Role Dimensions:

The role-holder will work closely with senior management colleagues in DCA Country Offices, implementing partners in the three countries, and in DCA’s Global Partnerships & Resource Mobilisation (GPRM), Programme Advocacy & Learning (PAL) and International Finance (IF) Units.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Consortium, programme management, quality, and impact

• Provide leadership for the effective and efficient management of the project, in accordance with DCA organisational and donor requirements.
• Oversee implementation and achievement of project objectives by the project team and partners.
• Ensure that joint planning, budgeting, and reporting are conducted promptly and to quality.
• Identify areas where additional inputs are needed to ensure high quality programming, ensuring that relevant technical expertise and capacity strengthening support is available to staff and partners.
• Ensure an overall monitoring and evaluation plan is in place for the programme and implemented.
• Explore and build opportunities for programme growth and follow-on funding in the course of implementing the project through quality programme delivery processes.
• Be responsible for nurturing and maintaining a robust, honest, and transparent relationship with project partners, ensuring the project’s partnerships are managed in line with DCA’s partnership approach.
• Lead in the identification of project risks and proactively work with partners to mitigate risk factors against partnership and project delivery plans.
• Chair the meetings of the project steering committee and ensure that action points agreed during the meetings are followed through.

Financial management and financial and narrative reporting

• With support from the Consortium Finance Manager (CFM), have overall oversight and responsibility for financial management of the project. This includes working with budget holders and finance staff in Ethiopia, South Sudan and Kenya, and ensure that all activities and expenditures are conducted within budget allocations.
• Facilitate monthly consortium level grant management meetings to monitor programme expenditure, prepare budget revisions and forecasts, review monthly financial data and ensure timely financial reporting to the donor, in coordination with the budget holders and grant managers.
• Coordinate the collation of narrative reporting to donors, including coordinating reporting by staff and partners and consolidating overall reports.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning

• Establish, review and improve adequate MEL systems to gather programmatic evidence and learning, designed to maximise DCA’s and partners understanding of project impact and barriers to delivery, and to inform course correction.
• Work with MEL Advisors and Consortium members on the analysis of data, reporting, learning and sharing.
• Review relevant reports, including evaluation reports, partner narrative reports, and other internal and external resources as necessary to inform project delivery.
• Support bi-annual outcome harvesting workshops, and ensure critical MEL and research-grounded project reflection and reviews take place on regular bases to inform decision making, and that learning informs wider DCA and partner’s community of practice, including within and between DCA’s country teams, and the global Programme, Advocacy and Learning (PAL) teams.
• Support DCA’s organisational objectives on gender equality, climate change, partnerships and localisation and contribute to learning and development around these.

Networking and Representation

• Represent DCA and consortium partners in external meetings and provide feedback on issues that need further attention.
• Develop and maintain collaborative and strategic relationships with civil society partners and other stakeholders.
• Represent DCA in donor meetings.

Requirements

Experience and qualifications:

• Demonstrable experience in managing complex, regional projects at scale preferably EU funded.
• Master’s Degree in gender, peace and conflict studies, natural resources management, development studies or other relevant field, or training from recognised institutions.
• Minimum seven years of progressive professional work experience in different capacities with local and international NGOs and representing partnerships towards donors
• Proven experience of programming in natural resource management, climate resilient agriculture, and/or youth and women’s rights programming at a community, national and international levels – preferably in contexts of conflict prevention, security and justice and/or peacebuilding.
• Sound experience and progressive management of consortium and project management, community security, humanitarian, peace building and/or justice sector.
• Experience in providing mentoring and support to a range of actors,
• Understanding of financial management procedures, budget monitoring, and donor reporting.
• Sound knowledge of civil society dynamics and their role in addressing peace, gender and climate change challenges.
• Demonstrable experience in working with partners in sustainable ways that reflect power-sharing, accompaniment and mutual respect.
• Familiarity with or experience in working on the nexus between conflicts and climate change and/or natural resource management.

Skills and abilities:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent report writing, presentation, and facilitation skills in English.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills in complex project settings.
• Ability to link programme work to policy and advocacy processes at various levels.
• Ability to think critically, strategically, and innovatively to improve project delivery.
• Ability to drive for solutions and to suggest ways to achieve better results.
• Ability to take intelligent risks to drive thought leadership, individual and/or organizational performance.
• Commitment to adaptive programming and working in partnership based on mutual values and respect.

Personal qualities

• Ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society organisations, government bodies and officials, and international donors.
• Commitment to and compliance with DCA’s safeguarding principles.
• Commitment to respect and value equality and diversity, and understanding of how this applies to own area of work.
• Commitment to own continuing personal and professional development.
• Commitment to the vision, mission, and values of DCA.