SAVE THE CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL IN BOLIVIA

ROLE PROFILE
TITLE: Programs Director

TEAM/PROGRAMME: International Programs LOCATION: La Paz

CONTRACT LENGTH: 1 year
CHILD SAFEGUARDING:
Level 3: the role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once
a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work
in country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing
the police checking/vetting process staff.
ROLE PURPOSE:

The Programs Director (PD) is responsible for the supervision and support of all of the SCI Bolivia’s
program activities, and, together with the Country Director, will lead the strategic development of the
country program. Working under the supervision of the Country Director, s/he is expected to pursue
new program and funding opportunities that advance our country strategic plan (CSP), ensure strategic
cohesion of/among our different thematic sectors, and align our project and thematic results to achieve
greater impact, especially among/for the most vulnerable children.

Save the Children works in five thematic areas – Education, Child Protection, Child Rights/Governance
(CRG), Health and (reduction of) Child Poverty – as well as Emergency Preparedness and Response. In
Bolivia, our biggest thematic areas in terms of funding are: 1) Education; 2) (reduction of) Child Poverty;
and 3) Child Protection. The PD will supervise the national thematic focal points (currently three people).
Depending on funding possibilities, additional Focal Points might be deployed who would then also be
supervised by the PD. In addition, the PD will supervise the Awards, Communication and MEAL functions
(Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning).

The PD will foment relations with SC members and actively collaborate with regional and global networks
in order to expand SC in Bolivia’s donor base and search for new funding opportunities. While in SCI
Bolivia the thematic focal points take the lead in developing proposals and line-managing project
coordinators hired to implement them, the PD will closely support/guide/oversee the development of
proposals and implementation of our various projects to ensure cohesion, impact and alignment with
SC’s common approaches, quality standards, results framework, learning agenda and advocacy objectives.
While the PD is not expected to be a technical expert in any of our thematic areas, s/he needs to bring
strategic experience and critical analysis to challenge, when needed, our thematic direction and “connect
the dots” in everything we do, including our strategy vis-à-vis partners. The PD will be ambitious, driven
and focused to grow our thematic sectors, country portfolio and impact, through leadership but also by
filling in the gaps as needed and doing some of the operational/hands-on work required in a relatively
small country office (including writing proposals, drafting reports and line-managing project teams).

The PD will champion a team culture of learning and continuous improvement that in turn guide and
grow our thematic sectors. S/he will be responsible for rolling out the various internal systems that SC
is embracing, worldwide, to increase our thematic expertise and increase our impact, including: Program
Quality KPIs, PPM/PRIME, Common Approaches, and Award Management Change Project (AMCP). In
addition, the PD will promote integral programs and collaboration between the programmatic areas as
well as the adoption of and excellence in our cross-cutting themes – gender, child participation, and
resilience – throughout our projects, programs, thematic plans and country strategy.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

 SAVE THE CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL IN BOLIVIA
ROLE PROFILE
Strategy, Senior Management and External Relations:
• Provide leadership, strategic vision and direction to the Bolivia country program as a member of
the SMT
• Lead the development of high quality country and program strategies and annual plans, and
reports
• Support the development of an organizational culture that reflects our values, promotes
accountability and high performance, encourages a team culture of learning, creativity and
innovation, and frees up our people to deliver outstanding results for children and excellent
customer service for our members and donors
• Support the establishment, maintenance, and improvement of an active and regular working
relationships with: government authorities, partner agencies, and local and international NGOs
• In collaboration with the thematic focal points and other program colleagues, ensure the Bolivia
Country Office complies with all Save the Children program Essential Standards and Procedures
in the Quality Framework
• Maintain and expand the current donor base, including humanitarian and development donors

Programme and Proposal Design and Development:

• Identify strategic fundraising leads and concepts and identify and nurture funding opportunities to
ensure adequate resources are secured
• Support thematic focal points in proposal development and the conceptualization and design of
cost effective, evidence-based and high quality child-focused emergency and development
programs, informed by child participation. (In the case of Child Protection and CRG, take the
lead in developing such proposals.)
• Ensure the Bolivia Country Office has a first class, multi-sectoral program reflecting all priority
technical and sector aspects of the Save the Children global strategy

Technical Assistance and Knowledge Management:

• Ensure the provision of high quality technical assistance and capacity building to all country office
programs, projects and staff by managing all internal and external technical assistance, including
surge capacity during emergencies and ensure application of the TA protocols and tools
• Ensure the integration of cross-cutting issues into design and implementation including gender,
non-discrimination, child participation and child safeguarding
• Ensure learning by country program from relevant internal and external thematic trends and best
practice
• With the thematic focal points and CD, ensure engagement in relevant national and global
networks

Oversight and Management of Program Operations:

