Program Manager/ Sr. Program Officer (Economic Opportunities)

About this position

Position title: Program Manager/ Sr. Program Officer (Economic Opportunities)

Position location: Ottawa

Level: E or D (commensurate with experience)

Position type: Full time

Reports to: Director of Programs

Application deadline: 18 November 2019

Background:

World University Service of Canada (WUSC) is a leading Canadian international development organization focusing on three programmatic areas: Economic Opportunities, Education, and Empowerment. Our vision is a better world for youth - a world where all young people, especially women, are empowered to secure a good quality of life for stronger families and communities.   WUSC currently works in 20 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, with an annual budget of approximately CAD $40 million. We have a staff of over 90 people in our Ottawa office, and over 150 people overseas implementing 19 development projects in collaboration with donors including Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the World Bank, the US government, and the African Development Bank. Globally, we collaborate with a network of higher education institutions, civil society organizations, private sector partners, professionals, students, volunteers, faculty and community leaders that work with us to achieve our mission.  

WUSC’s activities seek to balance inequities and create sustainable development around the globe; the work ethic of our staff, volunteers, representatives and partners shall correspond to the values and mission of the organization. WUSC promotes responsibility, respect, honesty, and professional excellence and we will not tolerate harassment, coercion and sexual exploitation and abuse of any form.

WUSC Economic Opportunity Programming

World University Service of Canada (WUSC)’s vision is a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable world for all young people and their families.   To achieve this WUSC works to ensure young people have access to and benefit from fair, decent, and fulfilling employment; sustainable livelihoods; and inclusive economies. WUSC’s portfolio of economic opportunity programming contributes to this goal through initiatives focused on   youth employment, women’s economic empowerment, skills training for employment and entrepreneurship development in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Iraq, Jordan, Malawi, Mali, Mongolia, Malawi, Peru and Tanzania.   

Nature and Scope:

The Program Manager / Sr. Program Officer, Economic Opportunities (PM-EO), will support the strategic implementation of WUSC projects falling under the Economic Opportunities Theme. The position will report to the WUSC Director of Programs and work closely on a day-to-day basis with the project teams based in our countries of operation. The PM will play a critical role in supporting the Project Director to mobilize technical and operational support, manage project grants and contributions in accordance with WUSC and donor policies and reporting requirements; manage the WUSC Ottawa portion of project budgets; foster knowledge sharing, learning, collaboration and communication between WUSC Ottawa and WUSC country teams; managing quality control processes of WUSC’s economic opportunity interventions; and support the growth of WUSC’s economic opportunity portfolio. Duties include:

Program Management

• Provide support to project teams on the technical direction and implementation including preparation of Work Plans, Monitoring and Evaluation Plans, Gender Strategies, learning plans and other relevant documents required by the donor;
• Support the Project Director in effectively establishing relationships for project management and governance (ie. developing Memoranda of Understanding, supporting the Project Steering Committee);
• Provide general troubleshooting and facilitation support to requests from the WUSC country team and act as a coordinator with various functional units within WUSC’s HQ (e.g. communications, IT, human resources, etc.) to deliver support to WUSC country teams;
• Support project reporting in collaboration with the WUSC country team;
• Ensure WUSC’s Gender Equality Policy is applied and support gender mainstreaming in projects, including participating in the development of project-specific gender strategies and providing coaching to staff in gender equality;
• Exercise budget control and manage project procurement for international contracts in accordance with contractual obligations and in consultation with the Financial Analyst, the Project Director; and
• Work with the Financial Analysts to monitor budgets, prepare financial reports and provide financial analysis.

Quality Assurance and Capacity Development

• Identify relevant technical expertise from WUSC’s networks of partners, volunteers and consultants;
• Collaborate with technical advisors in Canada and in our country offices in order to ensure a robust approach to economic opportunity programming, drawing from international best practices, within and across our economic opportunity project portfolio;
• Collaborate with WUSC’s current network of economic opportunity technical experts in multiple project countries in order to develop WUSC’s toolbox and approaches to relevant issues within the economic opportunity sector;
• Ensure the consistent identification and application of internal quality standards, lessons learned and external best practices in economic opportunity programming;
• Support program staff in the development or revision of program/project-specific economic opportunity strategies, plans and activities;  
• Assist program staff in project planning and management approaches (including results based management tools) and propose strategies to increase project/program impact in economic opportunity;
• Collaborate with existing WUSC technical resources to identify strengths and weaknesses in existing economic opportunity practices, leading the development of improved systems, processes, and tools for improving our results;
• Collaborate with existing WUSC technical resources to create resources and tools (i.e. tipsheets, webinars, etc.) to assist staff in effectively prioritizing and integrating best practices in economic opportunity in their work; and
• Support capacity building efforts related to economic opportunity programing for WUSC Ottawa and field staff, including training and coaching to WUSC staff and partners.

Networking, Thought Leadership, and Positioning

• Identify potential international, Canadian and local partners for new economic opportunity initiatives;
• Seek opportunities for WUSC to convene and collaborate with peers and thought leaders in the economic opportunity sector, especially on issues related to economic opportunities;
• Represent WUSC at relevant conferences, fora, working groups and meetings and maintain close working relationships with counterparts in other relevant international NGOs, donors, partners, and academia;
• Prepare and deliver presentations about WUSC’s economic opportunity programs as required;
• Seek opportunities to increase the awareness, commitment and involvement of WUSC’s University and College members, private sector partners and other key stakeholders; and
• Participate in WUSC’s communications work by providing data, information and other material for use with WUSC’s Canadian and international constituency and assist in implementing constituency building, communication strategies, and fundraising activities.

Any other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Competencies:

• A minimum of 5 years of experience working for international development organizations, preferably in developing countries and in Canada;
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field (social sciences, business)
• Master’s degree in a related field an asset;
• Knowledge of economic opportunity and/or related sectors;
• Knowledge of gender equality programming and the Feminist Internatioanl Assistance Policy
• Excellent working knowledge of Results Based Management;
• Experience with a range of institutional donors, especially Global Affairs Canada (GAC).  

Competencies:

• Excellent administration and organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize tasks and handle multiple initiatives under tight deadlines;
• Preference for working in teams;
• Proven ability to work productively with a variety of stakeholders to run participatory processes and meet tight deadlines with an emphasis on producing quality products;
• Effective interpersonal and influencing skills, including the ability to build relationships, network, communicate and represent at a senior level are essential;
• Flexibility, with a strong work ethic and an entrepreneurial spirit to accommodate high levels of responsibility and multiple priorities;
• Excellent capacity building skills, with demonstrated experience in effective training, coaching and facilitation;
• Passion and commitment to gender equality and youth empowerment.

Languages and Other:   

• Complete fluency, oral and written in English essential, French highly desirable;
• Ability to travel internationally;
• Ability to work a flexible schedule.  

Work Environment:  

WUSC offers a  dynamic international  work environment with a  diverse intercultural workforce.   We  offer employees  exciting opportunities  to apply their skills and gain experience all while  making a difference  for youth around the world. We  believe  youth have the potential to provide for their families, build strong communities, and create positive social change for future generations.   Employees at WUSC  work hard  to create lasting change in education, employment and empowerment.  

The WUSC office centrally-located in Hintonburg, Ottawa. We offer competitive benefits, four weeks of annual leave (for full-time employees), safe and healthy working conditions, and fair compensation.

Applications:

WUSC is an equal opportunity employer.  We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.  No telephone calls please.

For the full job description, please visit https://wusc.ca/careers/. To apply directly please follow this link.

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