Deputy Director of Programs at International Rescue Committee Switzerland

Berlin, , Germany -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

07 Mar, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

07 Dec, 25

Experience

10 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Program Management, Strategic Leadership, Grant Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Partnership Management, Team Leadership, Proposal Development, Capacity Building, Budget Management, Emergency Response, Cross-Cultural Communication, Advocacy, Data Analysis, Risk Management, Community Engagement, Technical Support

Industry

Non-profit Organizations

Description

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future. The IRC launched an emergency response in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) in October 2023. The organization is currently delivering programs both directly and with local partners in both Gaza and the West Bank across nutrition, protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, sexual and reproductive health, cash, and early childhood development. Job Overview The Deputy Director for Programs (DDP) provides strategic leadership, decision-making and coordination for program development and delivery, overseeing the effective implementation and technical quality of IRC’s programs in oPt. Working under the direction of the Country Director (CD) and a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), the DDP is responsible for overall program direction and quality implementation within the program framework, government policies and strategies, and in compliance with donor regulations, specifically in the areas of a) grant management b) program development, quality and implementation c) day-to-day representation with donor agencies and local and international stakeholders, and d) Monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning. The DDP will spearhead the development and execution of the Country Strategic Plan and be responsible for supervising the Program Coordinators, including Partnerships and MEAL, Program Managers and Grants Coordinator. This position will work closely and collaboratively with the different departments within the country program. The DDP also has a close working relationship with the MENAU Deputy Regional Director, the Emergency Unit and other MENAU DDPs. The DDP will be based in Amman initially then transfer to Ramallah once work permit is approved. There will be frequent travel to sites in the West Bank and Gaza, where IRC designs, develops and implements programming. Major Responsibilities Program Strategy, Design and Fundraising • Lead the operationalization of the current IRC oPt response strategy and actively engage in strategic planning processes for the longer term. • Ensure, with Coordinators, and HQ-based Emergency Unit and Technical Unit staff, that project design reflects IRC program quality standards and industry best practices. • Lead efforts for sustainable program growth, proactively identifying opportunities for new programming initiatives and emphasizing multi-year funding to support them. • Provide leadership support to the program and grants teams to develop competitive, evidence-based and cost-effective funding applications. • Provide guidance, strategies and tools to ensure that program choices are based on needs assessment findings (primary & secondary data) and analysis, input from communities, a thorough understanding of context, technical best practices, and operational viability. • Formulate integrated program initiatives so that technical sectors complement each other and promote mainstreaming of protection principles and gender-responsive approaches. Program and Partnership Management - Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation • Provide overall leadership and management of IRC oPt program portfolio, ensuring strategically coherent client-centered program direction, well-managed growth, and compliance with IRC and donor regulations. • Continually seek out ways to build the capacities of the program team members, individually and collectively. • Ensure that detailed, realistic and feasible project implementation plans are developed, and modified as needed, in collaboration with the Program Coordinators and Operations team. • Coordinate with other members of the Senior Management Team, appropriate management, compliance and performance standards, as well as effective systems for budget management, knowledge management and risk management. • Support programming staff to collect, document and disseminate lessons learned and best practices, incorporating these into new project designs. • With program staff, develop effective and appropriate monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plans, including methodologies and tools to strengthen the quality of data collection, analysis and reporting. • Review M&E and accountability data with program staff to identify and address areas for operational improvement. • Lead and champion IRC’s ‘partner first’ approach, fostering strategic, respectful, and empowering relationships with local Palestinian organizations. Ensure partners are actively engaged in decision-making, program design, and service delivery, positioning IRC as a partner of choice. • Ensure high-quality, accountable, and collaborative partnership management, including oversight of partner-led program delivery, adaptive technical support, and consistent application of IRC’s PEERS framework and partnership principles across all programming. Grants Management • Provide strategic direction in terms of development of a funding strategy, widening and strengthening donor base, ensuring quality grants management, ensuring compliance with donor requirements, ensuring quality information management related to programs/ grants, and supporting directly in all aspects of the proposal development and reporting processes. • Supervise all internal, external and reporting with programs and finance, ensuring high-quality, well-written and timely reports meet donor and IRC and partner requirements; conduct thorough reviews and/or revisions of all external reports compiled by the Grants Coordinator. • Ensure that Program Coordinators and Grants Coordinator conduct routine monitoring visits to implementation sites to ensure donor compliance and quality program implementation. • Coordinate with the Program Coordinators and Grants and Finance teams to ensure sound budget management, expense control and timely contractual documentation. • Support the Grants Coordinator to lead Grant Opening and Grant Closing Meetings with all relevant departments and units and to ensure they take place on time. Also ensure that programming staff are well trained to properly manage project budgets. • Ensure that the program coordinators