Director, programme quality

Organisation Background

Afghanaid is an international non-for-profit organization, registered in England under the Company Limited and the Charity Commission law, with a Board of Trustees and a small liaison office registered in the United Kingdom and the Head Office in Kabul. Afghanaid has 18 field offices throughout Ghor, Badakhshan, Samangan and Nuristan provinces. 97% of employees (over 400) are Afghan nationals.

Established in 1983, Afghanaid has the dual mandate of humanitarian assistance and long-term development to facilitate and support Afghan women, men and children in their fight against vulnerability and poverty.
Afghanaid currently has medium to long term funding partnership with a number of key institutional donors including: European Commission, Norwegian Embassy, Japanese Embassy, Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) of Government of Switzerland, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) of Govt of Afghanistan, World Bank, Ministry of Rural Reconstruction and Development (MRRD) of Govt of Afghanistan and Department for International Development of UK Government (DFID). The annual budget of Afghanaid for the financial year 2011-12 is approx. £6 million.

Job Purpose

This is a strategic leadership and management role. The post holder will be responsible for improving overall programme quality, its planning and execution. You will lead Head Office-based Programme sectoral and technical teams to ensure appropriate sectoral strategies, operational guides and methodologies, sector-specific plans and monitoring & reporting systems, project implementation staff capacities and regular project support visits for technical back up and guidance are in place, and contribute in improving quality of results and outcomes achieved through our work.
As a member of Afghanaid’s Directorate, the highest decision-making body, this role is required to contribute in executive decision-making, policy making and steering the organisation to achieve its mandate, and in this capacity will be expected to promote, safeguard and protect corporate interests of Afghanaid. This position enjoys great autonomy to take initiatives, deputises for Managing Director, and works closely with Board of Trustees.

Key Responsibilities

Team Structure

• Annual review of the programme quality team structure to ensure it is aligned with the organizational and programme strategy. Propose a change management plan, where appropriate, to the Directorate, and implement it when approved
• Ensure exit strategy for the programme quality international staff through structured professional growth and capacity building plans and their implementation for national and provincial level Afghan counterparts
• Oversee succession planning for national counterparts and its timely and effective implementation by international sectoral leads
• Monitor and report to Directorate on the above on quarterly basis.

Programme Quality and Sectoral Strategy Work

• Lead Programme Quality strategy development work, through a consultative and participative process; to measure quality impact of Afghanaid’s organizational strategy through benchmarks against which progress can be measured on annual basis
• Develop programme quality framework and tools to measure quality outcomes of grassroots programming and national/international advocacy work
• Ensure all relevant staff are inducted, understand and effectively deliver on the programme quality strategy and its requirements
• Steer sectoral strategies development process by guiding and supporting sectoral experts reporting directly to your position.

Programme Design and Knowledge-building

• Ensure all new projects are designed in line with Afghanaid’s Programme Quality strategy and framework
• Steer sectoral and technical teams in design and development of new programme and project proposals. Ensure social equity and sustainability is built in the projects design and operational methodologies
• Proactively identify and steer funding team to pursue new opportunities for programme development to strengthen the strategic niche and positioning of Afghanaid in the country in its core competency area
• Working closely with Programme Development and Knowledge Management team, manage baseline assessments, midterm review, project evaluations, best practice and lessons learned studies, poverty assessments, documentation of change stories from Afghanaid’s work with the aim to strengthen organisational focus on ‘quality’ aspects of its work

Peoples Management and Staff Development

• Ensure that all staff reporting directly to you fully understand their roles and that there is clarity in roles and responsibilities of different positions
• Install effective team management structure and processes: e.g. individual staff annual performance objectives are set, weekly team meetings, team work plan, 1:1 meetings and their written record to track progress on performance, mentoring and coaching of staff on their personal development plans, take disciplinary actions where required, promote and practice yourself two-way feedback, get 360 degree feedback from others
• Manage team work planning and review system and institutionalise practice with cascading effects downwards within the team
• Build capacity of your team to monitor actual expenditures as provided by Finance department against sectoral budget forecasts, keep track of budget variances and take timely actions to overcome significant over/under spends in coordination with Field Operations team
• Work closely with direct reports, ensure effective transfer of knowledge and skills from international staff to national counterparts at national and provincial level, taking care that the long term development goals of Afghanaid are not subordinated to short term programme needs
• Hold quarterly review of team’s performance and progress against approved objectives and priorities, ensure fertilisation of cross learning between different technical and sectoral teams is facilitated, and finally to celebrate achievements.

Results-based Monitoring and Evaluation System and Reporting

• Lead on the process of developing a user-friendly results-based programme monitoring, learning and knowledge management system, ensure all relevant staff are trained and effectively using it to track immediate results/outputs and impact/outcomes against planned initiatives for each sector and technical area under your management
• Support M&E specialist reporting to your position with development of an organisation-wide programme information management system and its reporting, ensure programme quality monitoring indicators and standards are built in the overall programme information management system
• Install monthly reporting mechanism from your direct reports including budget spend analysis and comments on monthly budget variance reports
• Make regular field visits to assess programme impact and provide feedback in relation to achievements, shortcomings, and recommendations for improvement to the Managing Director and the Directorate

Compliance and Risk Management

• Ensure compliance and management controls environment is effectively managed by yourself and your direct reports
• Manage and report on risks related with your department, proactively put in place risk mitigation measures against potential high-risk areas relevant to your team and scope of responsibility
• Ensure annual internal sectoral and technical programme audits are carried out
• Ensure all staff directly reporting to you are fully inducted, understand and comply with Afghanaid’s policies, procedures and systems.

