Program Coordinator

Present in Sierra Leone since 1999, IRC supports the Sierra Leonean institutions – government, civil society, community-based organizations and private sector – to provide improved social services.  The IRC does this through programs and partnerships designed to improve the life of women, youth and children by implementing Health, Education, and Women’s Protection and Empowerment programming. 

Scope of Work

IRC, along with its Consortium partners has been awarded a funding opportunity from DFID – Saving Lives (Phase II) as the lead for the NGO consortium. The Saving Lives programme seeks to support the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) to save women’s and children’s lives by improving the quality, availability and accessibility of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health services. This will be achieved by increasing the utilization of quality RMNCAH services through a multifaceted approach that seeks to strengthen quality, expand access, and build the demand for RMNCAH services in Sierra Leone. The programme duration is October 2018 – March 2021.

The IRC is recruiting for a Program Coordinator for the Saving Lives Phase II program in Sierra Leone. The Coordinator will be mainly responsible for coordinating the effective implementation of program activities across the Saving Lives Consortium, working effectively with partners as per the implementation plan, approach and strategy.

Job Overview/Summary

The Saving Lives Program Coordinator will be working under the direct supervision of the Senior Team Leader – Saving Lives and in close collaboration with the Consortium Grants team.

Areas of responsibilities

Program Management

•  Under the guidance of the Senior Team Leader, support the implementation and monitoring of activity plans across the consortium; this includes supporting the Senior Team Leader to carry out any adjustment or changes to workplans as required;
• Support the Senior Team Leader to draft and/or consolidate all relevant program documents and ensure they are properly stored and managed;
• Actively participate in Grant review and close-out meetings and ensure resulting actions are followed up across the whole Consortium, as relevant. This includes liaising with different units/teams (Finance, Grants and Partnerships, Supply Chain, Human Resources, etc.).

Financial Management

• Ensure that the Saving Lives program is delivered within budget across the whole consortium;
• Monitor Budget vs. Actual expenditure on a monthly basis, liaising with the Senior Team Leader – Saving Lives and the grants team to ensure timely corrective action is taken to address any variances;
• In conjunction with the Senior Finance Manager, compile and review cash forecasts/spending plans for the whole consortium; this includes working closely with the Program & Partnerships Manager to coordinate works within the consortium and ensure that cash forecasts/spending plans are submitted on time.

Reporting

•  Review, consolidate and ensure quality assurance of narrative reports, in line with the program reporting schedule and requirements;
• Work closely with the Senior Finance Manager to review financial reports, in line with the program reporting schedule and requirements. This includes providing information as required to ensure consistency between narrative and financial reports;
• Contribute to any other report/program document as requested by the Senior Team Leader.

Coordination & Representation

• Represent the IRC in relevant forums as required by the Senior Team Leader;
• Coordinate organization of and facilitate field visits for the stakeholders involved in the program (donor, auditors, external evaluation contractor, HQs technical focal points, etc.);
• Any other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop the Saving Lives program.

Procurement

• Support development of procurement requests and facilitate approval and follow up;
• Liaise with technical staff in the team on all relevant procurement

Key Working Relationships
External: Ministry of Health and Sanitation, DHMT, District Councils, Community structures
Internal: Senior Health Coordinator, Senior Consortia Monitoring and Evaluation Manager and IRC Field Coordinator/Manager

• Advanced Degree in Health, Social Sciences, International Development or other related field

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years professional experience in implementation of health programming in humanitarian or development contexts
• Solid experience with planning and reporting
• Proven track record in working with teams, showing high performance in a multi-cultural environment, demonstrating flexibility, and able to handle pressure with professional grace
• Regional or in-country experience preferred
• Experience working with RMNCAH programing preferred
• Previous experience working with INGOs a plus