The Organisation
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected.
Working together with children, young people, supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges girls and vulnerable children face. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood and we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
For over 85 years, we have rallied other determined optimists to transform the lives of all children in more than 80 countries.
We won’t stop until we are all equal.

About the Company
The Strategy, Programmes & Influencing Director provides strategic leadership to Plan International’s strategy, programming and influencing work in the West and Central Africa (WACA) region in line with our 2022-2027 Global Strategy All Girls Standing Strong Creating Global Change and with a particular focus on ensuring the quality of Plan International’s interventions.

About the Role
S/he reports to the Regional Director and is part of the WACA Regional Core Management Team, the wider Regional Leadership Team (RLT), and is an experienced external influencer and capable of representing Plan International externally at a senior level. S/he is expected to work in a networked and matrixed way with colleagues across Plan International globally and should be able to set priorities aligned with multiple stakeholders and provide strategic leadership without close day-to-day supervision.

Responsibilities
• Drives the realization of the global strategy in the WACA region working with Country Offices (COs), National Offices (NOs), and Global Hub (GH) through leadership of strategic programming and influencing interventions, and the development and nurturing of strategic partnerships which help further Plan’s goals across the region.
• Ensures all programming and influencing initiatives are focused on increasing impact, strengthening legitimacy and improving sustainability, including delivery of highquality gender transformative programming and influencing interventions with key partners, ensuring close coordination with the humanitarian programme lead.
• Leads the multidisciplinary regional Strategy, Programmes and Influencing department to provide high quality support to COs and to carry out impactful regional initiatives in line with the WACA’s strategic priorities.
• Ensures Plan International’s agenda is represented in relevant spaces across the region and work with Liaison Offices (UN, AU, EU) to help drive the locally led,globally connected agenda.
• Ensures that regional and country perspectives are represented and contribute to global initiatives and forums within Plan.

Line management: This position directly supervises a team of regional advisors, managers and specialists for:
• Advocacy & Influencing
• Communications
• Gender Equality & Inclusion (matrix reporting line)
• Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL)
• Performance, Planning & Insights
• Projects & Programme Management
• Strategy & Organisation Design.

Budget authority: This position is responsible for managing an annual budget for staff and activities comprised of multiple sources of funding subject to varying reporting and accountability processes.
Programming and Influencing: Convene the regional Heads of Programme network, to build synergy and strengthen impact and learning, especially in Plan’s thematic priorities.

• Work with NO and GH thematic leads to draw more support and attention where it is needed most, building on strategic priorities that have been agreed upon with COs.
• Support the development and funding of strategically aligned multi-country projects or programmes.
• Build strategic networks and partnerships and steward working relationships with internal and external stakeholders and allies including donors, government representatives and other civil society organizations.
• Contribute to the strategy development process for COs by supporting them to integrate best practice and lessons learned in their long-term programming work.
• Lead discussions and any problem resolution on programme quality and alignment at regional level.
• Provide oversight on partnership management and programme quality in the region, ensuring that COs receive the support they need to deliver high-quality gender transformative programming.
• Lead the development and implementation of the regional influencing strategy and work plans aligned to global priorities.
• Ensure that Plan International WACA has a strong reputation as a girls’ rights thought leader and is leading change with and through regional multilateral platforms, working groups and alliances.
• Oversee the development and dissemination of all regional external communications products in line with relevant sign-off protocols.
• Support business development and fundraising initiatives through collaborating as needed with regional business development and relevant CO functions.

Qualifications
• Senior management and/or development experience in at least two of the areas of strategy development, programming and influencing, human rights, or related field.
• A graduate degree in a field of study relevant to rights-based international development.

Required Skills
• Senior leadership experience in a complex and dispersed organisation such as Plan International, with excellent self-awareness and negotiation skills.
• Indepth knowledge on the concept of and trends in civil society strengthening and effective partnership building in development and humanitarian context.
• Strong working knowledge of programme development and quality functions and their value for driving consistent, sustainable, scalable, high-quality project delivery.
• Proven experience and effectiveness leading cross-functional, multi-site teams and working in a matrixed structure.
• Experience in networking and influencing, and leading advocacy and policy work with government systems in West & Central Africa.
• Demonstrated knowledge of rightsbased gender programme approaches and child safeguarding.
• An understanding of the issues concerning the NGO sector in West & Central Africa in development and humanitarian contexts.
• Deep respect for leadership in the global south and an understanding of social movements and power dynamics in countries in West & Central Africa.
• Excellent listening, inter-personal, communication and networking skills.
• High level of self-awareness and willingness to take feedback for growth and self-development.
• Proficient level of English and French, spoken and written.
• Able to work well under pressure and to deadlines.

Preferred Skills
• Supports partnering and resource mobilisation: Identifies, assesses and nurtures mutually beneficial relationships with appropriate partners, and contributes to writing proposals relevant to own field(s) of work.
• Coaches colleagues and partners: Coaches colleagues and partners as part of daily work by explaining key concepts, standards and resources; and working alongside others to apply effective evidence-based practice.
• Builds stakeholder capability: Embeds it into program and project design.
• Shapes strategy, policy, standards and plans: clearly aligned with relevant priorities and stakeholder interests and based on rigorous internal and external evidence.
• Designs effective programmes and projects: with clear and measurable objectives contributing to overall outcomes, appropriately resourced, mainstreaming gender and inclusion and participatory approaches, and
Location: Senegal or any other Plan International office location