Financial Sustainability Programme Manager at Plan International

Type of Role: 12-month Fixed Term contract (maternity cover) 
Functional Area: Global Finance
Reports to: Financial Sustainability Programme Lead
Travel required: Limited
Grade: 4

Role Purpose

• Working in 54 countries across Africa, Asia, Middle East and the Americas, Plan International aims to reach as many children as possible, particularly those who are excluded or marginalised, with high quality programmes that deliver long lasting benefits.
• Plan International is implementing a global strategy with the aim that 100 Million Girls Learn, Lead, Decide and Thrive. Against this backdrop, we are working to transform how we operate so that we can deliver better outcomes for girls. This includes a range of organisational change projects and an increased focus on ensuring our financial sustainability.
• In this role you will deliver value to Plan International through the development of a range of projects to increase the effectiveness of organisational capability to deliver value at both global and local levels. You will work closely with stakeholders across business, leadership and governance at Plan International to facilitate solutions to complex and strategic problems using a mix of technical expertise, creativity, perseverance and intellectual rigour.
• This role will work closely with the FSP Lead to manage delivery of the Financial Sustainability Programme (FSP) deliverables by ensuring the work is planned and sequenced, that implementation is monitored and managed, and that there is effective communication, reporting and governance.

Accountabilities
Supporting Effective Decision Making:

• Communicating complex technical information to inform strategic decision making by diverse audiences within Plan International
• Facilitating global engagement of technical experts and leadership to support effective and informed decision making
• Supporting the FSP Board and other leadership bodies to ensure the dynamic review of priorities and progress

Supporting planning and implementation of the Financial Sustainability Programme (FSP):

• Apply the appropriate project management tools, skills and techniques to ensure the FSP is meeting agreed deliverables with quality and expectations.
• Work closely with Project Leads to develop, consolidate, maintain and overview key planned activity for the FSP.
• Track progress against critical milestones and deliverables, this will include having a strong understanding of our funding and operating model.
• Ensure a clear understanding of the organisational sustainability risk and how the FSP outputs will help reduce this risk.
• Working closely with the FSP Lead to maintain a view of the key deliverables across projects to ensure alignment, coordination and interdependencies are tracked and taken into consideration.
• Manage and support the implementation of the detailed activity plan of the FSP, ensuring that agreed timelines are met and that teams are appropriately supported throughout the process.
• Help the FSP Lead to identify project-level risks and issues and identify recommendations to address them.
• Develop and improve tools, report formats, project documentation templates and associated materials and approaches and ensure that key documentation is maintained in line with our knowledge management practices.
• Work closely with Project Leads and the Communications Department to support timely and consistent communication and messaging to stakeholders at all levels.

Governance and Reporting:

• Ensure governance reporting requirements are understood and met by all project team members.
• Support the design and development of team reporting and governance mechanisms
• Work closely with the FSP Lead to produce reports and papers for defined audiences, including but not limited to the Leadership Team, International Board and other governance bodies, as needed.
• Facilitate and provide secretariat support to relevant meetings.
• 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.

Dealing With Problems:

• Review issues and propose and agree solutions with the FSP Team, Project Leads and Technical Advisory Group. Escalate to the FSP Board and management as required.
• Identify and review possible obstacles to the successful adoption of proposed organisational change.
• Creative mind to propose alternative project plans or approaches as required, escalating where necessary.
• Ability to perform and deliver under pressure within deadlines.

Key Relationships:

• High level of contact with business colleagues across all levels of the organisational structure across all Plan International entities, functions and locations.
• High level of contact with leadership to ensure understanding of FSP delivery.
• Line management of the FSP Administrator.
• Extensive engagement with other change programmes including YODA as well as global strategy delivery and Global Fundraising Hub.

Technical Expertise, Skills and Knowledge
Expertise:

• Substantial experience of leading a project or programme management of complex initiatives
• Experience of working with stakeholders at senior managerial levels
• Experience of working through influencing outside direct line-management relationships in order to achieve results
• Experience of directing and supervising the work of others
• Logical reasoning - to demonstrate the rationale behind any recommendations.
• Resilience and comfort in working with uncertainty. A positive approach and sense of humour.

Skills:

• Good organisational and co-ordination skills being able to successfully manage time, plans, other related tasks
• Strong project or programme management skills, including identification and mitigation of risks and issues.
• Strong process analysis and improvement skills
• Able to prioritise work effectively for execution with limited resources
• Sound analytical and problem solving capability
• Be exceptionally detail oriented and technically minded
• Strong people management skills, including very strong levels of diplomacy and negotiation, and the ability to influence others and move toward a common vision or goal
• Strong research, analysis, evaluation and problem-solving skills.
• Outstanding spoken and written communication skills, including representing information visually
• Be able to efficiently communicate, both orally and written
• Time and task management, with professional and organised approach to delivery
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight timescales, with minimal supervision
• Fluency in English, ability to work in French or Spanish an advantage

Knowledge:

• Possesses general understanding in the areas fund allocation and use
• Familiar with risk and financial management concepts

Behaviours:

• Organised and structured approach
• Ability to chair, lead project planning and status meetings, ensuring agreement reached with key project resources and stakeholders
• Ability to communicate with wide and disparate user base across the organization and at all levels. Experience of being in a programme team and an understanding of key phases of project management.
• Effective decision making in relation to systems and/or processes especially within a changing environment
• Ability to prioritise and adjust work packages to keep assigned projects on track
• Ability to work to work to tight but achievable timelines
• Resolves and/or escalates issues in a timely fashion.

Desirable:

• Prince2, PMP, or PQASSO qualifications
• Successful delivery of projects or programmes in a multi-national, multi-lingual organisational environment.
• Exposure to change management, communications and culture frameworks.
• Experience working in an INGO environment, especially internationally.

Physical Environment:

• Hybrid – remote / office based as required.

Level of Contact with Children:

• Low contact: No contact or very low frequency of interaction.

Plan International’s Values in Practice
We are open and accountable:

• Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
• Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
• Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
• Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
• Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people.

We strive for lasting Impact:

• Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
• Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
• Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
• Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We work well together:

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.

We are inclusive and empowering:

• Empowers staff to give their best and develop their potential.
• Respects all people, appreciate differences and challenge equality in our programs and our workplace.
• Supports children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives.

Salary

• We will be happy to disclose the salary and applicable benefits to applicants as part of this process, however, please kindly note that the salary and employment benefits will be set according to your location and therefore it is not possible to include full details here.
• As an indication if this role was based in the UK the salary would be circa £45,000.