Vacancy title:
Project Manager

Jobs at:
Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO)

Deadline of this Job:
10 May 2018

Duty Station:
Kigali, Rwanda

JOB DETAILS:
VSO is the world’s leading international development organisation that works through volunteers to fight poverty. Working in 24 countries around the world, our unique role in international development is to place committed volunteers with carefully selected organisations where their skills can have the greatest impact. Our extraordinary volunteers live and work in some of the world’s poorest communities. Sharing their unique skills and experience to generate new ideas and new ways of doing things, helping the communities they work in lift themselves out of poverty. We’re not about delivering quick fixes, but instead we focus on long-lasting, sustainable change, that will impact generations to come. Join us and help us work towards our vision of a world without poverty.
Role overview
VSO is seeking a dynamic, results-driven Project Manager (PM) with the drive and determination to own and lead VSO’s technical support to the Rwanda disability movement which is currently striving to generate and use evidence to influence policy development and implementation in favour of people with disabilities. The project will focus on policy areas related to social protection and aims to work collaboratively with all stakeholders in a way which promotes social accountability towards people with disabilities. PM is responsible for effective planning, organising and utilising project resources to achieve sustainable project results, and for regular monitoring, documenting and communicating project results with relevant stakeholders.
Skills, qualifications, and experience

JOB DESCRIPTION
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Leadership: Be responsible for delivering VSO commitments to the project, working closely with the VSO Technical Advisor and VSO international volunteers.
Planning: Timely preparation, submission and securing approval of the project annual, quarterly and monthly plans. Ensure the project stakeholders (staff, volunteers and partners) engage and contribute meaningfully to planning.
Implementation: Timely implementation of planned activities according to approved implementation plans. Ensure project resources are properly utilised to achieve planned results within agreed timeline. Translate implementation plans into weekly and daily actions for the team for easy implementation, monitoring and supervision.
Monitoring and Evaluations: Timely execution of baselines, mid-line and end-line evaluations, and periodic field monitoring visits and progress reviews with stakeholders to validate implementation. Ensure timely remedial actions to realign any identified deviations within the subsequent plans.

Documenting and Reporting:Document learnings and report progress to project stakeholders including primary actors. Deliver monthly, quarterly, bi-annual and annual progress reports and project completion reports. Follow a reporting calendar to ensure timely narrative and financial reporting. Coordinate all parties involved in the preparation, review and approval of reports, ensuring all reports are approved and signed-off before submission.

Budget management: Ensure effective planning and utilisation of project budgets and support project partners and volunteers to understand the budget well. Support the partner to prepare annual, quarterly and monthly detailed budget implementation plan aligned with detailed activity implementation plans and to achieve optimal budget burn rates every month. Ensure compliance with VSO and donor financial rules and regulations. Steer budget discussions during monthly Grants Review Meetings (GRM) and carry out periodic spot checks of expenditures and prevention of fraudulent activities.

Partnership management: Establish and maintain mutual partnerships with district local governments, project partners, donors and primary actors. Maintain respectful and mutually beneficial relationships through formal and informal engagements. Ensure the project aligns with and contributes directly to government priorities and district plans. Develop and maintain a partnership agreement with districts and local partners and be responsible for VSO performance contracts in districts. Represent VSO in district JADF activities and ensure timely submission of work plans and reports to immigration
Representation: Act as VSO’s representative in the district and communicate on behalf of VSO. Ensure all VSO business in the district is conducted in a professional manner, with unquestionable integrity. Foster VSO values within the project team (staff, volunteers and partners). Ensure proper visibility and recognition of the contribution VSO and VSO donors in all project activities and other joint initiatives involving VSO including proper branding of VSO presence and use of social media. Engage with formal coordination mechanisms and informal networks at district level. Continually update project stakeholders on the progress of the project. Engage within VSO global internal communities of practice.
People management: Retain competent and motivated, volunteers and partners who are committed to fulfilling VSO’s vision, mission, values and principles. Ensure proper orientation of volunteers and partners to ensure they understand and align with project plans and local context. Build and maintain team cohesion and collaboration and foster a culture of high performance. Ensure team members have clear performance objectives which are regularly reviewed. Ensure project team safety, security and general welfare.
Personal development: Ensure continual learning for personal improvement and report how personal learning and improvement plans directly contribute to better programme results.
Carry out any other relevant duties assigned from time to time
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Individual KPIs will be agreed with the Head of Programmes based on the requirements of the project and its contribution to departmental priorities.
These will relate to the aforementioned areas of responsibility: planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, documenting and reporting, budget management, partnership management, representation, people management and personal development.
KPIs will relate in particular to achieving project deliverables, and achieving compliance with project and programme policies and procedures.
COMPETENCIES:
Building and Sustaining working relationships: The social skills to build and actively maintain working relationships that foster teamwork and collaboration with others for the benefit of a common goal.
Open Minded and Respectful A non-judgemental approach that values other people and culture.
Seeking and Sharing Knowledge: Recognition that learning is a two-way and continuous process.
Facilitating Positive Change: The ability to analyse problems and develop lasting solutions in line with VSO approaches.
Adaptability: A flexible approach and the ability to adapt behaviour to different situations.
Resilience: The self-confidence to work with a variety of situations, diverse people and ambiguity.

