Programme and Organisational Capacity Development Manager (SIDA) in Plan International

PLAN INTERNATIONAL

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian (dual mandate) non-profit organisation that believes in the power and potential of every child, but knows this is often supressed by poverty, violence, exclusion, disasters and discrimination.

Working together with children, girls, young people, supporters, and partners, Plan International strives for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenge’s girls and vulnerable children face. Plan International has been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years and now active in more than 75 countries, delivering humanitarian assistance and driving changes in practice and policy at local, national, and global levels using our reach, experience, and knowledge.

Our global strategy “All girls standing strong creating global change” has a specific focus on girls, as they are often the most marginalised and most often left behind. We have committed ourselves to the ambitious target of reaching 200 million girls over 5 years, to ensure they can learn, lead, decide and thrive. This is our contribution to reaching the sustainable development goals, and in particular the goals on gender equality in both humanitarian and development settings. 

Role Purpose and Background

The war in Ukraine is resulting in a major humanitarian crisis with over 4 million people having fled to neighbouring countries, and millions displaced within Ukraine. Plan International is responding to the crisis and working in partnership with civil society organisations in Poland, Romania, and Moldova to meet the key needs of those affected by the crisis as well as host communities.

Plan International has been present in Ukraine since July 2022 and has established partnerships with civil society organisations, ensuring national actors are equipped with technical support, best practices and flexible resources, with a primary thematic focus on Child Protection, Education and Mental Health & Psychosocial Support.

Dimensions of the Role

The SIDA POCD Manager will provide support to Country DCD-Program to the locally led in-country response, ensuring alignments with Plan International’s commitments to localisation. The post holder will be responsible for day-to-day management of the delivery of the SIDA project in Ukraine and Moldova, including planning and monitoring of project activities as well as communicating with local implementing partners. 

The SIDA POCD Manager is responsible for providing overall guidance, externally with local partners and other stakeholders to ensure that Plan International Ukraine can fulfil its obligations to the donor and ensure quality implementation of project activities.

Accountabilities

Project Implementation

• Contribute to the planning and design of the project implementation and proactively monitor progress, resolving issues and initiating appropriate corrective actions in coordination with technical leads and partners.
• In coordination with the PIM, provide strategic direction and guidance to the SIDA Project Officer, and any contractors and consultants hired to implement specific tasks to ensure the project’s outputs are achieved as per donor expectations and standards. 
• Guide and support the SIDA Project Officer in the development and modification of all project’s documentation (Detailed Implementation Plans, Risk Assessment and Mitigation frameworks, Capacity Building plan, and others that might be required based on specific contract stipulation.)
• Ensure activities are in line with Plan International’s standard policies and procedures and in line with the One Response Strategy.
• Support technical specialists to ensure that the project is of high quality and has meaningful impact on children affected by the war.
• Lead on Project start-up/closure workshops in coordination with all technical experts, finance, and project teams and with partners and stakeholders. 
• Identify and resolve project implementation issues and implement improvement plans to ensure the project stays on schedule and within budget (on scope and on target)
• Undertake field and monitoring visits to project sites to ensure project quality.
• Actively manage, guide and mentor the SIDA POCD Officer to ensure that the project is meeting donor compliance standards. 
• Coordinate with the SIDA POCD Officer, MERL and Technical Specialists to write, review and consolidate project reports, communication materials and other reports required per donor contract ensuring timely submission to Funding Office and SIDA, focusing on quality reporting.

Humanitarian Programme Development Strategy and Quality

• Provide oversight, and support to implementing partners in all projects’ activities, according to the approved project proposals, donor’s and Plan’s guidelines, work plans, logframes and budgets.
• Ensure appropriate project quality standards are met in implementation of the SIDA project
• Collaborate with MERL to ensure that monitoring & evaluation and accountability processes are in place ensuring that feedback is incorporated into learning processes and project specific learning is disseminated reaching a wide audience. 
• Develop and maintain close contact and relationships with the Government of Ukraine, Local authorities, UN Agencies, Partners and NGOs in order to support the humanitarian response in country.
• Strategically engage with partners in identifying risks and developing strategies to mitigate the identified risks.
• Oversee knowledge management.
• As required, facilitate, coordinate and participate in evaluations, conferences, seminars and communities of practice or other activities related to support for Humanitarian response.

