Programme Manager Mary’s Meals Zambia

Mary’s Meals is a fast-growing international charity, currently providing a daily meal to two million hungry and impoverished children across four continents in their place of education. Mary’s Meals Zambia delivers school feeding to children in the Eastern Province of Zambia.

Working at Mary’s Meals International:

Our mission, vision, and values are at the very heart of everything we do here at Mary’s Meals and working for Mary’s Meals International is so much more than a career opportunity, we offer the opportunity to support our global movement in a dynamic, flexible and inclusive environment with a real focus on personal and professional development. We believe in the innate goodness of people, respect the dignity of every human being and family life and believe in good stewardship of the resources entrusted to us. In line with our values, Mary’s Meals is fully committed to a culture of safeguarding.

Mary’s Meals Zambia is looking for suitable person/s to fill the role of Programme Manager, Communications Support Officer (re-advertised) and School Feeding Officer.

1. PROGRAMME MANAGER (1)

Station:  Chipata

Reports to:  Programme Delivery Lead

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

To support the Country programme Senior Leadership Team in providing effective and inspirational leadership for Mary’s Meals Zambia. The job holder will also collaborate with communities, partners, funders, government ministries, volunteers, and other external stakeholders to promote Mary’s Meals vision, mission, and values to ensure optimal programme implementation.

He/she will lead the implementation of the Mary’s Meals school feeding programme in Zambia, by providing management oversight and strategic direction on behalf of the MMZ Senior Leadership Team. The PM will also contribute to strengthening and developing the school feeding programme across all operational areas and achieve high standards in all aspects of programme delivery and in adhering to Mary’s Meals’ values at all times.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Coordination of Programme Delivery

• To provide leadership and direction to the District School Feeding Managers and ensure compliance with school feeding programme standard operating procedures, organisational guidelines, and policies in their respective districts.
• To coach and mentor school feeding managers to ensure optimal delivery of the school feeding programme.
• Supervise School Feeding Managers to ensure the smooth running of the MMZ school feeding programme.
• To coordinate and deliver agreed provincial plans or strategies with considerable strategic input.
• To ensure timely implementation of all programme activities through the development and agreed work plans and effective resource management.
• With support from the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Coordinator, determines amounts of food to be procured from the suppliers according to current enrolment rates in schools.
• Ensures that all food that has been procured is well received and stored in schools with consideration given to proper food safety and handling procedures.
• To identify and communicate problems and issues in the delivery of the School Feeding programme and respond to these appropriately.
• Advise the Head of Programme Delivery on issues arising in the School Feeding Programme in Zambia which affect the proper operation of the programme.
• To provide feedback on the lessons learned from the implementation of field activities and make recommendations for improvements as required.
• Collaboration and Support
• Supporting and developing community capacity building, sensitisation and engagement Programmes at MMZ.
• To work alongside other NGOs, government and international partners to share best practice and further the interests and reach of Mary’s Meals, engaging with the Government of Zambia and other major stakeholders in school feeding in the Province.
• To represent MMZ to NGO partners, Government line ministries, Traditional leaders, Communities and beneficiaries at Provincial Level.
• Coordinate Provincial Monitoring Support visits to Programme Schools.
• To support the Head of Programme Delivery in the preparation of country detailed implementation plans (DIPs), monitoring and reporting of progress against organisational goals and objectives and to prepare the annual budget and forecasts.
• To support the Heads of Programmes in the continued review and development on programmes policy and guidance on the Mary’s Meals School Feeding Delivery Model.
• To participate in the personal development review process and to identify learning and development needs.
• Provides support and interacts with the Programme Associate, Quality Assurance Manager, and other key program staff.

Reporting and MEL

• To develop and assess programme delivery models, policies and procedures, including regular programme reviews
• Assisting in and enabling the roll out, development and implementation of the M&E strategy
• With Support from the Programme Associate provide regular Institutional and donor reports such as DFID Quarterly and Annual Reports, SOS Quarterly and Annual Reports and other projects that may come on board.
• Contributing to the design and development of institutional grant funding applications and preparing reports as required

Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• Degree in a relevant subject (e.g. social sciences, agriculture, education, development studies, public health) and demonstrable significant practical experience in a similar role.
• A postgraduate degree in the above fields is desirable
• Proven leadership and team building skills and strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to establish effective working relationships at all levels internally and externally.
• Understanding of the place of school feeding in relief and development
• Effective programme management skills, including programme design and planning, budget preparation, reporting and review and sharing of best practice
• Good numeracy, with experience of data recording, collation and analysis for decision making
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to focus on and prioritise key tasks and effectively drive forward and implement agreed actions
• Very good computer literacy with high proficiency in Excel
• Well-developed, interpersonal skills, with the ability to network widely, persuade and influence others.
• At least 5 years’ experience of managing programme implementation for a Non-Governmental Organisation, two of which should be at a management and team leadership level in an NGO environment with responsibility for managing staff, activities, financial resources, assets and external relationships.
• Team management experience, including engaging and motivating a team of staff
• Experience of developing plans, monitoring and reporting against agreed strategy
• Experience of a flexible approach to managing and prioritising a high workload and multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines
• Experience of liaising with Government, NGOs and community groups
• Experience of implementing and reporting against projects funded by institutional donors
• Experience of working in remote or isolated environments.
• Must have a valid manual driver’s licence.