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge

• Masters degree in relevant field of study from a recognised university is essential;
• Sound knowledge of development policies and best practice in Rwanda is essential;
• Sound knowledge of Rwanda’s vision 2020/2050, EPDRS-II/III and SDGs is essential;
• Good understanding of inclusive development for people with disabilities in the area of social protection is desirable.
• Good knowledge of social inclusion, social accountability and resilience is desirable;
• Recognised qualification in project planning and management is desirable;
• Recognised qualification in project monitoring and evaluation is desirable.
  Skills
• Excellent engagement, relationship building, negotiation and networking skills;
• Excellent communications, presentation, analytical writing and reporting skills;
• Self-starter with ability to multi-task, manage pressure and meet deadlines;
• Strong people skills for problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision making.
  Experience
• Experience in managing complex programmes in Rwanda or other similar contexts
• Experience in managing partnerships especially government/districts partnerships
• Experience in managing donor-funded project budgets with specific compliance;
• Experience in managing field operations across several districts in Rwanda
• Experience in successfully managing people and partnerships.
  
  2. Background and contextual information
  People with disabilities remain amongst the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in Rwanda society. Whilst official estimates put the total population of persons with disabilities 446,453 (5% of the national population), the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 15% of any population is likely to Persons with Disabilities. Households headed by Persons with Disabilities are more likely to be poor. They lack access to education, health and employment opportunities. Government of Rwanda has made great strides towards realising the rights of PWDs through positive legislative and policy commitments at national and international level, however the implementation of these commitments remains mixed especially at local level.
  VSOR has been working at the core of the disability movement in Rwanda since 2005 and through our technical and financial support has been central to the establishment and growth of the structures and individual organisations that exist today including the civil society umbrella, the National Union of Disabilities Organisations of Rwanda (NUDOR www.nudor.org), and the government agency responsible for disability mainstreaming, the National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPD www.ncpd.gov.rw ). VSOR, NUDOR and NCPD have a close partnership at both national and local level to promote the voice of civil society through NUDOR and strengthen government ownership of disability issues through NCPD as well as effective collaboration between the two agencies, NCPD as a Government Institution, NUDOR as a Civil Society Organization.
  The Project Manager will support a two year project under a national collaborative governance initiative entitled ‘Ikiraro’ (‘bridges’ in Kinyarwanda). The Ikiraro programme aims to increase collaboration between civil society and the state in relation to some key priority areas, including disability rights. VSO, NUDOR and NCPD have already completed the pilot phase of this project (January 2017 to February 2018) which produced evidence to inform policy and programme dialogue in relation to social protection by exploring people with disabilities experiences of the government’s flagship poverty reduction programme, Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme (VUP). In the next phase of the programme, VSO will support NUDOR (working with NCPD) to continue to influence development of VUP. A second and new policy area within social protection – people with disabilities experiences of national health insurance (Mutuelle de Sante) – will also be added and evidence-gathered to inform policy decisions and programme approaches by Government of Rwanda.

Job application procedure
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