Advocacy, Influencing and Representation

• Steer and manage sectoral advocacy and influencing work, also support MD in leading at national level advocacy and influencing work with strategic stakeholders
• Share the responsibility with other relevant senior managers of Afghanaid to represent organisational work externally and ensure effective visibility and positioning of Afghanaid programme through policy advocacy on strategic issues of importance and concern to Afghanaid
• Advocate for rights-based approaches to development and humanitarian work, and for effective role of the national civil society in influencing the agenda, pace and quality of reconstruction and development process in the country

Reporting
• Accountable and responsible for reporting of work related with your area of responsibility
• Ensure your team understands and follows the mandatory compliance requirements of the different donors during project implementation

Afghanaid Directorate

This includes sharing responsibility for the maintenance of risks register and security and safety of staff and organisational assets as well as external representation. As a senior director of Afghanaid, the Director, Programme Quality and technical is a member of the Afghanaid Directorate, the advisory body to the Managing Director that reviews and participates in all major management and organisational strategic decision-making. Members of the Directorate are required to assume the corporate interests of Afghanaid and in this respect you will be required to attend other internal strategic meetings and lead on issues of strategic import to the organisation. In particular:

• Play proactive, engaging and effective leadership role as a member of the Directorate.
• Follow up timely and actively on the decisions and actions agreed at Directorate level.
• Contribute to the overall targets and strategies of the organisation.
• Actively engage and influence organisational policies, strategic decisions related with different aspects of the organisation and its future direction, and identity.
• Support in protecting the brand and identity and reputation of the organisation.
• Share corporate level organisational responsibilities with other members of the Directorate.
• Play active, constructive and leadership role within the department, and in the quarterly retreats.

Ways of Working

• You will be required to work closely and effectively with Field Operations team at Head Office and in the field, this will include ensuring effective mechanism to make joint decisions and their implementation
• Ensure a communication strategy is in place and is effectively implemented to keep your team informed of key developments / changes within and outside the organisation affecting their work
• Facilitate timely and effective communication between your team and other teams at Head Office and in the Field as well as with external stakeholders e.g. other development and humanitarian actors working in the sectoral and technical areas managed by you
• Put in place a regular mechanism to meet and share issues, find joint solutions and oversee progress with Field Operations team

Other

To perform any other related duties as required by the line manager.
Note: This job description does not form part of the contract of employment and is subject to change in accordance with the needs of the organisation. The post-holder will work at all times in a way which is consistent with the organisation’s commitment to equality of opportunity.

Person Specification

Education/ training

• Master’s Degree in relevant research-based post graduation discipline (Development, Anthropology, Management, Economics) – essential
• Further qualifications in relevant subject – desirable
• Experience with field based research – desirable

Work Experience

Essential

• 5 years of practical experience in an international NGO in a senior leadership and management role
• Management of a medium to large scale programme
• Hands on experience and well developed understanding of Programme Quality concept
• Excellent knowledge of poverty reduction strategies, rights-based community development, engagement with public duty bearers, social equity, community mobilisation and empowering approaches of long-term development programming
• Extensive experience of participatory evidence-based and results-oriented M&E systems and procedures
• Previous work experience in sustainable livelihoods for small producers and/or small enterprise development
• Understanding and experience of community-based disaster management with focus on floods, drought and earthquake
• Experience of linking humanitarian work with long term sustainable development processes
• Previous work experience in Afghanistan and/or other conflict countries of managing large scale community development programmes and managing diverse teams
• Well developed understanding and practical experience of programme advocacy and influencing work embedded in programme quality strategy
• Demonstrable evidence of achieving gender equality
• Experience in long-term programme strategy development and strategic planning
• Proven track record of organizational networking, policy influencing, and media coordination

Desirable

• Experience of Organizational Management
• First-hand knowledge of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy and of relevant National Priority Programmes
• Knowledge and experience of engagement and partnership with multi-stakeholders including with private sector

Professional Skills and Competencies

Essential

• Proven strategic and operational management ability and inter-personal skills, a strong team player. Problem solving and leadership skills
• Proficiency in most common computer software including word processing, spreadsheets
• Ability to deal with difficult, often challenging work situations
• A willingness to live, travel and work in isolated and remote locations
• Demonstrable evidence of project cycle management (PCM) and programme
• Proven skills in mentoring, coaching and facilitating learning and development of staff at senior and middle management level
• State of the art understanding of the operating environment of aid work in the country, including impact on assistance work of trends and patterns in political, economic, social and security sectors
• Excellent understanding and proven experience of financial management, budgeting, and budgetary control systems
• Behavioural role model for peers and fellow team members
• Competent to work with significant levels of autonomy and able to meet tight deadlines
• Skills in conducting security analysis and in security management
• Creative and innovative in conceptual and analytical thinking
• Excellent communication and influencing skills as advocate and representative of the organisation, internally and externally
• Diplomacy tact and negotiation skills
• Sensitivity to culture and gender issues
• Fluent in English (spoken and written)

Desirable

• Proven track record of managing change management
• Proficiency with databases

Values and attitudes

Essential

• Commitment to empowering and rights-based approaches to support poor Afghan women and men in securing their rights
• Personal integrity, sense of humour, intuitive and self motivation
• Knowledge of personal strengths and weaknesses
• Ability to manage conflicting priorities in personal workload
• Sensitivity to Islamic culture