Deputy Program Manager At World University Service of Canada

Position Title: DEPUTY PROGRAM MANAGER

Position Location: Moyo (80%), Uganda, with occasional travel to Kampala (20%)

Reports to: Uganda Country Director

Contract term: Full-time, indeterminate

Likely start date: ASAP

Application deadline: Oct 30, 2021

World University Service of Canada (WUSC) is a Canadian non-profit organization with a mission to enhance education, economic opportunities, and empowerment for youth. We work with a diverse network of students, volunteers, institutions, governments, and businesses. Together, we foster youth-centered solutions to overcome inequality and exclusion. WUSC is working in partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) with funding from Global Affairs Canada (GAC) to implement the Adolescent Girls’ Education in Crisis Initiative (AGENCI). This four-year project focuses on enhancing the empowerment of vulnerable refugee and host community girls in northern Uganda through life skills, mentorship programs, support to reduce financial barriers, and community engagement. WUSC works closely with AKF teams in Uganda to jointly implement this initiative.

General Duties

The AGENCI Deputy Program Manager (DPM) will provide leadership on the strategic and operational implementation of AGENCI in Uganda. The DPM will manage relationships with key stakeholders, including with national and local government officials and project partners based in Uganda. Specifically, the DPM is responsible for the following:

• Provide managerial and technical direction and guidance to the initiative, in line with the project’s expected outcomes;
• Manage relationships with key project stakeholders, including project partners (particularly AKF teams in Uganda), government officials, and others;
• Collaborate with key stakeholders including local partners and Canada-based WUSC staff to develop key project planning deliverables (i.e. Annual Workplans and Budgets, Reports);
• Undertake a coordination role for all project governance, which includes convening regular team meetings with implementing partners and annual Regional Advisory Committee meetings, and representing AGENCI in an official capacity in-country;
• Ensuring that all AGENCI staff are informed of significant issues, developments, donor obligations and changes necessary to meet requirements in a timely manner;
• Ensure coordination between AGENCI technical experts (Kampala and Canada-based) in order to develop strategies for gender equality and social inclusion and monitoring and evaluation;
• Oversee day-to-day coordination and delivery of project activities in conjunction with staff, technical advisors, and partners; and
• Lead WUSC’s efforts to leverage additional funds for WUSC activities in Uganda, including working with teams in Canada to develop proposal documents and maintaining relationships with relevant Uganda-based actors such as multilateral and bilateral donors.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Oversee (alongside M&E team) a results monitoring system for the project which enables regular monitoring of progress toward results and iterative management;
• Ensure high quality reporting is completed and submitted in a timely manner;
• Maintain regular communication with WUSC colleagues in Canada to ensure appropriate support; and
• Ensure that project feedback, results and lessons learnt are effectively fed back to inform adjustments and improvements in project approaches, scale-up and delivery.

Human Resources and Financial Management

• Manage the WUSC AGENCI team in Uganda, including supervision and evaluation of the work of all project staff;
• Oversee human resources management issues such as employment policies and practices, in line with local law and WUSC policy;
• Work with colleagues and partners to ensure the effective mobilization, orientation and coaching of team members;
• Establish and oversee a financial management system for the project, in collaboration with the AGENCI Finance Officer;
• In conjunction with the finance team, develop and monitor the project budget and ensure regular reporting to the donor; and
• Ensure all WUSC program finances are being spent and accounted for in line with donor or program contracts and agreed budgets as well as in accordance with international accounting practices and audit expectations.

Qualifications:

• A post-graduate university degree in international development, project management or a relevant field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• A minimum of seven years of progressively more responsible assignments related to management of development initiatives;
• Proven managerial, administrative and organizational leadership skills, including the knowledge of financial and narrative reporting procedures and a solid track record in strategic program and project planning and implementation;
• Experience working with international development donor agencies, with a preference for experience with Global Affairs Canada;
• Proven experience managing, a multi-disciplinary and multi-ethnic team of staff;
• Diplomatic skills and interpersonal skills;
• Proven experience of adaptability to a challenging and constantly changing environment requiring iterative planning on a regular basis;
• Experience in capacity building with local partner organizations and a commitment to a participatory partnership approach to development;
• Experience in the management of education projects for displaced populations is desirable;
• Experience working in Moyo and Obongi Districts highly preferable;
• Proven knowledge of and commitment to the concept of gender equality; and
• Demonstrated high level written and verbal communication skills in English, and ideally at least one other language commonly spoken in Uganda.