Job Description

We’re looking for the next leader of our programs team: the Deputy Director for Programs (DDP) who will be based in Dar Es Salaam with regular travel within and outside of Tanzania. In this role, you’ll provide strategic leadership to our dynamic portfolio of programs. As a senior leader, your core responsibilities will include program oversight, grants and budget management, program quality, strategic direction, and fundraising. 

You’ll report directly to the Country Director (CD) and lead a team of eight experienced professionals in programs, grants, M&E and Research.

Do you have past experience in program leadership? Are you passionate about quality design, strategy, and want to make a meaningful impact on refugee communities in Tanzania? Then join us. 

Highlights of Key Responsibilities:

• You are the programmatic lead for the Tanzania country program, covering implementation, grants management and business development.
• You lead on proposal and concept note development and define with the CD the strategic direction of our programmatic and fundraising efforts.
• You mentor staff, providing guidance and support finance and grants teams in writing proposal narratives and budgets.
• You supervise and support the grants team's consolidation of donor reports. 
• You work to improve project management by rolling out new project cycle meetings to improve oversight, coordination and collaboration (monthly Budget versus Actual meetings, project opening meetings, implementation meetings, lessons learnt meetings, etc)
• You represent the IRC in donor and partner meetings, expanding our participation and visibility in key coordination forums. 
• You monitor project implementation against work plans, while providing guidance to project leads. 
• You foster a positive and productive professional work environment and professional relationships amongst staff; and facilitate productive working relationships between the program and operations staff.

Specific Responsibilities :

Leadership, Representation and Communication

In this position you are part of the program's senior leadership, and will set the tone and pace for the programs team. As DDP, you will lead the largest department in the organization. 

• Provide leadership and supervisory management to the programs department, as a key member of the SMT, including mobilization and stewardship of resources, program quality and accountability, and performance management.
• Drive the quality implementation and support of programs, informed by the country program’s Strategy Action Plan (SAP), monitoring and evaluation systems and technical unit support. 
• Supervise senior program staff
• Actively engage with donors, partner agencies, and the humanitarian community in Tanzania to ensure IRC is strongly represented in coordination and advocacy efforts.
• Represent IRC Tanzania at NGO, interagency and governmental meetings.
• Act as the focal point for program-related communication between IRC country programs in the region and worldwide offices.
• Oversee programmatic inputs to advocacy efforts both in-country and globally.

Program Strategy, Design and Fundraising

You and the CD will collaborate regularly to set the strategic direction for the country program and lead fundraising efforts accordingly. You will need to be forward-thinking in translating our ambitious strategy into concrete action.

• Leader in driving the IRC Tanzania’s ambitious SAP, with a particular focus on delivery of our commitments towards the strategic objectives. Specifically, work to ensure all programs are aligned with the outcomes and evidence framework (OEF) and designed along the guidance of the "Good and Great Standards."
• Position IRC for future donor resources by initiating assessments (including qualitative and quantitative data gathering), and by furthering IRC’s reflective thought leadership around program quality in Tanzania.
• Lead and support sector coordinators and programs teams to collaborate with grants/finance teams to develop responsive, competitive, evidenced-based, and cost-efficient funding applications.
• Provide mentorship to program staff regarding tools and strategies for programming that is based on input from communities, a deep understanding of the context, and evidence of technical effectiveness. 
• Provide leadership support to the programming and grants teams to develop competitive, evidence-based and cost-effective funding applications.
• Provide guidance, strategies and tools to ensure that programming choices are based on needs assessment findings (primary & secondary data) and analysis, input from communities, a thorough understanding of context, technical best practices, and operational viability.
• Formulate integrated programming initiatives so that technical sectors complement each other and promote mainstreaming of protection principles and gender-responsive approaches.

Project Management 

Program Implementation & Grant Management

As DDP, you’ll be our main lead on all issues related to program implementation and quality, and will be the main driver of our strategy ambitions and the implementation of the IRC’s Good & Great Standards for program implementation. You will approve requisitions, work plans and budgets. 

