Project Director at Right To Play

BACKGROUND:

Right To Play is a global organisation that protects, educates and empowers children to rise above adversity using play. By harnessing play, one of the most powerful and fundamental forces in a child’s life, we helped 2.3 million children last year to stay in school and out of work, to prevent life-threatening diseases like HIV and malaria and to stay safe from exploitation and abuse. We are the only global development organization focused exclusively on using play to transform the lives of children and youth impacted by poverty, war, disease and inequality. Established in 2000, Right To Play is headquartered in Toronto, Canada and has operations in 22 countries across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

With a shared passion for our mission, our Culture Code guides how we act and interact based on five core pillars:

 Accept Everyone – Be intentional about inclusion

 Make Things Happen – Seek opportunities to lead and innovate

 Display Courage – Act with integrity

 Demonstrate Care – Look after yourself and one another

 Be Playful – Have fun at work

Please visit our website to learn more about who we are and what we do, and watch this video to find out about the five pillars of our Culture Code. **

JOB SUMMARY:

RTP is seeking a Project Director (PD) for a five year Global Affairs Canada (GAC) funded project in Ghana, Uganda and Mozambique, SHARE. SHARE will be implemented as a consortium led by Right To Play, in partnership with WaterAid, the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) and FHI 360. This five-year program, due to start in May 2021, will operate in Ghana, Mozambique and Uganda, and will use a gender-transformative and rightsbased approach to improve the reproductive health of adolescents, particularly girls and young women.

The PD will be responsible for ensuring that the proposed project is implemented in accordance with the contribution agreement, GAC Terms and Conditions, and internationally recognized quality of assistance standards. The PD will work closely with RTP HQ staff and all consortium members to provide GAC with timely project updates, discuss strategies, obstacles, performance plans, and indicator success. The PD will represent the project to all key stakeholders, government officials, and donors at coordination fora and other related seminars and meetings. The PD will support country teams and partners to ensure that project initiatives achieve the expected results of increasing the enjoyment of health-related human rights by the most marginalized and vulnerable rights-holders, particularly adolescent girls and young women, in targeted areas of Ghana, Mozambique and Uganda.

Reporting to the Director of Global Partnerships and working in close cooperation with the rest of the Global Partnerships team, Global Directors of Country Operations, the Global Program Unit, Program Finance, Communications, Country Offices and all three external SHARE consortium partners, this role requires a high level of collaboration and coordination.

The position will be based in the capital city of one of the three SHARE countries; however, extensive travel locally and internationally (up to 50%) is required to split time between the three countries. Given the impact of COVID19, travel requirements may potentially change, and the PD may be required to work from home in the initial months of employment.

The position will report directly to the Director of Global Partnerships however given the complex and multi dimensional nature of the role, the PD will also have matrixed reporting lines to other Directors within Right To Play including the Global Directors of Country Operations, Country Directors, and the Global Director of Program Development.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Job Responsibility #1: Strategic Leadership and Management (40%):

 Responsible for the overall planning, implementation and management of the project as well as the achievement of the goals and objectives of the project in a timely and cost-effective manner.

 Ensure strong communication and coordination with all team and consortium members as a means to effectively achieve program objectives. Encourage transparency among and between consortium members to promote coordination and effectiveness.

 Lead the planning of project activities and set high quality performance targets ensuring adherence to technical standards, RTP procedures, best practices and donor guidelines.

 Design strategies, partnerships and interventions to guarantee the project is gender and ability-sensitive and that RTP and implementing partners are accountable to beneficiaries.

 Point of contact and collaboration for the SHARE team (spanning 3 countries) and in-country stakeholders, including GAC, implementation partners, government partners and other key stakeholders.

 Support recruitment of RTP staff hired to work on the SHARE project.

Job Responsibility #2: Strategic Engagement and Donor Relations (20%):

 Direct and oversee grant implementation, ensuring that all strategic objectives are met through proper design, staffing, implementation and quality assurance.

