Brief overview and purpose of role
Plan International Ireland is looking for a Head of Programmes to join its Senior Management Team and lead the Programme Department. As a Senior Manager you will share collective responsibility to manage the Plan International Ireland organisation.
While the Head of Programmes is a key member of the Senior Management Team, you will be the direct line Manager of six Team Leaders, who collectively are responsible for securing, managing and delivering our institutional grant programme portfolio in Country Offices.
You will also be an active member of Plan Internationalโs Global Programme Directors Group and the BIIFES (Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Spain and Switzerland) Programmes Group โ which focuses on improving programme quality, implementation and accountability. You will be the primary focal point between Plan International Ireland and Plan Country Directors.
You will be a strong advocate for child rights, gender transformation, education and humanitarian response participating in relevant Global and Irish networks and with the media.
You will liaise with the Fundraising and Communications Department to profile Plan International Irelandโs work in the designated country offices, and within Ireland. You will also liaise with the Finance and Operations Team ensuring clarity on donor grant compliance, income scheduling and match commitments.
This is an exciting and challenging time to join Plan International as we strive for a just world that advances children's rights and equality for girls and implement the ambitious organisational strategic plan.
About Plan International Ireland
Founded in 1937, Plan International is a childrenโs organisation that fights for childrenโs rights, particularly girls, who live in the poorest regions of the world. We are an independent organisation with no religious, political, or governmental affiliations. Our vision is a just world that advances childrenโs rights and equality for girls.
We work at local, national, and international level across over 75 countries to influence governments to tackle the root causes of child poverty and to create a more equal world for girls. We work with communities to advance education, advocate for an end to FGM and child marriage, amplify girlsโ and womenโs voices and much more. During emergencies, we save lives and ease suffering by providing cash/vouchers, shelter and sanitation, while also creating safe spaces to protect and keep children in school.
Established in 2003, Plan International Ireland influences and supports Plan Internationalโs work worldwide. Plan International Ireland has been certified as one of Irelandโs Best Workplaces each year since 2020. We are triple locked through the Charities Institute of Ireland. We hold a Financial Programme Agreement (FPA) with ECHO and a Programme Grant with Irish Aid.
Key roles and responsibilities
Overall
The primary purpose of this role is to implement the programming elements of Plan Internationalโs current Strategy 2021-2025 and to contribute to the development of a new organisational Strategy in 2025.
Manage, support and lead Plan International Irelandโs Team Leads for Irish Aid, EU, Multilateral, Business Development, Compliance, and Education Units to strengthen the design and management of development and humanitarian programmes, supporting a robust pipeline of grants.
Key member of the Senior Management Team responsible for the overall strategic direction of the organisation, Donor income and Risk Management. Stay abreast of key developments and trends in the sector and consider the implications of these trends on programmes and operations.
Grants Portfolio
Overall responsibility for grant management, compliance, and financial management of development and humanitarian grants across a wide range of countries and with a variety of donors including, Irish Aid, European Union, UN agencies and Education Cannot Wait.
Strong co-ordination and liaison with both Country Offices, National Offices, Regional Hubs and Global Hub, to support the delivery of high-quality programmes aligned with the strategic focus of Plan International and specifically Plan international Ireland.
Short term travel to Country Offices to build relationships, gain an understanding of the context, build relationships while outlining Plan International Irelands approach and strategy.
Maintain strong context analysis on priority countries and on the donor landscape focussing on multilateral donors funding Plan International priority areas.
Contributing to opportunities to profile our work, within the Plan Federation and within Ireland.
Country Office support
Support Country Offices in the development, implementation, monitoring and review of Country Strategic Plans (CSPs) where required.
Support the Finance team and Compliance Unit to carry out sampled financial verifications on grant expenditures and with internal and external audits.
Liaise and represent Plan International Ireland with donors building strong relationships and understanding of their priorities.
Ensure programme records and associated files (including project contracts and internal compliance documents) are maintained for designated projects to facilitate reporting and oversee improvements in system management.
Resource mobilisation
Foster ambition across the Programmes Department for identifying new funding opportunities and support Plan Irelandโs Business Development Unit to identify suitable new opportunities and in the development of high-quality proposals targeting Multilateral donors, providing leadership as required, working in cooperation with Country Offices.
Humanitarian Response
As part of the wider Plan International humanitarian response, travel to disaster affected areas as required at short notice to support Planโs field teams to respond to emergencies as outlined in our Global ambition to scale up humanitarian response.
Learning, knowledge management, and communications
Maintain a system of programme reviews and evaluations, and share learning, research and best practices on multilateral education programmes in close coordination with Plan Irelandโs technical team and integrate a culture of learning in the Programmes Department.
