Head of Technical Unit

The Opportunity – Head of Technical Unit (For Nationals and Internationals)

Department of Programme Development, Quality and Impact 

Post location:  Field Office in Gaza

Contract Duration and Level of Effort: 12 months with possibility for extension

***Due to the urgency to fill this role, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Kindly note that the position might be filled before the vacancy announcement is closed; therefore, early applications are encouraged.***

***This role will be contingent upon securing available funds, and we might use this vacancy to fill more than one post.***

ROLE PURPOSE: 

The Head of Technical Unit is responsible for coordinating the Technical Experts / Thematic Leads based in the Gaza Field Office including MEAL and New Business Development team members to ensure the development of high quality, evidence based, innovative programs for children, in line with Save the Children’s response strategy in Gaza and broader Country Strategic Plan for the occupied Palestinian Territories. The Head of Technical Unit will ensure that humanitarian programmes are delivered to the appropriate scale, scope, quality and accountability expected of Save the Children and incorporate a child focused lens and build the capacity of technical specialists in order to support program quality in line with global standards and key performance indicators. The post holder contributes to representational activities in Gaza including vis-à-vis partners, clusters and feeds into donor engagement and business development efforts to ensure that the country office strategy is adequately resourced.

SCOPE OF ROLE: 

Reports to: Gaza Humanitarian Operations Director / Team Lead, Gaza

Staff reporting to this post: MEAL Coordinator, Technical Advisors and Specialists, 

Role Dimensions: As one of the most senior staff in the Gaza Field Office, the Head of Technical must demonstrate the qualities of agile leadership.  S/he plays a key role in defining and pursuing the strategic direction for Save the Children’s programmes in the Gaza Response, ensuring the relevance, coherence, safety and impact of our programs for children in all contexts. This is a challenging role requiring an individual who can work with complexity and multiple tasks at one time.  It demands dedication to demonstrating outcomes for children, experience in integrated child rights programming and a highly motivated leader. S/he has specific oversight for ensuring that programs demonstrate thematic excellence in contributing to Save the Children’s three priority Breakthroughs for children: no child dies from preventable causes before their fifth birthday; all children learn from a quality basic education; and violence against children is no longer tolerated. 

Under the leadership of the Humanitarian Director, and the Director for Programme Development, Quality and Impact, the Head of Technical Unit works with Thematic Specialists and Advisors and in partnership with the programme implementation team, to develop evidence-based programmes and projects, and to support advocacy and campaigning initiatives. S/he takes a lead in establishing systems for program monitoring, quality improvement, accountability, evaluation and learning, and in ensuring that results are captured, shared and used to inform programme design and implementation.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY: 

Under the leadership of the PDQ Director, the Head of Technical Unit is accountable for:

Strategic planning (15%) – Gaza Response

• Leads coordination of assessments include a specific analysis of children’s needs and coordinates the development of assessment tools appropriate for the local context 
• Leads on designing and reviewing multi-sector response and recovery projects including sectoral log frames and programme master budgets, ensuring the highest technical expertise is represented in the same, and ensuring linkages with existing programmes and strategies, in line with the Country Office Strategy and Gaza response strategy
• Takes overall leadership in prioritising response sectors or funding where this is limited, in line with SCI Global Humanitarian Strategy, and the oPt Humanitarian Response Plan, ensuring maximum integration between sectors where relevant and possible.
• Take overall leadership on ensuring technical staffing needs for emergency programmes are met.

Strategic NBD and portfolio planning (20%)

• Ensure new programmes and projects are built on a strong evidence base resulting from learning, drawing on needs assessments and situational analyses that include participation of children and other stakeholders 
• Ensure adequate resources for PDQ Department in the Gaza Field Office 
• Work closely with NBD team in Gaza and the CO to ensure proposal development processes run smoothly and receive the appropriate level of input form technical experts. 
• Feed into donor engagement efforts by sharing relevant briefs and information about the response 

Programme quality, evidence and learning (30%)

