The National Council for Portugal is pleased to announce its recruitment for the key position of National Project Director, of the Poverty Elimination project.
Please see the Terms of Reference (TORs) below for more detailed information. Interested candidates must submit their CV and covering letter to [email protected] prior to the application deadline of February 18th, 2021.
TERMS OF REFERENCE: National Project Director - Poverty Elimination
1 - Jamati Poverty Elimination Roadmap
At the direction of Mowlana Hazar Imam, the Ismaili Leaders’ International Forum undertook a comprehensive review of the causes and consequences of poverty in the Jamat, with a view to formulating a structured, coordinated and focused method of permanently redressing poverty across all Imamat institutions and agencies engaged in this agenda.
Following various pilot programs and a greater urgency as a result of the pandemic, the Council for Portugal would like to engage a Project Director to support a scale up of family development programming in order to identify and engage the full target segment of families by December 2023.
To do this, the Council for Portugal has established a dedicated National Implementation Team -- comprised of both paid staff and volunteers (board/portfolio members, topic specialists) – in order to accelerate progress over the next 18-24 months.
2 - Position Description
The Council for Portugal is seeking a National Project Director with the managerial, technical, and operational background to lead the National Implementation Team, under the direction of the Vice President.
The Director and Implementation Team will reconfigure put in place the processes, systems and human resources required for a proactive, sustainable, and scaled approach to poverty elimination. This includes:
1. Proactively & systematically identifying, assessing, and triaging families in need;
2. Developing ways to address and support hidden families that have not been identified;
3. Developing contextually appropriate “pathways” out of poverty and financial autonomy;
4. Ensuring ongoing, quality service delivery at national/ regional / local levels;
5. Providing family-level support, case management, and case supervision according to each family’s development plan;
6. Coordinating closely with service providers and other stakeholders, including AKDN Agencies where relevant;
7. Regularly evaluating and reporting on program expenditure, time management and impact.
3 - Reporting Relationships
The National Project Director will be accountable to the Poverty Alleviation Steering Committee (PASC) – coordinated by the Social Welfare Matters Member for National Council with programmatic and technical assistance provided by the Central Office for Poverty Alleviation.
The National Council President, Vice-President and Global Coordinator for Poverty Alleviation will be consulted at strategic decision points to ensure coherence with global and country-level priorities.
The Global Coordinator will participate in the Director’s selection and performance evaluation.
4 - Responsibilities
4.1 Project Planning, Management & Delivery
- Lead the development of a long-term Country Poverty Elimination Plan to guide resource allocation and guide dialogue with AKDN and other partners.
- Recruit, select, guide, coach and lead a multi-disciplinary team of diverse backgrounds to deliver the programme objectives.
- Develop & oversee adherence to semi-annual work plans, along with details for functional teams within project structure.
- Coordinate with livelihoods consultant to evaluate trends in labour market, conduct analyses in focused employment, entrepreneurship and skills enhancement opportunities for the target segments.
- Review and operationalize the programme approaches, policies, procedures and ensuring that the programme objectives are achieved within the given parameters and in the most sustainable, time and cost-effective manner.
- Engage with key stakeholders (including the Jamat, national leadership and Central Office) to establish and communicate contextually-appropriate development pathways & interventions
- Formalize relationships, establishing functional objectives in line with organizational objectives, with the necessary national, regional and local service providers in order to deliver the programme.
- Ensure a system for referral and follow through, as necessary, on unique or difficult cases to the relevant Council Boards/Portfolios for additional assistance.
- Execute the decisions and agreed policies of PASC (the overall governance body for Family Development Programming)
- Assist the Central Office by contributing with information, analysis, and recommendations to strategic thinking and in adapting the family mentor training curriculum to the local context.
4.2 Programme Budgeting, Monitoring and Reporting
- Develop, monitor and report on the annual budgets.
- Compose and submit regular written progress reports as well as verbal programme updates during meetings and calls.
- Review and approve accounting reports and ensure financial integrity of the programme.
- Work with M&E Lead to ensure comprehensive and consistent quality documentation of all elements of the project and measurement of key impact evaluation metrics.
- Together with the Executive Officer and Data Analyst, ensure accurate counting of and reporting on the target segment.
- Coordinate with M&E Lead mentor reflection sessions on a regular basis for qualitative data gathering and troubleshooting, with assistance and direction from the Central Office.
4.3 General Administration
- Provide overall coordination of, day-to-day direction, professional expertise and support to local service delivery
- Complete goal setting, agree key performance indicators and conduct performance reviews for any direct reports.
- Assist the Executive Officer and Office Bearers in ensuring smooth and efficient operation of all Poverty Alleviation programming.
- Ensure confidentiality of sensitive matters relating to the Council and its operations and safeguard all documents, files and records of the Jamati Institutions.
- Undertake other duties and responsibilities as may be required from time to time.
4.4 Communication & Community Engagement
- Liaise with the Central Office according to agreed communication methods and periodicity.
- Build and nurture relationships with Jamati leadership and, importantly, the residents of the programme areas to foster a culture of open communication and responsiveness.
- Ensure all groups are represented and take ownership of community-level interventions such as sanitation improvements, school top-up programmes, or youth activities.
4.5 Professional Development
- Actively participate in a global Community of Practice (CoP) by cataloguing and sharing knowledge, tools, insights and experiences of the Programme in Portugal.
- Raise issues and concerns regarding common needs and requirements across jurisdictions and assist in the development of solutions to address them.
5 - Professional Experience
- 7-10 years managerial experience preferably in social development, consulting or non-profit management.
- Experience and participation as a volunteer in Jamati institutional projects will be a plus.
- Experience in writing actionable reports that build on input from multiple stakeholders, crafting proposals and related presentations, and developing other documentation.
- Experience in setting, attaining, and/or measuring performance indicators and outcomes.
- Experience in preparing budgets, coordinating the preparation of annual audits.
- Experience in working with databases and interpreting data an asset.
6 - Skills and Attitudes
- Organized, goal-oriented, data-driven, with a positive ‘can-do’ attitude and strong problem-solving and communication skills.
- Demonstrates understanding of confidentiality, and ability to handle sensitive information.
- Ability to build and motivate strong, supportive, and collaborative working relationships with internal team members, the leaders and members of stakeholder organizations.
- Self-Motivated, organizational astuteness, strong negotiating and writing skills.
- Comfort with public speaking in front of small groups and wider audiences
- Proficiency in MS Word, MS Project, Excel, and PowerPoint.
7 - Academic Credentials
- BA or BS in social sciences, economics, management, or related field.
- Professional qualification in project management.
8 Language Proficiency
- C2 level in Portuguese and English.
9 Travel and Schedule
- Position is based in Lisbon with frequent travel within Portugal.
- Flexible schedule in order to accommodate a non-traditional work week, including some evenings and weekends
- Mandatory attendance of Directors’ induction with Central Office
