Job Title Department Unit Head of Programme Effectiveness and Compliance Policy and Programmes Directorate Programme Effectiveness and Compliance (PEC) Grade 1 Salary Contract type Reporting to Responsible for 59,110 per annum Permanent, full time, 34.5 hours per week Director of Policy and Programmes A 12-person team, including Grants Finance Manager; Evaluation, Learning and Impact Manager; Environmental Sustainability Manager; Gender Manager. Also a member of the Policy and Programmes Directorate Leadership Team and Plan International UK s Senior Management Team. Overview of Department Plan International UK is an independent development and humanitarian charity that advances children s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it s girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children. We support children s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge. We have been building powerful partnerships for children for 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries. By 2022 we want to help 100 million girls learn, lead, decide and thrive. The 65-person Policy and Programmes Directorate supports these aims by ensuring that Plan International UK delivers the highest quality policy and programmes. This is an exciting time to join as we implement a range of ambitious plans designed to make us the best among our peers. We want to be known for our expertise in girl s rights and youth, highly-competitive in Education, Economic Security, Child Protection, Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and be seen as an ambitious, quickly expanding player in the humanitarian space. We constantly enhance programme quality and effectiveness, raise income from institutional donors (like the British Government), and drive change through setting and influencing policy agendas. At the heart of our operation is the newly-created 12-person Programme Effectiveness and Compliance Unit (PEC). As the name suggests, this cross-cutting Unit, which consists of three teams Evaluation, Learning and Impact; Grants Finance, and Donor Compliance, supports the rest of the business with a range of critical services and processes. Job Purpose Lead Plan International UK s drive to be a best-practice development partner by creating frameworks, processes and systems for effective, quality, value-for-money, transparent and accountable programmes that transform the lives of as many of the world s poor and vulnerable children as possible:
Take a leading role in implementing the Plan International Global Strategy (2017-22), Plan International UK s Strategy (2017-2020), the Programme Directorate s new Vision and Strategic Objectives, and develop and implement a new Programme Effectiveness and Compliance Unit Strategy Ensure all statutory and external requirements and regulations are met, including IATI. Ensure all of our programmes and activities funded by institutional donors, such as the UK Government are monitored and evaluated effectively and deliver clear, measurable impact, compliant with donor requirements Manage the financial risks relating to all donor-funded grants, contracts and other awards Support the rest of the Directorate to become best-practice across the entire award life-cycle Ensure our programmes are gender transformative and that gender is mainstreamed across everything the Policy and Programmes Directorate does. Likewise, ensure we do no harm in terms of Environment in all our programmes Lead a culture of risk management across our programme portfolio You will be a member of the five-person leadership team within the Policy and Programmes Directorate and a member of Plan International UK s Senior Management Team, deputising for the Director of Programmes as and when necessary. Some overseas travel will be required. Key Deliverables Programme Quality, Evaluation, Learning and Impact Key Activities Take joint responsibility with the rest of the Directorate Leadership Team, for defining, tracking and achievement of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including income targets, of Programmes Department Be the driving force behind a culture of constant improvement across the Directorate, particular related to improving systems and processes Ensure gender equality and girls rights are of the highest priority in Plan s work. Support efforts to ensure project design and implementation are increasingly gender transformative and to mainstream gender across the entire Directorate Help the Directorate effectively manage risk at all levels individual programmes (especially complex ones), Unit-level and Directorate-level Be the champion for quality, evaluation, learning and impact, and ensure these are at the heart of everything the Directorate does Own and further develop a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and ensure timely delivery of accurate reports against individual, team and Directorate KPIs Liaise with and represent Plan International UK at a variety of external events and forums e.g. Bond Groups Own and periodically review Plan International UK s Theory of Change and ensure it is rigorously and consistently applied across the organisation Own and constantly evolve the Programme Quality Tool (PQT) Drive a learning culture across the Directorate with ongoing feedback mechanisms at all levels Donor Compliance Ensure all of our programmes and activities funded by institutional donors, such as the UK Government meet all statutory requirements and regulations, are monitored and evaluated effectively and deliver clear, measurable impact. This includes beneficiary feedback, value-for-money, and Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) Support the rest of the Directorate to become best-practice across the entire award life-cycle, from proposal/bid stage, through to
