Program Area Manager Full-Time

The organization

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

Plan believes in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, Plan strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

Plan support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood and enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity, driving changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

Plan have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 75 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas. Plan aims to reach as many children as possible, particularly those who are excluded or marginalised; with high quality programs that deliver long-lasting benefits by increasing our income, working in partnership with others and operating effectively.

Role purpose

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.
Plan believes in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, Plan strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.
Plan support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood and enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity, driving changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
Plan have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 75 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas. Plan aims to reach as many children as possible, particularly those who are excluded or marginalised; with high quality programs that deliver long lasting benefits by increasing our income, working in partnership with others and operating effectively.
The Programme Area Manager is the leader of the Program Area and the position contributes to this goal by providing leadership and guidance to project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Program Area projects within the program Area in line with CSP, Plan policies and guidelines. S/he has overall responsibility to provide leadership in managing the programs and building a high performing PA. Results based management and effective program delivery is core.  He/she is also responsible for effective people management in the assigned Program Area. The position is in many ways a “Mini Country Director”

Dimensions of the role

•  Daily management of the Program Area, including programs, finance and HR and administration;
• Program development and fundraising, including drafting proposals;
• Effective program delivery on time and high quality;
• Grant management and donor compliance;
• Partnership Management;
• Build a strong culture of high performance, accountability and transparency;
• M&E and Program Quality control ;
• Supervision and coaching of staff;
• Prepare and submit monthly reports to the Country Director;
• S/he is a member of the Country Management Team (CMT)

To maximize overall project impact and optimize contribution of others the post holder will be required to initiate, develop and maintain a range of working relationships including with government and other stakeholders.

Accountabilities (But not limited to)

Planning

• •Directly responsible for planning processes related to efficiency and effectiveness in program delivery, grant management and compliance;
• Over all responsible for effective Partnership management in all projects;
• Overall responsible for strong M&E and Program Quality in all projects;
• Direct responsibility for adapting/revising the Program Area related planning  as needed, in coordination with the local context in the PA/district;
• Financial management and preparation of annual budget  for the Program Area and regular budget review;
• Effective preparation and management of the Annual Plan that provides a good fit with the principles and pillars of Child Centred Community Development and taking corrective action as needed;
• Coordinate the preparation of Community Development Plans/ area updates in the assigned communities in a highly participatory manner;
• Promote and facilitate community active participation in project design and planning, in particular the participation of women, children, youth and other marginalized groups;
• Coordinate with local government to ensure Plan’s planning targets and annual budgets are taken into account by the district development plans;
• Provide overall leadership at Program Area to ensure that projects are designed and planned for in alignment with holistic, life-cycle of the child programming;
• Ensure project planning with partners and key stakeholders in order to coordinate efforts;
• Ensure effective social mapping, wealth ranking and gender analysis is done in order to identify and include the most marginalized and vulnerable segments of communities.

Programme Implementation.

• Overall responsibility for achievement of the annual plans and planning targets and objectives;
• Ensure the effective application of Child Centred Community Development  as Plan’s human rights-based approach;
• Oversee implementation schedules as per the Annual Plan, and make adjustments as needed;
• Review and authorize Project outlines modifications and Project Completion Reports (PCRs) as appropriate and within financial limits and in accordance to the operations manual.

Monitoring and proper documentation of projects and country programmes

• Ensure that baseline studies for all projects are planned and carried out, and clear indicators for monitoring progress are agreed upon;
• Ensure all projects have clear M&E plans;
• Monitor project progress reports, SAP and General Ledger reports for informed decision-making;
• Participate in field monitoring, documentation and follow up of partners’ activities;
• Ensure quarterly partner/stakeholder meetings take place to review progress and coordinate plans;
• Regular field monitoring of programs and projects, Project Outline logs, Project Cost Control sheets etc. and take corrective actions as appropriate;
• Track grants implementation and ensure projects achieve targets and regular (quality) reports are submitted on schedule;
• Coordinate project evaluations and share findings and take corrective actions as appropriate;
• Contribute to Plan Mozambique’s Program Quality Enhancement efforts by implementing actions at the Program Area level.

Sponsorship

• Coordinate efforts with sponsorship department in enrolling new sponsored children;
• Ensure timely production and submission of quality sponsorship communications and making weekly updates, consistent with New Sponsorship guidelines;
• Review sponsorship communications for accuracy and completeness (involves reviewing a sample of Sponsored Child Updates (SCUs), Sponsored Child Information (SCIs), cancellation memos and letters on a monthly basis;
• Ensure field verification of sponsorship communications, especially cancellations;
• Provide leadership in the production of area documents SPAR, Program Area Overview (PAO) and Program Area Update (PAU);
• Coordinate National Office Inquiry (NOIs); ensuring quality and timely response;
• Oversee the coordination of community volunteers to ensure they are trained, equipped to manage sponsorship communications;
• Provide leadership in promoting program and sponsorship alignment and integration;
• Prepare and facilitate visits of sponsors and reviewing sponsor communications.

