Senior Programme Manager at Options Consultancy Services Limited

Options Consultancy Services Limited was established in 1992 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marie Stopes International. We are a consultancy organisation providing technical and management expertise in the health and social sectors to governments and international development partners to transform the health of women and children.

We are recruiting suitable canddiates to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Programme Manager

Location: Nigeria
Employment Type: Full time
Type of Contract: Fixed Term
Department: Programmes
Report to: Assistant Director of Programmes
Liason with: Programme Team Leader and Deputy Team Leaders, Finance, Business Development, Technical and Programmes department, Options Country Offices, consortium partners
Type of contract: Fixed Term Contract to Sept. 2025 (extendable subject to funding)

About the Programme

• The Senior Programme Manager will be assigned one of more programmes to deliver.
• The specific programmes that the Senior Programme Manager will be assigned to are subject to change depending on the needs of the business, however it is anticipated that the Senior Programme Manager will provide dedicated support to The Girl Generation (TGG): Support to the Africa Led Movement to End FGM/C Programme. The Girl Generation (TGG): Support to the Africa Led Movement to End FGM/C Programme, is a consortium led by Options Consultancy Services, and includes Amref Health Africa, ActionAid, Orchid Project, Africa Coordination Centre for Abandonment of FGM/C and University of Portsmouth. It works closely with the Population Council’s Data Hub, the programme’s data and measurement arm.
• The programme envisions a world where girls and women can exercise their power and rights and have expanded choice and agency and be free from violence, including FGM/C.
• The role of the Senior Programme Manager is ensure the effective delivery and management of the TGG ALM Programme.

Main purpose of job

• As a Senior Programme Manager, you will be responsible for the effective and efficient management of large, high risk, complex, multi-country, multi-partner programmes
• You will work closely with other Options’ Departments and programme teams to enable the programme to be carried out on time and to budget and within Options’ quality standards of delivery.
• This will entail: i) playing a coordination role between programme teams and other countries of operations, and Options’ headquarter departments, such as finances, human resources, legal and compliance, technical teams and the programme management team, ii) working with consortium partners and various external stakeholders, and iii) ensuring that workplans, budgets, reports and contracts are completed following Options and the client’s requirements, at high quality and on time.
• Senior Programme Managers bridge coordination between Options headquarters and programmes and are generally expected to support and report to Team Leaders.
• This position includes regional and international travel.
• Note: All levels of position in the organisation assume some degree of
• responsibility for safeguarding. Your accountabilities will align with the level and
• scope of the position and appropriate training will be provided.

Main Duties
Programme Management:

• Under the leadership of Team Leaders, contribute to the strategic planning and monitoring of programmes, resolving issues and initiating corrective action as appropriate.
• Engage technically in the programmes and hold a valid and respected technical viewpoint.
• Engage effectively with Senior Technical staff to support the management of technical inputs into programme delivery.
• Track programme deliverables, ensuring they follow due quality assurance mechanisms, are delivered on time and within budget, and in accordance with the programme plan.
• Lead the development and manage work planning process, consolidate workplans and budgets from various programme partners. Report progress made against the workplan both internally to Team Leaders and Options and externally to clients.
• Maintain and manage an assessment of risks to the programme’s successful outcome.
• This involves risk management processes and documentation are completed and reporting and presenting risk updates.
• Appropriately escalate risks to senior members of the programmes department, in relation with, but not limited to, quality delivery, financial, security and safeguarding.
• Liaise with clients, consortium partners, implementing agencies and relevant individuals and organisations as required to develop and maintain excellent relationships.
• Support Team Leaders on organisational reporting requirements, keeping the senior management team informed about the progress of the programmes and potential risks on a regular basis (through but not only limited to contributions to monthly reports for the Programme Delivery Group).
• Provide leadership and management support for contracting including subcontracting and grant management to support effective performance and risk management of suppliers.
• Manage relationships with consortium partners to align technical and operational needs with programmes.
• Support and facilitate effective communication, cooperation and ways of working among country teams, partners, subcontractors and colleagues.
• Liaise with the Options Country Team to ensure smooth programme administration, travel and logistics at the national and international level.
• Take line management responsibility (Assistant Programme Manager or Programme Assistant) as required.

