Senior Program Manager At Lutheran World Relief

JOB SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Senior Regional Director of Asia and Middle East, the Senior Program Manager (SPM) for Middle East leads regional/HQ support and direction to ensure that field needs for program management, project development, and Senior guidance are met. The SPM is responsible for leading technical, administrative, logistical and managerial support for project implementation and program development. Currently the bulk of the Middle East portfolio is in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen with a mix of humanitarian and development programs.

This position will serve as the primary liaison between the field offices and headquarters and is expected to communicate with donors, country directors, field staff, local partners, sub-contractors, and consultants regularly. Internally, s/he is expected to excel at working in a matrixed organization by developing productive relationships with colleagues in the technical, operations, finance and business development department

DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Program Management:

Lead project kickoff meetings for new grants and contracts.
Work in partnership with Program Managers/Directors/Team Leads in monitoring implementation of the country level programs, including tracking progress of program targets and deliverables, identifying issues that need to be addressed, and ensuring that technical and financial reporting requirements are met.
Collaborate with country staff, International Finance and Regional Finance & Administration Manager to supervise grant funds and sub-agreements and contracts, review budget variance analyses, financial reports and project spending, and to update spending plans with project teams as required.
Collaborates with the project team in work planning and tracking work progress; participates in periodic reviews of progress based on project-specific work plans.
Maintain project communications with donors through implementation for coordination and reporting purposes.
Responsible for project document management in electronic databases, including Salesforce and Sharepoint.
Ensure compliance with Corus International and donor policies and procedures. Where needed, update on country specific policies and assure compliance with local law and provide guidance to field staff on updates to policy.
Establish and develop key partnerships for project development and implementation; lead the development key implementation strategies alongside relevant host country counterparts.
Collaborate with field teams to prepare routine technical and programmatic reports, including bi-weekly reports, quarterly and semiannual reports, newsletters, websites and press releases

Business Development

Work with the Regional Rep for Strategic Partnerships, SRD and Business Development Team to identify opportunities, prepare concept notes and proposals; participate in representation, networking, and cultivation of relationships with partners and other organizations implementing programs.
When requested, serve in a proposal role for relevant country-specific interventions and proposals that are related to their current portfolio and/or technical expertise

Representation

Represent Corus International in the US/national level for technical and planning meetings and internationally at professional conferences and other events.
Represent Corus International on the InterAction Working Groups, any local humanitarian coordination mechanisms and local forums, as applicable

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION: A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in International Development or a related field, Master’s preferred is required.

EXPERIENCE: At least 7 years’ experience managing and implementing international development programs. Demonstrated experience overseeing USAID terms and conditions as well as other international donors, including MCC, CDC, FCDO, and/or BMGF is needed.

LANGUAGE: Fluent speaking/reading of English and Arabic languages is required. **

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

Strong knowledge of international development and humanitarian standards and best practices.
Critical thinking and analytical abilities
Strong knowledge of economic development/livelihoods, with additional professional exposure to health sector and/or gender issues and/or peacebuilding/social cohesion.
Proven track record of developing and maintaining strong working relationships with host country counterparts and NGO/FBO/CBO actors
Strong working knowledge of USG and other international donor funding mechanisms (including grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements)
Advanced cross-cultural sensitivity, including experience working with professional and support staff in a multicultural, multi-linguistic environment
Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications including MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Other Requirement