Coordinator, Regional Programmes

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 191-member National Societies (NSs). The overall aim of IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by NSs with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.”  IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises. 

The IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement), together with its member National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The work of IFRC is guided by its fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality. 

The IFRC is led by its Secretary General, and has its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The IFRC has five regional offices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas.  IFRC also has country cluster delegations and country delegations throughout the world. Together, the Geneva Headquarters and the field structure (regional, cluster and country) comprise the IFRC Secretariat.

The IFRC has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, and lack of integrity (including but not limited to financial misconduct). IFRC also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. 

As one of the five decentralized parts of the Secretariat, the Africa Region covers 49 countries of the African Continent, and its structure is composed of the Regional Office for Africa based in Nairobi and 15 Country Cluster Delegations each supporting 2-4 African National Societies (NS).

The Regional Coordinator of Programmes is a senior position within the Africa Regional Office reporting to the Manager, Disaster Climate and Crisis. The position provides strategic oversight and coordination of  pan-African and multi-country programmes, ensuring strategic and collaborative design, solid monitoring, quality, accountability and impact across all major thematic portfolios, (migration, climate, environment, disaster risk reduction, anticipatory action, food security and nutrition etc) with a view to generating lasting impact on community resilience. The position leads a team of Programme Coordinators responsible for major regional and multi-country initiatives and provides functional leadership to programme managers. It acts as the central anchor for programme management excellence in the Africa Region.

The role will contribute to advancing IFRC Renewal 3.0 as driven by five strategic shifts: deepening localization and accountability; sharpening humanitarian focus, influence and impact; intensifying trust and collaboration; accelerating digital transformation; and reshaping the Secretariat to be more agile, empowered, and impact-driven. The position is open to national staff in Kenya, Ethiopia, Senegal or Zimbabwe.

The position is open to national staff based in Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Dakar or Harare.

The Regional Coordinator of Programmes provides strategic leadership and oversight for all pan-African and multi-country programmes implemented by IFRC in the Africa Region. The role ensures that integrated, high-value and multi-thematic programmes are designed, coordinated and delivered in line with IFRC’s Strategy 2030, Renewal 3.0 and the Regional Unified Plan.

The role establishes and enforces a region-wide system for programme ‘bottom-up’ design, quality, monitoring, accountability and evidence-based impact, using IFRC Programme and Project Management (PCM) standards and tools for technical oversight. It is responsible to facilitate a cross-team approach at the Regional Office and delegation levels, apply the ‘Way of Working’ as IFRC collaborative operating model and support country-based strategic programming, in liaison with public authorities and aligning with national priorities whenever possible. Working in close partnership with PMER, the position drives the roll-out of harmonised monitoring, evaluation and impact measurement frameworks across all major programmes.

The Regional Coordinator of Programmes builds and maintains strong programme management capacity across the Africa Region, establishing a dashboard to monitor and report on progress, mentoring and supervising Programme Coordinators, and strengthening programme coordination leadership in clusters, delegations and National Society partnerships.

In close collaboration with the Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation team and humanitarian diplomacy teams, the role defines grant compliance mechanisms, governance structures and risk management frameworks for complex programmes, while proactively identifying and shaping new funding opportunities aligned with regional and country strategies.

Duties and responsibilities will include but not limited to the following:

Strategic Oversight of Pan-African and Multi-country Programmes

• Provide overall coordination leadership for the design, governance and implementation of pan-African and multi-country strategic programmes.
• Facilitate the establishment of country programmatic platforms driving ‘bottom-up’ programme design, planning and budgeting within a coherent multi-country framework and narrative, with a view to ensure that at least 75% of any programme funding supports country-led implementation.
• Enable effective cross-team way of working and strategic coherence across thematic functional leads and cross-cutting functions, including humanitarian analysis, PMER, information management, CEA and PGI.
• Establish a result-based regional programmatic dashboard to monitor risk and progress across programme implementation. Ensure alignment with Strategy 2030, Renewal 3.0 as well as regional and country Unified Plan.

Programme Management Excellence and Capacity Building

• Ensure that any programme design is bolstered by solid country and regional context and stakeholder analysis, in collaboration with delegation and humanitarian diplomacy/policy teams.
• Line-manage and mentor delegation programme coordinators responsible for country implementation as part of major multi-country initiatives.
• Set standards and establish a reference checklist for programme leadership, planning, budgeting, risk management and delivery.
• Build programme management capacity across delegations and National Societies through coaching, communities of practice and learning initiatives.
• Ensure effective collaboration between IFRC programme teams, functional leads and National Societies with a view to facilitating locally led implementation.

Quality, Accountability and Impact

• Ensure compliance with IFRC Renewal KPIs for programming excellence.
• Establish and enforce a region-wide quality and accountability framework based on IFRC PCM, application of the Way of Working and locally led principles for implementation
• Mainstream eVCA as IFRC reference tool to collect and analyse community data and information for programme design, baseline, quality and evidence-based impact.
• Ensure consistent use of IFRC tools (planning, risk management, reporting, learning).
• Work with PMER to harmonise M&E systems for IFRC-wide reporting and to lead the roll-out of impact measurement for major programmes.
• Ensure learning loops between evidence, adaptation and strategic decision-making.

Governance, Partnerships and Grant Compliance

• Define governance models for complex and multi-partner programmes.
• Work with Partnerships & Resource Mobilisation to design grant compliance frameworks.
• Ensure donor requirements, risk controls and accountability mechanisms are embedded from design to closure at country and regional levels.
• Support Membership coordination and shared leadership arrangements on programme design and implementation.

Resource Mobilization and Strategic Growth

• With the support of technical leads and Africa SMT, proactively identify new funding opportunities aligned with Africa Regional Office and country strategies.
• Contribute to the development of high-value, multi-country and pan-African proposals.
• Shape programmatic narratives and investment cases with technical teams and partners

• Relevant university education or an equivalent of qualifying experience
• Post-graduate qualification in management or leadership for humanitarian, development or resilience programming
• IMPACT or equivalent knowledge.

• Minimum 10 years’ experience managing complex, multi-country or regional programmes in humanitarian and/or development contexts.
• Demonstrated experience leading large, multi-partner and multi-donor consortia.
• Proven track record in building programme management capacity across organisations or countries.
• Experience in strategic programme design, governance and portfolio management.

Required:

• Advanced analytical expertise for context, humanitarian and development landscape in Africa
• Demonstrated leadership and management skills, including ability to lead within a matrix management structure and utilize talents/experience of team members in a productive way.
• Solid track record in building collaboration architecture or coalition for programme design and implementation
• High degree of discretion, diplomacy and inter-cultural intelligence and sensitivity in dealing with stakeholders at all levels.
• Results-oriented, demand driven, entrepreneurial, ability to lead in
• unprecedented and/or ambiguous situations.
• Demonstrated track record in innovating, contributing to a learning culture, sharing knowledge, and promoting new approaches to engaging partners and donors.
• Advanced practice of planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting to inform programme intelligence and accountability
• Outstanding networking, representational, communication and negotiation skills.
• Proven good judgment and ability to work with complete integrity and confidentiality.
• Self-supporting in computers (Email, Internet, spread sheets, word-processing, etc.).
• Fluent spoken and written English
• Fluent spoken and written French

Preferred:

• Good command of another IFRC official language (Arabic or Spanish) is preferred

Core Competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust

Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability

Functional competencies: Strategic orientation; Building alliances; Leadership; Empowering others

Managerial competencies: Managing staff performance; Managing staff development