Financial Management:

• Contribute to the internal and external financial reporting requirements, consolidate financial reports from partners for submission to the client, manage invoicing from/to clients and partners.
• Contribute to programme budget management, monitor expenditures and costs against milestones as the project progresses.
• Provide oversight and quality assurance of financial reports and be able to critically review reports produced by Programme Managers or Financial Managers.
• Lead budget variance analysis, and communicate budget variance issues internally and externally, including to non-finance specialists.
• Communicate with clarity, presentation of financial information upwards within the organisation and externally to clients. This includes information such as forecasts, variance analysis and budgets, in addition to a sound understanding where this fits within the broader Options financial management.
• Work with the Options Headquarters and Country Offices on all aspects of financial management related to programmes and assignments, and contribute to the monthly management accounts, annual audit and budgeting process, and regular budgeting and forecasting.
• Actively engage with Options’ Country Offices to ensure project financial processes dovetail with organisational financial processes.
• Ensure programme financial management procedures and processes are being followed and identify issues quickly and proactively provide suitable responses.

Contract Management

• Liaise with Options’ Legal and HR departments on all aspects of partners, suppliers and human resources' compliance, contracting and management.
• Organise short term consultant inputs in line with organisational procurement policies and procedures, including preparation of TORs, sourcing, negotiating, drafting contracts, briefing, and managing consultants, liaising with and including
• HR and Legal and Compliance teams as required.
• Critically analyse reports, TORs, JDs etc. and provide relevant feedback.
• Manage relationships with subcontractors in line with organisational procurement policies and procedures, including preparation of TORs, contracts and budgets and ongoing management of their inputs and deliverables.
• In liaison with the Legal and Compliance Team, support due diligence of consultants and sub-contracts.
• Working closely with the Human Resources department, ensure contractual arrangements with long term project staff are in place.
• Manage the commercial aspects of all contracts in place related to the programme.
• Ensure compliance with the terms of the head contract.

Support business development

• Work with the Team Leader, Country Representative and New Business and Partnerships Team to support the development of specific proposals, including technical and financial inputs.
• This includes supporting pre-positioning on opportunities as required including, but not limited to, engaging with potential partners; developing early budgets; inputting to design of operational set up and early technical design
• Support the development of specific proposals whether we are a sub or a prime which may include:
• Support to team design, including review / assessment of existing programme staff for new programme and support to recruitment process (for bids in current presence countries).
• Identification and recruitment of appropriate long and short term personnel as needed, negotiate inputs and fee rates;
• Support to development of proposal budget, including salary benchmarking, development of unit costs, costing of operations (office setup, vehicles, security, etc.) and development of costed workplan (to be agreed on a case-by-case basis)
• Development of specific sections of Technical and Commercial proposals as required, e.g. particularly in Programme Management section (e.g. programme governance, risk management) and development of proposed milestone payment schedule support to developing operational strategies / approaches in proposals
• Coordinating inputs to proposals from other team members and/or external consultants.
• Contribute to development of programme management and governance arrangements, including consortium management, programme management, operational set up in country. Draft relevant sections of the bid as required.
• Carrying out desk research in subject matters that are relevant for the content of proposals.
• Writing and editing sections of proposals as designated by the lead bid writer.
• Supervising and supporting the New Business and Partnerships Department in the preparation of bidding documents (e.g. formatting CVs etc.);
• Contributing to the internal reviews of draft proposals in order to maximise its potential to win.

People management:

• Bring the best out in programme teams – support the develop of staff including PMs and APMs.
• Actively work with teams to ensure they can deliver and inspire confidence from other teams and senior colleagues.
• Able to identify and proactively manage any performance issues both of direct reports and within team.
• Identify issues contributing to and manage turnover of staff within team.
• Make rational and defendable decisions about team resources and allocation of responsibilities.

Other responsibilities:

• Be involved in cross organisational issues and governance groups / at least cross programmatic.
• Regardless of level of position in the organisation, all roles assume a level of responsibility for safeguarding. Accountabilities will align with the level and scope of the position and appropriate training will be provided.
• Contribute to knowledge management within Options, highlighting key developments within programmes that can be communicated and shared.
• In the spirit of teamwork, provide flexible support to colleagues across all Options teams and programme teams programme as required.
• Contribute to the development of programme tools/sharing best practice within the team/organisation.
• Assist in building and maintaining Options’ portfolio of consultants.
• Represent Options and the programme in various fora as needed.
• Taking minutes of various programme meetings.
• Cover for colleagues in their absence.
• Work with the Business Development team, based in the UK, to support on the development of specific proposals, including technical and financial inputs, as required.
• Please note that you may also be required to carry out reasonable additional ad-hoc duties, at the request of your line manager.

