Senior Program Associate

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Description

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• Supports Portfolio Manager in oversight and support to a portfolio of projects in Africa and HQ and in charge of assigned programs and projects within the portfolio. (Note: the specific programs and projects can be changed by the Project Management Unit (PMU) Lead in consultation and upon agreement by the incumbent).
• Liaises directly with relevant support departments, such as human resources and compliance, finance, communication, and MEL to ensure project compliance with rules, regulations, and corporate policy, in consultation with PMU Lead.
• Schedules and leads regular project progress review meetings, prepares agenda, and capture notes as appropriate.
• Provide a quarterly coordination and review report on data integrity, as well as deliverables and research outputs under different projects (as needed).
• Oversees and is responsible for grants and contracts oversight consisting of several large and small grants, ensures that grants and contracts (projects) are completed on time, within budget, and in full compliance with donor and WorldFish policies and requirements.
• Support Portfolio Manager in oversight implementation of relevant project management policies and ensure Project Leaders and others who are subject to the policies comply with guidelines and processes. This will include but not be limited to Project Start Up and Close out Toolkit, Agreement Review checklist and Project Risk Management Checklist.
• Anticipates potential problems; assesses program risks; offers mitigations and solutions; and coordinates the resolution with PMU and project leadership. Provides monthly early warning desk reviews for the projects supported.
• Supports Portfolio Manager in assessing current project management capacities and developing response plans to identified gaps. Contributes to the process of ensuring relevant project management support tools are regularly reviewed, improved and new tools developed and adapted.
• Provides capacity building on Project Lifecycle Management (PLM) amongst all project implementation and support teams, and that the processes are aligned to the CGIAR Performance Management Standards.
• Contribute to on-going process improvement and enhancement of the Project Management related systems and ensuring high quality and effectiveness of these systems.
• Maintain the accuracy and completeness of projects’ data in WorldFish systems that are aligned with WorldFish and donor reporting.
• Support the Portfolio Manager to ensure that donor agreement and consultancy contracts are being processed and uploaded in OCS for review and approval including all related documents are uploaded to the system for record file.
• Support the Portfolio Manager to follow up with finance by submitting proper documents for payments to partners and consultants.
• Maintains an understanding of donor and WorldFish policies and procedures related to grant/contract compliance and oversight.
• Prepares status reports or provides oral briefs on project progress, including problem analysis and recommendations for corrective actions.
• Reviews periodic reports to ensure that benchmarks and goals are being met and monitor progress and contribution towards project Results.
• Initiates project kick-off, amendment/modification, and close-out process.
• Travels as needed for program oversight and/or implementation support.
• Participates in cross functional teams and initiatives.
• All other duties that may be required from time to time.

• Bachelor’s Degree or Diploma in Administration, Management, or relevant field. 
• At least 5 years of working experience in a multicultural non-profit or international research organisation. 
• Demonstrated experience in project management and administration between 8-10 years working experience in similar capacity and with an international or non-profit international research organisation.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Good organizational and time management skills to process tasks efficiently.
• Good analytical thinking skill.
• Team player with excellent inter-personal skills and ability to interact positively with people in a multi-cultural environment.
• Strong customers’ service orientation.
• Ability to work under pressure.

• Good knowledge of financial budget process. 
• Good problem-solving skill. 
• Resourceful with excellent discretion and sound judgment ability. 
• Knowledge of budget and financial management will be an added advantage. 

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