Director of Programs

With over 70 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Come join our 33,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Employee Contract Type:

International Assignment - Fixed Term (Fixed Term)Job Description:

Job Purpose:

In consultation and coordination with the Response Director, provide strategic and field operations leadership for World Vision's sustained humanitarian and recovery response in Jordan, Syria, and Türkiye. Key areas of focus include program implementation and impact, technical quality, donor liaison, representation, partner liaison and localization and staff capacity building. The position will ensure strong strategic links, integration, and coordination between grant acquisition and management, program quality, field operations, and organizational objectives to achieve impact on child well-being. The position will also ensure that the WV Syria Response is accountable to all partners and that all work is of the highest standard, cost-effective, and adheres to the standards and policies of World Vision International and its donors.

Major Responsibilities:

Ensure Strategic Planning and Coordination

• As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, contribute to the overall implementation of the WV Syria Response strategy
• When required lead the development or review of the Syria Response strategy in line with Our Promise.
• Identify strategically aligned programming opportunities within the three national contexts and mandates, including accessing funding and partnering effectively with key stakeholders.
• Ensure the implementation of resource development and acquisition strategies and plans.
• In consultation with the Response Director, establish and maintain strong relationships with peers in WVI, advocating for the WV Syria Response, contributing to strategic meetings, and translating strategic insights into contextually appropriate approaches.
• Promote rigorous coordination and collaboration between field operations, partnering, grant acquisition, sector leads, and MEAL teams to ensure high-quality program implementation.
• Ensure field needs, assessment and analyses data, local context, internal and external funding, and donor priorities are all properly integrated into the WV Syria Response strategic planning

Ensure quality of Grant Implementation and Field Operations

• Provide overall leadership to field operations (programs) in the Syria Response.
• Facilitate program-planning process with other functions to ensure alignment with context, humanitarian and developmental needs, strategy, operational feasibility, and technical quality.
• Advise, approve, and evaluate operations, programs and area budgets, operations funding, expenditures, and accomplishment of program objectives.
• Ensure that programs meet internal and external Syria Response reporting requirements.
• Ensure that recommendations from audit reports and audit findings relating to programs and operations and program/project evaluations, including Real Time Evaluations (RTE), are addressed and implementation plans developed for the recommendations of the reports are in place and accomplished.
• Ensure quality line management to the technical team in meeting the program quality delivery, providing portfolio section analysis, following up on management, ensuring the strategic integration and quality of technical sectors, etc.

Operations Leadership and Management

• Lead the Programs team (Field Operations, MEAL, Technical, Partnering & Engagement) so that it facilitates a high-performance culture, openness, strong relationships, mutual support and respect, integrity, and decisiveness
• Provide leadership and coaching in maintaining positive, constructive, and supportive communication with all teams that fall under Field Operations
• Lead and participate in the recruitment, selection, and development of all key positions with the respective role and functions.
• Ensure implementation of World Vision's performance management standards and principles for direct reports and their teams.
• Ensure the successful implementation of humanitarian, transitional and developmental activities of the World VisionSyria Response, in line with donor requirements, internal policies and standards, and with applicable industry standards.
• Lead the program teams to a high level of excellence, including technical delivery and positive team dynamic (team morale).

Collaboration, Networking, and Engagement

• In coordination with the Response Director, Resource Development Lead, Advocacy & Comms Lead, develop and maintain good relationships with major (government/private) donors and World Vision Support Offices, including donor engagement (government/private donors and support offices)
• In collaboration with the Response Director, initiate and maintain regular contact with other international non-governmental organizations and Governorate officials, and coordinate information regarding current and potential future work in the countries part of the Syria Response, and stay abreast of context changes at all times
• Ensure internal coordination and collaboration by integrating field operations, program development, and quality teams.
• With the Response Director, seek rapid solutions for any areas of conflict, overlap, or inefficiency in the Response field operations
• Serve as the central focal point for WV Disaster Management (DM)
• In coordination with the Response Director attend relevant meetings at national and sub-national levels and when appropriate with other INGOs, local organizations, and high-level government officials.
• Facilitate the growth of WV Syria Response's program by cultivating good working relationships with significant relief/development donors (government/private) such as, but not limited to, ECHO, EC/EU, USAID, UNHCR, UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, GAC, FCDO, CDCS, GIZ, BMZ, and other relevant in-country donor institutions, NGO community, local partners and World Vision Support Offices.

Perform other duties as required

• In collaboration with the Response Director and Program Support Director, ensure that World Vision's security policies and protocols are implemented and monitored regularly.
• Ensure stewardship of the financial resources and people.
• Perform other duties as the Line Manager assigns, including acting as Response Director when required.

Required Professional Experience ​:

• 10+ years of proven experience with International NGOs in emergency relief and development programming, especially in fragile contexts.
• Masters's degree or equivalent in international relations, international development, or any other related discipline.
• Proven track record in a field related to humanitarian, development, advocacy, and campaign leadership
• Proven track record of delivering designated tasks on time and on budget.
• Proven track record of multicultural cultural teams in complex, culturally and politically sensitive contexts.
• Proven track record of growing and managing multi-million dollar budgets.
• Extensive experience in programme management and implementation of multi-sectoral emergency and development projects.
• Excellent decision-making skills and ability to take calculated mitigated risks.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and relational skills, especially in a cross-cultural environment, and ability to analyze and solve problems, persuade, network, and negotiate.
• Excellent proven track record of donor relations with multiple donors.
• Strong planning and organizational skills and ability to prioritize.
• Outstanding team leadership personality and skills.
• Computer literacy.
• Fluency in written and spoken the English language is required.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and time-management skills.
• Clear understanding and experience of the working donor major donor (traditional, non-traditional, contractors, and private sector entities), their perspectives, requirements, and standards.
• Proven track record working with commercial contracts and with development and humanitarian contractors.
• Must be able to represent World Vision to major program donors in a highly professional manner and writing.

Required Education, training, license, registration, and certification:

• Master's degree in humanitarian aid, international development, economics, rural development, social sciences or related field.

Preferred Knowledge and Qualifications:

• Good knowledge and understanding of aspects of humanitarian aid/emergency relief and development work, including Education, Protection, Health, Livelihoods, WASH, Faith and Development, GESI and Social Cohesion.
• Experience working in a crisis operation
• A full commitment to World Vision's core values and humanitarian mandate.
• Adherence to World Vision Child Protection, Code of Conduct, and Conflict of Interest policies.
• Full adherence to security protocols
• Understanding of WV operations and strong field acumen

Travel and/or Work Environment Requirement:

30 % travel required locally and internationally.

Language Requirements:

English required, Arabic an advantage but not a requirement

Application deadline : 20th March 2024

Applicant Types Accepted:

Local and International Applicants (IA's) Accepted