Programme Manager (SD3C & 1Sahel Coordinator) - Fixed-Term co-terminus 2 years

ID 7488
Organizational Unit West & Central Africa Div.
Full/Part Time Full-Time
Regular/Temporary Regular
Assignment Duration Fixed-Term co-terminus 2 years
Grade P-5

Organizational Setting
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. It does so by investing in rural people. IFAD finances programmes and projects that increase agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes, and advocates at the local, national and international level for policies that contribute to rural transformation.

The Programme Management Department (PMD), under the leadership of an Associate Vice-President, is responsible for the overall programme of loans and grants of the Fund and is composed of five (5) regional divisions and the Operational Policy and Results Division.

The West and Central Africa Division, under the leadership of the Regional Director, oversees all IFAD operations and activities in the region including, but not limited, to the 24 country programmes: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

Beyond country programmes and national projects, IFAD has recently engaged in lending funds to regional programmes, and the 1Sahel Initiative in the region is a key regional engagement. It is composed of three pillars: (i) the Joint Sahel Programme in response to the challenges of COVID-19, conflicts and climate change (SD3C Programme); (ii) the Africa Climate Risk Financing Programme (AICRM), focused on building the resilience of smallholder farmers to climate change impacts in Africa; and (iii) GCF’s Inclusive Green Financing Programme (IGREENFIN) Phase 1.

The SD3C Programme is currently active in 6 countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal) and is implemented through governments, the G5 Sahel Secretariat, the 3 Rome Based agencies (FAO, IFAD, WFP), as well as Regional and National Farmers Organisations. Several co-financiers are joining this 6 year- operation aiming to benefit 1 million people in the Sahel Region. In IFAD, this programme falls under the overall responsibility and oversight of the West and Central Africa (WCA) Regional Division Director.

AICRM is supported by the Green Climate Fund (GCF). It will enter into force during the last trimester of 2022 and be active in 7 countries (those of SD3C + Gambia). IGREENFIN Phase 1 is also funded by GCF and will enter into force in 2023 and be initially active in 5 countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana). AICRM and IGREENFIN are expected to complement and deepen the impact of the SD3C in and beyond the Sahel region. The overall management, implementation and consultations for these programmes fall under the responsibility of the Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion Division (ECG) in IFAD’s Strategy and Knowledge Department (SKD).

The Programme Manager is responsible for the direct management of the SD3C Programme as well as for the day-to-day coordination of the 1Sahel Initiative, including close collaboration with SKD staff responsible for the daily management of AICRM and IGREENFIN. S/he supervises staff and non-staff personnel assigned to the SD3C Programme, and acts as central focal point to monitor and co-ordinate progress and share learnings for the entire 1Sahel Initiative, consolidating inputs from SKD management of AICRM and IGREENFIN to track overall progress and co-ordination and chairs the working level management group meetings and act as Secretary to the Director level steering committee of WCA and ECG. S/he is also responsible for internal and external dissemination, and coordinates with the various IFAD country teams in the Sahel region and leading external fundraising for SD3C. S/he reports directly the WCA Regional Division Director and ensures close consultation and co-ordination with SKD. The position is located in the West and Central Africa (WCA) Division’s Multi-country Office (MCO) in Dakar, Senegal.

Job Role
The Programme Manager is an experienced professional with substantial programme management and leadership capabilities and strong ability to coordinate complex initiatives in the domains of rural and agricultural development. S/he brings IFAD’s core values of integrity, transparency, and equity into the management of the SD3C Programme and coordination and coherence of current and future pillars of the 1Sahel Initiative. Her/his accountabilities/key results also include leading advocacy for, enhancement of, and coordination among IFAD co-funded national government programmes and regional programmes that improve the access of poor rural people to natural resources, agricultural technologies, financial services, markets, employment opportunities, and enterprise development support. S/he works to ensure that IFAD Country Directors and their teams are able to effectively implement and coordinate in the context of regional programmes, and that they can effectively promote capacity building of the rural poor to fully participate in relevant regional, national and local policies and programming processes.