delivery, evaluation, reporting and learning Ensure Plan International UK is International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI)-compliant and has the systems and processes in place to manage constantly increasing standards in this important area Ensure our Due Diligence Policy is consistently applied Grants Finance Work with colleagues to manage the financial risks relating to all donor-funded grants, contracts and other awards (which account for approximately 50% of Plan International UK s income) Oversee the grants/contracts income pipeline, ensuring it remains accurate and up-to-date on both a cash and accruals basis Act as organisational-lead on cost recovery, providing advice on how to maximise cost recovery across the organisation Oversee the accounting for all complex awards, including supporting proposal development, financial modelling to identify risk and support their operationalisation Own all grants finance proposal development-related functions for example Awards Sign-Offs procedures Provide ongoing support for complex and non-complex awards, including overseeing cashflow invoicing, flow of funds and participating in project oversight bodies Maintain a relationship with Plan International's Global Assurance team Attend and report to Plan International UK s Audit, Finance and Risk Committee Legal Ensure appropriate legal advice is sought in a timely and costeffective manner Manage the professional indemnity insurance for Plan International UK Management Develop and deliver the Programme Effectiveness and Compliance Unit s annual Business Plan and budget in line with Plan International UK s Business Plan Provide inspirational leadership and management and promote a culture of excellence, innovation and effective teamwork among the 12-person Programme Effectiveness and Compliance Unit Be a proactive member of the Directorate leadership team and Plan International UK s Senior Management Team Deputise for the Director of Policy and Programmes as and when necessary General Ensure that all activities undertaken on behalf of Plan International UK, internally or externally, are in line with the overall aims of the organisation and with policies and procedures Contribute to cross-plan International UK efforts to ensure all our programmes and policy are gender transformative and that gender is mainstreamed across everything the Policy and Programmes Directorate does Lead a culture of risk management across our programme portfolio, in close coordination with our Country Office and International secretariat, to ensure risks are well managed and mitigated Awareness and Representation Commitment to Plan s position on promoting children s rights and gender equality, and integrating this into all aspects of work
Commitment to child safeguarding and to being confident and competent in meeting safeguarding responsibilities Level of Child Protection Responsibility Level of Budgetary Responsibility High has direct unsupervised contact with children or control over Child Protection policies or procedures. Must hold enhanced DBS clearance Medium - Post has some direct budget responsibility This is not intended to be an exhaustive list. Your job description may be subject to change. Date Created July 2017
PERSONAL COMPETENCIES Competency Title The successful candidate will be able to. Communicating with all stakeholders Demonstrating Plan values Working effectively and efficiently Use a high level of communication skills (written and verbal) in technical areas to foster partnerships and motivate others Represent Plan International UK in a wide range of technical and non-technical meetings Take the initiative in developing networks, and form effective and constructive working relationships across the whole organisation Have a passion for children s rights and in particular equality for girls and a proven track record working in these areas A commitment to work in the most effective and impactful ways, prioritising transparency, accountability, quality, data and evidence, innovation, learning and adapting Be reform minded, with a zeal for organisational effectiveness Focus on outcomes rather than outputs or inputs Develop and implement clear structures, roles and responsibilities in order to manage and support the team effectively; maintain a strategic overview, identifying and quantifying risks, and ensuring quality and value for money Draw up and manage complex budgets Contribute to organisational and programme strategy RELEVANT EXPERIENCE The successful candidate will have experience of. Working in international development at a senior level, with recent practical experience of at least two of the following areas: quality assurance, impact assessment, monitoring and evaluation, grants finance and/or donor compliance Technical standards, and guidelines for quality programming, including M&E frameworks, PQTs and Theories of Change Managing complex development projects, ensuring delivery of outcomes, timely reporting to donors, and accurate budget forecasting and disbursements Leading and managing multidisciplinary teams Leading the development of organisational business plans, strategies and KPIs
Experience of developing systems to support gender mainstreaming across a large and complex organisation would be preferred SPECIFIC SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE The successful candidate will have the ability to. The successful candidate will have knowledge of. Establish and manage high quality processes, systems and procedures across the entire programme life-cycle Inspire and lead a highly-effective team Manage multiple and competing demands on time Establish, manage and coordinate risk management process and frameworks, including complex programmes Lead on the development, tracking and achievement of business plans and KPIs Work easily with numbers: data sets, statistics, accounts Child protection and safeguarding issues Software programmes, particularly with MS Office packages, Excel and other M+E and data analysis programmes Statutory, regulatory and donor requirements linked to international development Quality assurance and other technical tools in relation to improving programme design, and increasing impact and sustainability A range of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Familiarity with gendersensitive evaluation approaches preferred.