Plan Academy Project Implementation Manager

Location: Woking, UK

Reports To: Director of Programming & Effectiveness International Headquarters

Closing Date: 8th January 2012

This will be a two year fixed term contract with possibility of extension.

The salary range for this role will be £50-60,000 GBP per annum depending on experience.

To apply, please send your CV and a covering letter detailing your salary requirements and quoting reference IH099 to recadmin@plan-international.org

Plan is one of the oldest and largest children's development organisations in the world. We work in 50 developing countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas to promote child rights and lift millions of children out of poverty. Plan's vision is of a world in which all children realise their full potential in societies that respect people's rights and dignity, our aim is to achieve lasting improvements in the quality of life of deprived children in developing countries. Plan is independent, with no religious, political or governmental affiliations.

The Plan Academy is a strategic initiative to build the capacity of Plan International’s global staff in Plan’s child rights approach, known as Child Centred Community Development. The Plan Academy Project Manager will be responsible for developing and implementing the Plan Academy, working closely with the Working Group and additional external support as necessary.

The goal of the Academy is to help staff develop a consistent understanding of rights based approaches to development work in different field contexts. It is expected to provide highly practical support to busy staff, reinforcing core values such as empowerment and participation as well as technical knowledge and skills. The Academy will use a variety of delivery mechanisms such as distance learning, workshops and guided reflection. In the long term, the Academy will become a centre of excellence for child centred development approaches within and outside Plan.

Dimensions of Role:

• The post reports to Plan’s Director of Programming & Effectiveness and will become an integral part of the team delivering significant improvements in Plans approach to managing performance
• The Project Manager has one direct report: the Website & E-learning Co-ordinator
• The role will oversee and advise on the activities of a highly complex project with many internal and external stakeholders
• Manage the project budget; currently estimated at $4m over three years.
• Manage the core deliverables of the project, working closely with the working group

Typical Responsibilities - Key End Results of Position:
The post holder will be responsible for:

• Designing and creating a new global academy within Plan, in line with Plan’s global strategy, building the facility to provide state of the art training on Child Rights Programming to staff around the world
• Developing a detailed activity plan and budget for implementing the Plan Academy over three years including:-
  o initiation
  o planning and design
  o piloting and continual improvement
  o execution, construction and training of trainers
  o monitoring and support systems
• Overseeing the development of branding and marketing for the Plan Academy across Plan’s 4 regions and 50 countries to build awareness and position the Academy as a leading and credible supplier of first class, values based training
• Overseeing the development of the core curriculum and delivery mechanisms, relevant to different international contexts and sympathetic to Plan’s many diverse cultural contexts
• Piloting initial delivery, identifying lessons from different stakeholders and making improvements
• Developing simple yet effective mechanisms for monitoring and documenting the quality and impact of the Academy
• Building / overseeing values based content for field staff using a variety of innovative tools
• Designing and implementing a plan for scaling up delivery of the training approach which will impact across the 50 countries
• Maintaining financial oversight over the project, ensuring it stays on time and in budget
• Identifying and managing key risks associated with the project
• Leading the process of mobilising additional resources and winning new grant funding for the Plan Academy as necessary
• Developing plans for the long term future of the Plan Academy, embedding it into Plan’s organisational systems and structures, and identifying an approach for financial sustainability

Dealing with Problems

• Take the lead in proposing and implementing resolutions to problems that may naturally arise on an ambitious, multi-stakeholder project working in an international environment. Examples could include:
• o Managing conflicting expectations among different stakeholders
  o Ensuring external stakeholders deliver work on time and in budget
  o Handling different peoples’ views about what ‘Child Centred Community Development’ means in practice
  o Running pilots and learning events in challenging operating environments
• Communications and Working Relationships
• Maintain strong working relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, including staff and managers at all levels of Plan in many different countries and external experts in rights-based training for development
• Co-ordinate the Plan Academy Working Group, comprising Child Centred Community Development Specialists in each of the four regional offices and other key staff members
• Develop new collaborative links with leading actors in the sector and in the field of rights-based training, particularly those based in the South
• Ensure the Plan Academy is appropriately linked to other organisational initiatives within Plan
• Develop formal agreements with external partners and consultants for specific deliverables and monitor performance against them
• Identify an internal pool of trainers / facilitators, defining their roles and responsibilities and overseeing their training, networking and on-going support
• Provide progress reports and updates to senior management as required
• Communicate progress regularly to internal and external stakeholders, including overseeing a community workspace on the intranet

Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours Required to Achieve Role’s Objectives

• Demonstrable understanding of and commitment to rights-based approaches to development and the core values of helping people increase their confidence and abilities. Field experience a significant advantage
• Proven understanding of adult education, including innovative training approaches and delivery mechanisms, preferably in an international setting
• Experience of developing training curriculums and delivering high quality learning events
• Knowledge of international NGO structures and approaches
• Proven skills in managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders
• Excellent organisational and co-ordination skills
• Credibility with field staff and executive leadership
• Ability to work in an international cross-cultural environment, including sensitivity to different backgrounds
• Outstanding spoken and written communication skills
• Strong influencing and negotiation skills
• Versatile, creative and flexible. An innovative ideas person who will bring new thinking aligned with credibility to the post
• Collaborative approach to work, listening actively to stakeholders and adapting to their concerns
• Used to working with minimal supervision
• Decisive and results focused

Location and Travel

This role will be based at International Headquarters in Woking. The role will involve up to 20% international travel.

Languages

Excellent written and spoken English is essential. Knowledge of French or Spanish would also be advantageous.

References and background checks will be carried out in conformity with Plan’s Child Protection Policy.

Plan operates an equal opportunity policy which recognises the value of a diverse workforce.