Programme Manager, Mastercard Foundation Accelerating Impact for Young Women in partnership with BRAC (AIM) At BRAC

Career with BRAC International

BRAC International is a leading non-profit organisation with a mission to empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease, and social injustice. Founded in 1972, by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, BRAC is the largest non-governmental development organisation in the world, and is present in 15 countries across Asia and Africa today. BRAC designs proven, scalable solutions that equip people with the support and confidence they need to achieve their potential. BRAC’s institutional expertise on various programmes, including health, agriculture, microfinance, education, and youth empowerment, is touching the lives of over 100 million people in the Global South.

BRAC International (BI) is seeking application from competent, dynamic and self-motivated individuals to fill the following position:

About the AIM Programme:

The Mastercard Foundation Accelerating Impact for Young Women in partnership with BRAC will create a positive and measurable impact for 1.2 million adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and 9.5 million people across seven countries in East and West Africa, including Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda.

There is mounting urgency to support adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) living in poverty, which has been further amplified by the global pandemic. Through this partnership, scalable economic development approaches will be delivered in communities to foster the agency and voice of AGYW. They will have the opportunity to fulfill their aspirations, achieve sustainable livelihoods, and engage in advocacy issues.

Programme Manager, Mastercard Foundation Accelerating Impact for Young Women in partnership with BRAC (AIM)

The Program Manager will manage the implementation of the AIM program in BRAC Liberia Country Team. This exciting role involves the overall management, leadership, and oversight of the program, under the supervision of the Country Director/Head of Programs, BRAC Liberia, and with technical and programmatic supervision received from the global technical team and AIM central team at BRAC International. This will be a full-time position based in BRAC Liberia Country office in Liberia. Apart from the overall management, leadership, and oversight of the program, the role includes direct and indirect management, coaching, and capacity building of BRAC Liberia implementation staff, budget management, internal and external stakeholders and partnership management, effective communication and reporting, and promotion of safeguarding into the program. The Programme Manager will serve as the focal person for all matters relating to the AIM programme. S/he will be the link between any internal and external stakeholders and the AIM program.

Key Responsibilities:

● Develop, Contextualize, and Manage the Integrated Programming for AGYW:

• Lead the program in the attainment of measurable impact in the life of AGYWs
• Foster an understanding of the context – political, cultural, etc., and community expectations, within the AIM program team in BRAC Liberia – and contribute to the development and implementation of contextually appropriate programme design and operational manual
• Manage stakeholder coordination to develop, adopt, and deliver localized and comprehensive solutions for achieving holistic impact for AGYWs in targeted communities.
• Oversee overall implementation of the integrated program and related interventions in the targeted areas and ensure that interventions are delivered on time, on budget, and in compliance with BRAC and donor regulations
• Lead the AIM programme team staff to develop work plans and follow up with team members regularly to ensure that activities are on track
• Monitor program progress against both programmatic and budgetary targets, making adjustments to program design as necessary
• Prepare timely and high-quality program and donor reports on project activities in compliance with internal SC requirements and any relevant external donor requirements
• Follow field-level program activities and provide supportive supervision to improve the program quality and staff knowledge
• Where needful, contribute to country-level contingency plans and support the integration of contingency planning for the AIM programme

● Ensure the Implementation of a Robust, Inclusive MEL System:

• Enhance quality programming by incorporating quality planning system monitoring valuation, and learning
• Ensure appropriate, timely, and accurate data collection against agreed indicators to enable both internal and external reporting
• Work closely with the M&E and knowledge management teams to collate lessons learned and best practices among internal and external stakeholders
• Work with the MEL team to identify and incorporate project-suitable accountability mechanisms
• Regular visits to monitor and verify program performance

● Manage Stakeholder Coordination, Advocacy and Networking:

• Lead internal coordination, especially with Microfinance counterparts and other global technical/functional teams
• Manage day-to-day coordination with country support teams in areas of human resources, finance, procurement, administration, IT, communications, etc.
• Oversee BRAC and partner staff to ensure effective coordination of integrated programming and multi-sectoral interventions.
• Support technical donor reviews and external engagement activities including meetings with implementation partners, government agencies, civil society, and local Community-Based Organizations, organizing learning and knowledge-sharing sessions.
• Collect different levels of government approval needed for the implementation of the AIM programme
• Strengthen/create local and national level advocacy network to accelerate AGYWs impact
• Link between any internal and external stakeholders and the AIM program in-country.

● Grants, Knowledge, Risk management, and Reporting:

• Proactively monitor program performance, identifying and mitigating programmatic and organizational risk, and escalate as necessary
• Manage the implementation of standard award contracts, coordinate approval of agreements and sub-agreements, amendments, and extensions, where applicable
• Support and coordinate with country-level Grants Managers, M&E, and Finance teams to ensure timely submission of quality narrative and financial reports on a quarterly basis. Additionally, frequently (at least monthly) monitor the budget intake.
• Oversee database management, including updates for pipeline reports, grant stewardship, prospect research, and contact management
• Lead and contribute to the capturing and documentation of program-related knowledge and learnings and contribute to process development and documentation

● Team management and overall stewardship:

• Manage and coordinate the AIM team ensuring competent and motivated staff as well as manage performance of staff and encourage on-the-job coaching, identify and address learning and training needs and opportunities
• Support the development of capacity-building plans for the AIM team
• Manage external technical consultants and partners involved in the AIM programme in the country
• Support the communications team with up-to-date content to create presentations and marketing materials to showcase program and project successes

Others (Safeguarding):

• Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation to achieve the program’s goals of safeguarding implementation**.** Act as a key source of support, guidance, and expertise on safeguarding for establishing a safe working environment.
• Practice, promote, and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action.
• Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place and encourage others to do the same.

Education and Experience Requirements:

• Master’s degree in development studies/Economics/Anthropology/Sociology/Business Administration and/or other relevant fields
• Minimum 7 years of work experience with at least 4 years of managerial/leadership experience in international development, working with ultra-poor and marginalized communities to implement integrated development programs including microfinance, graduation, livelihood, agricultural and food security, and/or girl’s and women’s empowerment programs.
• Experience in project management and coordination, including supervision and monitoring, administration, finance, and logistics.

Required Competencies:

• Proven aptitude in proposal development and writing including advanced budgeting skills.
• Experience in representation and negotiation with the government, donors, partners, and other stakeholders
• Ability to interpret financial data and prepare budgets and financial grant reports.
• Microsoft Office skills, especially Excel
• Strong problem-solving skills, highly organized, strategic thinker with a strong attention to detail.
• Strong sense of teamwork and collaboration and demonstrated ability to build relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Diplomatic and highly effective on an interpersonal level in addition to cross-cultural sensitivity
• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and dedication to the mission of BRAC.

Employment type: Regular

Salary: Negotiable

Job Location: BRAC Country Office, Liberia