International Rescue Committee (IRC) Jobs in Uganda for Project Director

Job title: Project Director


The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster and provides innovative, relevant programming in post conflict environments. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

The IRC in Uganda: The IRC has worked in northern Uganda since 1998, implementing relief, recovery and post-conflict development programs in response to the devastation wrought by rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army. Today, the IRC is helping tens of thousands of people displaced by violence to return home and rebuild their communities, following a cease-fire agreement in 2006. At the same time, in Karamoja—one of the poorest and least developed areas in Uganda—the IRC works with communities affected by violence to promote peace and improve access to services since 2002. The IRC in Uganda is implementing a five year strategic plan (2011 – 2015) focusing on meeting the unique needs of adolescent girls, strengthening partnerships with the government, civil society and the private sector, promoting accountability and incorporating evidence-based approaches.

Specific notes on the HSAP Project Management: The IRC is currently preparing a proposal in response to a DFID-funded request for applications to improve community-driven accountability and monitoring of health services. This Health Sector Accountability Project (HSAP) is part of DFIDs complex, multi-year Uganda Accountability Program. The Program Director will work with a team of staff to manage the project's portfolio of sub-grants and oversee support to civil society partners throughout the sub-granting cycle (organizational development; technical trainings on gender, reproductive health, accountability seeking behaviors and advocacy; project cycle management; compliance and reporting).

This position will be an employment agreement with the IRC and is contingent on the IRC being awarded funding.
The anticipated project duration is October 2011 through December 2015, and is characterized by a six-month inception/ planning period followed by implementation.
The IRC is leading on this proposal, but working with GOAL, Uganda in the submission and subsequent project implementation.
If the IRC/GOAL is successful in getting this contract from DfID, the position would directly supervise project staff embedded in the IRC and GOAL Uganda staff.

Responsibilities:

Provide Strong Leadership to the HSAP
Ensure that the project is implemented in accordance with the terms of the DfID contract, the IRC regulations and at the highest professional standards.
Ensure that the project is carried out without cost overruns.
Provide direct technical and managerial supervision to all project staff to ensure high quality program implementation to achieve maximum coverage and impact.
Act as the primary representational link with DFID Uganda, government offices and other donors, multinationals and technical agencies as applicable.
Work closely with DFID Uganda and agencies implementing other related projects or other DFID projects under the Uganda Accountability Program.
Represent the project to all key stakeholders, government officials and donors at workshops, conferences and coordination meetings.

Lead inception stage activities (6 months) including: o Organize and draft guidance for a sub-grant process that adheres to DFID and IRC policies and procedures. o Develop manuals and procedures for grant applications. o Prepare a draft call for grant applications and issue a call for concept notes. o Based on emerging trends in the concept notes, revise manuals and procedures for full grant application process. o Organize (and outsource) assessments in areas of reproductive health and social exclusion analysis. o Organize (and outsource) baseline survey. o Establish and M&E plan, detailed year 1 workplan, detailed year one budget. o Submit inception report to DFID.

Manage sub-grant process including: o With IRC/GOAL and HSAP team, review and provide feedback on all concept notes and sub-grant proposals. o Ensure award of sub-grants to Ugandan NGOs, CBOs and district level advocacy networks. o Conduct, in collaboration with program staff, pre-award assessments of all new sub-grantees prior to sub-grant award. o Ensure submission and approval of Anti-Terrorism Compliance documents for all new sub-grantees prior to sub-grant award. o Prepare sub-grantee agreements and modifications.

Civil Society Capacity Building
Ensure potential sub-grantees are familiar with DFID and IRC sub-grant policies and procedures.
Working with fellow IRC/GOAL staff, disseminate guidelines about, and train potential sub-grantees in, the process of submitting sub-grant proposals responsive to this project's needs and in line with USAID and IRC regulations.
Prepare, in collaboration with HSAP program staff and sub-grantees, individual capacity building plans for all sub-grantees.
Oversee provision of quality technical (health sector) support to CSO partners as required.
Identify, possibly through expressions of interest, organizations/firms that are capable of providing organizational development and other trainings as identified by the CSO partners.
Prepare monitoring plan for all outsourced organizational development trainings for sub-grantees.
Support the HSAP staff to conduct and document regular mentoring and follow-up of sub-grantees.

Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning
Conduct regular meetings with sub-grantee partners and program staff;
Inform program staff about key compliance issues and support program staff to work with partners to address problems;
Ensure that M&E Coordinator: o Maintains filing system (both hard and soft copy) for all sub-grantees' agreements, amendments, proposals, reports, payments and important correspondence; and o Develops sub-grantee tracking sheets and data bases that capture key information;
Ensure timely submission of sub-grantee technical and financial reports, and ensure the review of reports adheres to IRC requirements.
Coordinate with IRC's Finance Department to facilitate timely processing of all sub-grantee payments.
Ensure completion of required reports to the donor.

Requirements:  Master's Degree or higher in Social Sciences, such as international development, social work, or public policy.
 At least 10 years experience in designing, implementing and managing related civil society development programs, preferably in relation to community-accountability mechanisms.  Minimum of five years experience in advocacy-related work.  Experience (implementation or oversight) of programs in the health sector, focusing on demand side strategies for improving health service delivery.  Strong knowledge of DFID rules and regulations.  Demonstrated skills and experience working and collaborating with international and local non-profit organizations.  Strong negotiation skills and the ability to develop strong relations with local counterparts, donors, and other stakeholders.  Strong communication and interpersonal skills.  Ability and interest to work with a diverse and multicultural team in a collaborative, respectful and culturally appropriate manner.  Ability to multi-task and manage a number of different initiatives at one time, with flexibility and creativity in a complex environment.

Please apply online: www.ircjobs.org or http://tbe.taleo.net/NA2/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=IRC&cws=1&rid=7241 .

Closing Date: Sunday, 18 September 2011