• Facilitate the development and pursuit of thematic and cross-cutting strategic priorities, including gender equality, to guide current and future SC programming and Humanitarian Strategies
• Work closely with the Humanitarian Director and lead with the MEAL team,  to ensure program quality standards are established throughout the project cycle and across the portfolio, including operational research to inform programme improvements
• Ensure new programmes and projects are built on a strong evidence base resulting from learning and evidence
• Work with Operations teams to ensure quality standards in implementation are respected, through capacity building of field staff, regular use of quality benchmarks and other quality and impact monitoring tools, and support adaptation of programmes and necessary
• Conduct regular field visits to support staff on quality and impact issues
• Provide leadership to the MEAL team in Gaza to ensure implementation of a strong monitoring system that provides timely and accurate project results by embedding MEAL across programme planning, implementation into program planning, and reporting processes.
• Ensure on-going, accurate data collection and meaningful analyses with regular dissemination of strategic information to SMT and other relevant staff to drive learning and improve programme quality
• Ensure high quality evaluations are resourced and conducted to demonstrate outcomes and impact – that monitoring plans, data collection protocols, and evaluation methodologies are developed for all projects.
• Ensure accountability mechanisms for all projects and that identified actions are resolved, with critical issues escalated to senior management
• Ensure effective collaboration between MEAL staff, Technical Specialists, Technical Advisors and programme implementation teams to develop log frames, indicators, implementation plans, quality benchmarks, monitoring and evaluation frameworks and related tools, and support programme re-design and adaptation as necessary
• Work closely with the Country Office MEAL Manager to ensure functional and accessible feedback mechanisms to ensure that beneficiaries and communities can provide input, raise concerns, and receive feedback on program activities.
• Work closely with the Child Rights and Accountability Coordinator to facilitate participatory approaches to program design, implementation, and evaluation, ensuring the meaningful involvement of stakeholders including children at all stages.
• Participate in project kick-offs and close-outs for significant awards to ensure effective strategic direction, establishment of quality standards and dissemination of learning
• Spearhead capacity building efforts for local partner organisations as relevant 

Building a high performing team (20%)

• Ensure effective working relationships between Gaza Field Office teams and oPt Country Office and regional/ global TE. 
• Plan and coordinate relevant team meetings and structured engagement between Field and CO based Technical Teams 
• Support capacity development of thematic specialists with support from country office and regional/ global technical experts. 
• Ensure that all staff understand and are able to perform their role in full spectrum programming
• Manage the performance of all staff in their team through:
• Effective use of the Performance Management System including the establishment of clear, measurable objectives, ongoing feedback, periodic reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations;
• Induction plan for new joiners based on Passport to Success
• Coaching, mentoring and other developmental opportunities;
• Recognition and rewards for outstanding performance;
• Documentation of performance that is less than satisfactory, with appropriate performance improvements/ workplans 

External representation and advocacy (15%)

• Represent Save the Children and strategically network with local actors, sub-clusters, partners and other stakeholders to promote SC objectives and build relationships to facilitate success of our projects, and ensure contributions to national clusters and representation fora
• Ensure that learning from the field contributes to development and implementation of national programs and advocacy initiatives scaled-up by the government to widen reach
• In coordination with Advocacy colleagues, ensure that we amplify children’s voices and influence duty-bearers at national, regional and international level to uphold children’s rights
• Act as media spokesperson as appropriate

In order to be successful, you will bring/have: 

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essential:

• Master’s Degree in relevant social science, human rights, development studies, NGO management or equivalent fields 
• A minimum of four years of progressive senior management experience in a complex country programme in an emergency response or fragile state
• Previous experience of managing a large multi-sector, multi-national team 
• Experience in more than one of Save the Children's thematic sectors: education, child protection, child rights governance, health and nutrition, child poverty, emergencies 
• Basic understanding of advocacy, policy, and government systems in the host country
• Experience of fundraising or business development, particularly strong project design skills
• Credibility to advocate, influence and represent Save the Children at all levels
• Strong skills and proven experience in multi-sector, multi-site programme development, project design, with corporate, foundations and institutional donors, including, but not limited to, ECHO, FCDO, BHA, EU, DANIDA, SIDA, NMFA and corporate donors. 
• Strong skills and proven experience in leading strategic planning, change management and program management processes; also from a knowledge and learning perspective 
• Managing monitoring, evaluation and learning systems
• Excellent listening, inter-personal, communication and networking skills; and an ability to work with diversified populations 
• Skills such as training, capacity building, coaching, mentorship, problem solving, and understanding of project cycle management and coordination
• High level of self-awareness and commitment to growth and self-development
• Ability to research, write and represent well, manage time, multi-task and delegate tasks
• Proficiency in English; working knowledge of Arabic desirable

We offer a competitive package in the context of the sector. This role is offered on the basis of national and international terms and conditions.

Save the Children promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment, women and people with different abilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

The Organisation

Save the Children works in development and humanitarian contexts with children and partners to help families, communities, and governments identify and use innovations to ensure all children survive, learn and are protected.

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realize the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.  
 

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday 
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated 

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children.  We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued. 

Application Information:

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application, and include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations.  A copy of the full role profile can be found at Search Jobs - SCI Career Site Careers (oraclecloud.com).

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our global anti-harassment policy.