Senior Program Advisor

Position Purpose
The Senior Program Advisor will provide technical and managerial guidance for the DRC program under the direction of the National Program Manager. This position is responsible for developing and implementing strategies and work plans to ensure that program goals and objectives are met. This includes supporting project design and implementation, providing programmatic inputs for annual work plans, proposal development, analysis of programmatic results, monitoring, identification, and resolution of challenges and program performance, application of lessons learned and best practices to improve program performance, quality and timely donor reporting, financial monitoring, and personnel management. They will also support capturing information on our advocacy accomplishments and presenting this information to inform learning and advance our strategy and approach. The Senior Program Advisor will serve as technical point person for programs and coordinate program staff. The Senior Program Advisor will be critical of ensuring donor requirements are satisfied, workplan deliverables are completed, and communication (internal and external) is timely, particularly among staff, key stakeholders, and sub-contractors. The Senior Program Advisor will demonstrate commitment to the women and girls we serve through pragmatic and effective decision-making, acting with a sense of urgency, and providing timely guidance to staff.

Summary of Responsibilities

• Maintains up-to-date knowledge of all programmatic and financial aspects of assigned projects and serves as principal representative on behalf of the project.
• Ensure successful implementation of assigned projects within scope, budget, and schedule, including developing implementation strategies and resources allocation to ensure that project goals and objectives are met.
• Leads and contributes to project design, development of projects’ work plan and budget.
• Monitors project performance for both Ipas staff and subcontractors against assigned projects.
• Ensures overall contract compliance with client and Ipas regulations and procedures, updates project performance documentation.
• Ensures that donors' questions and concerns about assigned projects are responded to accurately and in a timely manner.
• Analyzes project data/information and Monitors project performance in collaboration with Ipas staff and subcontractors against the project requirements.
• Identifies and tracks project issues and potential risks; determines and executes mitigation strategies, involving project staff and other Ipas management personnel as needed.
• Leads project financial forecasting, and reviews and analyzes and troubleshoots financial issues.
• Ensures completion and dissemination of formal documentation for the project, including budgets, monthly financial and progress reports, and other deliverables. 
• Manages consultants and subcontracting arrangements, including changes in subcontractor.
• Collaborates with projects team members and consultants to ensure that interventions are aligned with project goals.
• Provides support to building and maintaining key relationships with governments, civil society, networks, and influential policy makers.
• Provides technical support to the Civil Societies Organizations, Youth-lead Associations, Women-lead Associations, Feminists movements for the development and the implementation of advocacy strategies.
• Provides technical guidance for coordination mechanism between diverse stakeholders on Sexual and Reproductive Health Right Including safe abortion.
• Initiates and organizes meetings and participates in discussions with relevant groups, stakeholders, and governments to advance Ipas DRC Sexual and Reproductive Health Right including Safe abortion’s advocacy agenda.
• Documents and disseminate challenges and lessons learned on projects with relevant stakeholders.
• Ensure coordination and timely submission of quality reports as per agreed timeline with donors.
• Liaise with the donor, project team, government, and local partners as needed.
• Other duties as assigned. 

Organizational Leadership and Strategy:

• Adapt and implement organization-wide initiatives, systems, and policies; monitor for compliance with organizational policies.
• Leads and facilitates discussions during technical meetings for the DRC team and offers strategic and technical recommendations at quarterly review meetings, following up on issues as necessary.
• Interacts with senior members of other units to meet their objectives, share work progress, resolve problems, and find alternate workable strategies.
• Serve as a strategic partner to the senior leadership team in developing and implementing the team’s strategic goals, including setting short and long-term goals, reviewing and reporting progress, and ensuring alignment with Ipas strategic priorities.
• Provide leadership, supervision, support, guidance, and constructive feedback to staff and consultants, including developing and tracking annual performance objectives.
• Manages the operation of a unit, section, or a significant function and typically directs the activities of supervisory personnel and oversees the work of others who do not directly report to the position.

Financial and Risk Management:

• Advise the National Program Manager on program budget and resource allocation.
• Collaborate with Finance, Operations, and technical teams regarding resource allocation, budgetary issues, and program results to ensure compliance with donor and Ipas processes and guidelines.
• Leads regular, high-level reviews of project progress and financial monitoring across the program, identifying opportunities for increased cost efficiency. 
• Reviews quarterly budgets and expenditure reports and monitors activity budget spending to ensure financial planning is on track.

