Director of Program Development and Quality (PDQ)

ROLE PURPOSE:

As a member of the Country Leadership Team (CLT) in Niger, the Director of Programme Development and Quality (PDQ) is responsible for driving the country office program strategy, developing annual plans, and reporting on results. She/he is also responsible for ensuring development of high quality, evidence based, innovative programs for children, in all contexts, that contribute to Save the Children’s global Breakthroughs: Learn, Survive, Be Protected. The Director of PDQ ensures appropriate technical support to programmes and ensures a robust monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) system is in place, and that reliable data is used for decision-making.  One of key aspects of the role is ensuring capacity building, mentoring and coaching of technical specialists in order to support program quality in line with global standards and key performance indicators. The Director of PDQ supports donor engagement and business development to ensure that the country office strategy and humanitarian response plans can be delivered.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Country Director 

Staff directly reporting to this post: MEAL Specialist, Technical Specialists (Education, Health and Nutrition, Child Protection, Child Rights Governance and Child Poverty, Gender, and SBC). New Business Development Manager, relevant Cluster Co-Coordinators, and Partnership and Localisation Manager also report to the Director of PDQ. 

Role Dimensions: As one of the most senior staff in the Country Office, the Director of Program Development and Quality (PDQ) must demonstrate the qualities of agile leadership.  S/he plays a key role in defining and pursuing the strategic direction for Save the Children’s programs in Niger, ensuring the relevance, coherence, safety and impact of our programs for children in all contexts. This is a challenging role requiring an individual who can work with complexity and multiple tasks at one time.  It demands dedication to demonstrating outcomes for children, experience in integrated child rights programming and a highly motivated leader. S/he has specific oversight for ensuring that programs demonstrate thematic excellence in contributing to Save the Children’s three priority Breakthroughs for children: no child dies from preventable causes before their fifth birthday; all children learn from a quality basic education; and violence against children is no longer tolerated. 

The Director of PDQ works with thematic specialists and advisors, and in partnership with the programme implementation team, to develop evidence-based strategies, programs and projects, and to support advocacy and campaigning initiatives. S/he takes a lead in establishing systems for program monitoring, quality improvement, accountability, evaluation and learning, and in ensuring that results are captured, shared and used to inform programme design and implementation. The Director leads the Country Office in developing and carrying out its partnership strategy with national NGOs and other strategic partners. As a senior leader in the country office s/he plays a representational role with the government, donors, partners, peer agencies, SC Members and others. The PDQ Director has the responsibility to build the capacity of, mentor and coach SC teams and individual staff in areas related to PDQ, ensuring the development of a strong national team.  S/he leads the NBD and ensures the development of high-quality design for funding proposals.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY: 

Strategic planning and thought leadership (10%)

• Monitor and analyse the country context to position SC as the leading organization for children's issues in all contexts, with child rights at the core of all programming and advocacy work.
• Lead the SMT to drive forward the Country Strategic Plan (CSP) by coordinating input for the development and review of the CSP across departments.
• Lead the development/updating of the Child Rights Situation Analysis and ensuring participation and buy-in from all relevant staff, partners and other stakeholders as necessary
• Participate in the country annual planning, in coordination with other relevant departments and under the CD leadership, and ensure that it’s of high quality and evidence-based, reflecting SC’s global themes, Common Approaches and theory of change
• Participate in the development and monitoring of SC’s Humanitarian Plan (SCHP), and ensure that it’s of high programmatic quality and evidence based. 
• Coordinate accurate, on-time Country Annual Report of outcomes and impact for children, aligned with the Global Results Framework
• Support ownership and commitment to the Country Office strategy by all staff and departments through clear communication, regular feedback on progress and engagement of all functions in updates
• Engage in relevant networks that support realisation of the CSP and SCHP, such as global technical meetings, SCI’s technical working groups, national, regional or international learning events, amongst others
• Managing risk related to Program Quality

Strategic NBD and portfolio planning (10%)

