Program Development and Quality (PDQ) Director

TITLE: Program Development and Quality (PDQ) Director

TEAM/PROGRAM: Save the Children Jordan (SC Jordan) Senior Leadership Team

CONTRACT LENGTH: 12 months

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3: The role holder will have contact with children and/or young people as he/she is supervising for implementing the policy checking/vetting process staff.

External representation and communications: Level (5)

• Interpersonal contact is regular and varied – both oral and written. The role involves negotiation, influencing skills, and representation of SCJ with senior level representatives including governmental level decision makers, donors, and the global SC community.
• Exemplary level of spoken and written English.
• Significant impact on the reputation and performance of the organization.

ROLE PURPOSE:

The PDQ Director shares the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the SC Jordan programs. S/he is responsible for ensuring development and delivery 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 PDQ Director in her /his capacity is responsible for the strategic direction and program design, informed by programmatic learnings generated from existing implementation of all Education, Health,, Child Poverty and Protection programs. S/he is responsible for providing a culture of monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) in the organization as well as technical support to the of advocacy, media and communications department. She/he will lead business development of the organization and be responsible for the growth of the portfolio.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: CEO

Staff directly reporting to this post: 7

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, S/he will contribute to:

• Ensuring compliance with all Save the Children policies and procedures outlined in the SC Quality Framework, where applicable.
• Ensuring that technical support is provided promptly, at scale, and in line with international best practice as applicable to the Jordanian context.

Strategic Vision and Planning, S/he will be accountable for:

• Developing strategic vision and direction for the Save the Children Jordan programs.
• Overseeing the development of strategic plans and documents related to SC Jordan’s thematic priorities and work.
• Generating evidence-based learnings and leading on the conceptualization and design of holistic, evidence-based, needs-based, cost effective, innovative and high quality programs to serve hard-to-reach children and their communities.
• Ensuring active participation of SC Jordan in all relevant working groups.
• Coordinating across thematic programs for integrated delivery mechanisms.

Program Design and Technical Assistance, S/he will be accountable for:

• Ensuring that SC Jordan has a first class, multi-sectoral and dual mandate program reflecting all priority technical and sector aspects of the Save the Children global approach.
• Ensuring the design and development of high quality child-focused emergency and development programs and child rights governance that achieve SC Jordan’s strategies and plans, informed by child participation where possible.
• Ensuring that the different technical sectors are coordinated, integrated and support each other to optimize programs and projects (i.e. a multi-disciplinary approach to program design and methodology.)
• Leading on the proposal development process, ensuring that all technical advisors provide proper inputs into proposals and proactively and regularly communicating planned requirements for program design and implementation to relevant stakeholders.
• Ensuring closely coordinated program proposal processes with the Awards Department, Projects Implementation, Advocacy, Finance, HR and Procurement departments.
• Ensuring that all thematic areas apply a risk lens to program design and implementation in line with the Save the Children policy on Disaster Risk Reduction and Child Safeguarding.
• Ensuring Save the Children International’s thematic common approaches are utilized and adopted whenever applicable.
• Ensuring a robust context analysis capacity and deep understanding of local priorities and national needs as inputs to programs design that are based on evidence and strong context analysis and data.
• Ensuring program design incorporates disability and gender inclusive programming principles.

Monitoring, Accountability and Learning, S/he will be responsible for:

• Ensuring a robust Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) system to measure progress and achievement toward program goals and results is developed and implemented.
• Ensuring the development and roll out of Quality Benchmarks and Tools to regularly measure progress and achievements across all sectors / programs implemented by SC Jordan.
• Ensuring that Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning findings are systematically produced, disseminated, and actions are taken to improve program quality.
• Ensuring a strong learning component is in place (learning plans) and identify, document and share best practice and lessons learned, internally and externally as appropriate.
• Contributing to SCI’s global knowledge.

Research, Policy and Advocacy, S/he will be accountable for:

• Leading on the application of Save the Children’s Theory of Change.
• Ensuring advocacy (at the policy and implementation levels) is embedded across all thematic areas in coordination with the Advocacy, Campaigning and Communications Department.

Representation, Partnerships and New Opportunities Development, S/he will be accountable for:

• Leading SC Jordan’s new opportunities and business development work and proactively seeking and maintaining, active and regular working relationships with government entities, development, humanitarian and corporate donors and partner agencies (e.g., USAID, FCDO, EU, GIZ, DFAT, etc.), the UN system, and local and international NGOs and develop joint opportunities for programming and new initiatives and interventions.
• Interact regularly with the international donor and NGO community to ensure awareness of the Save the Children Jordan’s programs and to collect up to date information about the plans and programs of other actors.

• Develop a partnership strategy and ensure that the partnerships component of the Theory of Change informs SC Jordan’s strategy and delivery approaches.
• Design and develop tools, systems and training to support strengthening the capacity of partners and ensuring quality data and reporting.

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (our Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children’s values.
• Holds the team accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance.

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same.
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically.

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, other members and external partners and supporters.
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength.
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Science, International Development or any related field. A Master’s degree is preferred.
• The incumbent is an experienced programs development and management professional (10 – 15 years) with significant field experience running both emergency and development programs.
• Strong knowledge of and experience with program design and development with institutional donors and philanthropic organizations.
• Robust experience of NGO emergency program cycle management, and with experience of working within a complex and matrix organization structure. A very good understanding of at least 3 of the sectoral programs and a working knowledge of national priorities.
• Significant knowledge of international humanitarian systems, institutions and donors, and of procedures, accountability frameworks and best practices in emergency management.
• Substantial experience and knowledge of effective financial and budgetary control and securing and managing grants.
• Solid project management skills related to organizational development projects and international, cross-functional teams with a proven history of delivering results.
• Ability to analyze information, evaluate options and to think and plan strategically.
• Previous experience of managing and developing a team and the ability to lead, motivate and develop others.
• An in depth understanding of national and international development issues in particular in relation to children.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s aims, values and principles including rights-based approaches.

** Qualified Males and Females are welcome to apply.