Program, technical, or functional content of the job: 

• Responsible for managing the execution of programmatic work, ensuring high-quality project implementation and achievement of objectives.
• Contributes to new program design and strategy integrating lessons learned and best practices, and ensuring alignment with Ipas Network mission, values, and strategic plan.
• Lead in the development of technical and programmatic inputs into the development of annual country work plans and budgets and ensures spending according to plan.
• Lead activity planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation to ensure alignment and contribution to country strategy.
• Manage and support the quarterly and annual or required donor reporting process, including contributing to report documents and soliciting input from various project team members, ensuring quality and timely submission.
• Analyse data gathered and proposed alternative strategies for program implementation
• Leads regular reviews to ensure program and strategic plan level results, with a focus on addressing challenges and problem solving.
• Conducts field visits to program sites and provides programmatic oversight and assistance.
• Liaises with the Program Support Team (PST) on implementation of program work plans, field-level challenges, budget review, and development of proposals and donor reports.
• Promote evidence-based learning.
• Develop a system of incorporating learning feedback to influence the continued improvement of the programs.
• Ensure appropriate tools are revised and used for data capturing to improve programmatic decision-making processes.

Resource mobilization:

• Supports the Country Director to develop and maintain strong relationships with government officials, civil society, policy makers, partners, and other key stakeholders at the regional, national, and state level.
• Lead and contribute to new business development efforts.
• Contribute to the development of program ideas into quality grant proposals.
• Collaborate with team members to respond to potential funding opportunities in the country.

Communications & representation/Engagement:

• Cultivate strategic relationships and generate opportunities for nationwide partnerships, collaborations, and initiatives.
• Regularly update the country office on the progression of programs
• Ensure maximum visibility of the Ipas amongst the NGO community in the country.

Position Requirements

Education

• Master’s degree or higher in a relevant field, such as Business Administration, Public Health, International Development, Non-Profit Management, or public policy.

Experience

• At least 7 years of experience and knowledge of sexual reproductive health programming, the SRHR context in the region and working with the public health sector, and NGOs in the region.
• Excellent skills in project management, including work planning, budgeting, work plan implementation and project monitoring.
• Professional- level fluency in French (speaking, reading, and writing); Fluency in English strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to lead and motivate teams and create a positive work environment, including through supportive supervision, strong communication, nonhierarchical leadership approaches, and modeling the Ipas core values.
• Demonstrated capacity and commitment to good stewardship of funds, including strong skills in work planning, budgeting, financial monitoring, and data-driven problem solving.
• Proven ability to build positive working relationships with diverse internal teams and external partners.

Functional skills

Preferred Qualifications

• A deep commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially abortion and contraception access
• Demonstrated skills in leadership, planning, management, and technical skills working with health systems and community programs.
• Ability to lead, motivate, collaborate, and create a positive work environment, including through supportive supervision, strong communication, non-hierarchical leadership approaches, and modeling the Ipas core values.
• Demonstrated capacity and commitment to good stewardship of funds, including strong skills in work planning, budgeting, financial monitoring, and data-driven problem solving.
• Eight (8) or more years of leading program operations and logistics experience
• Previous supervisory experience of a minimum of three full-time technical staff members required.
• Cross-cultural work experience.
• Strong consultative and negotiation skills.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills to strategize, plan, and manage resources for successful completion of projects.
• Ability to build positive working relationships with district/state/national government officials, UN and other multilateral bodies, NGOs, and donor representatives.
• Professional-level fluency in French (speaking, reading, and writing); Fluency in English strongly preferred.

Working environment

• Ability to travel up to 40% domestically (with occasional regional or global trips if applicable)

Ipas is strongly committed to providing a work environment that is free from all forms of harassment, discrimination, and inequity. We recruit, employ, train, promote, and compensate our personnel without regard to race, age, sex, religion, national origin, color, creed, ancestry, citizenship, caste, ethnicity, regional identity, tribal identity, marital status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, or any other personal characteristic protected by law or outlined by Ipas policy. Ipas acknowledges that these personal characteristics may differ in different contexts.