Description
- Start 2023 with an awesome opportunity in the international development sector
- Great opportunity for a senior international development project manager looking to further grow their career
- Fully remote role, work from home anywhere in the Asia Pacific region
- Friendly and collaborative work culture
In a nutshell
Catalpa International is a global development organisation designing new, creative ways of tackling complex problems. We integrate international development practice, design thinking, and adaptive management with the potential of technology to drive change. Our work is driven by a commitment to advance human development and improve the lives of vulnerable communities. Check us out at www.catalpa.io
Catalpa has an opportunity for a strategic and seasoned Programs Manager – International Development to guide its projects and programs in the Asia Pacific region, and to help ensure we are maximising our impact.
About the role
The Program Manager – International Development will report directly to Catalpa’s Executive Director and will drive a number of critical functions and priorities across the organisation. The role will:
- Implement improved quality systems and processes for program management across the organisation.
- Manage key programs to a high level of excellence, ensuring deliverables are met in a timely and efficient manner, including reporting, financial management and ensuring value for money.
- Oversight project design and monitoring, evaluation and learning systems and ensure feedback into continuous improvement of quality systems.
- Mentor and support Team Leads and/or Product Leads in the successful delivery of a wide range of initiatives across health, education, governance, social protection and other sectors.
- Ensure accountability and transparency and excellence in program implementation.
- Work with our sector and technical leadership roles to ensure they can access best practice support and guidance.
- Support organisational growth strategies through ensuring quality project design, implementation and continuous learning.
This is a role for an experienced and strategic thinker, someone with excellent operational and program delivery know-how who is willing to roll up their sleeves to get things done, create an enabling environment and to help others. Having a strong background in people leadership positions, you will be confident with project implementation methodologies to achieve great outcomes that are underpinned by collaboration, and guidance for our project teams.
Key responsibilities include:
Program & Contract Management
- Management of key programs and projects to the highest quality standards, including reporting; donor liaison, contract development and management; resourcing; quality program implementation; internal quality assurance; financial management and reporting.
- Work collaboratively with Team Leads/Product Leads, and our sector leadership roles, to support the delivery of Catalpa’s program commitments, ensuring our initiatives are delivered to high standard and in line with our values.
- Ensure Catalpa is meeting its contractual commitments, and maintain a consolidated deliverable, compliance and milestone management system to ensure we are delivering on time, and according to the Head Contract.
- In collaboration with the Team Leads and/or Product Leads, liaise with clients on all contractual, financial and compliance related matters.Lead Catalpa’s approach to quality project/program design, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) and GEDSI, Inclusion.
Mentoring & skills building
- Where relevant, mentor Team Leads and program personnel to deliver high quality, best practice development programs.
- Work towards building a program management community of practice, where program lessons learned / challenges are discussed, brainstormed and solved in a collaborative manner.
- Develop and deliver presentations and learning resources on best practice approaches to program management, including adaptive management, co-design, and collaborative leadership among others.
- In collaboration with People and Culture, support organisational mentoring and skills development.
Process Improvement and Standardisation
- Lead further development and implementation of Catalpa’s program management systems and processes, including supporting the implementation of core ways of working within Catalpa.
- Working closely with Heads of technical areas to set standards and processes for MERL, GEDSI, and risk approaches that ensures our projects are always learning and improving (including recruiting and managing a pool of advisors).
- Work with diverse teams and skill sets, and lead Catalpa’s ongoing process improvement work, which aims to identify key program blockers and develop systems and processes for effective and efficient program implementation.
Donor Liaison, partnership development and organisational growth
- Ensure organisational reputation through quality implementation
- Donor liaison with regard to contract management and program implementation
- Ensure the effective utilisation of evidence grounded in quality program management to ensure ongoing delivery of quality outcomes to clients, to support the partnerships and growth team to tell the story of our work and develop strategic partnerships for commercialisation and funding.
Requirements
For this leadership role, we are seeking a senior international development manager with proven leadership capacity and significant experience in program design, implementation and management in the Asia Pacific region.
- Significant work background with at least 10+ years of professional experience. A relevant degree is an added advantage. Past work with government and/or donors is a must.
- Leadership skills. The people you’ve mentored are now great mentors themselves. You are excited about playing a global leadership role.
- Project Management Experience:Â Your experience implementing complex donor funded programs guides your decisions and the advice you give to others.
- Operations experience – Systems and processes: You thrive on establishing and documenting efficient and effective quality systems and processes for program implementation, both technical and financial, using data for decision making and reporting on achievements.
- Managing partners and expectations:Â Extensive experience liaising with clients on a range of contractual related matters, understanding the importance of both formal and informal communication
- Great empathy and listening skills. You love spending time with people to understand their needs and are energised by supporting their growth and development.
- Rigour. You develop strategies and know-how to help teams get to deeper levels of rigour, work more effectively and at a high standard.
- Great communication skills. You have the ability to present to a boardroom, a small NGO, as well as the people they aim to serve. You also have strong written communication skills.
- Appreciation for design thinking & technology for social impact. You have an understanding of the value of human-centred design and can articulate how it can bring value to a particular challenge.
- Commitment to organisational partnerships and growth. Whilst focussed on quality program implementation, you prioritise the reputation and impact of your organisation for its future growth and impact.
Eligibility
We love working with smart people from diverse backgrounds who are willing to learn new things. There are many skills we think this job will make use of but we encourage you to apply even if you think you may not be a ‘perfect fit’.
Work environment
We work in a creative, supportive environment with colleagues who come from diverse walks of life, and we value the perspectives they bring. We pay attention to the details, and we work together to achieve the best we can. Importantly, we work here because we love what we do and the impact we can have.
We know people’s lives include many obligations outside of work, so we aim to create a flexible work environment that includes remote work options, generous family leave, and return-to-work policies to support new parents. We know we do our best work when we take care of ourselves and communities. We take two weeks off at the end of each year to recharge and refresh.
Fit
Catalpa staff believe in the potential of technology to transform lives for the better. Our team members are flexible and can handle working across a broad range of responsibilities. They don’t mind rolling up their sleeves to solve thorny challenges that take time, patience, and creativity. We are friendly and care about the people with whom we work, always seeking to build and nurture relationships for the long-term.
Catalpa seeks to provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all people, regardless of race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, age, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or marital status. We especially welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds.
Safeguarding
Catalpa is committed to ensuring that all children and adults are treated with respect and are free from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. Successful candidates may be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.
How to Apply
If this sounds interesting and you see yourself doing great work with us, we’d love to hear from you. Most importantly, include a cover letter and tell us why you think you’d be a good fit for this role. Applications are to be submitted through our jobs page catalpa.io/work-with-us
For further inquiries or questions regarding this position, send an email to [email protected] with ‘role’ in the subject line of the email, please do not email CV’s as we require them to go through our website, thanks.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Applications close 6 January 2023.
Benefits
- Work with a team who are passionate about using technology, human centred design and agile processes to make a real difference in the world
- Awesome opportunity for someone looking to grow their program management career in the International Development sector
- generous leave benefits