Turkey: Programme Manager

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAMME

Big Heart Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in 2013, filling gaps in the response to the ongoing conflict in Syria - providing humanitarian aid to conflict-affected populations including essential food and Non-Food Item (NFI), Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH), Livelihoods, and Education services. We specialize in the delivery of targeted aid to highly vulnerable populations in the hardest to reach and correspondingly most underserved areas of Syria.

MAIN OBJECTIVES OF POSITION

The Programme Manager is in charge of the effective delivery of Big Heart’s program in Syria. The role focuses on program planning, management design and development; reporting; and capacity building, in addition to coordination and representation as required with relevant partners and stakeholders.

TASKS and RESPONSIBILITIES

Programme design

· Ensure with the Senior Management Team that a clear direction, aligned with Big Heart’s overall strategy is formulated for Big Heart’s country programme in Syria - with clear objectives and a plan of activities.

· Ensure that beneficiaries, local stakeholders, and national staff participate (as much as possible) in programme planning, implementation, and M&E and that programmes effectively respond to affected populations’ needs.

· Oversee the development and implementation of tools and processes linked to the contributions of technical advisors. This will include rolling out organizational policies and delivery of staff capacity development plans with reference to core themes and approaches.

Programme implementation

· Ensure quality and timely implementation of Big Heart ’s programming in Syria.

· Working with the SMT, ensure the ongoing development/improvement and dissemination of robust policies and guidelines (Standard Operating Procedures / SOPs) for all aspects of programme implementation in Syria. These will be developed/strengthened in coordination with field staff and will reflect international humanitarian standards, including Sphere standards and the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) benchmarks.

· Oversee the implementation of all programme activities; ensure that programme sector leads develop detailed activity plans in line with the objectives of donor proposals and contributions by technical advisors. Ensure that those activity plans are regularly reviewed, in terms of actual outputs and financial spend, and amended as necessary to ensure the programmes achieve their objectives within the allotted time and budget.

· Ensure Big Heart is appropriately represented and participates in external coordination mechanisms including the relevant Clusters and Technical Working Groups. Raise the profile of Big Heart within its working sectors and amongst other humanitarian / development actors and donors.

Grants Management

· Working with SMT and relevant programme staff, proactively identify and follow-up on business development opportunities ensuring Big Heart’s country programme in Syria is well-funded with a diverse donor portfolio.

· Support the development of donor proposals including log-frames, narratives and budgets for direct programme costs.

· Contribute to effective grant management: foster accountability of key programme staff and enable shared understanding and clarity on grant objectives, activities, progress and any challenges faced.

· Oversee the programmatic inputs to all donor and internal narrative reporting, ensuring that all reports are submitted in a timely manner and meet the required standards.

· Working with the Grants team ensure appropriate and timely data is fed into optimum tools and systems to monitor programme spend and manage programme specific budget lines, ensuring effective delivery against programme objectives in line with Big Heart and donor policies and requirements.

· Work with other team members to ensure adherence to Big Heart and donor policies as these relate to all aspects of programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Leadership and human resources

· Support the SMT to ensure adequate staffing to meet programme objectives.

· Working with the Director of Programmes, supervise programme staff including performance management; provide mentorship, staff capacity development and technical guidance in their work. Develop clear capacity building plans to meet identified gaps and / or needs.

· Work with operations staff to ensure appropriate involvement of, and coordination with, operations departments at all stages of the programme cycle.

· Support the Director of Operations & Finance to ensure logistics, HR and finance protocols are followed by all programmes team members.

AOB

· Carry out other duties as requested by Line Manager.

COMPETENCIES REQUIRED

1. Languages: Excellent command of English, knowledge of Arabic is highly desirable.

2. IT knowledge: Proficient command of Microsoft Office (word, excel).

3. Personal skills:

Excellent management skills with the ability to quickly re-prioritize activities to meet the demands of the programme in a rapidly changing context;

Good interpersonal and facilitation skills, with the ability to lead teams to reach consensus on complex and/or divisive issues;

Ability to proactively engage with diverse stakeholders, and problem solve;

Highly organized with a logical approach to information management;

Able and willing to work the required hours (with periods of long working days, when necessary) to meet the needs of the programme.

Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

1. Technical / Program skills:

Strong grasp of all stages of programme cycle management and quality standards in humanitarian programming, including safeguarding and accountability mechanisms;

A solid understanding of BIG HEARTS’s sectors (WASH, FSL, SNFI, Education) and of mainstreaming principles, including gender and child protection;

Ability to provide technical advice, or mobilise technical expertise, on a broad range of operational areas to managers and staff;

Knowledge of, and commitment to, Humanitarian principles;

Excellent writing skills;

Commitment to capacity building staff and nationalizing positions where possible.

EXPERIENCE

1. 5 years of professional work experience with the ability to oversee programme planning, proposal writing, budgeting, programme implementation and monitoring and review of programmes;

2. Ability to lead and supervise staff;

3. Ability to work in complex and volatile contexts, including familiarity with the humanitarian context of Syria or the Middle East, would be an advantage;

4. Ability to represent effectively with institutional donors, UN agencies and NGOs;

5. A clear understanding of remote management constraints and challenges.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

Bachelor’s degree in economics, agriculture, international affairs, business administration, social sciences, development studies, humanitarian action or a field relevant to international development assistance.

Please email your CV and a covering letter at jobs@bigheart.org

Please indicate the position title in the email subject line like: " Programme Manager"

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted

Female candidates are encouraged to apply