Position specific:

The Programme Manager has direct overall management of the SD3C Programme, managing the staff and resources of this programme supporting and co-ordinating in country work led by IFAD country teams and is responsible for leading the SD3C fundraising strategy. S/he also acts as the overall coordinating focal point for the 1Sahel Initiative. This includes leading and liaising with managers in SKD of AICRM and IGREENFIN to understand and track alignment of implementation across 1Sahel Initiative pillars, as well as any future support pillars designed to increase impact in the region. As the overall coordinator, the incumbent leads in oversight and ensuring coherence of the pillars with the goals of the overall 1Sahel Initiative objectives. S/he works closely with the WCA Regional Director, SKD and other relevant IFAD colleagues supporting other pillars of the 1Sahel Initiative to develop, document and disseminate procedures and processes that ensure that IFAD regional programmes like the 1Sahel Initiative are efficiently implemented and serve as catalyst for other similar regional or sub-regional programmes.

The key results expected comprise six broad areas:
• Regional Programme Strategy
• Programme Operational Delivery/ Regional Initiative Coordination
• Partnership Building
• Resource Mobilization and donor relations
• Operational leadership at projects / programme level
• Knowledge management

Key Functions and Results
1. REGIONAL PROGRAMME STRATEGY:
The Programme Manager leads strategic positioning and sub-regional strategy development for the Sahel. S/he is accountable for leading and managing the development and implementation of medium to longer-term sub-regional Sahel strategies for IFAD’s collaboration with governments, other regional and supranational stakeholders, development partners and the UN regional and country teams for agricultural development and rural poverty reduction following the principle of ownership, alignment and harmonization. This entails, inter-alia: leading the analysis of the dynamics of agricultural development and rural poverty reduction in the region; developing relevant regional-specific strategies; and defining IFAD’s value added in this context of strategy development.

2. PROGRAMME OPERATIONAL DELIVERY/ REGIONAL INITIATIVE COORDINATION:

The Programme Manager manages IFAD’s regional programme and related IFAD-funded projects within the Regional (Sahel) portfolio assigned by the WCA Regional Division Director. S/he ensures day-to-day management of the overall SD3C Programme and supporting IFAD country teams as appropriate, leads the design and supervision of the relevant regional programme as well as related loan and grant negotiations, all in accordance with IFAD’s applicable policies. For this s/he will work with the Country Directors and their country teams to ensure smooth coordination and synergies with the anchor projects and the whole country portfolios. S/he oversees their budget preparation, management, and monitoring of expenditures, and synergy of actions in the field with the anchor projects, country portfolios, and between all relevant stakeholders and across country borders. S/he is also directly responsible for maintaining coordination with with the AICRM & IGREENFIN managers to monitor the overall 1Sahel programme delivery and ensure coherence and close alignment across the 1Sahel Initiative. The Programme Manager is accountable for analysing relevant information, assisting in the periodic monitoring and evaluation of results achieved and reporting on and dissemination of findings for the SD3C Programme and the broader 1Sahel Initiative follow-up actions. In this connection s/he contributes effectively to the IFAD organizational change agenda, with reference to issues related to IFAD’s direct supervision and implementation support modalities particularly for regional and sub-regional programmes. S/he will chair the IFAd working level co-ordination committee and act as Secretary for the Director level steering committee.

3. INSTITUTIONAL REPRESENTATION, AND PARTNERSHIP MANAGEMENT:
The Programme Manager strengthens IFAD’s presence at regional and/or country-level in the Sahel. S/he provides authorititative advice on strategic partnerships and catalyzes such partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders in agricultural development and rural poverty reduction, including government and non-governmental institutions, bilateral and multilateral financing institutions, civil society organizations, research centres and the private sector. S/he enhances IFAD’s relationship and collaboration with regional partners focusing on synergies and coordinated strategies with multilateral/bilateral donors and civil-society organizations involved in agricultural development and rural poverty reduction, particularly across the region or sub-regions. S/he represents IFAD on the relevant UN Regional fora and RBA co-ordination mechanisms, acting as the primary point of contact to transmit IFAD's decisions, and contributes to the coordination of regional operational activities for development and to international and national meetings/thematic groups meetings related to the Sahel region. S/he Sahel also leads on developing and implementing a SD3C fundraising strategy, co-ordinating with other RBAs to mobilise additional resources to complement ongoing regional activities in the Sahel. Given the significant profile of SD3C and the 1 Sahel among donors and IFAD and RBA Board members, S/he is responsible for ensuring strong external communications.