Maintain watching brief on country context, programmes/projects, and evaluation and/or advocacy initiatives of designated countries and share with internal teams where appropriate.
Travel
Travel to Plan Country Regional and Global offices.
Other
Liaise with the Chair of the Programme Committee of the Board, help schedule and organise Committee meetings. Report regularly to the Board on Programmes, present progress and challenges to the Board when requested.
Maintain Plan Irelandโs internship programme and support secondments to Plan Country Offices of junior team members.
Person specification
Education
Third Level qualification in a related area is an advantage.
Leadership
Proven ability to lead and manage a Team to deliver Strategic and Annual Objectives. Understanding of role as a Senior Manager and the ability to contribute to the wider Irish and Global organisations.
Sector skills and abilities
Familiarity with key sector process and standards like; Results Based Management, CHS and SPHERE.
Ability to plan well and deliver on strategic objectives in a timely way.
Ability to seek out, develop, and successfully implement new ideas, or adopt proven approaches that support the delivery of quality programmes.
Compliance and Finance
Ability to work with a portfolio of donors, donor compliance skills, including strong financial understanding.
Ability to identify, mitigate and manage project and organisational risks.
Level of experience required
You will have experience of delivering programmes at Country Office level, ideally in both development and humanitarian contexts. You may have also worked at Head Office level and will be familiar with donor reporting and compliance requirements. You will have experience of all stages of grant management.
Communicating and working well together
Communicating with all stakeholders: be able to communicate our vision using clear and concise messaging. Be able to recognise the needs of others and actively support, coach, and provide supportive feedback. Networking and relationship management skills.
Working effectively and efficiently: always ensure that impact is the core feature of our work and maintain continuous improvement in everything we do. Influence change within your team and the wider organisation.
English and French language competence is highly desirable.
Salary and benefits
Plan International Ireland operates a salary scale, as well as a broad range of employee benefits.
This role is graded as a Level 6 within our salary scale, with an expected range of between โฌ60,000 and โฌ80,000. Placement on the scale will be dependent on level of experience and fit within the role.
In addition to salary, Plan International Ireland provides a number of employee benefits, some of which include:
- Private Health Insurance for all employees (from commencement date)
- Matching company pension contributions up to 5% (once probation is complete)
- Flexible working hours (core hours of 10am to 4pm daily, minimum of 37 hours per week
- Remote Working option on completion of probation to a maximum of two days per week from home.
- Commitment to training and development.
- 25 days annual leave, increasing with length of service up to 30 days.
Location
The Plan International Ireland office is located on Harrington Street, Dublin 8 (across from Brother Hubbardโs). We are just a stoneโs throw away from the bustling and busy Camden Street area, with its many coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and much more! Our nearest LUAS stop is Harcourt Street.
As an employee you will also be able to sign up to the Bike-to-Work scheme, or the TaxSaver scheme for DART, LUAS, and Dublin bus users.
To apply please use this link
Please submit your CV along with a letter outlining why you feel youโre the right person for the role by Sunday 18th of June 2023.
Please note that applicants must have a valid work permit at the time of applying to enable them to work in Ireland.
Key roles and responsibilities
Overall
The primary purpose of this role is to implement the programming elements of Plan Internationalโs current Strategy 2021-2025 and to contribute to the development of a new organisational Strategy in 2025.
Manage, support and lead Plan International Irelandโs Team Leads for Irish Aid, EU, Multilateral, Business Development, Compliance, and Education Units to strengthen the design and management of development and humanitarian programmes, supporting a robust pipeline of grants.
Key member of the Senior Management Team responsible for the overall strategic direction of the organisation, Donor income and Risk Management. Stay abreast of key developments and trends in the sector and consider the implications of these trends on programmes and operations.
Grants Portfolio
Overall responsibility for grant management, compliance, and financial management of development and humanitarian grants across a wide range of countries and with a variety of donors including, Irish Aid, European Union, UN agencies and Education Cannot Wait.
Strong co-ordination and liaison with both Country Offices, National Offices, Regional Hubs and Global Hub, to support the delivery of high-quality programmes aligned with the strategic focus of Plan International and specifically Plan international Ireland.
Short term travel to Country Offices to build relationships, gain an understanding of the context, build relationships while outlining Plan International Irelands approach and strategy.
Maintain strong context analysis on priority countries and on the donor landscape focussing on multilateral donors funding Plan International priority areas.
Contributing to opportunities to profile our work, within the Plan Federation and within Ireland.
