Job Description

Programme ManagerLiberia

May 2017

Mary’s Meals – a simple solution to world hunger

Mary’s Meals provides one good meal to some of the world’s poorest children in a place of education every school day. It is a global movement supported by people from many walks of life and different backgrounds.

We have become known as ‘the charity that operates out of a tin shed’.

As an organisation working in some of theworld’s poorest communities, we’re committed to keeping our running costs low to maximise the good we can do with the donations entrusted to us. At most, we spend just 7 pence of every pound donated on governance andfundraising.

This is only possible because most of our work is done by an army ofvolunteersin our fundraising countries and in the communities where we work, who carry out lots of little acts of love on our behalf.

Hunger kills millions of children each year. It also stunts their growth – and their dreams. Hungry children think about survival, not about going to school – around 57 million of the world’s hungriest children do not attend school.

These life-changing meals attract hungry children into the classroom. The food fills their empty bellies so they have the energy and opportunity to learn, giving them the chance of a brighter future. The meals also support families struggling to feed their children while boosting the country’s wider economy.

Mary's Meals is now feeding over one million of the world’s poorest children every day they attend school. It costs just £13.90 to feed a child for a whole year.

Mary’s Meals International

Mary’s Meals International is the central organisation which co-ordinates, supports and leads the global Mary’s Meals movement, under the direction of the founder and Chief Executive and through the work six global directorates: Programmes, Finance, Network Development, IT and Operations, Communications and People

The global Mary’s Meals movement currently consists of ten registered charity affiliates in Austria, Canada, Croatia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and the USA, raising funds to support life-changing programmes in Benin, Burma, Ecuador, Haiti, India, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Romania, South Sudan, Thailand, Uganda and Zambia.

The organisational structure showing the directorates in Mary’s Meals International is below:

Purpose of the role

The role of the Programme Manager(PM) is to lead the implementation of the Mary’s Meals school feeding programme acrossBomi, Cape Mount and Montserrado Counties, providing management oversight and strategic direction on behalf of and in dialogue with the Liberia senior management team. The PM will also contribute to strengthening and developing the school feeding programme across all operational areas.

The role will also support the Mary’s Meals Liberia team to achieve high standards in all aspects ofprogramme delivery and in adhering to Mary’s Meals’ values at all times.

The organisational structure for Programmes directorate is below:update to Liberia org chart

This is a fixed term2-year full time role; reporting to and supporting the Head of Programmes forMary’s Meals Liberia.This position is based in Tubmanburg,Liberia,for the duration of the contract. Extensive and regular travel within Liberiawill be required. This role may also involve visits to other countries where Mary’s Meals operates to fulfil the same remit.

Following are the generic principal duties of this role. Specific terms of reference focused on current priorities in the school feeding program will be drawn to guide this role during the first year.

Principal duties

  1. Supervise the Tubmanburg based programmes staff team to ensure the smooth running of the Mary’s Meals Liberia school feeding programme across Bomi, Cape Mount and rural Montserrado counties
  2. To coordinate and deliver agreed country and regional plans or strategies with considerable strategic input, including expansion planning
  3. To ensure timely implementation of all programme activities through the development of agreed work plans and effective resource management
  4. To develop and assess programme delivery models, policies and procedures, including regular programme reviews
  5. Assisting in and enabling the roll out, development and implementation of the M&E strategy
  6. Supporting and developing community capacity building, sensitisation and engagement
  7. To provide regular management reports and play an active role in the country management team
  8. To work alongside other NGOs, government and international partners to share best practice and further the interests and reach of Mary’s Meals, engaging with the Government of Liberia and other major stakeholders in school feeding
  9. Contributing to the design and development of institutional funding applications and preparing reports as required
  10. Actively pursuing pilots around the development of local food purchase opportunities from farming groups and initiatives within Liberia
  11. Supporting visits by Mary’s Meals staff and supporters
  12. To support the Country Director, Head of Programmes (Liberia) and Finance Managerin the preparation of country plans and the monitoring and reporting of progress against organisational goals and objectives and to prepare the annual budget and forecasts.
  13. To support the Heads of Programmes (Mary’s Meals International) in the continued review and development on programmes policy and guidance on the Mary’s Meals Model.
  14. To develop and maintain excellent relations with Mary’s Meals field offices, partners, internal colleagues and supporters.
  15. To participate in the personal development review process and to identify learning and development needs.
  16. Responsible for safety and security for the Bong programme.

Qualifications

Essential:

  • Degree in a relevant subject (e.g. social sciences, business administration, logistics) or demonstrable significant experience in a similar role

Desirable:

  • A postgraduate degree e.g. in International Development or a relevant subject is desirable.
  • Experience in managing the safety and security of teams

Skills and Knowledge

Essential:

  • Understanding of the place of school feeding in relief and development
  • Effective programme management skills, including programme design and planning, budget preparation, reporting and review and sharing of best practice
  • Ability to develop and structure and team and show decisive leadership
  • Good numeracy, with experience of data recording, collation and analysis for decision making
  • Excellent organisational skills with the ability to focus on and prioritise key tasks and effectively drive forward and implement agreed actions
  • Very good computer literacy with high proficiency in Excel
  • Well-developed,inter personal skills, with the ability to network widely, persuade and influence others
  • Highly resilient, self-reliant and motivated, with the ability to organise own work and prioritise tasks
  • Cultural sensitivity and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of people in different countries and settings.
  • Has a warm, engaging and inspiring personality, with good networking and interpersonal skills

Experience

Essential:

  • At least three years’ experience of managing programme implementation for a NGO, preferably in West Africa
  • Team management experience, including engaging and motivating a team of staff
  • Experience of developing plans, monitoring and reporting against agreed strategy
  • Experience of a flexible approach to managing and prioritising a high workload and multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines

Desirable:

  • Experience of liaising with Government, NGOs andcommunity groups
  • Experience of implementing and reporting against projects funded by institutional donors
  • Experience of working in remote or isolated environments

Salary

Starting salary of £29,367

Contact us

• Find out more about Mary’s Meals at:

• Follow Mary’s Meals onTwitterandFacebook.