4. CONTRIBUTION TO POLICY LEADERSHIP at project/programme level:
The Programme Manager contributes to corporate level strategy on core IFAD policy positions within the assigned portfolio including corporate learning on regional programming under the leadership of, the Director Steering Committee . S/he maintains and promotes constructive dialogue on the development of pro-poor agricultural development and rural poverty reduction policies and in enabling the rural poor to advocate for institutional transformation. S/he regularly participates in relevant policy meetings and events of interest to IFAD’s target groups and which involve the government, donors, and civil society, including NGOs, to render the policy dialogue agenda both credible and sustainable. S/he contributes to IFAD's policy intelligence with regular updates and information exchange on relevant policy discussions and ensure proper knowledge management is in place. Such policy dialogue focuses on seeking to link the realities on the ground and the voices of the poor with national policies and programmes.

5. OFFICE MANAGEMENT:
The Programme Manager supports the Director WCA, Head of the Multi-Country Office Dakar and country in managing the utilization of the allocated resources for SD3C. As such, s/he contributes to the management of human resources, contracting goods and services, and financial management of the SD3C Programme – and supports budget preparation, management, and monitoring of expenditures for activities within her/his remit, S/he also leads in coordinating these areas for linked operations though close engagement with SKD for the remaining two pillars of the 1Sahel Initiative.

Key Performance Indicators
The Programme Manager delivers technical and managerial leadership to the substantive development and execution of the assigned regional portfolio, including providing
i) day-to-day managerial direction to Senior staff (up to P-4 level), programme analysts and officers (up to P-3 level), country programme officers and assistants as well as administrative assistants from all fundings sources of the SD3C programme;
(ii) strategic advice and counsel to SKD counterparts in relevant domains to ensure alignment
(iii) effective representation with government counterparts, regional entitities, other programme collaborators, and donors and external partners interested or concerned by the Initiative of the Programme(s); and
(iv) ability to anticipate and manage potential risks to the success of regional initiatives and programmes under her/his responsibility.

• Going beyond established procedures or models, S/his substantive contributions reflect new approaches that materially expand the range of services or programmes delivered at the regional and country-levels. Leading programme design and development activities reflect authoritative technical capacity in performing the Programme Manager role. Externally the impact on the overall IFAD regional and country programmes is significant in projecting the organization’s role/capacity as a reliable partner with a qualitative edge at the national and regional levels.
• Assigned areas may include sub-regional clusters of countries or politically sensitive, high profile or highly complex countries as identified in the country classification matrix.

Working Relationships
COMMUNICATIONS: The Programme Manager serves as the IFAD sposperson for regional matters concerning SD3C and, in coordination with relevant SKD colleagues, for the 1Sahel Initiative more generally. In carrying out this role and when required, s/he draws on the advice and expertise of Country Directors involved in the operations, SKD teams leading implementation of other pillars of the 1Sahel Initiative, as well as IFAD’s Communications Division (COM). S/He holds regular consultations with IFAD counterparts — line ministries and (inter)governmental bodies at all administrative levels, donors, UN Rome-Based Agencies and others, and the civil society — to enhance the effectiveness and impact of IFAD operations. S/he also seeks to improve coordination among IFAD, governments and key development partners with a view primarily to ensuring synergy and a common approach to emerging agricultural development and rural poverty reduction strategies, policies and investment programmes in the region. In close coordination with the IFAD Country Directors, s/he serves as IFAD’s liaison with the authorities of specific anchor projects, and helps in addressing administrative and programme-related substantive issues, such as targeting and identifying needs for technical backstopping. S/he proactively works with relevant project management to ensure compliance with IFAD policies and overall orientation towards the achievement of results and impact. As the senior expert on the formulation and delivery of relevant projects and programmes under the SD3C Programme to be anchored within the WCA Sahelian country programmes, the Programme Manager's effectiveness as an advocate and trusted counterpart substantially affects IFAD’s image as a reliable and creative partner.

