PROGRAMME OFFICER – MIDDLE EAST

International Programme Department

CAFOD MISSION: to promote human development and social justice in witness to Christian Faith and gospel values.

CAFOD, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development is the official agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. CAFOD raises funds from the Catholic community, the UK government and the general public to promote long-term development, respond to emergencies, identify the causes of poverty, promote social awareness, campaign in favour of poor communities, and promote human development and social justice in accordance with Christian faith and values.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Scope: The post holder is a member of the International Programmes Department (Asia/Middle East and Latin America/Caribbean) and reports to the Programme Manager for Sri Lanka and the Middle East.

The post holder may line-manage CAFOD staff in the region, although currently we do not have any staff in the region.

Job Purpose: To develop, plan and monitor CAFOD’s programmes in the Middle East. The Programme Officer (PO) is responsible for developing relationships with partners, at both operational and strategic level in country as well as in the UK. S/he will contribute to the formulation of strategy and goals for CAFOD’s work and develop projects/programmes to achieve those goals. The PO is responsible for appraisal, monitoring and review of programmes to ensure they are implemented in line with CAFOD’s values, working principles and Programme Cycle Management (PCM) procedures. The PO also has a responsibility to capture learning from this work and feed this learning back into the wider organisation and to promote and represent CAFOD’s work in the Middle East more broadly. Input into CAFOD advocacy work is also an important function of the role.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Management:

  • Appraise project proposals from partner organisations, including assessment of the organisations’ abilities to manage and deliver the proposed project.
  • Monitor the progress of individual projects and the wider impact of CAFOD’s programmes in country, using the learning from this to inform future programme development.
  • Prepare and monitor budgets relating to both CAFOD and partner led expenditure.
  • Ensure compliance with CAFOD requirements on accountability, safeguarding children and Supply Chain Management/Procurement
  • Commission and oversee periodic reviews of specific aspects of CAFOD’s work, including disseminating learning from these into cross-organisational learning fora.
  • Develop new programmes of work in line with CAFOD’s strategic framework and the relevant country or regional strategy paper, working in conjunction with support staff where appropriate.
  • Contribute to the development of CAFOD’s strategy for work in the countries.
  • To line manage and oversee the work of any CAFOD staff and technical consultants working on CAFOD programmes in country. (There are currently none but there may be in future)

Partnership Relations:

  • Develop, nurture and manage relationships with CAFOD’s partner organisations in the Middle East.
  • Identify and organise responses to the learning needs of partner organisations through such means as networking, organisation of workshops, exchange visits, etc. This will often be done working in conjunction with CAFOD’s support sections.
  • Undertake frequent travel connected with management of the country programmes and the achievement of strategic objectives.

Representation:

  • Liaison and communication with other Departments and Sections within CAFOD to ensure that the programmes are well understood, and that information is available for publications, media briefings, development education, etc
  • Develop, nurture and sustain relationships with relevant local stakeholders including local government, national networks and other agencies working in the country/region. This will include other Caritas/CIDSE agencies and faith based networks.
  • Develop, nurture and sustain relationships with relevant bilateral agencies including DFID and the EC, seeking opportunities for programme funding where applicable.
  • To input into advocacy issues, developing advocacy positions and update the Programme Manager on the debates and actions in Europe and in the region.

Information and Knowledge Management:

  • Use of CAFOD’s Programme Management information systems to produce management information and support decision making at both a programme and corporate level.
  • Keeping up to date with development issues and trends, both within the relevant country/sector and more generally.
  • Facilitate the relationships of any academic researchers attached to the programme with the Middle East partners and with academic institutions in the Middle East and Britain.

Programme Officer - Middle East
Person Specification / 2- Important / 3- Very Important / 4- Highest Priorities

Core Competencies

Behaviours at the heart of our organisation’s success / a- Understands and actively supports CAFOD’s Vision, Mission and Values / X
b- Looks outward; Takes account of other people’s priorities / x
c- Shows an understanding of the Catholic Church and is able to work effectively with it / X
d- Supports a culture of mutual respect, trust & transparency, where partnerships flourish / X
e- Willing and able to contribute to the long development of CAFOD / X

