British Embassy Vacancies 2024. The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer. We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organizational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.
Position: Senior Programme Manager – British Office Sudan
The main purpose of the job:
- The British Office Sudan (BOS), based in Addis Ababa, is looking to recruit capable, motivated, and experienced individuals to join the Programme Hub to lead and support the delivery of our development and humanitarian programmes. This is a fantastic opportunity to ensure our programmes deliver results for Sudanese people through programme, financial, risk and commercial management excellence. The post requires the ability to build trusted and influential relationships with suppliers and partners to deliver effectively. In all cases, the role will include managing the programme cycle, risk, and finances, engaging with implementing partners, driving forward implementation, and ensuring programmatic compliance. The postholder will work closely with various delivery partners including multilateral, international and Sudanese NGOs, and private sector suppliers.
Roles and responsibilities:
- As Senior Programme Manager, you will oversee the management of a team’s portfolio as well as lead the programme management of complex and/or high-value programmes. You will have an excellent understanding of the FCDO Programme Operating Framework, provide advice to colleagues on programmatic issues and lead on compliance and financial management for the programmes which they manage.
Key responsibilities include:
- Programme Leadership – Lead the delivery of the development and humanitarian programmes. As a Senior Programme Manager, you will be a reliable source of leadership within the programme hub, not only responsible for the day-to-day management of specific programmes but also providing expert advice and leadership to other members of the team, to ensure the team’s compliance with UK Government rules. You will put in place robust systems for managing this within the team and depending on the programme, lead on programme design, and mobilisation and if required, act as a Programme Responsible Owner (PRO).
- Establishing and maintaining strong relationships with our implementing partners to ensure our programmes deliver the intended results and that we maximise our impact. You will be required to have a strong understanding of the requirements of partners set out in our contracts or grant agreements and use these to manage and incentivise strong performance from partners, as well as compliance with UK rules and standards.
- Delivering robust financial management of programmes by working alongside Programme Managers and Officers to ensure spending limits are adhered to, variances are minimised and value for money is achieved. You will play an important oversight role to ensure the team proactively manages accurate financial forecasting over the year and profiling for outer years, ensures timely payment of invoices, and robust scrutiny and follow-up of financial reports and annual audited statements. You will work closely with partners to understand the risks to spending, explain UK requirements and challenge poor financial performance.
- Proactively managing risk (including fiduciary risk) of programmes. You will engage constructively with partners and the FCDO PRO to ensure we identify the key risks to programme delivery, discuss these regularly and respond promptly and effectively to mitigate risks, including escalating these to senior management when required. You will ensure the UK’s zero-tolerance approach to fraud and corruption is effectively implemented for your programme.
- Strengthening programme management capacity in your team and the wider British Office Sudan. This will involve working with the Head of the Programme Hub on capability-building, participating in cross-office forums like the Portfolio Board, sharing lesson learning across the office, and contributing ideas on how to improve programme delivery. You may also have line management responsibilities of Programme Managers and Programme Officers.
Resources managed:
As part of this role, the postholder is expected to have line-management responsibilities of HEO Programme Managers, alongside being the quality assurance for EO Programme Officers within the British Office Sudan.
Essential qualifications, skills and experience
- A strong and credible leader, who will able to deliver through others
- A strong understanding of Programme and Project management (PPM) processes, procedures and best practice;
- The resilience to manage multiple projects/programmes concurrently, with the ability to take the initiative and manage own workload.
- Proven financial and risk management knowledge, to support effective programme delivery.
- Ability to work with a range of stakeholders, both internal and external, and challenge implementing partners when required.
- Effective line management and commitment to the personal development of team members to build capability within the programme delivery profession.
Desirable qualifications, skills and experience
- Experience in leading and managing complex programmes in conflict-affected / fragile contexts.
- Experience working in the International Development or Humanitarian sector.
- Arabic language skills.
- Prior experience working on or in Sudan.
- Formal Programme Management Qualifications (APM PMQ, AGILE, PRINCE2 or equivalent).
Required behaviours
- Developing Self and Others, Leadership, Making Effective Decisions, Working Together
Other benefits and conditions of employment
Working patterns:
- This opportunity to full-time and the postholder is expected to work the British Office Sudan’s working pattern.
If the job is suitable for flexible working patterns, please provide details:
- The British Office Sudan can offer flexible working such as remote working, however, no part-time or job-share given how instrumental the SPM role is to BOS’ programme objectives.
Additional information
This post will be based in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) together with the majority of the British Office Sudan team, with a small number of other posts based in Nairobi and the UK.
Travel requirements: There may be future travel requirements for this role, but these are likely to be limited due to the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
The British Office Sudan may have further vacancies in the coming months and if there are other suitable candidates, we will use this recruitment to develop a pipeline of reserve candidates, for approximately 1 year.
- Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during the screening
- Please check your application carefully before you submit it, as no changes can be made once submitted
- The British Embassy will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position
- Employees recruited locally by the British Embassy in Addis Ababa are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in Ethiopia
- All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit.