Director, Program Quality

JOB SUMMARY

The Program Quality Director provides strategic and technical leadership to ensure high-quality program outcomes, as well as ensuring technical coherence of IMC’s Response portfolio. This position is responsible for ensuring that the program quality (program impact, measurement, learning, and program development) is in line with IMC’s strategy, program priorities, standards, and approach, and acts as a lead on the development of high quality innovative programs that deliver immediate and lasting impact based on evidence generation and use from the Monitoring and Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning of those programs, with adaptive learning being the core practice.

The Program Quality Director ensures that evidence and learning are at the heart of decision making, strategic direction, and accountability to communities and donors while providing direction, guidance, and support to the departments within its remit – mainly Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), Research Evidence and Learning (REL), Accountable and Inclusive Programming, and technical.

The position ensures that programs are designed in accordance with the country strategy. The position is also responsible for ensuring the quality of programs and providing technical capacity building of partners in sectoral areas.

The position also works closely with senior country leadership to ensure that IMC programs are closely coordinated with the humanitarian community and coordination architectures nationally and regionally, incorporating research and best practices to inform the quality of our work.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function with or without reasonable accommodation.

MAIN TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Ensure Program Quality and Program Technical Excellence

• In coordination with Field and Program/Technical Coordinators, adapt or develop program quality standards in line with the IMC global sector minimum standards – to promote harmonized program quality standards across different locations and sectors in line with IMC strategy.
• Define, develop, and roll-out a program quality assurance framework and benchmarks for the IMC country mission that identifies the parameters for quality and roles and responsibilities of program, technical, M&E, REL, and other teams in ensuring strong program excellence.
• Provide strategic leadership to the Program Quality functions to assure effective monitoring and evaluation, accountability, protection mainstreaming, and learning systems.
• Promote a learning and dynamic environment that facilitates evidence and adaptive learning, creating a culture of reciprocity with various stakeholders, including partners and IMC HQ.
• Lead the development of processes to integrate cross-program learning and ensure that lessons learned are used to inform adaptation of activities and future program design.
• Lead program quality improvements by developing and monitoring program quality KPIs, including ensuring evaluations are conducted in a timely manner and the recommendations are used for programming.

Managing Program Quality

• In cooperation with Field and Program/Technical Coordinators, ensures proper implementation of cross-cutting themes across the country program and throughout the project cycle where appropriate and relevant, including protection and inclusion (considering gender equality, age and disability, among other factors).
• Create and manage regular and critical review of the country programmatic quality approaches and action plans and initiate corrective actions/problem solving if, and when needed.
• Lead, in coordination with the M&E Team, on design, strengthening and execution of systems for monitoring and tracking program quality, performance and impact.
• Create and maintain a culture of reflective practice, learning and knowledge management to bring about innovation.
• Coordinate and support quarterly meetings with field staff across multiple teams to review, analyze and reflect on data, generate learning, and propose programmatic adjustment or adaptation.

Promote incorporation of high-quality technical input into program design in line with IMC and donor’s strategy, approach, and requirements

• Lead the program quality department to support program design, program quality assurance in line with IMC and donor’s strategy, approach, and requirements.
• Support the development of innovative and compelling concepts and proposals to donors through the provision of guidelines, ensuring quality of the process, and meeting design requirements and benchmarks for quality standards.
• In collaboration with the global technical teams, provide technical support to enable best practices and technical approaches are made available and can be applied in program design.
• Keep abreast of donor trends and approaches, identify opportunities, ensure capacity is expressed through learning briefs and support the grant department in engaging with donors.
• Promote incorporation of high-quality technical input into program design in line with IMC and donor’s strategy, approach, and requirements.

Promote Program Quality Across IMC Partnerships Portfolio

• Promote programmatic aspects of overall partnership strategy.
• Play a leading role in identifying, nurturing, and strengthening partnerships with civil society organizations and key stakeholders.
• Promote mutual learning between IMC and partners in key approaches, methodologies, and principles.
• Ensure appropriate inclusion of partners into program design, grants management processes and Program Quality activities.
• Conduct periodic review of program quality with partner organizations to ensure common vision in technical areas
• Lead the partnership and program quality teams on design and implementation of different partnership modalities, including capacity building and joint cross-learning relationships.

Promote functional integration between Program Quality, Program and Systems team that promotes efficiency and effectiveness

• Promote effective collaboration across M&E/REL staff, Technical advisors, and program implementation teams to develop log frames, implementation plans, quality benchmarks, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, etc.
• Promote at least annual cross-departmental program review meetings to look in detail at program strategy, Theories of Change, results chains, and assumptions, building on the quarterly project review meetings. Document the resultant learning and recommendations for programming adaptation or adjustment and ensure this is communicated to program leadership and IMC HQ.
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with all stakeholders – including community leaders, NGOs, UN agencies, community-based organizations, and other IMC sectors to enhance cooperation and coordination.
• Advocate with and/or advise peer agencies, local government, and other stakeholders to influence responses to promote delivery of inclusive and high-quality programs.
• Contribute to strategic country level processes and initiatives by actively supporting global and country-wide initiatives.
• Support technical staff to engage in larger communities of practice within and external to IMC, to link with best practice and learn from (and contribute to) the global evidence-base for programming.

Lead, mentor and manage departmental staff

• Responsible for providing effective supervision, leadership, coaching and guidance to the team and development of human resources to ensure a skilled, motivated, and collaborative workforce.
• Identify areas of improvement, maintain a focus on the training and development needs of the team in respect to ensuring program quality including QA systems and processes and related best practices are adopted and scaled.
• Support an organizational culture that reflects IMC’s mandate, values.
• Promote accountability and high performance, encourage a team culture of learning and innovation.
• Ensure the proper Implementation of IMC’s performance management system for direct reports, including individual and project planning, regular feedback, coaching and mentoring, mid-term reviews and annual performance appraisals.
• Act in lieu of DCD for Programs in their absence.

Perform other duties as assigned. The duties and responsibilities listed in this document are representative of the nature and level of work assigned and not necessarily all inclusive.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Typically, a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline to the role (e.g. Humanitarian Action, International Development, or Public Health), or the equivalent in years of relevant experience.
• Minimum of 10 years of Program Quality Management experience required; or equivalent combination of education and experience; working experience preferably with International Organizations.
• Experience in quality improvement projects and new business development in humanitarian/development settings will be preferred.
• Experience in managing, training, supervising staffs and motivating multiethnic and multicultural teams.
• Excellent understanding and demonstrable experience in program quality management.
• Must be able to demonstrate cross-cultural awareness and maintain a positive working relationship with clients and colleagues with professionalism and integrity.
• Demonstrated skills in creative problem solving particularly in limited resource settings.
• Demonstrated ability to support and build staff capacity: coaching, mentoring, supervisory and interpersonal skills.
• Managerial and leadership skills
• Excellent and good computer skills, including experience with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and email/internet software.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills required, with demonstrated experience in writing reports.
• Fluent in English, both written and oral.
• High level of communication and public relations skills
• Ability to work independently and as a collaborative team member.
• Able to work well under pressure and in an active conflict environment if applicable.
• Able to manage stress and conflict situations.

Additional Technical or Language Requirements

Code of Conduct

As applicable to this position, an individual must promote and encourage a culture of compliance and ethics throughout the organization and maintain a clear understanding of International Medical Corps’ and donor compliance and ethics standards and adheres to those standards. Staff are also responsible for preventing violations to our Code of Conduct and Ethics, which may involve Conflicts of Interest, Fraud, Corruption or Harassment. If you see, hear or are made aware of any violations to the Code of Conduct and Ethics or Safeguarding Policy, you have an obligation to report. If this is a supervisory position, one must set an example of ethical behavior through one’s own conduct and oversight of the work of others; ensure that those who report to you have sufficient knowledge and resources to follow the standards outlined in the Code of Conduct & Ethics; monitor compliance of the people you supervise; enforce the Code of Conduct & Ethics and International Medical Corps’ policies, including the Safeguarding Policy and the Protection from Harassment, Bullying and Sexual Misconduct in the Workplace Policy, consistently and fairly; support employees who in good faith raise questions or concerns.

Safeguarding

It is all staff shared responsibility and obligation to safeguard and protect populations with whom we work, including adults who may be particularly vulnerable and children. This includes safeguarding from the following conduct by our staff or partners: sexual exploitation and abuse; exploitation, neglect, or abuse of children, adults at risk, or LGBTI individuals; and any form of trafficking in persons.

Equal Opportunities

International Medical Corps is proud to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or status as a veteran.

Misconduct Disclosure Scheme

All offers of employment at International Medical Corps are subject to satisfactory references and background checks. International Medical Corps participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme from the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR). In accordance with this, we will request information from an applicant’s previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.