• Ensure new programmes and projects are built on a strong evidence base resulting from learning, drawing on needs assessments and situational analyses that include participation of children and other stakeholders 
• Ensure adequate resources for PDQ Department
• Ensure new Programs and projects are designed through a strategic lens, driving our impact and influencing agenda
• Lead design discussions for high-valued/high-complexity/multi-sectoral proposals and strategy
• Align go/no go decisions and Program design to agreed CO priorities on the CSP
• Manage the needs/requests of SC members, donors and external partners to ensure quality results in programming 
• Coordinating closely with NBD, participate in the Country Office funding strategy by working closely with the SMT on donor engagement, ensure new funding opportunities are line with global and country strategy, and upskill and empower TEs to lead on strong project design into funding proposals.
• Lead on the establishment and management of strategic partnerships in line with localisation efforts 

Programme quality, evidence and learning (25%)

• Facilitate the development and pursuit of thematic and cross-cutting strategic priorities, including gender equality, to guide current and future SC programming and Humanitarian Strategies
• Work closely with the Director of Programme Operations to ensure program quality standards are established throughout the project cycle and across the portfolio, including operational research to inform programme improvements
• Ensure new programmes and projects are built on a strong evidence base resulting from learning and evidence
• Drive uptake of relevant Common Approaches, and ensure that programme principles and values are respected and upheld through project design and implementation 
• Ensure decision making is based on needs and informed by community and child engagement.
• Drive CSP milestone monitoring, annual plan, Programme KPI, SCHP and other key programme indicators reporting
• Work with Operations teams to ensure quality standards in implementation are respected, through capacity building of field staff, regular use of quality benchmarks and other quality and impact monitoring tools, and support adaptation of programmes and necessary
• Conduct regular field visits to support staff on quality and impact issues
• Oversee the development of a monitoring system that provides timely and accurate project results by embedding MEAL across programme implementation
• Ensure on-going, accurate data collection and meaningful analyses with regular dissemination of strategic information to SMT and other relevant staff to drive learning and improve programme quality
• Ensure high quality evaluations are resourced and conducted to demonstrate outcomes and impact
• Ensure accountability mechanisms for all projects and that identified actions are resolved, with critical issues escalated to senior management
• Ensure effective collaboration between MEAL staff, Technical Specialists, Technical Advisors and programme implementation teams to develop log frames, indicators, implementation plans, quality benchmarks, monitoring and evaluation frameworks and related tools, and support programme re-design and adaptation as necessary
• Participate in project kick-offs and close-outs for significant awards to ensure effective strategic direction, establishment of quality standards and dissemination of learning
• Ensure the research, evaluation and policy work of the country office contributes to generation of evidence for sound decision making and policy influencing within and outside the Country Office and development and implementation of impactful and innovative programmes for children
• Ensure the development of a country’s Learning Agenda, and the establishment and use of an effective programme learning and knowledge management systems for the country office support capacity development of MEAL staff, maximizing their role as trainers and facilitators of quality standards in project design, monitoring and evaluation and hold team accountable for development and use of quality benchmarks
• Monitor and advance technical and operational quality of field programmes across all themes and all contexts, including conducting regular field visits to provide feedback on quality benchmarks, solicit inputs for design of new programmes and collect ideas for innovation
• Lead on ensuring programme Key Performance Indicators meet highest standards and take steps to improve the quality programming platform to meet agreed upon standards

Building a high performing team (15%)

• Ensure effective working relationships with SC global and regional technical advisors, procuring technical support as needed to support program and advocacy efforts, including during emergencies.
• Support capacity development of thematic advisors, maximizing their role as Technical Leads for project design and technical support providers to field teams and local project partners 
• Ensure that Technical Specialists engage in larger communities of practice to link with the most relevant and evidence-based approaches and conduct timely and useful review of project reports to support quality reporting for Members and donors
• Ensure that all staff understand and are able to perform their role in full spectrum programming
• Lead the Programme Development and Quality team: in line with CSP, SCHP and annual plan, define workplans with clear accountabilities for each team member, and ensure all technical sector staff proactively build and maintain technical skills and competencies required for leading and/or advising first class programs – both development and emergency programs
• Manage the performance of all staff in the Program Development and Quality work area through: 
• Effective use of the Performance Management System including the establishment of clear, measurable objectives, ongoing feedback, periodic reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations;
• Induction plan for new joiners based on Passport to Success
• Coaching, mentoring and other developmental opportunities;
• Recognition and rewards for outstanding performance;
• Documentation of performance that is less than satisfactory, with appropriate performance improvements/ workplans 

