Area Program Manager (WVV)

Background

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization working to improve the quality of life of people, especially children who are marginalized and living in poverty. World Vision helps all who are in need, regardless of their religion, race, ethnicity or gender. As a child-focused organization, WV’s work focuses on children, ensuring they are protected and their basic needs are met. World Vision Vietnam (WVV) has been funded from 13 support countries in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Funding of WVV consists of sponsorship program funding (70%) and Private Non-Sponsorship (PNS)/grants (30%). WVV employs about 430 staff, of which 93% are Vietnamese nationals.

WVV is operating in 4 zones: North 1 (Hoa Binh, Dien Bien), North 2 (Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang, Hai Phong), Central (Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri and Da Nang) and South (Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Thuan, Ho Chi Minh, DakNong). WVV’s Area Program (AP) usually focuses within one administrative district of a province which populated by ethnic minority people with high rates of poverty. A uniqueness of WVV’s Development Program Approach (DPA) is that AP team members are based at district level where the AP is located, which enables them to work closely with government partners and communities on a daily basis. Beside the APs, WVV is also implementing different Special and Grant Projects to meet the specific needs of vulnerable children in both AP and non-AP areas.

Purpose of Position

This position provides overall leadership and management to the Son Tra Urban Area Program in accordance with WVV’s strategic directions (e.g. national strategy, Technical Programs (TP)), policies (e.g. Human Resources Manual, Financial policy, Child and Adults Safeguarding policies, etc.…), standards (e.g. technical project models, Program Effectiveness, child sponsorship, Program Accountability Framework, etc.).

Key Responsibilities

Leadership and People Management (30%)

Provide overall leadership to the Son Tra AP team, including organizational values
Map out the diverse skillset needed to operate in the urban AP across all levels of the city, develop a hiring and development plan to be able to cover all expectations related to advocacy, strategic partnering, data management, technology among others In reference to the Urban Ministry Model and the National Strategy.
Work with People & Culture (P&C) department to recruit and provide orientation for new staff
Supervise, coach, mentor, provide adequate feedback and support to AP staff to ensure their high performance toward the shared goals and in alignment to the needed skillset plan
Identify and address development needs of AP staff in urban context to ensure that they are well equipped with core and job-specific competencies to carry out quality work.
Engage in meaningful conversations with the AP team
Identify and address staffing issues in a timely and professional manner, in working with P&C department
Promote ongoing reflection, learning culture and KAIZEN spirit among AP staff
Organize the AP office and facilitate a working environment of trust, mutual respect, and care among all staff

Program Management in assigned District(s) (50%)

Lead on the process to fully understand the urban context affecting the wellbeing of children. Among many processes, the city-wide assessment is one of the key processes to be adapted.
Ensure that relevant data (secondary, primary) are captured to back up the program design and implementation while ensuring that the data is accurate and representative of the community.
Ensure that the area implementation is aligned to the Urban Ministry Model, in all its three components, operational, programmatic and resources and incorporate this in design of projects, reporting mechanisms, funding opportunities and technical adaptations.
Lead on the stakeholders mapping exercise in the area to ensure that all strategic and diverse stakeholders across all levels of the ward, district and city are mapped out such as academia, research centres, government, CBOs, INGOs, media, private sector, influencers, etc.
Lead the adaptation of Technical Programs to urban context following the standard guidelines/ tools and complete all AP level documents while keeping the urban lens and the contextual factors and backing this up with data
Explore and lead on research opportunities in the area to better understand urban issues and vulnerabilities and utilize this data in advocacy, external engagement and policy work.
Utilize digital and technological opportunities in the urban area in line with smart city strategies that the City governments have issued to develop and lead digital strategies that complement your program goals.
Identify and apply Digital platforms/tools to manage programs and get involvement of stakeholders.
Prepare required reports for the AP: monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annually, program quality self-review tools, Urban Ministry Model checklist for AP among others.
Lead AP staff to mainstream Cross Cutting Themes (gender equality and social inclusion, disability, climate change adaption, etc.) program activities
Lead the implementation of digital data acquisition and management systems as guided by the organisation
Document evidences and disseminate WVV’s project models to external partner for replication, advocacy and funding acquisition purpose
Coordinate with procurement team for strategic sourcing at AP level
Collaborate with zonal and national technical team for any advocacy efforts in provincial/city or national level.
Lead Community Engagement
Raise awareness of local partners and community on WV’s Christian identity and core values, child focused and community-based development approach
Build effective relationships with support office; provide support office with vital program information, documentation, stories and reports on a timely manner and get them involved in key events/milestones of the program Partnership and Networking
Based on a mapping exercise, build strategic and effective working relationship with various development partners including PMB and technical departments at commune, district and city levels while ensuring that these relationships are diverse and contribute to achieving the overall goal of the AP program.
Mobilize the established partnerships and networks within the area to strengthen advocacy and policy work and better address key issues facing by children in an impactful and sustainable manner.
Assess the quality of the partnerships in the area to ensure its effectiveness in covering all levels of the city to achieve the desired goals as well as identify any gaps that have to be covered.

