Deputy Director of Program

Job Description

Background of Country and Emergency Response:

Months of escalating Russian hostility towards Ukraine have culminated in a concerted invasion of the country and the launch of military attacks across multiple cities in Ukraine, with a view to destabilize the country and provoke a change in government. Fleeing insecurity, Ukrainians are travelling west, with Poland establishing 8 reception centers along its border with Ukraine, for an estimated 1 million arrivals.

Between February 7-23, 2022, an IRC team undertook a scoping mission covering Poland and Ukraine to better understand the context, humanitarian and civil society landscape, and anticipated service gaps in the event of an escalation of conflict in Ukraine and consequent displacement into neighboring Poland. As of February 24th, the IRC has pivoted to an emergency response, and have identified partner agencies in Poland and Ukraine to facilitate immediate assistance that can be used where it is the most needed. Simultaneously, IRC/partners will launch a rapid needs assessment to better understand the humanitarian needs in both Poland and Ukraine and how IRC can complement partner response services either in breadth or scale.

JOB OVERVIEW/SUMMARY:

The position of Deputy Director of Programs (DDP) is a member of the Senior Management Team and is integral to the successful implementation of IRC's programs in Ukraine. Working under the direction of the Team Lead, the DDP is responsible for overall program direction and implementation within the program framework, government policies and strategies, and in compliance with donor regulations, specifically in the areas of a) grant management b) program development and implementation c) day-to-day representation with line donor agencies and local and international stakeholders, d) Monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning.

The DDP will spearhead the development of the Country Strategic Plan and also be responsible for supervising the Health, Protection, Economic Recovery and Development and Partnerships and Grants Coordinator. This position will work closely and collaboratively with the different departments within the country program, the IRC technical advisors and the IRC Emergency Unit.

The DDP will be based in Lviv or Vinnytsia with occasional travel to other locations in Ukraine as permitted and occasionally to Rzeszow Poland, and other locations for donor meetings and regional travel as necessary. As this is a fluid and rapidly changing context, the location of this position and length of assignment may change based on the needs of the program.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

Program Strategy, Design and Fundraising

· Lead the operationalization of the current IRC Ukraine response strategy and actively engage in strategic planning processes for the longer term.

· Ensure, with Coordinators, and HQ-based Technical Unit staff, that project design of projects reflects IRC program quality standards and industry best practices.

· Lead efforts for sustainable program growth, proactively identifying opportunities for new programming initiatives and emphasizing multi-year funding to support them.

· Provide leadership support to the program and grants teams to develop competitive, evidence-based and cost-effective funding applications.

· Provide guidance, strategies and tools to ensure that program choices are based on needs assessment findings (primary & secondary data) and analysis, input from communities, a thorough understanding of context, technical best practices, and operational viability.

· Formulate integrated program initiatives so that technical sectors complement each other and promote mainstreaming of protection principles and gender-responsive approaches.

Program Management - Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation

· Provide overall leadership and management of IRC Ukraine program portfolio, ensuring strategically coherent program direction, well-managed growth, and compliance with IRC and donor regulations.

· Continually seek out ways to build the capacities of the program team members, individually and collectively.

· Ensure that detailed, realistic and feasible project implementation plans are developed, and modified as needed, in collaboration with the Program Coordinators and Operations team.

· Coordinate with other members of the Senior Management Team on appropriate management, compliance and performance standards, as well as effective systems for budget management, knowledge management and risk management.

· Support programming staff to collect, document and disseminate lessons learned and best practices, incorporating these into new project designs.

· With program staff, develop effective and appropriate M&E plans, including methodologies and tools to strengthen the quality of data collection, analysis and reporting.

· Review M&E and accountability data with program staff to identify and address areas for operational improvement.

Grants Management

· Provide strategic direction in terms of development of a funding strategy, widening and strengthening donor base, ensuring quality grants management, ensuring compliance with donor requirements, ensuring quality information management related to programs/ grants, and supporting directly in all aspects of the proposal development and reporting processes.

· Supervise all internal, external and reporting with programs and finance, ensuring high-quality, well-written and timely reports meeting donor and IRC and partner requirements; conduct thorough reviews and/or revisions of all external reports compiled by the Grants Coordinator.

· Ensure that Program Coordinators and Grants Senior Manager conduct routine monitoring visits to implementation sites to ensure donor compliance and quality program implementation.

· Coordinate with the Program Coordinators and Grants and Finance teams to ensure sound budget management, expense control and timely contractual documentation.

· Support the Grants Senior Manager to lead Grant Opening and Grant Closing Meetings with all relevant department and units and to ensure they take place on time. Also ensure that programming staff are well trained to properly manage project budgets.

· Ensure that the program coordinators review BvAs on a regular basis; provide leadership and management support to ensure effective monthly grant review meetings.

· Mitigate any potential risk by collaborating with the Finance Department to ensure that programming staff fully understand financial and administrative processes involved in project budget cycles.

External Representation and Advocacy

· Develop a sound understanding of the IRC's programs to be able to professionally represent the IRC to implementing partners, the government and donors;

· Assist the Team Leader on developing strong relationships with donors, assisting with visits and in the development of appropriate advocacy actions;

· Forge and maintain solid cooperation with partner organizations through regular communication, cooperation and, where appropriate, joint decision-making.

· Act as the focal point for program-related communication between IRC country programs in the region and worldwide offices.

· Identify funding opportunities and track them in collaboration with the technical teams.

· Oversee programmatic inputs to advocacy efforts both in-country and globally.

Staff Management and Development

· Provide guidance and supervision to the technical coordinators as well as the grants senior manager and the Partnership Coordinator, discuss job expectations, set objectives and provide appropriate and timely feedback on performance of direct reports, including timely implementation of performance management system.

· Create a supervisory environment focused on the achievement of team and individual results that emphasizes the importance of learning, productivity, accountability and openness

· Adhere to IRC's performance management system, providing regular, timely and thoughtful coaching, feedback, performance assessment, and professional development for all direct reports, while making sure that they do the same for their direct reports.

· Build capacities of programming staff in key project management principles, tools and approaches and ensure that these new skills are utilized on the job.

· Manage recruitment, hiring and development of high-performing national staff to assume greater levels of responsibility.

· Provide leadership support for the successful implementation of and adherence to the IRC Global HR Operating Policies and Procedures.

REQUIREMENTS:

· Master's degree in Development Studies, International Relations, Social Sciences or a similar experience;

· Minimum eight years of management experience working in a humanitarian or development setting with a minimum of five years of INGO program management experience.

· Experience in managing protection, ERD and/or health, and experience working in partnership with local organizations, is strongly desired.

· Proven ability to develop winning proposals to public and private-sector donors;

· Familiarity and experience with US and European, donors;

· Previous experience managing programs financed by US government agencies, DFID, EU, foundations and private donors a must, with previous experience in competitive environments a plus.

· Proven ability to manage projects to completion on time, within budget, and with the anticipated results.

· Ability to respond to multiple priorities in a timely manner, producing high-quality outcomes.

· Demonstrated successful leadership experience with a multi-disciplinary team in a cross-cultural setting, including active mentoring and coaching. Strong leadership, motivational and team-building skills;

· Proven fluency in English is a must and Polish and/or Ukrainian is a plus.

Working Environment: DDP will be provided with individual accommodation. Some local and regional travel expected.

Qualifications