Careers at ACTED- Livelihood Program Manager

Job Title: Livelihood Program Manager

Duty Station: Gulu or Karamoja, Uganda

About ACTED:

ACTED is an independent international, private, non-partisan and non-profit organization that operates according to principles of strict neutrality, political and religious impartiality, and non discrimination. ACTED was created in 1993 to support populations affected by the conflict in Afghanistan. Based in Paris, France, ACTED now operates in 32 countries worldwide, with over 200 international and 4000 national staff. ACTED has a 110 million € budget for over 370 projects spanning 8 sectors of intervention; including emergency relief, food security, health promotion, economic development, education & training, microfinance, local governance & institutional support, and cultural promotion. For more information, please visit our website at www.acted.org.
ACTED has been active in Uganda since May 2007, both in the northern region and Karamoja. In the North, ACTED supports the early recovery process with a specific focus on the needs of returning populations displaced by years of conflict. It also expands access, retention, equity and quality of primary education. In Karamoja, the focus is enhanced food security and resilience to disasters, especially droughts, as well as improving the primary education sector. ACTED focuses its intervention on strengthening livelihoods through improved resource management, conflict mitigation and capacity building. In Northern Uganda, as internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned home and gained access to land, ACTED is working with farmers on infrastructure and capacity development to rebuild agricultural livelihoods. In the Karamoja/Pokot area, ACTED responds to severe food insecurity caused by the drought in the Horn of Africa, providing support to agro-pastoral communities to increase their purchasing power and protect their assets, reducing vulnerability to natural disasters. As part of its integrated cross-border strategy between Uganda and Kenya, ACTED maintains its community-driven disaster risk reduction (DRR) focus and promotes conflict mitigation to ensure peaceful and sustainable access to shared resources. In 2013, ACTED maintains a strong focus on this approach and looks at extending it further along the border with Kenya. ACTED continues working with community-level structures and initiatives such as the APFS, the CDMCs or the DEWS to continue building the communities’ resilience to disasters.

Job Summary: For this RFA, the Program Manager has been identified as a Key Personnel position. The proposed Program Manager should have extensive relevant experience managing the mobilization and oversight of multi-faceted projects, including those in the infrastructure sector. The Program Manager should have demonstrated the ability to quickly and effectively assemble and manage a highly-skilled, interdisciplinary team; to effectively collaborate and coordinate with and lead a broad range of governmental and non-governmental actors and institutions across sectors in a developing-country setting; and to implement high-profile and politically sensitive programs.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

The Program Manager will contribute to the development of his project, which is a constitutive part of the country strategy, and subsequently manage its implementation.
Ensure external representation of ACTED in relevant sectors
The PM will be responsible for managing partnerships and ensuring smooth implementation of work plan activities. The PM and senior management team will be responsible for monitoring, technical quality of program interventions, and accountability. This PM will collaborate closely with district officials and local authorities, as well as the donor.
Representation vis-à-vis provincial authorities: Participate in technical and sectoral meetings to ensure visibility amongst local authorities;
Representation vis-à-vis Donors: Participate in technical and sectoral Donor meetings and pass relevant information to the Country Director;
Representation vis-à-vis international organisations: Participate in technical and sectoral meetings and working groups involving NGOs and UN Agencies (OCHA, PNUD, UNICEF, FAO, etc.) and all other inter-governmental institutions; Contribute to the creation of reports, ensuring the quality and accuracy of technical information provided as well as the confidentiality of internal information as required;
More generally, the program manager is expected to contribute to the creation of a positive image and overall credibility of the organisation, notably through the application of ACTED’s mandate, ethics, values and stand-point with regard to other actors.
Project Cycle Management
Project implementation: Plan the various stages of project implementation; Guide the implementation of the project and the methods of follow-up; Manage project finances, logistics and materials; Liaise with all internal and external counterparts of the project; Assess the activities undertaken and ensure efficient use of resources;
Project reporting requirements: Set up a clear timeline of reports to be submitted to project Donors;
Draft narrative reports and contribute to the development of financial reports through regular budgetary follow up;
Ensure adherence to FLAT procedures. More generally, communicate systematically to the relevant Country Director or Area Coordinator on project progress and planning.
Provide Relevant Technical Expertise
Ensure that technical quality and standards are considered during project implementation: Collect technical information and analyse associated opportunities and risks; Identify relevant technical authorities and partners, and propose formal partnership and/or contracts.
Undertake quality control: Analyse technical added-value and project impact; Set up technical evaluation exercises during and following implementation.
Oversee Program Staff and Security
Guide and direct program staff: Organise and lead project coordination meetings;
Prepare and follow work plans with each project member;
Ensure a positive working environment and good team dynamics (solve out potential conflicts);
Promote team working conditions in the limit of private life;
Adapt the programme and ToRs of project personnel according to the project development;
Undertake regular appraisals of directly supervised colleagues and pass appraisal forms to the Country or Area Administrator with recommendations (new position, changes to contract or salary etc.);
Ensure a building of capacity amongst technical staff in the relevant sectors.
Contribute to the recruitment of expatriate staff: When requested by HQ, undertake interviews to assess technical abilities of expatriate candidates living in the country.
Oversee staff security: In cooperation with the relevant Security Officer, monitor the local security situation and inform the Country Director or Area Coordinator and Country or Area Security Officer of developments through regular written reports;
Contribute to the updating of the security guidelines in the project area of intervention;
Ensure that security procedures are respected by each member of the project team.
Identify Best Practices and Lessons Learned
Collect information and tools employed for project implementation;
Draft memos detailing lessons learned and best practices identified during the project;
Share such memos with internal and external partners;
Communicate such information to the Country Director or Area Coordinator, to Regional Support Offices and to HQ Reporting Department.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

Demonstrated expertise as a PM with a minimum of 5 years of experience managing large complex infrastructure programs preferably within an African context.
Experience working on USAID program; familiarity with USAID regulations.
Experience leading collaborative efforts with multiple stakeholders—i.e., between other USAID and NUDEIL recipients, INGOs, Local NGOs and GoU.
A good track record in managing large teams effectively.
Possess the ability to be collaborative across projects, flexible and creative;
Strong communications and interpersonal skills with evidence of ability to productively interact with a wide range and levels of organizations (government, private sector, NGOs).

Terms and Conditions:

Salary defined by the ACTED salary grid; educational level, expertise, hardship, security, and performance are considered for pay bonus

Additional monthly living allowance

Free food provided + housing allowance

Transportation costs covered, including additional return ticket + luggage allowance

Provision of medical, life, and repatriation insurance + retirement package

How to Apply:
Please send, in English, your cover letter, CV, and three references to jobs@acted.org Ref : PM/UG/SA

For more information, visit us at http://www.acted.org