Personal Attributes

• We recruit talented, dynamic people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, who are focussed on delivering sustainable impact in the countries where we work.
• We’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and are committed to creating a fully inclusive workplace, where everyone feels able to participate and contribute meaningfully.
• You must be open-minded, enthusiastic, solutions-oriented and committed to promoting equality across the organisation and with those that we work with.

For this role, we’re looking for an individual who is:

• Dynamic, creative individual with the ability to show initiative.
• Team player, providing support and encouragement.
• Organised and process oriented, with an attention to detail and able to prioritise workload.
• Customer focused, responsive to changing priorities and demands.
• Strong communication skills and a team player.
• Ability to analyse complex problems in a structured manner whilst working under pressure.
• Focused on delivery with a ‘can do’ approach.
• Demonstrates Options’ team member behaviours and professional self-development.
• The individual should experience including:
• Significant experience of working in international development at a Programme Management level
• Extensive experience of the development and management of large, high risk, complex, multi-country, multi-partner programmes and complex consortium managed programmes
• Experience of line management and management of teams and coaching and supporting junior Programme Managers
• Experience in distance management of relations between a head office and an internationally based team
• Experience developing grant management procedures and managing grant programmes (desirable)
• Experience of networking to build successful relationships with potential clients, collaborators, and consultants (desirable)
• Experience in fundraising/business development (desirable)
• Experience strengthening organisational systems and processes (desirable)
• Experience managing public health programmes and/or programmes.
• Experience managing grants and contracts funded by donors including FCDO, USAID, BMGF, CIFF and World Bank
• Experience of managing large, complex donor-funded budgets that operate in
• consortiums across multiple countries (£10m+)
• Experience working in sub-Saharan Africa
• Experience engaging with and managing consortium partners at a senior level as a prime operating across multiple geographies and managing delivery performance
• Experience establishing and maintaining effective relationships with key stakeholders including consortium partners, donors, and government
• Experience of contract management and performance management approaches used by clients and funders including payment-by-results
• Experience of effective oversight and management of partner contractual delivery, financial reporting, and performance

Skills and attributes:

• Excellent financial management skills
• Ability to work on a wide range of projects and other issues simultaneously
• Able to present information to senior colleagues in a way that inspires confidence and is well targeted
• Able to effectively manage upwards understanding senior colleagues’ expectations and needs
• Confident in leading negotiations on day-to-day operational issues and contractual matters, referring to senior colleagues if necessary.
• Self-starter, can work independently or as part of a team
• Able to build relationships and engage effectively with internal senior leadership and senior representatives of external partners and donors
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Well-developed political acumen, able to understand sensitivities across partners and respond accordingly
• Ability to plan and manage work in a highly organised way
• Excellent communicator both in writing and verbally
• Consistently applying a critical eye to programme and organisational processes
• Able to identify and proactively mitigate and manage areas of risk for programmes, with an understanding of when escalation is required.

Other Essential Requirements:

• Pro-choice
• Commitment to equal opportunities
• A commitment to the programme’s and Options’ principles of Safeguarding, Do No Harm, and to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Note: this job description reflects the present requirements of the post. As duties and responsibilities change and develop the job description will be reviewed and be subject to amendment in consultation with the job holder.

Benefits
Options offers a competitive, comprehensive benefits package specific to each country.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply

Note

• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interview. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so candidates are encouraged to apply as early as possible.
• Please note that this role will be subject to full pre-employment background checks including criminal record check, identification check, employment references and right to work verification (where appropriate).

Other information:

• Options is dedicated to equal opportunity for all and recognises that every individual is unique. Whilst we always seek to embrace individual differences and celebrate the diversity of our workforce, we also want to ensure that every team member is suited to their role and that they are given the best opportunity to succeed.
• Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and post holders to share this commitment.
• We seek people who are pro-choice, promote diversity and inclusion, are energetic and enthusiastic about Options’ vision.
• Applicants must have the right to work in the country they are residing (UK, Nigeria or Kenya).

Application Deadline 6th August, 2023.