Partnership Oversight and Management

• Identify capacity strengthening areas for each partner and develop a plan to support partners to build their capacity in target area. 
• Ensure that mutual capacity strengthening plans are on track and that partnership monitoring tools are being appropriately used for all partners
• Contribute to the operational capacity strengthening of partners, with support from technical specialists
• Coordinate and follow-up on partners reporting deadlines and support on reporting revisions where necessary
• Draft Partnership Agreements and assist with contractual documentation 
• Coordinate and facilitate partnership review meetings in line with Plan International’s partnership principles
• Coordinate and facilitate close-out meetings with partners and document lessons learned
• Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures

Update the partner mapping on a regular basis and ensure that Due Diligence is updated regularly based on the project cycle;

• Develop and implement a capacity development plan for staff and partners in collaboration with other departments and specialists;
• Ensure that each Plan International Moldova partner has an effective mechanism for periodic evaluation of the partnership;
• Organize partner surveys;

Programme Safety and Risk Mitigation 

• Managing risks to projects, with proactive mitigation strategies in place to minimize any adverse impacts

Information Management and Communication

• Ensure strong accountability to partners and beneficiaries.
• Overseeing communications with relevant stakeholders, focusing on maintaining open channels of communications with project partners. 
• Support in shaping communications and media products, with external representation when and if required. 
• Support Communications Specialist to ensure that Plan International and donor visibility compliance requirements are observed and met. 
• Contribute and provide inputs to regular sitreps on Plan International’s projects, including any emergency response activities. 
• Ensure appropriate information is shared within Plan International and is uploaded to the organisational intranet.
• Maintain constructive and timely communications with project partners, focusing on ‘Building Better Partnerships’ and responding to partner requests and queries in a timely manner. 

Other Duties

• Actively participate in regular Portfolio Review Meetings, communicating issues and project challenges, as well as providing project information to the wider Plan International Moldova and Ukraine Teams
• Foster inter-team dynamics between the Programs, Finance, HR and Safeguarding Teams.
• Any other duties tasked by DCD-P
• Learn and maintain SIDA Compliance standards and procedures.

Key relationships

DCD-P (line manager), Technical Specialists (CPiE, MHPSS, EiE, CVA), MERL-AAP team Business Development Manager, Partnerships Coordinator, POCD Officer (as their line manager), and support staff (Finance and logistics); SNO; Local project implementing partners; and Global Hub relevant teams.

Technical expertise, skills, and knowledge

Essential Knowledge 

• Degree or equivalent in management or related fields, particularly in social-sciences.
• Field experience of managing projects in a humanitarian crises or development context.
• The localisation principles and agenda
• General finance, administration, information management and telecommunication skills and proficiency in information technology/ computer skills. Previous work experience with an INGO (in a similar role) or civil society organisation highly desired, including past SIDA experience
• Excellent understanding of the context, and of local partners

Essential Skills

• Project management including planning and scheduling, process design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation
• Influencing and negotiating skills, experienced in gaining commitment from a wide range of people, bringing about change and providing support from a distance
• High communication skills
• Excellent report writing abilities 
• Good facilitation skills and ability to facilitate meetings and trainings
• Demonstrated ability to network and communicate with a variety of stakeholders and liaise with colleagues from different sectors and departments
• Effectively communicating with partners in a clear and transparent manner, in line with Plan’s localisation approach.
• Effectively demonstrate leadership to partners, providing guidance, motivation and mentoring on Building Better Partnerships and its approach. 

Essential Behaviours 

• Committed to Plan International’s strategy and values
• Experienced with working in collaboration with Senior Management
• Team player and relationship builder
• Able to work calmly under extreme pressure, volatile & insecure environment and at unpredictable (long) hours during emergency response
• Works well in and promotes teamwork, comfortable in a multi-cultural environment, flexible and able to work under pressure well
• Strong team building and motivational skills
• Demonstrates clear respect to all and especially children and women without discrimination
• Involves others in setting and achieving goals
• Demonstrates honesty and transparency in holding self and others to account to deliver on agreed goals and Plan’s standards of behaviour
• Promotes a strong learning culture in the organization

Plan International’s Values in Practice

We are open and accountable

We create a climate of trust inside and outside the organisation by being open, honest and transparent. We hold ourselves and others to account for the decisions we make and for our impact on others, while doing what we say we will do.

We strive for lasting impact

We strive to achieve significant and lasting impact on the lives of children and young people, and to secure equality for girls. We challenge ourselves to be bold, courageous, responsive, focused and innovative.

We work well together

We succeed by working effectively with others, inside and outside the organisation, including our sponsors and donors. We actively support our colleagues, helping them to achieve their goals. We come together to create and implement solutions in our teams, across Plan International, with children, girls, young people, communities and our partners.

We are inclusive and empowering

We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge inequality in our programmes and our workplace. We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives. We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential.