Program Manager At Search for Common Ground

Team Summary

The Programs team has oversight on the management of restricted grants to drive impact and ensure compliance. The Programs team supports in-country Directors and Managers to effectively follow Search and donor policies and procedures regarding grant implementation. This function commences with the signing of a grant and completes with the final close-out. This involves monitoring, reporting, and where appropriate, engagement with donors. It involves oversight on both program quality and compliance, working in close collaboration with other departments, including Finance, the Institutional Learning Team, Strategy Alignment, Program Quality, Communications, and Human Resources. The Programs team aims to build and strengthen the capacity of program implementation at Search and with partner staff in-country.

Responsibilities

· Coordinates start-up and close-out processes.

· Manages the reporting process.

· Manages or supports donor communication.

· Monitors and enforces donor compliance.

Contributions

· Reviews all internal and external reporting, ensuring high-quality, well-written, and timely reports meet donor and Search requirements, with support from the Programs Officer and program managers.

· Ensures that draft reports disseminated for review and feedback by senior management team, relevant technical advisers, and HQ staff are of high quality and in compliance prior to submitting the final report to the donor.

· Liaises with donors and implementing partners regarding program implementation and compliance.

· Provides technical backstopping and deploys to country offices from time to time based on existing priorities.

· Orients relevant staff of all departments to donor requirements and works closely with all Search departments and country offices to comply with donor requirements.

· Leads in the selection process and due diligence of potential subaward partners.

· Analyzes the potential risks related to Search’s current program implementation practices and articulates recommendations for mitigation of risks.

· Monitors the compliance of a strategic portfolio of grants, working in collaboration with the regional and country teams responsible for implementing these grants.

· Conducts technical review of teaming agreements, subaward agreements, donor agreements and contracts to ascertain they are aligned to our internal policies and procedures and the deliverables are realistic.

· Monitors the program implementation and budget variance analysis of key strategic grants to ensure objectives are met.

· Participates in reflection sessions and discussions on adaptation. Facilitates support for technical assistance where appropriate.

· Supports review of proposals, budgets, and budget narrative to ensure completeness and compliance with stipulated donor rules and regulations.

· Maintains and updates a donor reporting tracker to track all upcoming reports and track timeliness of report submission.

· Other duties that are broadly in line with the above key contributions as assigned.

Transition

· Monitor the successful transition of the Sierra Leone and Guinea country portfolios.

· Ensure that Search assets are effectively handed over to registered local entities or are disposed of properly.

· Ensure all files and critical Search documents are safely stored or transferred to other regional offices.

· Provide follow-on support to new local entities.

· Capture lessons learned and best practices for future transition portfolios to ensure the ongoing legacy of Search following successful transition.

Interim Sahel

· Provide interim support to the Sahel portfolio while the Sahel RPM is on maternity leave, in line with the contributions stated above.

Competency Behavior Indicators (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

· Manages overall strategy and vision. Provides functional and program/project management.

· Anticipates and plans for needs and takes action accordingly. Provides guidance to direct reports or matrixed team members.

· Develops and maintains collaborative relationships with vendors, organizations, professional associations, partners, funders, and Search’s network of experts critical to the area of purview.

· Modifies a planned course of action in response to new information or new circumstances.

· Responds to changing circumstances and expectations readily.

· Articulates Search/function program/project goals and objectives within and external to Search. Develops program objectives that reflect broader Search strategies and approaches.

· Provides input for standards across functions globally within Shared Services teams and with a view from a multicultural perspective that reflects consideration of other cultures, other viewpoints, and other ways of doing things.

· Overcomes obstacles using ethical practices; formulates and evaluates morally and ethically justified solutions.

· Assesses risks and opportunities to lead decision makers to a favorable outcome.

· Checks the accuracy of one’s own and others’ work and sets up systematic checks and balances to support content and data integrity.

· Has knowledge of project management tools including technology as resources for efficiency and reduction of stress.

· Professional proficiency in both French and English is required

Type and Nature of Contacts

· Routinely coordinates with colleagues and consultants on-site and in the field and resolves problem situations with tact.

· Represents, as assigned, selected programs or projects and other organizations, including donors, vendors, and international and local partners.

· Interacts with the country office and regional staff.

Education and Experience

· Typically BS/BA with minimum 9 years’ experience.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

· Usual office environment conditions; ability to travel internationally at least 20%.

Closing

Supervisory and Budget Responsibility

· Individual contributors and typically do not supervise staff members.

· \Applications are received through Search’s career platform at www.sfcg.org/careers until 5 February 2022 (included).