Thus, s/he serves as a senior technical leader and focal point for regional-level programme promotion for the Division. S/he also serves as the interlocutor for advising SKD management teams on alignment and coherence of the 1Sahel Initiative across pillars. Combination of credible authoritative capacity with independent responsibility for originating specific programme initiatives creates opportunities for maintaining and expanding new client relationships. S/He contributes to resolving complex issues with governments, regional partners and cooperating institutions and donors. Representation at the highest levels of the government is delegated only within the context of established programmes and policy guidance of the WCA Regional Division Director, and when appropriate the Country Directors.

Job Profile Requirements
Organizational Competencies - Level 2
• Strategic thinking and organizational development: Strategic leadership
• Demonstrating Leadership: Leads by example; initiates and supports change
• Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating: Challenges, innovates and contributes to a learning culture
• Focusing on clients: Contributes to a client-focused culture
• Problem solving and decision making: Solves complex problems and makes decisions that have wider corporate impact
• Managing time, resources and information: Coordinates wider use of time, information and/or resources

Team Work: Fosters a cohesive team environment
Communicating and negotiating: Acquires and uses a wide range of communication styles and skills
Building relationships and partnerships: Builds and maintains strategic partnerships internally and externally
Managing performance and developing staff: Manages staff and teams effectively

Education:
• Education includes Advanced university degree from an accredited institution listed on

(*) Note: For internal candidates, this requirement will be assessed in line with the provisions set forth in the IFAD’s Human Resources Implementing Procedures.
Area - Rural development, agriculture, economics, agricultural engineering, rural finance, development policy or related field

Work experience:
• At least ten (10) years of progressively responsible professional experience in rural development, agriculture, economics, rural finance, development policy or other job-related fields and at least 4 years of programme management and leadership preferably including at country director level.
• Four (4) years in a multi-cultural organization or national organization providing support on a global scope.
• Position-specific experience: Working in international organizations, rural development/financial institutions or government services, preferably in area of implementation and supervision of rural development programmes. Knowledge of the countries in WCA area. Experience may include project design, development, implementation and evaluation. At least 2 years (of the total 10) experience in resource (human, financial and material) management in an international organization is an asset.


Languages:
• Required English (4 – Excellent)
• Desirable: Spanish, or Arabic (3 – Good)
• Position-specific requirement: French (4 – Excellent)

Skills:

Job role specific
• Leadership: Ability to build trust, inside and outside the organization, by acting as a role model for IFAD’s core values and competencies. Provides a clear sense of direction, mentorship and effective guidance to teams towards executing IFAD’s vision, while ensuring a positive environment for all.
• Programme and Performance Management: Know-how in the planning of human, financial and material management of IFAD resources, including for rural development and based in pro-poor approaches in the region. Specific know-how in managing staff performance, evaluation and learning, to ensure delivery on agreed objectives and meet their development needs.
• Coordination and Stakeholder Engagement: Able to closely monitor and ensure alignment of complex and integrated programmes’ overarching vision and activities. Able to communicate authentically, transparently, and persuasively with diverse set of stakeholders to ensure consultation.
• Strategic positioning and advocacy: Know-how in the representation of IFAD as a trusted and strategic partner, advocating and promoting IFAD's mandate and vision with IFAD counterparts. Proactive, ongoing identification of strategic opportunities, potential synergies and partnerships, internally and externally.
• Problem solving: Ability to conduct sound political analysis, understand complex environments, and solve problems by providing options and advice
• Risk management (e.g. reputational) - Identification and assessment of potential liabilities and risks in IFAD's activities, particularly vis-à-vis third parties; ability to handle risks via contingency and mitigation strategies
Other Information

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