Country Office support
Support Country Offices in the development, implementation, monitoring and review of Country Strategic Plans (CSPs) where required.
Support the Finance team and Compliance Unit to carry out sampled financial verifications on grant expenditures and with internal and external audits.
Liaise and represent Plan International Ireland with donors building strong relationships and understanding of their priorities.
Ensure programme records and associated files (including project contracts and internal compliance documents) are maintained for designated projects to facilitate reporting and oversee improvements in system management.
Resource mobilisation
Foster ambition across the Programmes Department for identifying new funding opportunities and support Plan Irelandโs Business Development Unit to identify suitable new opportunities and in the development of high-quality proposals targeting Multilateral donors, providing leadership as required, working in cooperation with Country Offices.
Humanitarian Response
As part of the wider Plan International humanitarian response, travel to disaster affected areas as required at short notice to support Planโs field teams to respond to emergencies as outlined in our Global ambition to scale up humanitarian response.
Learning, knowledge management, and communications
Maintain a system of programme reviews and evaluations, and share learning, research and best practices on multilateral education programmes in close coordination with Plan Irelandโs technical team and integrate a culture of learning in the Programmes Department.
Maintain watching brief on country context, programmes/projects, and evaluation and/or advocacy initiatives of designated countries and share with internal teams where appropriate.
Travel
Travel to Plan Country Regional and Global offices.
Other
Liaise with the Chair of the Programme Committee of the Board, help schedule and organise Committee meetings. Report regularly to the Board on Programmes, present progress and challenges to the Board when requested.
Maintain Plan Irelandโs internship programme and support secondments to Plan Country Offices of junior team members.
Person specification
Education
Third Level qualification in a related area is an advantage.
Leadership
Proven ability to lead and manage a Team to deliver Strategic and Annual Objectives. Understanding of role as a Senior Manager and the ability to contribute to the wider Irish and Global organisations.
Sector skills and abilities
Familiarity with key sector process and standards like; Results Based Management, CHS and SPHERE.
Ability to plan well and deliver on strategic objectives in a timely way.
Ability to seek out, develop, and successfully implement new ideas, or adopt proven approaches that support the delivery of quality programmes.
Compliance and Finance
Ability to work with a portfolio of donors, donor compliance skills, including strong financial understanding.
Ability to identify, mitigate and manage project and organisational risks.
Level of experience required
You will have experience of delivering programmes at Country Office level, ideally in both development and humanitarian contexts. You may have also worked at Head Office level and will be familiar with donor reporting and compliance requirements. You will have experience of all stages of grant management.
Communicating and working well together
Communicating with all stakeholders: be able to communicate our vision using clear and concise messaging. Be able to recognise the needs of others and actively support, coach, and provide supportive feedback. Networking and relationship management skills.
Working effectively and efficiently: always ensure that impact is the core feature of our work and maintain continuous improvement in everything we do. Influence change within your team and the wider organisation.
English and French language competence is highly desirable.
Salary and benefits
Plan International Ireland operates a salary scale, as well as a broad range of employee benefits.
This role is graded as a Level 6 within our salary scale, with an expected range of between โฌ60,000 and โฌ80,000. Placement on the scale will be dependent on level of experience and fit within the role.
In addition to salary, Plan International Ireland provides a number of employee benefits, some of which include:
- Private Health Insurance for all employees (from commencement date)
- Matching company pension contributions up to 5% (once probation is complete)
- Flexible working hours (core hours of 10am to 4pm daily, minimum of 37 hours per week
- Remote Working option on completion of probation to a maximum of two days per week from home.
- Commitment to training and development.
- 25 days annual leave, increasing with length of service up to 30 days.
Location
The Plan International Ireland office is located on Harrington Street, Dublin 8 (across from Brother Hubbardโs). We are just a stoneโs throw away from the bustling and busy Camden Street area, with its many coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and much more! Our nearest LUAS stop is Harcourt Street.
As an employee you will also be able to sign up to the Bike-to-Work scheme, or the TaxSaver scheme for DART, LUAS, and Dublin bus users.
To apply please use this link
Please submit your CV along with a letter outlining why you feel youโre the right person for the role by Sunday 18th of June 2023.
Please note that applicants must have a valid work permit at the time of applying to enable them to work in Ireland.
Safeguarding
Plan International is committed to safeguarding people within our programmes from exploitation and abuse and has specific policies on this commitment (including a Code of Conduct) which outlines the expected behaviour and the responsibility of all staff, consultants, and other organisational representatives.
Any candidate offered a job with us will be expected to sign our Safeguarding Policies and Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents. Specific roles may require police/Garda vetting.