Head of Policy, Strategy and Quality

The Head of Policy, Strategy and Quality (HoPSQ) is a senior leadership role will be responsible for driving strategic direction, programme quality, and high-impact influencing. The role will shape the strategic direction of our work, manage a talented team of thematic advisors, MERL, Policy and communication who will champion quality, learning, and innovation across all programmes.

• Leads the program team and ensures high quality, gender transformative, relevant and effective programs are developed in alignment with organization’s global strategy, that bring sustainable changes in the lives of children, their families and their communities.
  
• Lead the development and review of the Country Strategic Plan (CSP) with detailed plans for strategies and approaches, and a monitoring, evaluation, learning and research detailed framework. Careful attention to be paid to organization’s partnership approach, gender equality, and advocacy and influencing. 
  
• Support development of sustainable partnerships are developed to address organization’s program and advocacy commitments, and to contribute to quality, impactful implementation. 
  
• Organization’s advocacy priorities are integrated into program development and implementation.  
  
• Set, manage and monitor expenditure budget for strategic and annual plans in the department, adhering to financial guidelines, ensuring value for money and acting as appropriate within delegated authorities.
  

• Lead in the design of high quality evidence-based Inclusive and gender transformative projects which are in line with Country Strategy Plan (CSP) and Areas of Global Distinctiveness (AoGD).
  
• Lead in the design of the programmes for organization as prioritized in the CSP and AoGD and aligned with government and donor priorities 
  
• Make sure that all project plans are complete with results based monitoring and evaluation plans;
  
• Develop programme review framework through participatory processes so that integrated quality programming can be achieved.
  
• Ensure programme designs are integrated with influencing strategies and aligned to national development plans and global frameworks (e.g., SDGs).
  
• Ensure the Integration of sustainable approaches, gender responsive and inclusion into all activities as appropriate
  
• Lead the application of Plan’s global programme quality policy and framework, global MERL standards and MERL policy in all program designing, planning and reporting;
  
• Manage and monitor established systems to ensure effective and transparent use of financial resources and timely quality reporting
  
• Ensure timely development of high-quality result-based reports (monthly, quarterly annual and final)
  
• Lead the immediate reports in effective budget management, including accurate spending forecasts and expense monitoring in accordance to the planned activities;
  
• Provide strategic direction and technical guidance to the thematic advisors MERL, Policy and communication team
  

• Strengthened organization influencing and advocacy agenda at national and subnational levels, driving systemic change in policy and practice for the realisation of children’s rights and gender equality.
  
• Lead and coordinate the design and implementation of a coherent and bold influencing agenda, including policy analysis, public campaigns, government advocacy, strategic communications, research, and knowledge management.
  
• Ensure that research and evidence from the field is translated into impactful policy recommendations, campaign messages, and advocacy strategies.
  
• Foster strong relationships with government stakeholders, media, civil society, and networks to amplify organization’s policy messages and increase visibility.
  
• Drive organization’s contribution to national and regional influencing goals, positioning organization as a thought leader on children’s rights and gender equality.
  
• Supervise the Policy & Advocacy and Communications teams, ensuring quality and alignment across initiatives.
  
• Policy, communication, thematic advisors and MERL teams Provide strategic direction and technical guidance to the achievement of the influencing and advocacy agenda.
  

• Leadership in coordinating thematic planning, strategic stakeholder engagement and partnerships at sub-national, national, regional and global platforms.
  
• Network leadership, strategic partnerships and movement building through established and maintained national strategic partnerships and networks with like-minded Civil Society Organizations, peer agencies, development partners, academia, and private sector companies which have a national or sub-national reach and agend
  
• Enhanced organisational visibility, marketing, branding and profiling achieved through promoting and actively communicating the quality and reach of organization’s program and influencing work for children’s rights within and beyond the Country audience.
  
• Oversee sectoral (thematic) programme management and participation in key thematic working groups;
  
• Ensure thematic advisors, MERL, Policy and communication teams are on top of current trends, knowledge, data and practice in their area of expertise.
  
