Head of programme support and impact

Job Summary

• To improve technical quality and timely delivery of Plan UK’S programme work within agreed thematic areas which are currently the overarching themes of governance, resilience and gender in the areas of education, household economic security, reproductive health, community led total sanitation, disaster risk reduction including adaptation to climate change and disaster risk management.
• Represent Plan UK to appropriate Plan global programme & policy meeting contributing to the development and impact of Plan’s work.
• Take joint responsibility for ensuring planning and delivery of strategic objectives with other key Heads of Units particularly Campaigns, Advocacy Communications, Fundraising and Institutional donors
• Ensure monitoring of the impact of Plan UK’s work on children’s lives rights and lives
• Raise the profile and impact of Plan’s programme work through ensuring Plan is represented in appropriate thematic networks to exchange and disseminate learning and  influencing policy throughout the development sector
• Representation to and securing partnerships with key development actors in thematic areas briefings, papers and publications
• Support Plan UK fundraisers through advising on appropriate programmes and giving technical input to fundraising proposals

Department Purpose

To achieve programme impact through monitoring and evaluation of lessons learnt and good practice leading to better programme delivery and increased funding support by:

• Ensuring Plan UK has a coherent, relevant and innovative programme from which we learn, share and promote change to realize Plan’s mission and promote awareness of Plan’s work.
• Providing technical support and thought leadership to all Plan UK departments and contribute to Plan’s global technical capability
• Collaboration in the design, development and submission of and reporting against grants awarded by institutional donors.
• Manage strategic grants secured by plan UK on behalf of the global organization.
• Monitoring Plan UK’s programme portfolio and sharing learning, support the development of policy and advocacy positions, contributing towards publications and representing Plan’s programmes work to a range of audiences to promote awareness of Plan’s mission

The Programme Department’s five year strategy enables us to develop our expertise and programme equality through a team of thematic specialists who inform, guide and lead the department and organization in their respective areas. In particular we will increase our global impact and build support for development and awareness of Plan’s contribution todevelopment through our focus on girls, young citizens and supporting resilience within the communities where we work.

Main Responsibilities

Strategy

• To lead and ensure PSI unit input to the strategic planning process.
• To develop and deliver the programme support & impact unit’s strategic plan
• Oversee the development implementation of thematic strategies within the unit
• Support the development of innovative strategies for raising awareness, understanding and support for Plan’s work in Direct and oversee a research and learning agenda for the unit and for Plan UK in collaboration with relevant unit heads
• Lead a strategy for timely and effective publications in theme areas in cooperation with the Head of Advocacy and publications manager
• Support the monitoring of the external UK environment, in particular the development and donor environment analysing the impact of changes on Plan UK and taking timely action
• Define and develop Plans UK impact evaluation and programme approach
• Ensure the unit effectively contributes towards the development of high quality of funding proposals and initiates fundable initiatives and take joint responsibility for the achievement of income targets of the programme and major donors and trust departments are met.
• Support the fundraising and Campaign Communications and Advocacy departments in representing Plans programmes accurately to the UK development community and among institutional donors
• Direct and oversee the development and technical content of new ‘flag-ship’ innovative programmes

Management

• Manage theme leaders, ensuring that the work plans of the PSI unit team members are implemented in line with the Programme department business plan for the year.
• To lead and motivate staff and volunteers in within the unit
• Contribute towards the development of the department strategy, management processes and systems
• Ensure effective communication between members of the unit
• Maintain emergency procedures for unit staff whilst oversees
• To ensure all staff are fully aware of and delivering against individual, team and department key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Provide regular, timely progress reports on the unit KPis
• Support the development of the unites contract management processes and systems
• Develop and manage the unit’s annual expenditure budget
• Manage the secondment of a technical expert to Plan UK’s current campaign and assure technical content of campaign

