UK Embassy Zambia
Your main role will be to lead the management of a broad portfolio of primarily development programmes, in partnership with relevant Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) to ensure strong compliance with FCDO standards across the portfolio and strong financial performance. You will also act as Project Officer on more complex and/or higher value projects, partnering the Lead Technical Adviser and involving other specialist Advisers as necessary throughout the programme cycle. This includes building and maintain effective relationships with external partners, and excellent financial, risks and results management. The post holder will be expected to support and manage other colleagues and to adhere to and advise colleagues as necessary on programme management compliance and standards, including FCDO Programme Management guidance and standards.
In this role you will support:
Portfolio Management
Ensure strong financial management and compliance with key FCDO requirements and standards across of a portfolio programmes, including but not confined to UK legislation, transparency; risk management; audit and performance milestones; Annual Reviews (ARs) and Project Completion Reviews (PCRs).
Advise team members on programme delivery, including on aid agreements and FCDO’s commercial processes.
Build team capacity in programme management and contribute to cross-office efforts to better plan and prioritise across the range of programmes in the portfolio.
Management of individual programmes:
Responsibilities will include:
Management of the programme cycle:
Manage if relevant the design schedule for the development of Business Cases and associated documents, ensuring other Advisers are consulted as required and the project team stays on track;
Lead Due Diligence exercises (both routine and more complex), subsequently ensuring any follow up on actions are carried out;
Prepare draft of agreements, ensuring key information is included.
Lead the development of the project Delivery Plan. Subsequently maintain it, ensuring key partner/supplier deliverables are tracked on it. Use it proactively to prompt project team actions in good time, advising the SRO and wider team on all upcoming milestones / requirements, including follow-up to annual reviews.
Monitor and review regular reporting from partners – identifying and sharing key lessons with the wider team as appropriate (including learning from failure).
Work with partners and Comms & Press Affairs colleagues to develop effective communications stories.
Lead or contribute to Annual Reviews and Project Completion Reviews, including drafting all or portions of Terms of References and final reports, as agreed within project team
Organise field visits and ensure findings feed back into the Project Delivery Plan.
Ensure asset registers are established and spot checks on project assets take place.
Risk management:
Contribute to the development of risk analysis and project risk strategies.
Appropriate level, and ensuring risks are reviewed quarterly and link to portfolio risk discussions.
Ensure follow-up and application of lessons-learnt from scrutiny bodies where relevant (IAD, NAO, ICAI)
Commercial engagement and supplier management:
Manage the project team’s commercial engagement, ensuring key commercial process milestones are met to time.
Use a commercial mind-set and understanding of project budget drivers to support achievement of value for money (VFM) from planned contract/funding agreement.
Analyse and challenge partner performance across the range of core programme management tasks (risks, results, finances)
Act as programme management lead on new procurements, including developing timelines, maintaining close contact with PCD and coordinating the procurement process.
Ensure Duty of Care guidance is followed for all contracting.
Financial Management:
Proactively manage financial forecasts. Be accountable for developing and maintaining robust and realistic forecasts over the Financial Year, and accurate budget profiling for outer years, working closely with spending partners, Advisers and Senior Responsible Officers.
Analyse and challenge partner forecasts; identify ways to incentivise improved forecasting and to deal with poor performance (as appropriate within contract/agreements types).
Ensure all changes are updated in a timely manner in line with systems requirements (and those set by the finance manager).
Review partner/supplier financial reports checking for variances and Value for Money issues.
Ensure all requisitions, purchase orders and receipting/payment of invoices meet FCDO’s financial rules, are linked to agreed project milestones and partner reporting obligations.
Manage audit requirements, ensuring reports and/or Annual Audited Statements are received, reviewed and findings pro-actively followed up.
Policy Engagement and Leadership
There will be scope for the post holder to build leadership in areas of policy engagement with the broad areas covered by the team. The focus of this work will be based on skills of the post holder and needs of the team.
Other tasks
Line management responsibilities and quality assurance more junior programme officers’ work, act as mentor on areas for development and providing timely and constructive feedback.
Ensure that timely, quality responses to letters, corporate returns and submissions relevant to own programmes are produced,
Provide cover for colleagues as needed, contributing to coherent team working.
Proactively contribute to cross-office efforts across a range of corporate issues, including better delivery, people issues, etc.
Provide support as required on high-level visits or briefing requests.
Remain flexible and be prepared to carry out additional duties if needed.
Administrative
All FCDO staff are expected to undertake some administrative tasks to support delivery of work related to their job. This includes saving own documents to the corporate record, arranging relevant meetings, making travel arrangements and processing expenses claims.
Please see the Programme Delivery Capability Framework that covers the technical competencies required for the position.
Demonstrated experience of working on complex programming with oversight and responsibility for budgets and compliance.
Experience with a range of implementing partners (NGOs, CSOs, multi-laterals) and working with government
Experience of leading a team/line management of junior staff
Strong skills in budget analysis, work planning and presentation to leadership groups
Understanding of risk assessment and value for money
Essential on arrival:
Working for a donor and as part of a multi-cultural team
Understanding the programme management cycle.
Experience in managing programmes/projects, risk and compliance and programme finances.
Managing Programme Cycle
Programme Leadership (Practitioner)
Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):
The High Commission offers a comprehensive induction programme, including but not limited to on the job training, online support, mentoring and coaching and formal classroom based learning.
Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during screening.
Please check your application carefully before you submit, as no changes can be made once submitted.
The British High Commission will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position.
The current legacy DFID Terms and Conditions of Employment will apply to all internal locally employed staff on promotion and new entrants subject to local employment labour law.
All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit.
The responsibility lies on the successful candidate to:
Obtain the relevant permit
Pay fees for the permit
Make arrangements to relocate
Meet the costs to relocation
The British High Commission does not sponsor visas/work permits except where it may be local practice to do so.
Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.
Information about the Civil Service Success Profiles can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles
Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates.
Current employees (CBS) transferring between departments need to obtain a new police clearance/certificate of good conduct to be successful appointed to the position.
Please log into your profile on the application system on a regular basis to review the status of your application.
To apply for this job please visit fco.tal.net.