Head of Programmes – Iraq At War Child UK

War Child UK (WCUK) is going through a period of exciting change, with a strong focus on technical quality and thought leadership in child protection. We have several active projects and are seeking to expand the portfolio. WCUK is a leading child protection actor in Iraq and is leading a national PSS roll-out with the cluster. The Head of Programme in Iraq will oversee projects, technical quality, fundraising and external programme representation. WCUK in Iraq is focused on quality programming and reaching the most vulnerable.

If you share our values and believe that children’s lives should not be torn apart by war, we want to hear from you.

About us

War Child: the charity for children affected by war. We are a specialist charity for children in conflict, delivering high-impact programmes that are rebuilding lives across Afghanistan, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Central African Republic and Yemen. We understand children’s needs, respect their rights, and put them at the centre of the solution – from reintegrating child soldiers in the Central African Republic to upholding the rights of children caught up in juvenile justice in Afghanistan. We look forward to a world in which the lives of children are no longer torn apart by war. This is a vision that can only be realised through the collective actions of children themselves, communities and their leaders, organisations like War Child, governments and key decision makers.

Safeguarding

Our work with children and at-risk adults to keep them safe is the most important thing we do. We are committed to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in all areas of our work. We have zero tolerance for any behaviours and practices that puts children and/or vulnerable adults at risk of abuse and/or harm.

Your role

An integral part of the Senior Management Team in country, the Head of Programmes will provide strategic leadership to programmes teams in Iraq, ensuring programme quality, high quality, strategically aligned project design and fundraising, and effective implementation of projects. It is a critical role requiring a seasoned, motivated and experienced individual a desire for a new and exciting challenge in a small but rapidly growing organisation. The role ensures information from the country programme is shared across departments and will represent War Child at the highest levels; donors, national authorities, clusters and national partners in Iraq. The role is managed by the Country Director in Iraq.

Your responsibilities

• Provide leadership in program strategy development in the themes of child protection, education and livelihoods, ensuring cross cutting themes of gender, disability and accountability are properly integrated in programme engagements.
• Responsible for creating a culture committed to the safeguarding of all individuals who we come direct or indirect contact with.
• Ensure that programmes are safe and that the safeguarding policy and SOPs are implemented across programmes.
• Lead and coordinate the design of high-quality technical proposals and budgets in line with War Child global and country level priorities.
• Ensure fundraising efforts at the country level are coordinated and strategic, in line with global and national level priorities.
• Ensure strategic presence of WCUK staff in key humanitarian and development forums and clusters. Represent the organisation in strategic forums.
• Develop and foster partnerships with donors, UN agencies, INGOs and other key actors.
• Work closely with the SMT in country to ensure relevant, effective and efficient operations support systems are in place for effective and efficient programme implementation.
• Work closely with the finance team to ensure timely implementation of grants and monitor expenditure to reduce the risk of disallowable costs.
• Maintain overview of internal and external programmatic audits and ensure any findings/ recommendations are acted upon.
• Provide line management and leadership to technical advisors, ensuring safe quality programming and effective support. Performance-manage staff in line with organisational processes.
• Work closely with Area Coordinators to ensure effective implementation, tracking, and adjustments to projects.
• Oversee grant review processes and tracking systems to ensure timely and effective implementation of programmes.
• Oversee work of a multi-location and multi-skilled team, ensuring quality outcomes and collaboration within the team to achieve programme strategy.
• Supervise and develop MEAL systems and ensure projects are agile to incorporate learning.
• Ensure an effective accountability and feedback mechanisms are in place, accessible to beneficiaries and community members, are utilized, learnings are incorporated, and outcomes fed back to relevant stakeholders.
• Lead on advocacy efforts in country and ensure synergies with global advocacy efforts and programming.
• Ensure that high quality reporting is submitted to donors on time.
• Coordinate the design of a research and learning agenda for Iraq.

These duties provide a framework for the role and should not be regarded as a definitive list. Other reasonable duties may be required consistent with the grade of the post.

You have

• Significant experience in successfully designing and delivering strategies for programmes at scale.
• Knowledge and experience of project management in complex multi-stakeholder programmes.
• Technical competencies in child protection, education and livelihoods.
• Thorough knowledge and experience of the practical application of child safeguarding and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse in programming in complex environments.
• Skills and proven background in monitoring and evaluation and the ability to provide organisational leadership in this area.
• Proven leadership skills and the ability to manage, motivate and inspire a diverse team.
• Proven ability to influence others to achieve successful outcomes, including government, UN agencies and donors through successful advocacy.
• Ability to collaborate and form effective partnerships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Capacity to juggle multiple stakeholders and keep them engaged.
• Strong planning and organisational skills with the ability to make effective decisions.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build positive working relationships with a broad range of stakeholders.
• Previous experience managing programs in the Middle East and Iraq in particular is highly desirable.
• Fluency in English, spoken Arabic is an asset.
• This role is open to Iraqi and non-Iraqi (International) candidates.