Professional Competencies

Behaviours which are important in all organisations / Self Management / f- Manages time and resources efficiently / X
g- Manages own personal growth and development continually / X
h- Manages emotions and stresses positively / X
Thinking and Understanding / i- Analyses and diagnoses problems with depth and insight / X
j- Displays sound judgement and decision making / X
k- Provides creativity and innovation; take risks within context of overall strategy / X
Working
with others / l- Helps others to achieve goals / X
m- Resolves conflict successfully / X
n- Builds rapport and communicates effectively / X
Achieving / o- Shows drive and initiative / X
p- Willingly takes ownership; is openly accountable / x
q- Adapts easily to change / X

Team Management Competencies

Behaviours important to those managing a team / r- Delegation: Hands over tasks to others efficiently and effectively / X
u- Stewardship: Manages resources prudently / X
Programme Officer - Middle East

Job Specific Competencies

/ 2- Important / 3- Very Important / 4- Highest Priorities

Job Specific Competencies

Specialist, technical and functional expertise / Able to work effectively in development/humanitarian context, outside of own culture. / X
Able to work comfortably with secular, church and other faith based partners working in development and humanitarian response work. / x
Able to deliver work effectively within the context of an agreed programme framework, using programme cycle management tools. / X
Able to work with and build the capacity of local partner organisations. / X
Manages and monitors budgets, up to £250, 000. / X
Strong representation and advocacy skills. / x
Able and willing to travel unaccompanied overseas up to 3 months a year. / X
Shows an understanding of the importance of gender and diversity in humanitarian and development work. / x
Fluency in English / x
Fluency in both Arabic and French / X
Makes effective use of ICT for communications and management information, particularly for distance communication. / x

International Division purpose: In collaboration with our partners, to have a lasting impact on poverty and injustice through development programmes, advocacy, and humanitarian response. The division will promote learning, strengthen and empower communities and people in need regardless of their race, gender, religion or politics, and build links between CAFOD supporters and partners overseas.

Asia/Middle East Region: The Asia/Middle East Regional team is part of the International Programme Department (Asia/Middle East and Latin America and the Caribbean) and is responsible for managing CAFOD’s partnership programmes in the Asia and the Middle East regions. CAFOD’s development and humanitarian programmes in this region are mainly concentrated around long-standing partnerships in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Philippines, Cambodia, Burma, and East Timor, countries where the challenges of poverty, exclusion, human rights and conflict are particularly great.

In common with the rest of CAFOD, the Asia/Middle East team is committed to implementing CAFOD’s new strategic framework. Within this, the priorities of the International Division are to:

Increase our focus on equality for the poorest and most disadvantaged

Increase our focus on support to, and equality for, women and girls

Increase positive social change through our work with the Catholic Church and communities

Ensure and demonstrate the effective delivery and impact of our core international work

The Asia/Middle East Section at present consists of eighteen full/part-time staff based at CAFOD’s offices in London: the Regional Manager, Regional Administrator, four Programme Managers, four Programme Officers, five Programme Support Officers, and three Programme Administrators. There are also four Programme Accompaniers based in Asia.

Background to the post:

CAFOD’s Middle East programme is relatively new and has potential to grow. Our strategic plan for the region focuses our engagement on conflict, economic justice and migration. CAFOD works with partners in Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and Israel both on development and emergency work. Partners are both faith-based and secular, working on emergency response, migration, human rights, peace building, livelihoods and advocacy. CAFOD also supports UK based partners in advocacy work. In addition CAFOD has supported work of sister agencies in Iraq with emergency funding.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Contract:A permanent contract is offered in completion of a six-month probationary period.

Salary:£30,359 per annum, being grade P, with five annual increments of £607, up to a maximum of £33,394 per annum.

Hours:Between 9.30 and 5.30 with one hour for lunch. Some occasional evening or weekend work may be required for which time off in lieu is available.

Holidays:20 working days per annum plus statutory holidays plus 6 days determined by CAFOD at Christmas/Easter.

PensionsCAFOD will make a contribution of 10% towards a pension scheme provided that the employee contributes at least 5%. Alternatively, CAFOD will make a similar contribution to a Personal Pension Plan.

Notice period: Three months either way after completion of the probationary period.

Other benefits: Life Assurance and Permanent Health Insurance cover.

AccessThere is access for people with disabilities by way of a passenger lift to all CAFOD’s building.

DisabilitiesWe are committed to making every reasonable adjustment to the workplace so as to accommodate people with disabilities.

LocationThe post is based in CAFOD’s Office near Waterloo.

CAFOD is an Equal Opportunities Employer

Application forms to be returned to:

Closing date for applications: 4th August 2010

1st round interviews: 16 August 2010

2nd round interviews (for those shortlisted after the 1st round): 20 August 2010

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