Senior Programme Design & Assessment Officer – Middle East And North Africa Programme

        JOB DESCRIPTION         Job Title     Senior Programme Design & Assessment       Officer - MENA Reports to     Head of Development – Emerging       Programmes, with functional supervision       from Head of Programme Design,       Fundraising and Assessment. Management Responsibilities     None currently, this may change as the       programme grows. Job location     London OR Lebanon OR Tunisia –       dependant on successful candidate’s       work permit status Grade and Level     3.2 Contract Duration     Open ended Employment Status     As it is unlikely that we will be able to       obtain a Work Permit for this role, all job       applicants must already have the right to       work in the UK OR Lebanon OR Tunisia. Job Purpose The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) programme is International Alert’s (Alert) newest regional programme. The purpose of this new position is to contribute to the impact, growth and consolidation of the programme by providing leadership in programme and project design, monitoring and evaluation. This includes supporting our existing country programmes in Lebanon and Tunisia, and helping to initiate new business in Libya, Jordan, Syria and elsewhere. The position will form a key part of the MENA programme management team. Duties and Responsibilities 1.Support the MENA team in refining its strategy, monitoring and improving the quality and breadth of its programming ·Contribute to strategy development, programme business planning and annual planning, including through development of appropriate, programme-level monitoring frameworks; ·Monitor quality of project inception phases across the programme and provide advice and support where necessary; ·Support new business development (e.g. of new themes, countries, partnerships) in the region and actively engage with colleagues to facilitate respective proposal development.   2. Support the MENA team in building a healthy and sustainable funding portfolio ·Support the establishment of a healthy funding pipeline, including participation in in- country workshops on fundraising strategies and priorities with country teams and partners and providing critical feedback; ·Proactively identify ways to expand and diversify the portfolio of the MENA programme’s sources of funding in line with the strategy and business plan, including commercial contracting; ·Support country-specific and regional donor engagement; ·Contribute ideas, text, and editing and budgeting services to programme proposals and in selected cases lead on proposal development; ·Conduct and assist in the negotiations of donor contracts as well as commercial contractors – within parameters agreed with programme managers; ·In grant budgets and contract negotiations, help programme colleagues ensure that all project costs and overheads are recovered (including co-finance requirements), that Alert systems are capable of generating the compliance information required, and that Alert’s best interests are represented. ·Supervise timely compliance with contractual agreements specifically in relation to reporting and evaluations. 3.Support the MENA team in strengthening its Design, Monitoring & Evaluation (DM&E) systems and to demonstrate best practice in DM&E ·Build knowledge and skills on DM&E within the MENA team by providing training and accompaniment to country teams on DM&E; ·Provide technical advice on M&E systems and frameworks and regular backstopping to project managers on DM&E; ·Support country programmes to establish appropriate monitoring systems at both project and programme level; ·Manage, coordinate and occasionally participate in internal evaluations; ·Monitor the quality and progress of Programme DM&E and learning. 4.Support the health and development of the MENA programme as a senior member of the team ·Develop and nurture excellent working relationships across the programme, working closely in particular with the Programme Manager and Country Managers; ·Play an active role in strategic discussions within and affecting the programme; ·Contribute to the promotion of collaborative cross-organisational relationships, e.g. by bringing colleagues from different programmes together on project design and evaluation processes; ·Take part in organisational initiatives – task forces, steering groups, etc. – and contribute ideas and suggestions more generally when opportunity and need allow; ·Contribute to team-wide communications and knowledge management, and participate in organisation-wide events and discussions on related topics/projects; ·Undertake other tasks reasonably expected of her/him. 5.As a member of the Alert cross-organisational Programme Design and Assessment (PDA) team, contribute to Alert’s systems, best practice and learning in programme development and impact assessment ·Be responsive to the leadership provided by the Head of Programme Design, Fundraising and Assessment, and play a proactive role as a member of the PDA team, including participation and input to monthly meetings; ·Work jointly on cross-organisation DM&E initiatives including development of evaluation and other guidelines, centralisation of DME and fundraising/commercial contracting systems and knowledge management processes; ·Share best practices in DM&E with the wider team from the MENA programme teams; ·Share donor and commercial agency intelligence, help coordinate donor engagement and proposal submission and build collaboration between programmes on joint programming; ·Coordinate with the Unrestricted Fundraising department on MENA and specific country programme development plans; ·Stay alert to organisation-wide funding opportunities, and support negotiation of consortium and framework agreement partnerships, as necessary; ·Take part in project design or evaluation process for other Alert programmes, or for cross-organisational projects, from time to time as agreed; ·Provide data from proposals and concept papers regularly, for the purposes of maintaining the organisational funding pipeline, IATI database and individual programme funding pipelines. 6. Contribute to Alert generally ·Contribute to team-wide communications and knowledge management, and participate in organisation-wide events and discussions on related topics/projects ·Any other tasks as may be reasonably required. Travel requirements The post holder will be expected to travel to the regions of Alert’s work 4-6 times per year, usually for 1-2 weeks at a time; and also occasional travel to visit donor offices, most likely trips of 1-2 days, within Europe.   PERSON SPECIFICATION ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS Talents At Alert, we have introduced Talent Management to our business model as we believe talented people are crucial to the success of our work. We believe all individuals are talented and success comes in matching the right talents to the right roles. For this role, the skills, qualifications and experience listed below are important, but we believe that to be great in this job you are likely, first and foremost, to have a talent for working with others to develop, frame, communicate and fundraise for programmes that combine conceptual and practical innovation, and have a clear and measurable impact on peace. A university degree Skilled at turning good programming ideas into cogent, bankable proposals which contain within them the basis for reporting and evaluation of results and full cost recovery Skilled at leading and facilitating a team through the conceptual idea development to the concrete project implementation Theoretical knowledge and practical experience of the concepts and practice of M&E Experience of tracking donor trends and opportunities, and matching these with project ideas Negotiating contracts with donors Speaks and understands Arabic well enough to work in an Arabic environment Excellent English writing skills and the ability to analyse and present a cogent argument both in writing and orally (face to face and on phone) Able to prepare project budgets and computer literate in Excel Experience of implementing programmes with a conflict or development agency focusing on the MENA region A collaborative team player, willing to lend a hand and go the extra mile A self-starter with initiative and the ability to work alone when necessary Ability to be creative and innovative in generating new ideas and undertaking research An eye for detail and accuracy and an ability to balance competing demands Commitment to the aims of Alert and to equal opportunities DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS Postgraduate degree French language Has lived and worked in a developing country or conflict context (in particular in the MENA region) Experience of raising funds through a commercial contracting company on tender or framework -based agreements Has built relationships and networked with donors (including private foundations and trusts) Has held a project management role Has worked on policy advocacy programmes Building relationships   SUMMARY TERMS AND CONDITIONS     Pension All staff receive a pension contribution which is equivalent   to 10% of their gross salary. The post-holder will be   automatically enrolled into the Alert Pension scheme   which is with Scottish Widow, but can choose to opt out.     Leave entitlement 25 days per year plus English statutory holidays.     Notice period There will be an initial six month probationary period during   which notice will be one month on either side. On   successful completion of the probationary period notice will   be three months.     Working hours Full time staff are expected to work a standard 35 hour   week, with some flexibility around start and finish times to   be agreed with the line manager. All staff are required to   work core hours 10am – 4pm.     Sport’s club membership Staff can take advantage of subsidised membership of a   local sports club, on successful completion of the   probationary period.