Back Program Director

Position: Program Director

Location: Kabul, Afghanistan

Duration: TBC Contract Duration

Reports: Country Representative

About RI: Relief International (RI) is a home to teams of humanitarian activist-professionals committed to transforming adversity into renewal for the world’s most vulnerable populations. By partnering with beneficiaries and communities on the front-lines, RI innovatively bridges the gap between immediate relief and long-term community development.

Position Summary: The Program Director will lead the Program Team in Afghanistan, providing supervision on RI Afghanistan’s portfolio, strategic leadership on program development, and quality insurance on Grants Management. The Program Director is also expected to develop an updated Country strategy and to contribute to RI’s representation towards donors and partners.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

Portfolio Oversight & Leadership

· Provide strategic direction and overall supervision on RI’s Afghanistan portfolio.

· Develop a Country strategy with key programmatic objectives and a fundraising strategy attached.

· Manage the Program Team, with direct supervisor of the Project Managers and Grants Management Unit.

· Provide overall development and oversight of program work plans (interim and annual) and budget forecast.

· Ensure timely mobilization of projects, provide monthly project/grant review and oversight, and provide strategic oversight throughout the entire project lifecycle.

· Liaise and consult with all donors, acting as the main representative and principal interlocutor for program and grants related issues.

· Manage partnerships with international organizations, local ministries and municipalities, and civil society organizations.

· Ensure sound administrative practices with regards to record keeping, compliance with donor regulations, communications, etc.

· Ensure regular, timely communication and provide updates to RI’s Regional Support Office.

· Manage recruitment of program team, as well as Grants Unit, and ensure that all internal administrative and HR policies and procedures are followed in accordance with established RI standard practices.

· Monitor project implementation to determine the extent to which goals are being met; determine action to improve achievements.

· Lead high-quality project design incorporating project management standards and M&E methods;

· Coordinate planning of activities across various projects from different sectors to ensure integration of program interventions and efficiency in implementation;

· Support the development of high quality proposals and budgets that are relevant and include input from key stakeholders (finance, operations, programs, partners, etc.). This may include leading needs assessments, compiling/editing of the technical narrative, incorporating feedback from a variety of stakeholders, writing budget narratives, drafting of required annexes, etc.

· Ensure overall audit compliance for program activities, financial transparency through supervision and direction of financial and administrative staff of the projects.

· Represent RI at high level meetings and maintain a suitable image for RI in Afghanistan.

· Develop a network with national and international partners and donors in Afghanistan in order to receive updated information on funding opportunities and identify synergies to foster future partnership opportunities.

· Work closely with programme and grant counterparts at RSO and GSO to ensure coordination and adherence to proposal timelines and requirements.

· Conduct field brainstorming meetings (e.g. co-facilitate program design and lessons learned meetings) and synthesize informational for technical proposals, competitive positioning, and strategic decision-making

· Conduct regular donor mapping as needed, collating cross-sector information management and drafting funding requests in coordination with the Program Director.

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS

This position demands a dynamic individual with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a demanding and fast paced environment.

• University or Masters degree, with 5 years of experience working with an international NGO.
• Strong budget oversight / management experience. The candidate should be comfortable supporting with budget realignment and identifying the proper coding/classification of costs
• Ability to prioritize and deal with competing demands.
• Experience in project grants management, including project design, budget preparation, expenditure tracking, monitoring and evaluation, reporting, etc., preferably for projects funded by multiple public donors, including USAID.
• Experience with successful business development activities capturing public and/or private donor funding.
• Excellent strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment and decisions
• Able and willing to network with external stakeholders and represent RI with partners and donors
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Team leadership abilities
• Presentation and facilitation skills
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions oriented and results-oriented

RI Values:

We uphold the Humanitarian Principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and operational independence. We affirmatively engage the most vulnerable communities. We value:

• Inclusiveness
• Transparency and Accountability
• Agility and Innovation
• Collaboration
• Sustainability