BACKGROUND: With headquarters in Kinshasa and field offices in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut Katanga and Tanganyika, the IRC is one of the largest humanitarian actors in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The IRC aims to save lives, to strengthen Congolese institutions and to reinforce social cohesion through carefully designed and professionally-implemented programs. The IRC has been working in the DRC since 1996 and currently operates in five core programming areas – primary health care, community-driven reconstruction and local governance, women’s empowerment and the prevention and mitigation of gender-based violence, education, and emergency preparedness and response. These programs reflect IRC’s guiding principles of capacity-building; participation; partnership; protection and promotion of human rights; and holistic programming.
With support from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the IRC seeks to implement the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) “Maji ya Amani” Program in the Ruzizi Plain in collaboration with its partners Search for Common Ground (SFCG) and ZOA. The program’s goal is to reduce conflict and increase stability in the Luberizi groupement of the Ruzizi Plain through increased and more equitable access to land and water for household and agricultural use, and improved governance around the use of land and water resources. The proposed intervention primarily targets the Luberizi groupement and should benefit an estimated 28,800 people.
Scope of Work:
The Deputy Program Director will be responsible for developing a strong, coherent team and working relationships within the IWRM Consortium and within the IRC project team and ensuring that the project is implemented in an integrated and cohesive manner. He / she will participate in strategic, high-level discussions with the Dutch Embassies in Bujumbura and Kigali, Country Directors of IRC, ZOA and SFCG, consortium key stakeholders across provincial and national government in support to the Program Director, and engage with I/NGO’s, UN and other multilateral actors (as appropriate) in South Kivu in order to further the program’s ultimate goal to reduce conflict and increase stability in the Luberizi groupement and Sange City of the Ruzizi Plain through increased and more equitable access to land and water for household and agricultural use, and improved governance around the use of land and water resources. The Deputy Program Director will also ensure that program implementation is carried out in accordance with international best practices, IRC and donor regulations.
The Deputy Program Director reports to the Program Director. He / she will manage the program and staff of the following IRC departments WASH , Governance and Rights, Economic Recovery and Development -VSLA and value chain (ERD) and Reproductive Health and assure cohesive program oversight and implementation inclusive consortium partners’ activities.
Responsibilities:
Integrated and Strategic Management:
•Work in close collaboration with the Project Director to ensure solid and effective overall leadership to the consortium and IRC’s leadership role within it
•Provide strategic leadership and management in all aspects of technical program implementation and progress review;
•Ensure that the program is implemented on time and in a cohesive, integrated manner in close cooperation with SFCG and ZOA counterpart project managers. Assure quality and timely achievement of all deliverables. Make recommendations for changes to activities, approaches and partner Scopes of Work as needed and recommended by technical staff;
•Provide direction in diverse technical areas including irrigation and watershed management, value chain development, governance and land rights, community development and conflict resolution and health care / GBV service provision;
•Ensure that the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of all activities are in accordance with international best practices, IRC standards and meet the goals and objectives of the target communities and the Dutch Government’s compliance requirements, in collaboration with the technical advisors and M&E units;
•Ensure that the findings of ongoing conflict and security assessments are continually integrated into project design and implementation, working with the technical coordinators;
•Design and support a project close-out plan through internal consultations of technical staff, SFCG and ZOA, local NGO’s and government ministries;
Operational/Reporting/M&E
•Review, in coordination with key technical IRC program staff and consortium partners, yearly work and performance plans to ensure long-term and short-term priorities are on track
•Ensure technical input to donor reports through both formal and informal debriefings of technical staff and assist in compilation and regular donor reporting along International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) criteria and other specific reports at request
•Support the implementation of a common monitoring, evaluation, and learning system among all partners and analyze the technical data it generates to inform project management, technical programming, and development of best practices and applied research, in collaboration with the M&E Manager;
Finance/Admin/HR
•Oversee technical staff to ensure the best use of resources by preparing sound budgets, monitoring project expenses and ensuring timely submission of financial reports to the donor;
•Monitor budget utilization and ensure proper financial management and utilization of funds in support of the Program Director;
•Support technical project staff by creating and maintaining a work environment that promotes teamwork, trust, mutual respect, and empowers staff to take responsibility;
•Manage and evaluate project staff performance.
•Represent the IRC at relevant events in the field to provide technical input and supervision;
•Model and ensure full adherence to the IRC Way, IRC’s Code of Conduct, and all related ethics and compliance including zero tolerance for fraud, SEA, and other IRC Way violations
•Any other duties as requested
Skills/Experience:
•Master’s Degree in a relevant field such as rural development, environmental engineering, integrated water management, conflict resolution; or related
•At least eight (8) years of senior-level management experience in the development sector, including at least three (5) years of experience in managing IWRM, WASH, water infrastructure and / or economic recovery programming; or experience in integrated program development and management;
•A minimum of three (5) years of progressively responsible supervisory work experience including direct supervision of professional and support staff and assembling teams and consortium and working on multi-faceted international development programs;
•Demonstrated experience managing similarly complex projects in changing contexts similar to DRC, involving management of multi-million dollar budgets/portfolios and coordination with multiple programs and partner institutions, including experience managing consortia;
•Experience working with local actors, including local NGOs and CSOs/CBOs;
•Demonstrated knowledge and application of conflict sensitive approaches within project design;
•Strong leadership, analytical and organizational skills;
•Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to interact professionally with donor, project stakeholders, in-country collaborators and staff at all levels of the organization. Proven ability to convene/chair high profile meetings and ability to productively interact with a wide range of organizations (e.g. government, private sector, NGOs, and research institutions);
•Solid understanding of the DRC context, with previous experience in DRC or the region preferred;
•Demonstrated innovation and success in staff capacity-building and in participatory, flexible, and gender-sensitive programming and implementation;
•Strong communication skills, both oral and written;
•Fluency in English and French is required;
•Strong MS Office skills, including Word and Excel.
SECURITY SITUATION / HOUSING
This is an unaccompanied post based in Kamanyola initially with a likely transfer to Uvira, South Kivu, with frequent travel to field locations within South Kivu. Comfortable and secure housing is provided by the IRC. The current security situation in eastern DR Congo is unpredictable and complex, but all possible measures are taken by the IRC to ensure staff safety and security.
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