Background

Swiss Church Aid/HEKS is the aid organization of the Protestant Churches of Switzerland and has its headquarters in Zurich/Switzerland. Swiss Church Aid/ HEKS works towards a more humane and more equitable world, assisting people and communities to overcome economic, social or humanitarian disparities in order to gain autonomy and to live with dignity both in Switzerland and abroad. Therefore, Swiss Church Aid/ HEKS engage in development cooperation, humanitarian aid and church cooperation and works in more than 30 countries and runs around 200 projects world-wide. Swiss Church Aid/ HEKS is a member of the ACT Alliance.

In Ethiopia, Swiss Church Aid/ HEKS has programmes with focus on Natural Resources Management, WASH, Inclusive Markets for Smallholder Pastoralists and Farmers and Humanitarian Assistance for drought and conflict affected communities. The Ethiopia country office is recruiting a Program Manager for its country office.

Major Functions

The Program Manager will oversee the coordination of all country office related project activities and expenditures to ensure successful delivery on country’s office commitments as reflected in the project agreement, operational plan, and budget. The Program Manager will work with the programmatic and operational teams to monitor implementation progress and adaptively manage project activities and resource allocation in keeping with project goals and targets. The Program Manager will be responsible for preparing high quality reports as necessary to meet project reporting requirements, provide sound analysis and make recommendations for the country program portfolios’.

Major responsibilities

• Lead concept note and proposal development per Swiss Church Aid/HEKS-EPER project cycle management guidelines for new projects 
• Monitor and assess implementation progress, identify barriers and constraints, and work collaboratively with teams to devise solutions.
• Facilitate team planning and assessment meetings to assure sound integration across work streams and achieve cross-learning
• Lead, Promote and encourage a collaborative and respectful working culture between local implementing partners including government line ministries at grass root levels and other NGOs, GOs
• Ensure the quarterly, biannual and annual plan and report undertaken as required to pace forward to the desired goal,
• Network with relevant government Bureaus, offices and customary institutions in the projects area to expedite project implementation and facilitate experience sharing within and outside the area
• Coordinate and supervise Monitoring and Evaluation tools (Visible Impact) are developed and utilized as needed, such as for household surveys, focus group discussions, and for collecting data from most significant changes.  
• Organize annual partners learning sessions and draw lessons learned among the implementing partners and share best practices.
• Develop terms of reference for consultancy support, mid and end term evaluations

Requirement

• MA in development studies and other related field with a minimum of five years relevant work experience
•  Have a demonstrated experience in project focusing agriculture, value chain, Natural resources, conservation, conflict transformation and partnership management
• Good knowledge, understanding and implementation of integrated Rural Development and emergency Programme activities,
• Ability to effectively liaise with government, donors, NGOs, community leaders and other stakeholders,
•  Excellent English communication skills, both written and spoken
•  Accountability and responsiveness within areas of responsibilities,
• Able to work as a team member with good inter-personal skills