Head of Programme at Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

Job Identification: 4536
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Job Category: Coordination
Reports to: Country Director
Supervision of: 8 Core Competency Specialists, M&E Manager, Grants Manager, and Consortium Manager
Travel: 30%
Project number: NGFX000
Duration and type of contract: 24 months
Duty Station: Maiduguri with 25% travelling
Grade: 11 in NRC scale

Context

• NRC has been present in Nigeria since 2015 and has responded to the largest displacement waves in the country since August 2015. With a workforce of 350 national staff, and 17 international staff members and presence in key locations such as Maiduguri, and Yola Area Offices, NRC is able to respond to the needs of those affected by the conflict across North-East Nigeria.
• These strategic locations have allowed NRC greater reach from the north and south parts of the region and allowed NRC to contribute to bridging the gap between humanitarian aid and development cooperation, including through focusing on equitable access to basic services and strengthening the rights of displaced people and returnees.
• In addition to the Country Office, and the abovementioned Area Offices, NRC has sub-offices structures in Dikwa, Monguno, Damasak, Biu, Mubi, and Pulka / Gwoza.

Role and Responsibilities

• The Head of Programme is responsible for the overall programmatic strategy across the entire country operation and for ensuring timely and adequate technical inputs, contributing to the quality assurance of program implementation across the project cycle management (PCM).
• The position ensures that NRC’s projects bring a significant contribution to meeting immediate humanitarian needs & ensuring programmatic strategies are in place to ensure durable solutions of displacement affected individuals.
• The Head of Programme is therefore a key senior position in the NRC country set up, responsible for cross-cutting programmatic information management, sound design of and overseeing assessments, monitoring and evaluation, and ensuring that information collected is reflected upon, used to improve ongoing projects, and is incorporated into consistently high-quality grant proposals and reports.
• S/he plays as key role in strategy development and adherence and ensuring that policies, systems, and people are continuously and accurately working in a coordinated manner to ensure that a coherent and comprehensive program is designed and implemented.
• The Head of Programme is also responsible for fundraising activities and external representation, alongside the CD.

Generic Responsibilities
These responsibilities are the same for all HoP positions and cannot be modified:

• Line management for Core Competence Specialists
• Member of the Country Management Group (CMG)
• Compliance with and adherence to NRC policies, guidance and procedures
• Provide programme input to Country Strategy and Plan of Action
• Development of Core Competency strategies
• Development of holistic and needs based programmes
• Identify funding opportunities, develop funding strategies and forecasts
• Grants management, BPO allocations and reporting to donors, including compliance with donor standards
• Quality control, M&E and organizational learning
• Capacity building of all technical staff
• In-country representation
• Promote the rights of IDPs/returnees in line with the advocacy strategy

Specific Responsibilities:

• Deputy CD when appointed;
• Provide leadership and management on NRC programming in Nigeria, including fundraising, appropriate allocation and management of resources, programme quality, accountability, and performance management;
• Participate actively in country program management, coordination, and strategy meetings with other members of the senior management team;
• Provide strong and effective leadership to NRC’s program teams, ensuring that priorities and opportunities identified are in line with and contribute to achievement of NRC’s country, regional and global strategies;
• Provide guidance to the program team regarding tools and strategies to ensure that programming is based on input from communities, local partners and local / national stakeholders, a thorough understanding of the context, and technical best practices;
• Ensure programs collaborate across sectors on outcome-based programs for greater impact;
• Ensure that all projects are implemented in adherence to NRC’s Project Cycle Management (PCM) framework;
• Support the M&E Unit to develop, adapt and implement appropriate monitoring and evaluation systems that enhance program quality, increase effectiveness and measure results;
• Take a leadership role in ensuring cross – cutting issues are actively considered throughout the programme cycle
• Work with colleagues in the country program to identify funding opportunities and develop context appropriate proposals that meet NRC quality standards; meet regularly with donors to discuss current and potential funding opportunities;
• Work closely with Finance colleagues, and respective budget  holders to ensure timely budget development, financial planning and budget management;
• Directly manage and coordinate all consortiums and ensure relevant technical support is provided in the dedicated consortium working groups
• Remain up-to-date, and aware of ongoing contextual and funding trends in the region and provide regular updates on these trends and analysis of how they may affect NRC programming;
• Lead coordination and compiling of cross sectoral data and information;
• Support Country Director in representation and coordination efforts at the Abuja level;
• Actively support the Country Director and/ or the Protection and Advocacy Advisor’s (PAA) national level advocacy and communication initiatives;
• Support and monitor the strategic objectives of the CO.

Competencies
Generic professional competencies for this position:

• Minimum 5 years’ experience from a senior management position in a humanitarian/ recovery context
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts preferably in Africa
• Core competency expertise
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal
• Valid driver’s license

Context / Specific Skills, Knowledge and Experience:

• Good knowledge of the context in Nigeria
• Experience with start-up
• Experience in advocacy work and close government engagement
• Proposal development and donor compliance experience