• Ensure that project teams have access to and are appropriately using routine monitoring, periodic assessments and recommendations to enhance programme quality
  
• Ensure documentation of evidence based best practice, success stories and learning for advocacy and scaling up of proven models.
  
• Represent organization in high-level policy, advocacy, and technical forums.
  
• Cultivate partnerships that support organization’s strategic priorities and enhance its influencing agenda.
  

• Contributes to the comprehensive funding strategy and support the fundraising initiatives of the PIT thematic programmes.
  
• Thematic advisors lead in the development of high-quality concept notes and proposals as well as support the business development process of identifying new opportunities
  
• Effective linkage and relationship established and maintained with stakeholders including government, donors, development partners, National and international Organisations for business development;
  
• Maintain effective communication with internal and externals donors and development partners through learning and sharing;
  
• Good relationship established with new and existing proposed partners for upcoming resource mobilisation opportunities.
  

• Robust MERL systems that support evidence-based programming, adaptive learning, accountability and strategic influencing
  
• Oversee the MERL team to ensure strong systems for data collection, analysis, and adaptive learning.
  
• Lead and quality assure  annual and bi-annual reporting processes, and ensure project -level reports meet organisational standards.
  
• Prioritised knowledge generation, packaging and dissemination to inform internal learning and external engagement.
  
• Drive use of evidence in influencing and programme design.
  
• Ensure that project teams have access to and are appropriately using routine monitoring and periodic assessments;
  

• Lead the Programme Implementation Team in a manner that empowers them to contribute effectively towards achievement oforganization’s strategy:
  
• Work collaboratively with the Head of People & Culture to develop robust departmental capacity building plans to ensure staff are adequately support to deliver quality programmes
  
• Facilitate performance management of the programme team in tandem with organization performance management policies and guidelines
  
• Ensure that the department is resourced with the expertise necessary to deliver on strategic & project goals through a combination of recruitment and management of staff, mobilization of community volunteers, and procurement of consultants
  
• Lead and manage the team towards high standards of performance through clear roles & responsibilities and provision of appropriate support; coordinate effectively with others to ensure high performance within organization’s matrix operating structure
  
• Develop and encourage talent through on-going staff development, succession planning, career management; proactively address poor performance through timely constructive feedback, coaching and appropriate corrective action
  
• Foster an inclusive environment by implementation of policies and ways-of-working that provide for diversity and equal opportunities and utilisation of a leadership style that will drive employee engagement
  
• Foster a collaborative and high-performance team culture rooted in accountability, inclusion, and innovation.
  
• Ensure that staff are managed in accordance with good HR management practice and provided with a safe and conducive working environment; includes ensuring that all legal and statutory obligations are fulfilled
  

Requirements

• Master’s Degree in International Development, Human Rights, Sociology, Public Policy or Political Science
  
• Have at least 10 years’ experience in policy advocacy and/or campaigns and/or in the field of development with any reputable national or international development organisation
  
• At-least 5 years’ experience at Senior Management Team/Country leadership Team level
  
• Broad and deep understanding of the political, social, financial and cultural drivers of inequality; with practical experience of developing and implementing strategies for change
  
• Demonstrated expertise in designing and leading the impactful implementation of significant projects; utilising good practice in MERL to set targets and adaptively managing to ensure achievement of results
  
• Experience of strategic financial management including understanding relevant funding sources, revenue cycles, budgeting and cost estimation, balance sheets, return on investment etc.
  
• Outstanding ability to analyse and interpret complex data-sets, both internal and external, to spot trends and patterns, opportunities and risks, and to inform decisions and action (even when the information is incomplete or ambiguous).
  
• Outstanding communication skills with an ability to deeply understand the starting position of an audience and produce compelling written and/or spoken communications that effectively influence others.
  
• Outstanding interpersonal skills with an ability to relate effectively to a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds; proven track record of leading collaborative working relationships and resolving conflicts between parties with differing interests.
  
• Excellent demonstrated leadership and management of multi-disciplinary technical teams
  
• Excellent understanding of the local civil society sector and experience engaging partners and strengthening partnerships.