Sponsorship Integration in Programming

Provide overall leadership to the implementation of World Vision’s (WV) sponsorship programming in alignment with the Urban contextualised Development Programme Approach (DPA).
Lead the process to promote Child Sponsorship as a transformative relationship of children and sponsors, fulfilling donor promise.
Lead the process to ensure Child Sponsorship is included in the AP plans to maximise integration with programme.
Manage quality of child sponsorship operations including periodical Child Monitoring Standards, Sponsorship Operation Index (SOI), MVC inclusion, RC case management, sponsor and RC engagement (correspondence, sponsorship 2.0, sponsor visit) and manage RC portfolio as the RC budget commitment with the SO.
Lead the process to ensure the child sponsorship risk management plan in place as part of the RBIA.
Facilitate the process of program approach towards sustainability.

HEA-DRR

Support communities and partners to develop and implement community-based disaster preparedness plans and response to climate change, aiming at building household & family resilience.
Take Disaster Risk Reduction – Response to Climate Change (DRR-RCC) account when designing, implementation, M&E of AP/Project’s activities to ensure that climate change and disaster risks can be addressed and reduced.
Lead, coordinate with functional departments on joint emergency responses in the targeted area when needed and ensure humanitarian standards and accountability.

GAM/PNS Acquisition and Management (15%)

Proposal development:

Participate actively in proposal development
Engage with local government and local partners such as mass organizations, the private sector on the field during proposal design
Work with Enterprise Risk Management Senior Officer in risk assessment of proposed projects Donor, Support Office, and partner engagement:
In alignment to the Urban Ministry Model
Look for and build good connection with corporate sectors to find opportunities for Private non-sponsorship fund in the designated area.
Ensure donors are engaged in the field through effective field visits and responsive communications
Engage with Support Offices on PNS opportunities when assigned.
Establish partnerships with local non-governmental organisations, government entities and the private sector in the implementation of projects.

Security and Risk Management (5%)

Manage directly the safety and security within the team based on WVV guidelines, through security assessment, planning and management.
Prepare and regularly the risk registers for the team
Identify and mitigate the risks that could impact the achievement of goals of the team
Perform other duties as assigned by the manager to contribute to the team performance

Knowledge & Skill

Required Professional Experience:

At least 8 -10 years’ experience in relief and development work, out of which at least 5 years in management position Required Education, training, license, registration, and certification:
Master degree in related fields preferred
Certification in Project Management preferred

Experience

Preferred Knowledge and Qualifications:

Conceptual understanding of and commitment to development work, especially Christian, child-focused, urban-based development concepts, approaches and processes.
Demonstrated leadership skills, including leading, building, and supporting a team with diverse roles and capacities.
Skills in facilitation of development processes, including organisation and mobilisation of communities and networking among different development partners.
Demonstrated capacity in program management, with conceptual understanding and required competency in DME functions and financial management.
Strong interpersonal skills and well-developed written and oral communications skills in Vietnamese and English, especially report writing skills.
Solid computer and internet skills in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Ms. Team, virtual tool and other system.
Ability to think critically and reflect.
Asset skill in Proposal writing or fundraising
Willingness to support articulate and demonstrate World Vision’s core in meaningful ways to colleagues, partners, donors, children and communities.