Programme Impact and Quality

• Contributing to Global Strategy in the agreed thematic areas in Programme and on policy and learning
• Identify measures showing impact of Plan UK’s work within the global learning framework
• Develop and deliver a strategy to ensure that lessons learnt are published and distributed inside as well as outside Plan
• To establish and maintain a system to monitor high quality programme delivery for Plan UK programmes in line with Plan global (PALS) system
• To provide technical support to field programmes as required
• To represent Plans’ programme policy, strategies and approaches on child centred community development programmes and themes to key partners including DfID, EU and development networks and research/policy institutions in the UK and new institutional donors
• Ensure the unit represents Plan in the UK contributing expert programme analysis to the development debate, contributing to conferences, meetings and publications
• Position Plan as an opinion leader in thematic areas including development education
• To analyse the development of Plan’s global programme impact and Plan UK’s contribution to it

Learning and Awareness Raising

• Responsible for development and oversight of each thematic strategy and learning components thereof
• Develop and maintain a monitoring and programme learning assessment process and systems
• Lead and coordinate the provision of high quality briefings for senior managers
• Be responsible for and ensure Plan’s membership and contribution with internal and external networks remains strategic and effective
• Be responsible for providing accurate accessible technical content, of collaboration with head of advocacy
• Take responsibility for ensuring that key advocacy messages are well informed by evidential content

Stakeholder and Customer Service

• To provide quality customer service to all out respective audiences and comply with Plan UK’s quality management protocols
• Lead on engagement and relationship management with policy and programme for a
• To support the department’s ongoing presentation of Plans programmes in the UK engaging with donor and programme initiatives and debates
• Principle liaison on theme areas with UK development community, field country programme support managers and regional programme support managers, IH programme and policy teams, field and NO technical networks and specialists, Plan worldwide Programme Learning Leads
• Strategic advice and technical support to plan UK Fundraising, Campaign and Advocacy teams and institutional donors team
• Support the relationship management of key donors and partners
• To support the Programme Advisory group with analysis of impact and trends in relation to UK programme

Awareness and Representation

• Represent Plan UK to key audiences including development thinkers, donors, research institutions
• Ensure Plan’s work is effectively represented within appropriate
• Deputies for the Programme Director as and when necessary

Other Duties

• Deputise for the Progamme Director
• Provide timely briefing, reports and other data and information as requested
• Attend regular team/department/cross-department meetings
• Keep up to date with relevant issues related to the Plan’s core business
• Undertake other tasks and projects as requested by the Programme Director
• Remain open to change
• Work collaboratively across departments and other Plan entities
• Ensure all activities executed in accordance with the aims of the organisation

Person Specification

The successful candidate will be able to....
Communicating with all stakeholders

• Use a high level of communication skills written and verbal in technical areas to foster partnerships and motive others.
• Understand and reflect the drivers of donors and partners
• Network and form affective and constructive working relationships across the whole organisation and wider within sectors

Working effectively and efficiently

• Develop and manage Programme department staff and volunteers at all levels using developed negotiation skills.
• Clear thinking and able to develop clear structures and roles and responsibilities.
• Manage budget operationally and strategically
• Offer an efficient friendly and professional service to all employees across the organisation and all external customers.
• Ability to contribute to programme strategy
• Effective time management keeping a strategic overview of the department , manage risk and ensure growth
• Be responsible for ensuring the Programme department is meeting all targets of the business plan.

Demonstrating Plan values

• Keep up to date with development issues and able to spot new opportunities as they may arise.
• Ensure high quality technical work
• Represent plan in a range of technical and non technical fora powerfully and persuasively
• Develop Plans leadership position in key technical networks and areas
• Show a commitment to the work of Plan UK and to be trusted to act with integrity and honesty.

The successful candidate will have experience of...

• Working in a technical advisory role within the department sector of which some significant period must have been spent living and working overseas in a human development role
• Developing and presenting policy positions as well as managing development projects
• Representing organisations in high level fora
• Managing technical, research and or policy initiatives
• Writing and supervising publications
• Representing development policy at the highest levels

The successful candidate will have the ability to...

• Demonstrate an awareness of child protection issues
• Excellent people management skills
• Excellent financial planning and budgeting skills
• Computer proficiency particularly with MS Office packages
• The ability to think and act strategically

The successful candidate will have knowledge of....

• A Post graduate degree or doctorate in development studies or similar social science
• An excellent communicator able to translate complex concepts into accessible language and powerfully persuade
• The experience of living, working in a developing country
• A track record as an opinion former in the development field