review Budget vs Actual on a regular basis; provide leadership and management support to ensure effective monthly grant review meetings. • Mitigate any potential risk by collaborating with the Finance Department to ensure that programming staff fully understand financial and administrative processes involved in project budget cycles. • Ensure strategic partnership considerations are integrated into program design and Go/No-Go funding decisions, with proactive engagement of partners throughout program development and project design. External Representation and Advocacy • Develop a sound understanding of the IRC's programs to be able to professionally represent the IRC to coordination forums and implementing partners, authorities and donors; • Assist the Country Director in developing strong relationships with donors, assisting with visits and in the development of appropriate advocacy actions; • Forge and maintain solid cooperation with partner organizations through regular communication, cooperation and, where appropriate, joint decision-making. • Act as the focal point for program-related communication between IRC country programs in the region and worldwide offices. • Identify funding opportunities and track them in collaboration with the technical teams. • Oversee programmatic inputs to advocacy and communication efforts both in-country and globally. Staff Management and Development • Provide guidance and supervision to the Program Coordinators, Program Staff and Grants Coordinator; to discuss job expectations, set objectives and provide appropriate and timely feedback on performance of direct reports, including timely implementation of performance management system. • Create and foster an inclusive team climate focused on the achievement of team and individual results that emphasizes the importance of mutual respect, trust, listening, ownership, learning, productivity, accountability and openness. • Adhere to IRC's performance management system, providing regular, timely and thoughtful coaching, feedback, performance assessment, and professional development for all direct reports, while making sure that they do the same for their direct reports. • Build capacities of programming staff in key project management principles, tools and approaches and ensure that these new skills are utilized on the job. • Manage recruitment, hiring and development of high-performing staff to assume greater levels of responsibility. • Provide leadership support for the successful implementation of and adherence to the IRC Global HR Operating Policies and Procedures. • Hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, at least bi-weekly, focusing equally on interpersonal exchange, as well as work. • Promote and monitor staff well-being by modeling and reinforcing systems and practices that support a healthy work-life balance, ensuring that work supports life; Key Working Relationships • Position Reports to: Country Director • Position directly supervises: Program Staff (4), Grants Coordinator, Partnership Coordinator and MEAL Coordinator • Internal: Senior management team members, regional deputy director, RMAC, Regional Awards Management Director, Finance Manager, Comms & ER, Regional and HQ Support Departments. Close collaboration with HR on People matters; and the Emergency Unit • External: Other humanitarian organizations operating in oPt, authorities, AIDA, UN agencies, community stakeholders and donors Requirements • Minimum eight years of leadership experience working in emergency and conflict or humanitarian recovery setting with a minimum of five years of NGO program management experience. • Demonstrated ability to think strategically and prioritize effectively under pressure, with a proven capacity for rapid, accurate analysis of complex issues, strong decision-making, and translating programmatic priorities into actionable operational strategies. • Experience in managing: nutrition, protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, sexual and reproductive health, cash, and early childhood development, and experience working in partnership with local organizations, is strongly preferred. • Successful experience delivering programs in a complex security environment strongly preferred. • Proven ability to develop winning proposals to public and private-sector donors; • Demonstrated experience and ability to lead and supervise a cross-cultural team of people, coach for performance and development and create an inclusive organizational climate • Familiarity and experience with major institutional donors including the US and European donors; • Previous experience managing programs financed by US government agencies, FCDO, EU, foundations and private donors a must, with previous experience in competitive environments a plus. • Proven ability to manage projects to completion on time, within budget, and with the anticipated results. • Ability to respond to multiple priorities in a timely manner, producing high-quality outcomes. • Demonstrated successful leadership experience with a multi-disciplinary team in a cross-cultural setting, including through remote management;. Strong leadership, motivational and team-building skills including active mentoring and coaching; • Proven fluency in English is required and knowledge of Arabic preferred. • Must have ability to travel to/reside in the West Bank and Gaza. • Willingness to travel at least 25% of time, including experience operating in complex security environments. PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients. Cookies: https://careers.rescue.org/us/en/cookiesettings #li-1 The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people whose lives have been shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and rebuild. We are trusted for our ability to reach people in the toughest places, put our clients at the center of everything we do, and - as an evidence-based organization - to relentlessly improve the impact we deliver for those we serve. If you’re ready to be part of a team that brings ingenuity, fortitude and optimism to making a lasting impact, we want to hear from you. The IRC Way, our code of conduct, is founded upon our core values of Integrity, Accountability, Service and Equality. These values unite IRC staff around the world and keep our programs firmly directed towards the well-being of our clients while meeting the expectations of our donors as responsible stewards of their resources.

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Responsibilities

The Deputy Director for Programs provides strategic leadership and oversight for program development and delivery in the occupied Palestinian territory. They are responsible for ensuring effective implementation, compliance with donor regulations, and fostering partnerships with local organizations.