External representation and advocacy (10%)

• Represent Save the Children and strategically network with government authorities, donors, partners and other stakeholders to promote SC objectives and build relationships to facilitate success of our projects
• Participate in advocacy initiatives that engage national government, civil society and political leaders, child rights and localisation networks and peer agencies with the goal of influencing policy and legislation in the best interests of children
• Ensure that learning from the field contributes to development and implementation of national programs and advocacy initiatives scaled-up by the government to widen reach
• In coordination with Advocacy colleagues, ensure that we amplify children’s voices and influence duty-bearers at national, regional and international level to uphold children’s rights

Partnerships ( 10%)

• Play a leading role in identifying, nurturing and strengthening strategic partnerships with local and international civil society organizations, NGOs, governments etc., in advancing the country and global strategy to inspire our three breakthroughs for the most deprived and marginalized children.
• Champion the localisation and partnership agenda to grow Save the Children’s work through and with partners, and provide technical support and capability building to implementing and strategic partners. 

Senior leadership function (10%)

• Provide leadership, strategic vision, coherence and direction to the country program as a member of the Country Leadership Team (CLT)
• Support the development of an organisational culture that reflects SC’s full spectrum mandate and values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a cross -team culture of learning, creativity and innovation in a productive work environment, and frees up people to deliver outstanding results for children and excellent service for our members and donors

1. Advocacy: (10%)

• Support the ACCM Lead to develop an advocacy strategy and annuals plans linked to the Country Strategic Plan, with clear campaign deliverables, for the Mali Country Office.  Support thematic leads to articulate their top priority advocacy objectives in line with the Country Strategic Plan.
• Ensure that Save the Children receives national recognition for achieving proven and innovative national impact from well-managed child development programs and emergency response.
• Oversee thematic leads/advisors and other program staff in their work, including development of a plan for achieving their priority advocacy objectives in both an emergency and development context.
• Represent Save the Children as part of advocacy and networking with government authorities, donors, partners, civil society actors, children, and other stakeholders to build relationships to facilitate the achievement of the Country Stratgic Plan strategic goals and the success of our projects for children.

Risk Management responsibilities including fraud risk (SCARF) ( 10%):

• Be fully committed to the fight against fraud in accordance with anti-fraud and whistleblowing policies.
• Cooperate with commitment in the investigation of allegations of fraud concerning supervised staff and other personnel.
• Ensure that any information relating to a suspected fraud privy to as supervisor is treated with utmost confidentiality.
• Implement effectively and in a timely manner post-investigation actions concerning his/her staff and department.
• Include commitment to fraud risk management in the performance objectives of supervised staff.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Master’s Degree in relevant social science, human rights, development studies, NGO management or equivalent fields 
• A minimum of seven years of progressive senior management and/ or development experience in an NGO environment, including experience directing and implementing programmes for children; humanitarian experience is desirable
• Experience in more than one of Save the Children's thematic sectors: education, child protection, child rights governance, health and nutrition, child poverty, emergencies 
• Basic understanding of advocacy, policy, and government systems in the host country
• Some experience or understanding of fundraising or business development, particularly strong project design skills 
• Credibility to advocate, influence and represent Save the Children at all levels
• Experience working with high level government agencies and academics on issues related to children
• Strong skills and proven experience in new program development, project design, with corporate, foundations and institutional donors
• Strong skills and proven experience in leading strategic planning, change management and program management processes; also from a knowledge and learning perspective 
• Developing and managing monitoring, evaluation and learning systems
• Excellent listening, inter-personal, communication and networking skills; and an ability to work with diversified populations 
• Skills such as training, capacity building, coaching, mentorship, problem solving, and understanding of project cycle management and coordination 
• High level of self-awareness and commitment to growth and self-development
• Ability to research, write and represent well, manage time, multi-task and delegate tasks
• Proficiency in French and English. 
• Local language working knowledge desirable