 Ensure effective liaison with local government officials, local communities, donor representatives and other stakeholders as appropriate, including by planning and hosting Project Steering Committee meetings.

 Constantly look for more effective and efficient implementation and opportunities to increase impact

 Represent SHARE in public fora, including conferences, working groups and local, national or regional committees, as appropriate and relevant.

Job Responsibility #3: Monitoring, Reporting, Documentation & Knowledge Management (20%):

 Establish and maintain effective project reporting, evaluation, and communication systems.

 Submit timely accurate and quality reports that meet donor requirements.

 Document and disseminate project best practices, lessons learnt and success stories.

Job Responsibility #4: Budget Management (20%):

 Provide guidance to country teams on grant/project budget within approved spending levels and ensure accurate and timely financial reports to donors and RTP.

 Ensure grant/project expenses are reasonable, allocated as per assigned budget, prudent and spent in accordance with donor rules and regulations to ensure low risk audits.

EDUCATION/TRAINING/CERTIFICATION:

 Master’s degree in social sciences, public health, medicine, management, business administration, or a related field

EXPERIENCE:

 10+ years’ professional experience in grant management, program management, compliance and donor management in an INGO, particularly with grants and programs focused on education.

 10+ years’ experience in and good understanding of the grant management cycle, logical frameworks, budget monitoring and experience of working with major institutional donors, foundations and multilateral organizations (experience managing Global Affairs Canada programs preferred).

 10+ years of demonstrated experience in partnership building, especially with government representatives, donors, the private sector, and local community organizations.

Experience in coordinating and managing complex, multi-country and multi-partner consortia.

 Experience with working in cross-functional teams and matrix environments.

 Experience working and living in a range of cultural contexts and in developing countries.

 Proven track record of developing alliances, working in consortia and partnerships.

 Demonstrated experience in building strong trust-based relationships with widely diverse people.

COMPETENCIES / PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

 Demonstrates a high level of interpersonal and cross-cultural skills including the ability to build collaborative relationships internally and externally with sensitivity to cultural, ethnic, social and political issues.

 Patient, adaptable, flexible, able to improvise and remain responsive and communicate clearly and effectively under pressure, working with a wide range of stakeholders.

 Capable of working with and leading teams across multiple countries, leveraging remote platforms and technologies to facilitate project management and collaboration.

 Self-motivated and able to work independently with minimal supervision.

 Willingness and ability to travel (sometimes on short notice).

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS:

 Solid knowledge of international development and health programming

 Strong representation skills and ability to develop relationships with INGO, multilateral and government agencies

 Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organise a workload comprised of varying and changing tasks and responsibilities

 Flexibility and ability to respond quickly to changing priorities/situations and and produce results under very short deadlines.

 Excellent influencing, negotiation, coaching, diplomacy and engagement skills

 Excellent communication skills (written and oral), interpersonal, public relations and report writing skills.

 Good analysis, problem solving and project management skills

 Ability to maintain composure whilst dealing with competing priorities and stakeholders

LANGUAGES:

 Fluency in spoken and written English is mandatory.

WHO YOU ARE:

You are a highly collaborative relationship builder with a passion for development work and programming. You have been extensively involved in donor management, grant management, consortia management and compliance monitoring and you are able to lead others through related activities. Your attention to detail is great and you have a positive, follow-through mindset. You are focused on strategically positioning Right To Play as a partner of choice for our donors and for other key development partners and stakeholders. You are ready and willing to travel frequently and for several weeks at a time to support teams in countries other than the one in which you are based.

WHAT YOU’LL GET:

The opportunity to work with a passionate, innovative and collaborative team where you have the ability to make things happen. You will gain experience working for a globally recognized organization with a healthy culture premised on our Culture Code (accept everyone, make things happen, display courage, demonstrate care & be playful). In addition, we offer a competitive salary and benefits package and flexible work environment.

Target Start Date:

Immediately Contract Duration: Two-year contract with possibility of renewal.