Contract Length: 2 years
Date Needed By: 1st June 2015
New Post or Replacement: Replacement
Accompanied / Unaccompanied: Accompanied
Exact Job Location: Lilongwe with frequent travel to Nsanje and Nkhotakota districts and occasional travel to Zambia
Reports To: Programmes Director
Responsible For: Line responsibility to FIM Programme Managers in Lilongwe, Nkhotakota (NKK) and Nsanje Programme Areas, as well as a Project Advisor, Private Sector Partnership Advisor and a Food & Nutrition Security Advisor.
Liaises With: Concern Malawi Health and Nutrition Coordinator, FIM local implementing partners,
Social and Economic Development Unit Advisors, especially the Agriculture Advisor and the Strategy Advocacy Learning Directorate (technical and learning) in Dublin, Concern Zambia Accenture Conservation Agriculture Manager, Corporate Fundraising Manager (relationship with Accenture and Nokia).
****Job Purpose:****
- To provide overall strategic, technical and management leadership to the Food Income and Markets (FIM) Livelihoods sector in Concern Malawi, ensuring that the highest standards of programme implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting are attained.
- To grow the FIM programme sector portfolio in Malawi through an innovative approach to learning and programme design within the FIM programme
****MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (Including Training Role):****
****Programme Development & Management:****
- Manage the planning, coordination and quality of FIM programme implementation in accordance with project proposals, Concern procedures and donor contract obligations.
- Lead the development of FIM sector annual programme plans and budgets in line with Concern procedures and donor obligations.
- Undertake regular and detailed reviews of implementation progress against plans and budgets. Where necessary revise plans and budgets to maintain programme quality and progress.
- Devise and maintain results based systems of M&E to better demonstrate FIM programme outcomes and impacts.
- Ensure that lessons learned and best practices improve programme quality (design and implementation).
- Lead the development and delivery of high quality and innovative FIM strategies for information and communication management.
- Consolidate and submit high quality monthly, quarterly and annual internal and external reports on time.
- Lead annual planning and reporting of the Regional Accenture Conservation Agriculture programme (covering Malawi and Zambia).
- Develop and coordinate the implementation of a FIM advocacy strategy in support of “poor and vulnerable households achieving adequate and sustainable access to and control over resources to attain their livelihood rights”.
- At a national level maintain strong working relationships with key FIM actors and decision making bodies to advance Concern’s FIM advocacy agenda.
- Strengthen Concern’s FIM sector innovation and learning by forging and strengthening partnership relations with appropriate international, regional and national research institutes, e.g., ICRAF.
- In collaboration with the H&N Coordinator, strengthening the programme linkages and synergies between the FIM programme and the Health and Nutrition Programme.
- Maintain close working relations with appropriate members of Concern’s technical advisory and advocacy units in Dublin, especially the Social and Economic Development Unit.
- Source and manage local and external technical consultants in support of FIM programme implementation.
- Budget Management:
- In line with programme plans and budgets coordinate and consolidate procurement requests to ensure timely delivery of supplies and inputs to FIM programmes.
- Ensure FIM budget utilisation and asset management are in full compliance with Concern’s administrative and financial policies and procedures.
- Identify and develop new partnerships and monitor existing partnerships, through routine reviews of partners activities and partnership agreements.
Human Resources & Capacity Building :
- Review staff structures and job description roles and responsibilities to ensure optimal human resourcing of the FIM sector programmes. This entails, initiating the timely recruitment of appropriately qualified and experienced FIM programme staff.
- Implement Concern’s performance management systems to monitor and maintain and improve FIM staff and team performance.
- Facilitate the capacity building of Concern and partner FIM staff to maintain our ability to deliver of high quality and innovative FIM programmes.
- Build motivated and highly functional implementation teams through regularly support, coaching and mentoring of FIM staff and partners organisations.
- To actively participate in the Country Office Senior Management Team (SMT).
- To support the development and implementation of a Country Office strategic plan
Programme Strategy & Donor Relations:
- Continuously grow the FIM sector programme portfolio.
- Lead project design and proposal development processes in response to donor funding opportunities.
- Follow up with in-country donors, UN and international NGO partners on the status and progress of FIM proposal applications.
- Maintain strong working relations with donor FIM sector technical advisor in Malawi, especially with Irish Aid, DFID, the EU and USAID.
- Maintain strong working relationships with other international NGOs active in the FIM sector in order to maximise opportunities to enter into consortium based proposal submissions to donors.
- Source and manage local and external technical consultants in support of project design and proposal development.
Education & Qualifications Required:
Qualification Essential:
- A third level degree in an agriculture or rural livelihoods related discipline
Qualification Desirable:
- Post graduate training in agricultural marketing and/ or conservation agriculture.
Experience Required:
Experience Essential:
- A minimum of five years experience in managing and coordinating complex and diverse agricultural and livelihood development programmes in developing countries, especially in Africa.
- Strong technical background and experience in agricultural production and marketing.
- A proven track record in FIM project design and proposal development.
- Experience in building relations with donors and securing external donor funding.
- Experience of high level organisational representation, especially maintaining technical relationships with international donors, the UN, International Research Institutes and International NGOs and Government representatives
- Experience of developing and managing programme monitoring and evaluation systems.
- Experienced in management of financial resources.
- Advocacy experience at a national level.
****Desirable Experience:****
- Good knowledge and experience of incorporating rights based, equality and advocacy approaches across development programmes
- Experience in influencing government policy.
- Strategic planning
- Training and facilitation
- Experience of sourcing and managing local and external technical consultants
****Special Skills, Aptitude or Personality Requirements:****
****Essential:****
- Excellent English communication skills (verbal and written)Dynamic and willing to take initiatives to complete assigned tasks.
- Strong leadership skills and ability to manage change effectively
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, including fluency in written and spoken English
- Delegation, time management and prioritizing skills and coping with broad range of demands
- Strong Analytical and problem solving abilities.
- Empathy with Concern’s Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives
Desirable:
- Familiarity with Concern
HOW TO APPLY:
All applications should be submitted through our website at https://jobs.concern.net 2015. CV’s should be no more than 4 pages in length. Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be short listed on a regular basis and we may offer posts before the closing date
