Job Description and Person Specific Requirements
Position: Regional Programme Coordinator – Africa (RPC)
Responsible to: Head of Programme Operations
Start date: August 2015
Salary: £37,500
Closing date: Monday 6th July
1. Background
War Child works with children who, as a result of conflict, live with a combination of poverty, exclusion and
insecurity. These children might include street children, child headed households, children conscripted into
armed groups, and children who have been put in prison. Our mission to support and improve the protection
and care of children and young people who live with a combination of insecurity, poverty and exclusion in some
of the worst conflict-affected places..
We are recruiting a Regional Programme Coordinator, who will work with the Regional Programme Officer for
Africa and in close collaboration with the country teams in Africa. The post-holder will play a central role in
providing daily operational support to country offices (the CD in particular) and support programme
development processes.
This role will act as the focal point, at least in the first instance, for our programmes in CAR, DRC and Uganda.
Approximately 45% of the work will focus on providing support to country office teams in designing high-quality
projects and evidence-based proposals compliant with donor guidelines, in child protection, education and
livelihoods. Another 40% of the time will be spent acting as the CDs’ business partner and support with project
management (which includes facilitating start-up workshops for large grants of at least £500k). The RPC will
provide critical support to the Regional Programme Officer ensuring all reports are clear, accurate, and submitted
in a timely manner, and that learning is at the core of the projects we implement. 10% will be spent on developing
relationships with established donors in the UK and other actors to influence their activities in the context of our
advocacy work, and fundraising efforts. This includes ensuring effective internal communications between
programmes team and the rest of War Child, with a particular emphasis on ensuring that fundraising teams get
adequate information to support their needs, and that advocacy priorities are informed by programmes
experience and evidence. Finally, the role will line manage a Regional Programme Officer and a programme
volunteer (5%).
The RPC will be line managed by the Head of Programme Operations (HPO). The HPO will provide direction on
fundraising issues, including proposal development, writing methodology, strategic alignment and programme
development. The RPC is expected to travel 20% of the time traveling to country offices; subject to security
considerations.
2. Responsibilities
2.1. Support to Programme Development (45%)
JD – Regional Programme Coordinator Africa June 2015
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Job Description and Person Specific Requirements
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Monitoring institutional donor calls for proposals and funding cycles with Resource Mobilisation
Coordinator (RMC) for Africa
Responsible for making sure that funding plans in place and implemented for each country office to
ensure targets are met or exceeded
Working with country teams (Country Director, Programme Managers, Project Managers and Partners),
on project design and proposal development with institutional donors. The main focus will be on meeting
the upcoming annual funding target (while the Resource Mobilisation Coordinator will be focusing on
long term grants).
Reviewing logframes and budgets for proposals developed by the Africa RMC to ensure consistency
Quality control and sign off on all proposals developed for institutional donors < £300k
Ensuring compliance with the WCUK Quality Framework, and the Child Protection Minimum Standards
through programme design
2.2. Support country programmes with operations and project management (40%)
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Daily operational support to country offices – this includes a wide range of activities including but not
limited to: awareness of security context, status of programme implementation against plans, and
assisting with the problem solving and troubleshooting required to keep the programme moving,
compliance, BVA reporting.
Remote management of projects in Uganda (KATI project and Comic Relief project), in close collaboration
with the RPO.
Budget holder of Uganda projects.
Supporting CD on the recruitment of international staff
Supporting the Africa RPO in ensuring timely reporting with institutional donors, foundations and
corporate donors in CAR, DRC and Uganda, and compiling high-quality and impact oriented narrative and
financial progress reports, following the WCUK’s guiding principles for good reporting. Quality control
and sign off on all reports < £300k
Working with country teams to develop and translate country strategy into operational plans
Co-facilitating project’s start-up workshops with Programme Managers, and in collaboration with the
RPO, for strategic grants above £500k.
Developing project’s monitoring and evaluation frameworks with the UK MEL Advisor and the RPO, and
ToRs for evaluations
Supporting the RPO and the UK MEL advisor in monitoring project progress and facilitate learning, by
tracking project progress against indicators, and analysing results.
Responsible for monitoring programme finance (monthly or quarterly project expenditure against
budget) in collaboration with Country Directors, the RPO, Programmes Finance Manager and the
Programmes Director
Undertaking project monitoring trips
Responsible for the compliance of programmes with the WCUK Quality Framework, and the Child
Protection Minimum Standards
Surge Support to country teams (operational support), and emotional support
2.3. Support the disseminating of country programmes information at HQ level and support advocacy efforts
in CO and HQ (10%)
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Job Description and Person Specific Requirements
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Ensuring effective internal communications between programmes team and the rest of War Child
(mainly through the RPO).
