Urban Programme Development Lead

Job Description

Location: The location of this role can be Flexible where Plan International has an office within Middle East, East and Southern Africa (MEESA) Region that can employ on behalf of the Regional Hub and you have the pre-existing right to work and live.

Applicable locations include:  Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Egypt, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sudan, Jordan, Lebanon, Somalia

Type of contract: Local fixed term contract as per employing office’s standard terms and conditions.

Salary: We will be happy to disclose the salary and applicable benefits to applicants as part of this process, however, please kindly note that the salary and employment benefits will be set according to your location and therefore it is not possible to include full details here. 

Closing Date: 26 November, 2023

The Organisation

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge. We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years, and are now active in more than 80 countries.

Our work is driven by communities all over the world. We partner with local organisations who understand how to support change locally and whose work is led by children and girls who are otherwise unheard. We share knowledge and grow our understanding of the issues facing girls globally across our organisation, our partners and decision-makers, so we can scale our work and drive global change. We amplify the voices of the girls and young people we work with so they can create the change they want to see.

The Plan International Urban Hub acts as a global facilitator for the Plan federation, uniting our combined urban expertise in an alliance that strives for responsible, gender transformative and sustainable urbanisation and urban development for all children and young people. The Urban Hub is Plan International’s global platform for coordinating the sharing and expansion of knowledge and good practice, across programming and influencing activities in urban contexts.

Role Purpose

The Urban Programme Development Lead role will lead in harnessing PII’s urban programming experiences across Middle East Eastern and Southern Africa (MEESA) region. The holder of the role will work with and support all the 15 Country Offices in MEESA, with a primary focus on growing PIIs urban development programming portfolio. The role will drive excellence and scaling up of urban development programming, while utilizing Plan’s Urban Hub Toolkit, and introducing other tried and tested urban development programming models.

Dimensions of the Role

The primary objective of the role of the Urban Programme Development Lead, is to:

• Provide thought leadership and technical support in the development of innovative sustainable urban programmes that have a lasting impact in the lives of children and youth.
• Work in collaboration with the PII Urban Hub to deliver on the strategic framework of the hub in the MEESA region, and directly work with country office partners to realise the priorities of the Urban Hub in the MEESA Region.
• To lead and support the Urban Hub in external representation in the MEESA region- building collaborative external partnerships which can drive deeper impact and complementary expertise in urban contexts.
• To support business development opportunities in partnership with PII offices in MEESA region where urban expertise and contributions of the Urban Hub are of value.
• To work with Plan International Denmark and their country office partners who directly implement urban programs to provide any necessary technical or program management support.

Accountabilities and Main Work Responsibilities

Strategic Urban Hub Leadership in the MEESA Region (30%)

• In partnership with the Urban Hub, facilitate and build knowledge, support and collaborate in the MEESA region in the area of urban programming.
• Provide direct support and technical advisory services to Country Office partners in the MEESA region in relation to key areas of urban expertise.
• Work as a member of the Urban Hub to assist and support the development of new tools and resources. Contribute to achieving the overall strategic ambition of the urban hub. Deliver training, mentoring and support to country office partners in the region.
• Collaborate with other regions of Plan International, as needed to support urban programming and learning.

External Representation and Partnership Building in the MEESA region (50%)

• In coordination with the Urban Hub, represent Plan International in building strong partnerships with relevant organisations. Build the profile of Plan International. This can include UN Habitat and the Africa Development Bank.
• Actively explore and seek new partnerships which can complement Plan’s programs and expertise.
• Support and contribute to business development in the area of urban programming, and assist in the formation of coalitions and consortiums in bids, particularly in the area of urban climate adaptation and resilience, youth leadership and economic empowerment.

Program Management and Technical Support of Plan Denmark – funded Urban youth-led climate adaptation programs (20%)

• In coordination with Plan Denmark and relevant country offices take part in developing, managing and offering technical support on new youth-led urban climate adaptation programmes.
• Contribute to and provide technical feedback on project reports, research pieces and evaluations of urban projects.
• Provide technical review of bids where urban climate adaptation, resilience or other aspects of urban programming represents an integrated component of the bid, and / or review proposals from other technical teams, as relevant, to provide input and advice.
• Collaborate with DNO’s Program Development Manager, on program development and business development where there is a need to do so.

Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

Technical expertise, skills and knowledge

Essential Knowledge & Skills

• Masters Degree in program development or equivalent with at least 8 years working in the international development sector, with an explicit focus on the area of resilience, climate change or urban programming
• Experience in capacity building, mentoring and delivering training.
• Well-developed organisational and time management skills including the ability to manage workflows, balance competing priorities and to deliver quality results within deadlines.
• Demonstrated communication and negotiation skills, as well as the ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with external and internal stakeholders (cross functional teams across all levels of the organisation).
• Demonstrated understanding of gender equality and women’s empowerment and a commitment to Plan International approach and values including diversity and inclusion.
• Project management and report writing
• Demonstrated experience engaging in external partnerships, and understanding of good partnership practice and principles.

Please follow this link for a full role profile

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International’s Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Disclaimer: Please note that Plan International will never send unsolicited emails requesting payment from candidates