• Provide overall leadership and management of IRC Tanzania’s programming portfolio, ensuring strategically coherent program direction, well-managed growth, and compliance with IRC and donor regulations.
• Drive effective management of program implementation through structured work plans, spending plans, monitoring plans and regular field support visits; ensure that risks limiting achievement of objectives are reported and rapidly addressed. 
• Coordinate with other members of Senior Management Team on appropriate management, compliance and performance standards, as well as effective systems for budget management, knowledge management and risk management.
• Strengthen our existing M&E systems alongside the M&E team and programming staff; ensure data is used for decision-making and improvement of outcomes for our beneficiaries. 
• Support M&E Coordinator to regularly review progress against indicators. Work with M&E Coordinator and technical coordinators to put accountability mechanisms in place for beneficiary feedback.
• In collaboration with the IRC global research and innovation unit, develop and oversee management of Tanzania’s research hub including through direct management of the research hub coordinator. 
• Regularly travel to the field to visit projects.

 Financial Management 

• In coordination with finance, operations, and grants staff ensure compliance with donor requirements.
• In collaboration with finance and operations, contribute to the development and periodic reforecasting of the annual operating budget.
• In collaboration with the field management, ensure that programming staff are well trained to properly manage project budgets.
• Meet with programming, grants and finance staff regularly to review budget comparison reports.
• Mitigate risk by collaborating with the Finance Department to ensure that programming staff fully understand financial and administrative processes involved in project budget cycles.

Performance Management and Development 

You will be directly supervising a team currently comprising eight people, and inspire them to deliver their best. 

• Coach, supervise and mentor your team into a high-energy and high-performance team; communicate clear expectations, set performance objectives, provide regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and provide effective semi-annual performance reviews. 
• Create a supervisory environment that emphasizes the importance of learning, productivity, accountability and openness. 
• Be an effective manager: hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis; build development plans including on-the-job learning and providing mentorship on career paths; and promote and monitor staff care, well-being and self-care.
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, nurturing a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
• Model and encourage active practice of the principles of the “IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct;” be a champion for gender equality.
• Promote constructive, collegial teamwork between program staff and operational support staff.
• Build effective succession plans with an emphasis on leadership development
• Communicate regularly with staff and promote positive conflict resolution among team members.
• Manage recruitment, hiring and development of high-performing staff to assume greater levels of responsibility.
• Lead with commitment, integrity and accountability to the "IRC Way" – Global Standards for Professional Conduct.

Key Working Relationships

Position Reports to: Country Director

Position directly supervises: 4 x program leads; 1 x country monitoring & evaluation lead; 1 x grants lead

Other internal and external contacts:

Internal: Close working relationships with other SMT members; collaborates with regional colleagues particularly deputy regional director and peer regional DDPs 

External: Public and private donor agencies, international and national NGOs, UN agencies, partner organizations

Qualifications

• Education: Advanced degree in international relations, development studies or relevant discipline
• At least six years of progressively responsible international management experience, including technical staff supervision. 
• Proven ability to develop winning proposals to public and private-sector donors
• Fluent English. Kiswahili will be a strong advantage
• Previous experience managing programs financed by international government and donors, including US government agencies, DFID, EU, UN, foundations and private donors a must, with previous experience in competitive RFA/P environments a plus.
• Proven ability to manage projects to completion on time, within budget, and with the anticipated results.
• Demonstrated successful leadership experience with a multi-disciplinary team in a cross-cultural setting, including active mentoring and coaching.
• Extensive experience with monitoring and evaluation tools and systems for complex programs
• Experience working in humanitarian and development contexts, with experience in this region or Tanzania specifically an advantage. 
• Ability to respond to multiple priorities in a timely manner, producing high-quality outcomes.
• Ability to work and live in a sometimes insecure environment while maintaining a positive attitude.
• Positive, motivated, flexible and a great team player
• A very high degree of personal integrity, accountable for personal behavior and able to challenge others. 

WORKING ENVIRONMENT:

Security level- The situation in most of the country, including Dar es Salaam is calm. Some parts of Kigoma experience insecurity-highway banditry. 

Standards of Professional Conduct

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons and several others.

Gender Equality & Equal Opportunity

We are committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer generous benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances. We welcome and strongly encourage qualified female professionals to apply. 

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.