• Support/oversee thematic focal points and project coordinators in the delivery of all
projects/programs in accordance with grant agreements, objectives and milestones, timeframes and
on budget
• Responsible for oversight of budget holder for most programming; hold individual budget holders
accountable to accurately and efficiently manage their individual projects and grants. Ensure monthly
BvA (Budget vs Actual) and DIP (Detailed Implementation Plan) meetings are held.
• Accountable for program delivery in line with Save the Children principles, values and strategic plan
and following Save the Children compliance procedures. This includes working with partner
organizations and sub-grantees to strengthen national capacity.
• Support in the preparation of timely and high quality progress reports, program reports, and donor
reports.
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ROLE PROFILE

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL):

• Develop and oversee a robust MEAL system to measure achievement and progress toward
national and global program goals and results, including reach and global outcome indicators, and
to drive learning and improved program quality
• Ensure not only compliance with the recently rolled-out Program Quality KPIs but promote them
to elevate the overall quality of our projects
• Ensure our work is accountable to children and other stakeholders through the establishment
and management of effective accountability mechanisms and processes
• Provide leadership to use data for program decision making, of commitment to management
action on the findings of monitoring, and of listening to feedback from beneficiaries to inform
program development
• Along with thematic focal points, MEAL Coordinator and Knowledge-Management Coordinator,
identify, develop and oversee operational and analytical research, coordinate the publication and
dissemination of results and ensure that research informs advocacy

Advocacy and Communications:

• Support CD in leadership, vision, strategic direction and management of advocacy and ensure
that advocacy is an integral part of Save the Children’s Theory of Change and strategic planning
• Position Save the Children as the leading organisation for children’s issues in Bolivia, with child
rights at the core of the advocacy work
• Ensure advocacy coherence at local, national and global level and reinforce strong and effective
synergies between programs and advocacy to maximise Save the Children impact, especially
ensuring evidence and best practice inform advocacy
• Ensure the branding, communication and sign off guidelines of Save the Children are uniformly
and consistently followed and ensure the delivery of a clear and effective system for internal
communication

Emergency Response Management:

• Support the CD in mounting appropriate and timely responses at scale to all emergencies consistent
with established benchmarks, plans and organizational policies, and in close cooperation with
incoming surge teams
• During emergencies in coordination with other members of the SMT and the Humanitarian Focal
Point, maintain consistent and coherent engagement in key governmental and inter-agency
emergency preparedness and response coordination mechanisms including the EHP and the
Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies in Bolivia (CAHB).

Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development:

• Develop a culture and focus on quality in the program team and ensure appropriate staffing, the
recruitment, training, and promotion of staff as appropriate
• Manage the program team through: effective use of the Performance Management System; regular
evaluation of direct reports; provision of coaching, mentoring and other developmental
opportunities
• Build a team culture and ensure adequate information flow between teams
• Ensure that all staff understand and are able to perform their role in an emergency
• Oversee that all program staff proactively build and maintain technical skills and competencies
required for leading and/or advising first class programs – both development and emergency
programs
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ROLE PROFILE
SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (SCI Values in Practice):

Accountability:
• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role
modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the
freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve
performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved

Ambition:
• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their
own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale

Collaboration:
• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, SC Members and external
partners and supporters
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to
Creativity:
• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks
Integrity:
• Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity
EXPERIENCE:
• Relevant post-graduate degree in a relevant field
• Minimum of 7 years’ experience, preferably in an INGO environment, including experience
implementing programs for children in development contexts in Bolivia
• Excellent communication skills (written and spoken) in Spanish and English indispensable
• Demonstrated leadership and management skills (references will be required)
• Proven experience of team building skills
• Significant experience leading strategic planning and in programme design and proposal
development, with a track record of securing funds/opportunities
• Strong understanding of different methodologies of monitoring and evaluation and operational
research and experience in developing integrated MEAL systems
• Ability to effectively establish a learning culture within an organization
• Experience in successfully establishing and managing collaborative relationships and partnerships
with donors, local partners, and government counterparts
• Strong representation and influencing skills
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s aims, values and principles including
rights-based approaches
• Thorough understanding of program cycles and management
• Proven experience of developing innovative implementation initiatives and rights-based
programming is preferred
• Experience in fundraising is a plus
• Excellent at meeting deadlines and working under pressure
• Skilled at working and coordinating with a multidisciplinary team
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ROLE PROFILE
• Self-motivated, high-energy, excellent people-skills and a great sense of humor
• Superior analytical and conceptual skills – able to distill conceptual models, tendencies, trends
and patterns from concrete program/project activities (desired)
• Emergency response experience is a plus
• Willingness to travel throughout Bolivia (often) and abroad (2-3 times/year)

Equal Opportunities:
The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and
Diversity policies and procedures.
Health and Safety:
The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and
procedures.
Additional job responsibilities:
The job duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the Post holder may be
required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.