Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment and educational details, experience-based segment and the behaviours and technical/ professional skills-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only for all the required details. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.’’

We reserve the right to review, revise or amend the roles and responsibilities from time to time reflecting the changing needs of business.

Main purpose of job:

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) pursues UK’s national interests and projects the UK as a force for good in the world. We promote the interests of British citizens, safeguard the UK’s security, defend our values, reduce poverty, and tackle global challenges with our international partners.

The British High Commission in Pakistan has an exciting opportunity for a programme management professional to join the Integrated Security Fund  (ISF) Portfolio Team to minimise and mitigate the risks of conflict and instability in Pakistan and its direct/indirect impacts on UK.

The jobholder will be expected to ensure that ISF funded programmes remain aligned with ISF priorities, Pakistan Country Business Plan (CBP) and are compliant with FCDO PrOF (Programme Operating Framework) and the CSSF Operating Framework (OF) requirements.

The British High Commission (Mission) takes an integrated approach to delivery and the CSSF/ISF programmes are embedded in the Campaign Goals (CG) structure of the Mission. The jobholder will need to engage with multiple quarters in the Mission, work with CG leads, be able to absorb information from multiple sources and track multiple conversations.

The jobholder should have a clear understanding of programme management across the programme life cycle, strong communication skills (both written and verbal skills) and a good grasp of MEL (monitoring, evaluations, and learning), and an ability to quickly get upto speed with a wide-ranging set of topics whilst engaging with experts and senior leadership.

The jobholder would also be expected to support the professional development of the ISF portfolio team in MEL areas and support the teams in further improving the programmes Theory of Changes, Logframes etc.

The role requires the jobholder to multitask whilst balancing interests and demands on his/her time.

The job holder will work under the direct supervision of ISF Portfolio lead and to deputise for him/her in his/her absence. 

This position offers a great opportunity to build knowledge in the complex area of political and conflict response programming. The jobholder will have the opportunity to participate in annual reviews to assess the performance of CSSF / ISF programmes and to engage with the MEL regional contractor to ensure that their services are effectively utilised for by the benefit of Pakistan programmes. 

This position offers a good opportunity to understand different programmes and build relationships with different teams across the Mission and with UKG departments.

Roles and responsibilities of the Job Holder:

• Promote best practice and ensure programme compliance with programme management requirements, guided by PROF and CSSF operating framework, through DEPA stocktakes and monthly management meetings.
• Oversee monitoring, evaluation and learning across the Portfolio, including support CSSF Pakistan’s Annual Review processes, and ensuring uptake of recommendations from independent evaluations feeding into programme design and delivery.
• Ensure Portfolio Board at post and the Regional Portfolio Board APD receive regular reporting on risks and results and that meetings are well prepared to discuss critical decisions related to the delivery of CSSF/ISF in Pakistan.
• Lead on London-facing and/or interdepartmental discussions on MEL and Results Reporting.
• Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with UK departments and effectively manage external and internal HMG communications related to the CSSF/ISF
• Act as gender champion and ensure Gender Equality Act (2014) compliance and support implementation of gender policy and guidance so that, at the least, no harm is done, and gender inequality is not worsened.
• Actively support CSSF/ISF ambitions on women’s economic opportunities, inclusive growth and poverty reduction through your team.
• Engage with programme teams, sharing best practice on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) across conflict programming, and continuous improvement of Programmes’ MEL frameworks.
• Assisting the programme teams to continuously monitor the programme outputs & outcomes and their reporting.
• Collate and consolidate individual programmes’ report into a portfolio report and submit to APD / JFU in a timely manner as per the reporting schedules.
• Ensure ISF Pakistan Portfolio MEL requirements are synchronised with other ISF Regional or Global MEL partner(s) work and to feedback on the performance of regional MEL supplier to the London based MEL adviser.
• Ensuring that the essential MEL programme documents, such as the Results Framework, programme summaries, MEL plans, risk registers and programme documents are regularly updated and maintained on the system for ready access.
• Support Programme SROs / PROs to further improve programmes’ approaches on cross cutting themes including gender, VFM, MEL, climate, and conflict sensitivity.
• Support the ISF Research and Design lead to design the Results Framework for the new programmes forming part of the ISF Portfolio under SR25.
• Help build the MEL capacity of programme staff through a structured capacity building programme.
• Collaborate with Programme Teams and BHC communication team to disseminate programmes results, whilst ensuring that the content for dissemination remains informative and engaging.
• Support ISF Pakistan’s wider engagement with other ISF Teams across the region and with the APD Directorate on MEL, sharing lessons and approaches to common challenges, where applicable.
• Provide briefing to Country / Regional Board meetings, when needed, on MEL issues related to the delivery of ISF in Pakistan.
• Deputise for ISF Portfolio Head, when required and attend to critical tasks that needed to be completed in his/her absence.
• Demonstrate flexibility to work on any additional responsibilities assigned by the ISF Portfolio Head on the MEL and Portfolio Management themes.

Language requirements:

Language: English

Level of language required: Proficiency in reading writing and speaking English language.

Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

The FCDO is committed to provide learning and development opportunities to all its employees, including:

• Formal in-house and external training.
• Coaching, mentoring and job shadowing.
• Structured learning on the job, including stretching objectives and work.
• Field visits and attendance to regional or international events.

Working patterns:

Full time employment with flexibly of working home on a case-by-case basis.

Operating hours are Monday – Thursday 08:00 – 16:15 (with half an hour lunch break); Friday 08:00 – 13:00

Any other information (or specific local Post requirements):

As part of the assessment process, should you get shortlisted and invited for interview, you may be asked to deliver a 5-minute presentation on a set topic. The topic of presentation will be provided in advance. This may be coupled with a written exercise as well, which will be required to be completed on the day of assessment.

Essential on arrival:

• Master’s degree in management / administration / MEL.
• At least 8 years of project / programme management / monitoring and evaluations’ experience of complex programmes with emphasis on collaboration and team building.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Good organisational skills and ability to manage competing priorities.
• Good oral and written English communication skills (ability to provide briefings, project reporting).
• Strong ability to build relationships, collaborate with partners across government and external stakeholders and work effectively as part of cross organisation team.
• Strong IT skill, working knowledge of MS Office 365 and basic understanding of Power BI software.