Job Title: Program Manager
Location: Abuja and Lagos
Reports to: Project Director
Job Summary
The Program Manager is responsible for building positive relationships with clients during projects. Take ownership of the overall project and its end products, ensuring that our client remain satisfied with the project. The Project Manager will supervise the team on the field to ensure that WFP commodity is properly managed and distributed, ensure high quality nutrition programming, provide necessary reporting to FINDEF and WFP, and ensure field team receive the required logistical support.
The Project Manager needs to have an excellent communication skill and be able to multi-task under tight deadlines, be a team player and a problem-solver. Your goal will be to ensure that our relationships with clients and stakeholders are strong, profitable and long-lasting.
Specific Responsibilities
Leadership and Representation
• Provide strategic vision and leadership to the project team
• Represent FINDEF and the project teams at all relevant stakeholder meetings
• Participate in all strategic planning meetings and activities
• Provide regular updates to partners, country program leadership
• Establish and maintain good working relations with external agencies and organizations
• Facilitate exchange of information and experiences
Program Quality and Management
- Manage work-streams, closely manage progress against objectives, highlighting roadblocks as soon as they arise and taking full ownership for high-quality, timely execution of deliverables
- Liaise with project director to develop and implement monthly and weekly plans for the teams, and to resolve problems in a timely and efficient manner
- Coordinate team members’ travel to the field and ensure field team have relevant and timely access to all necessary information, equipment and support
- Provide logistical backup for the distribution teams in the field
- Ensure in consultation with the project director, project compliance with WFP and FINDEF standards and Humanitarian principles
- Facilitate appropriate problem solving relevant to FINDEF programming activities
- Provide technical and managerial advice to the project director regarding project implementation
- Train, manage, and monitor the field team leads responsible for assessment, community relations/coordination, monitoring and evaluation, and oversight all of FINDEF programming activities
- Work with FINDEF M&E staff to develop and implement monitoring systems, and ensure that M&E systems are properly implemented and reported by team members
- Manage the collection of field level data and reports, and ensure submission of timely reports to the project director
- Lead implementation of the MEAL policies and procedures that are mandatory for the CBT and nutrition response
- Request project expenditures, carry out regular budget tracking and take the lead on official requests for modifications when needed
Supervision
• Ensure annual performance planning and donor reviews
- Mentor staff to ensure high levels of motivation, commitment, capacity and teamwork
- Ensure staff compliance with all FINDEF administrative and operational procedures and policies, as well as applicable donor regulations
- Hold regular meetings with project staff
- Assist staff in maintaining healthy relationships with local government, and cooperating organizations through regular contacts, visits and fulfillment of program requirements
General
• Ensure that FINDEF policies and regulations are followed by all team members; especially field security guidelines
• Coordinate with the Security officer on security to provide any pertinent security information to the security officer and receive updates on a regular basis
• Collaborate closely with the management, leading weekly problem-solving sessions to align on work planning, facilitate decision-making, iterate on solutions and find work-arounds as needed
• Other duties as assigned by the Project director
Required Competencies
Program Manager Competencies
• Sets clear goals and manages toward them
• Collaborates effectively with staff and stakeholders
• Manages financial resources with integrity
• Applies program quality standards to project design and organizational learning
- Exceptional analytical and quantitative problem-solving skills
- Demonstrated leadership ability in a team environment
- Initiative taker, eager to break new grounds, create opportunities for others
- Excellent communication and writing skills for effective reporting
- Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility
Emergency Competencies
• Communicates strategically under pressure
• Manages stress and complexity
• Actively promotes safety and security
• Manages and implements high-quality emergency programs
Organization-wide competencies (for all FINDEF staff):
These are rooted in the mission, values, and principles of FINDEF and used by each staff member to fulfil his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.
• Serves with Integrity
• Models Stewardship
• Cultivates Constructive Relationships
• Promotes Learning
Required Experience and Qualifications:
• Master’s level degree (nutrition, economics, social science), if possible, with a specialization in emergencies and relief in development contexts.
• Minimum 5 years proven management experience
• Experience in supervising teams and in leadership roles in general
• Experience of living and working in difficult conditions
• Strong coordination and organizational skills
• Data management skills and experience
• Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills
• Extremely flexible, and have the ability to cope with stressful situations
• Ability to communicate and develop reports to a high standard in English
• Able to spend time in difficult field conditions
- Project management working experience, management consulting, business and development work is desirable.
How to Apply
Send your updated CV (maximum of 3 pages) and cover letter (one Page only) to: [email protected] no later than March 25, 2022.
Use the job title as the email subject line: “Project Manager – State”