Developing relationships with established donors in the UK and other actors to influence their activities
in the context of our advocacy work, and fundraising efforts.
Representing War Child at external advocacy events
Helping to ensure that advocacy priorities are informed by programmes experience and evidence (this
includes helping to write advocacy papers).
Ensuring that advocacy is a component of the projects that are newly designed with country offices.
2.4. Other (5%)
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Recruitment, line management and performance management of regional programme officer and
volunteer
Ensuring that accurate records are kept on donors, on Salesforce in particular.
Keeping up to date with the major issues and solutions pertaining to protecting children and young
people in emergencies.
Undertaking any other reasonable duty and tasks that may from time to time be requested by the HPO
and Programmes Director consistent with the nature of the job and its level of responsibility.
Liaising with all other War Child staff and War Child International as appropriate
Represent WCUK at external networking groups
To attend and contribute constructively to team meetings and other meetings as required
3. Deliverables
 High-quality programme delivery and monitoring of projects
 Clear, accurate and timely project narrative and financial reports
 High-quality evidence-based proposals compliant with donor guidelines
 Project monitoring visits to Jordan, Iraq and Afghanistan as needed
4. Experience
 Experience of proposal and budget development, and project monitoring including financial monitoring
 Experience of working in child protection and education in emergencies, in Africa (Essential)
 Experience of coaching staff on Project Cycle Management principles, in particular at project design stage
 Verifiable and successful sizeable institutional fundraising track record with key humanitarian donors
such as ECHO, UNICEF, UNHCR, OCHA and other international donors such as EC, Dfid, and Comic Relief
 Successful grant management and donor liaison/high-quality reporting track record
 Experience of rigorous budget and expenditure management
 Experience of remote management and coordinating work remotely via email and phone
 Experience of living and working in highly unstable environment in Africa
 Experience of working with key child-protection agencies (donor and implementing agencies).
5. Knowledge and skills
 Advanced degree in International Development, Humanitarian Affairs, or other relevant fields
 Best practice knowledge of child protection, the protective environment and child rights programming
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Job Description and Person Specific Requirements
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Knowledge of the various humanitarian principles and minimum standards (CPMS, SPHERE, ALNAP, HAP)
Knowledge of international humanitarian aid systems and agencies
Knowledge of safety and security in the humanitarian sector
Knowledge of the social and cultural context of Africa (CAR, DRC and Uganda in particular)
Sound knowledge of participatory approaches
Excellent budget skills
Written and verbal English and French must be of the highest calibre (Essential).
6. Qualities
 Team player
 Form constructive working relationships, including with people from diverse cultural backgrounds;
demonstrate flexibility and problem solving skills in the face of unexpected challenges.
 Friendly and good sense of humour
 Able to process and articulate complexity in a clear and coherent way
 Accurate, systematic, with an eye for detail
 Able to work in a small, dynamic organisation with limited resources
 Flexible and willing to support others at times when particular organisational priorities take precedence
 Patient and appreciative of the circumstances faced by field staff
 Be self-motivated, work accurately and efficiently to deadlines and targets managing a wide and varied
workload
 Drive project effectiveness and technical learning
 Commitment to War Child’s aims and objectives and to working within values of the Organisation
7. Terms and conditions
 Preferred start date:
 Salary:
 Pension:
 Leave:
August 2015
£37,500
up to 5% of gross salary to be matched by employee
28 days per year, plus one extra day for every full year of employment
(up to a maximum of 33 days)
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Working hours:
37.5 hour week
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Probation
Contract
6 months
Permanent
8. Application process
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Download the Application Pack and complete the Application Form (Please note that individual CVs will
not be accepted). Please submit all applications to recruitment@warchild.org.uk For more information
visit www.warchild.org.uk
All completed application forms must reach War Child by close of business 6th July 2015
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Due to limited resources War Child, HR will contact only the shortlisted candidates
First interviews will be held on the week of 13th July 2015. Second round of interviews will be held on the 20th
July 2015. Candidates will be expected to complete an assessment test.
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Job Description and Person Specific Requirements
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Any offer made will be conditional on receipt of 3 favourable written references, (from your most recent
employer, any other previous employer and a character reference). In case clarification is required post the
receipt of complete reference forms, War Child reserves the right to call the referees.
o The successful applicant will be expected to undergo a DBS check, a medical check for overseas travel
purposes, be compliant and sign up to War Child’s Child Protection Policy prior to a final offer being made.
Start date: ASAP
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