations with implementing staff, feedback from participants, and needs (ascertained through desk-based research, needs assessments, or household surveys)
 Drafting winning proposals, logframes, workplans and risk assessments
 Consulting Technical Advisors in Protection and Participation (women’s political participation) to enhance and develop programme content and design, and to problem solve.
 Review draft budgets and ensure that they are appropriate for the proposed project
 Attending external trainings to expand your skills related to the role

Donor Relations:
 Maintaining positive professional relations with existing donors, donor networking and building relationships with new potential donors.
 Working to secure diverse and sustainable sources of funding
 Working closely with the Finance Manager to ensure that all centres activities and operational costs as well as core costs are fully funded.
 Facilitating donor visits and meeting face to face
 Negotiating adjustments to the programme with donors as necessary.
 Responding to donor enquires and keeping donors updated if it becomes necessary to suspend activities
 Checking and negotiating contracts; responsible for compliance with nonfinance related contractual obligations
 Working closely with the Finance Manager to negotiate budgets and budgetry reallocations
 Acting as a Women Now ambassador and representing the organisation at workshops and conferences as necessary

Personal specifications:

Qualifications,
1. Bachelor’s degree in project management, gender studies/women’s rights, development, human rights, political science, or another relevant subject
2. Master’s degree in a relevant subject (an advantage) Knowledge and Experience
3. 5+ years’ experience working in either Rights-based NGOs, or Humanitarian NGOs
4. Strong experience of managing a team, including experience of remote management
5. Experience of securing funding from a range of donors
and being responsible for donor relations and networking fostering positive relationships with existing and potential donors
6. Experience of managing grants and projects in highly challenging contexts
7. Proven ability to craft high quality proposals and narrative reports
8. Ability to monitor implementation and spending, and address issues as they arise through working with all stakeholders
9. Experience in developing new and creative programmes working within contextual and funding constraints, and enhancing the quality of existing programming
10. Experience of working on programmes specifically for women and/or adolescent girls
11. Commitment to advancing feminist values through working with communities rather than against them. Experience of working for/within feminist organisations/movements/campaigns.
12. Experience of working for/with grassroots organisations, major INGOs and governmental donors
13. Knowledge/experience of programmatic areas: Protection, Adult Education, Vocational Training, and Economic
Empowerment/Livelihoods, Women’s Political Participation
14. Excellent understanding of context in Northern Syria and Beqaa, Lebanon, specifically issues facing women, adolescent girls, IDPs and refugees, as well as Syrian refugees in the wider diaspora
15. Understanding of safeguarding and child protection, accountability to affected populations, the Core Humanitarian Standard and other international standards

Other ad hoc tasks.
Able to undertake frequent international travel.
Able to work outside of normal working hours on occasion.

Skills
 Strategic thinking and forward planning
 Excellent problem-solving skills: the ability to anticipate, preempt and solve problems (risk mitigation)
 Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Ability to build and maintain professional and positive relations with: supervisees, other members of senior management, board members, donors and implementing staff
 Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities under pressure

Language Skills:
 Fluency in English essential
 Advanced knowledge of written and spoken Arabic essential
 Some knowledge of Turkish an advantage, but not essential

Personal Qualities:
 Team-player – able to consider differing view points
and perspectives and weigh them professionally without personal bias; supportive of colleagues’ well-being
 Independent, able to develop and learn with minimal supervision
 Analytical, thorough and attentive to detail

How to apply:
If you are interested to join our team Please send a cover letter explaining how you fulfil the person specification, and a CV to: [email protected] as soon as possible.