Grants and Resource Mobilisation

• Facilitate preparation of concept papers and grants proposals in line with approved Country Programs;
• Grants tracking, review of grants Project Outlines and consolidation of grants reports to cope with the considerable increase in grants portfolio that calls for additional efforts in grant management;
• Provide leadership and support for local resource mobilization initiatives with communities.

Partnership management for Local government and selected CSOs

• Coordinate well with key departments heads in the respective districts;
• Actively participate in the district budget conference meetings;
• Proactively participate in the review and planning meeting with community level structures and selected CSO partners;
• Ensuring partner project monitoring reports are properly managed in relation to POs, filing and systems requirements;
• Contribute to the appraisal and approval process of project proposals/plans of partners and ensure that funds for the approved plans are secured and disbursed on a timely basis;
• Maintain good relations, planning and coordination between Plan and other development partners in the districts;
• Facilitating partners to carry out organisational self-assessments (OSAs)/due diligence, and support initiatives to develop partner capacity where required.

Advocacy and Development Education

•  Take advantage of/create opportunities for advocacy and lobbying on behalf of children;
• Help develop the capacity of children/families to advocate and lobby on their own behalf;
• Contribute regularly to development education by documenting and producing relevant articles for production.

Human Resource Development / Public Relations

• Support staff (supervisees) to develop clear individual accountability plans and facilitate quarterly and Annual Appraisal of staff performance;
• Coaching, mentoring and counseling staff;
• Facilitate teamwork among staff by creating a conducive working environment and providing solid leadership and management;
• Serve as the primary point of contact and official representation of Plan Mozambique with the district and civil society partners and other stakeholders;
• Protect and Promote positive image through social responsibility and supporting the needy by virtue of PAM position;
• Observing Terms and Conditions of Employment and Code of Conduct as well as Child Safeguarding and Youth and risk management policies;
• Perform any other duties as assigned by the supervisor

Child safeguarding and youth and gender equality

Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Child Protection (CPP) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

Emergence response

Overall responsibility for PA emergence preparedness ensuring response activities are in line with Plan International’s standard policies and procedures.

Key relationships

• CMT members- for policies issues and enforcement, fundraising, recruitments & appointments (Medium);
• Head of Programs – programme management, annual plan implementation and operational issues (High contact );
• MEAL Specialist   – Program reviews / reflections, evaluations, documentation of key lessons and best practices, compilation of reports (High);
• Program Areas staff – program development ( design, implementation, monitoring / evaluations);
• Procurement, Security and Logistics Manager – seek project  related administrative, logistics and procurements (Medium);
•  Country Finance Manager – Review of financial documents in relation to project outlines, financial reports (High);
• Other Program Area Managers – programme consultations and synergies (medium);
• Human Resources   – recruitment, staff performances / appraisals and  management of staff leave.

External contacts;

• District Officials, Other NGOs, CBOs, Sector donors and partners- meetings and continuous discussions on program planning & implementation (High);
• External Auditors and Partner auditors – auditing implementation of programs (Medium);
• Communities – SC families and community resource persons/volunteers – on annual programme reviews, SC family visits, SC verification, etc (Low)

Technical expertise, skills and knowledge

Essential

• Masters degree in Social Science or similar;
• More than 8 years of leadership and management experience from similar positions;
• More than 10 years of grant management and project management experience;
• More than 10 years of experience working with partners (Civil society and Government);
• Proved record of fundraising success;
• Comprehensive experience in results based management and building high performing teams;
• Experience in developing strategies and designing project interventions including monitoring and evaluation on the project;
• Good understanding and appreciation of regional and national development issues plus the local context;
• A good understanding of  conceptualisation and application of child programming approaches especially Child Centred Community Development;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills including report writing (Portuguese and English);
•  Commitment and enthusiasm;
• Capable of working both on own initiative and as part of a team;
• Sincerity, patience, tact and the ability to earn the trust of others;
• Excellent listening skills and confidence in talking to people both in groups and on a one-to-one basis.

Plan international’s values in practice

We are open and accountable

1. Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors;
2. Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity;
3. Consistent and fair in the treatment of people;
4. Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them;
5. Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people.

We strive for lasting impact

1. Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations;
2. Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas;
3. Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises;
4. Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We work well together

1. Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate;
2. Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals;
3. Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities;
4. Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering

1. Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate;
2. Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals;
3. Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities;
4. Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

Physical environment

• Office setup, desk and a laptop;
• Travel to Project sites.

LEVEL OF CONTACT WITH CHILDREN

• High level: Frequent interaction with children

WE ENCOURAGE THE APPLICATION OF WOMEN

• Annual remuneration – Competitive
• Position location: Maxixe- Inhambane province
• Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.
• A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International’s Child Protection Policy.

As an international child-centered community development organisation, Plan International is fully committed to promoting the realisation of children’s rights including their right to protection from violence and abuse. That means we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. We must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

Plan International operates an equal opportunities policy and actively encourages diversity, welcoming applications from all areas of the international community.