United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Regional Programme Officer – Asia/Middle East

Overview:
War Child works with children who, as a result of conflict, live with a combination of poverty,
exclusion and insecurity. These children might include street children, child headed
households, children conscripted into armed groups, and children who have been put in
prison. Our mission is to support and improve the care and protection of children and young
people who live with a combination of insecurity, poverty and exclusion in some of the worse
conflict-affected places. We look forward to a world in which the lives of children are no
longer torn apart by war. This is a vision that can only be realised through the collective
actions of children themselves, communities and their leaders, organisations like War Child,
governments and key decision makers.
Purpose of Post:
We are recruiting for a second Regional Programme Officer (RPO) for the Asia/Middle East
team, who will work under the supervision of the Regional Programme Coordinator. The
Asia/Middle East regional desk will consist of two Regional Programme Officers. The role will
involve close collaboration with the country teams in the Asia/ Middle East portfolio and other
UK-based Regional Programme Officers. The post-holder will play a central role in the day to
day project and operational support responsibilities to several countries allocated from the
Asia/ Middle East portfolio. The regional portfolio currently includes Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan
and Yemen. Approximately 50% of the work will be assisting field teams with donor
reporting, and project management. The RPO will provide critical support to Programme
Managers ensuring all reports are clear, accurate, and submitted in a timely manner, and
that learning is at the core of the projects we implement. Around 20% of the time will be
spent on ensuring desk level support to proposal development for institutional donors
(research background sections, drafting, certifications etc.). A further 20% of the work will be
War Child
Job Description & Person Specification
spent on ensuring effective internal communications between the Programmes team and the
rest of War Child, with an emphasis on ensuring that fundraising teams get adequate
information to support their needs, and that advocacy priorities are informed by programmes
experience and evidence. Finally, 10% of the role will make sure of the effective
administration of regional desk requirements (filing, shared drive management). The position
will be UK based although there will be occasional opportunities to travel to the country
programmes the RPO supports, to provide reporting and project implementation operational
support; subject to security considerations.
A) JOB SPECIFICATION: TASK AND RESPONSIBILITES:
Donor reporting and support to project management (50%)
 Facilitating timely reporting with institutional donors, foundations and corporate
donors for grants across the Asia/Middle East portfolio, and supporting key project
staff to effectively compile high-quality and impact oriented narrative and financial
progress reports, following the WCUK’s guiding principles for good reporting
 Maintaining an up to date understanding of institutional donor requirements and
compliance
 To support the development of project’s monitoring and evaluation frameworks with
the UK MEAL Advisor and the RPC, and ToRs for evaluations
 Liaison with UK MEAL Advisor to monitor project progress and facilitate learning, by
tracking project progress against indicators – in close collaboration with the RPC
 Assisting with monitoring of programme finance (monthly or quarterly project
expenditure against budget) in collaboration with the RPC, and HQ Finance teams
 Undertaking project monitoring trips
 Advising the RPC on the level of compliance with the WCUK Quality Framework, and
the Child Protection Minimum Standards
Disseminating country programmes information to the Fundraising and
Communication/Advocacy Directorates (20%)
 Ensuring effective internal communications between programmes team and the rest
of War Child – by providing content for the WCUK’s Intranet system
 Ensuring that fundraising teams get adequate information to support their needs:
information on projects’ progress and design, case studies. An involvement in
monthly Programmes/ Finance/ Fundraising meetings will be critical, as well as
preparing regular presentations on new projects and projects progress for the rest of
War Child.
 Helping to ensure that advocacy priorities are informed by programmes experience
and evidence: information shared on projects’ progress and advocacy efforts in
country offices, to support the preparation of input to advocacy papers or initiatives
where needed.
Support to Project development (20%)
 Helping the RPC and Programme Funding Coordinators (PFC) for Asia/ Middle East
to monitor institutional donor calls for proposals and funding cycles
 Supporting the development of project concepts and full proposals in child protection,
education and livelihoods, in collaboration with the RPC and PFCs (research
background sections, drafting of proposals, assist with certifications, admin support
etc.).
 Supporting the RPC with project start-up workshops, where needed
Other (10%)
 Effective administration of regional desk requirements (filing, shared drive
management)
 Making sure that WCUK’s Grants Management System (Salesforce) is up to date at
all times
 Coordinating with and supporting other RPO for Asia/Middle East, where necessary
 Engaging with UK based working groups and networks (where appropriate)
 Keeping up to date with the major issues and solutions pertaining to protecting
children and young people in emergencies.
 Undertaking any other reasonable duty and tasks that may from time to time be
requested by the RPC consistent with the nature of the job and its level of
responsibility.
 Working with and supporting other WCUK colleagues as necessary
B) PERSON SPECIFICATION – ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:
War Child’s office is a lively and fast-paced environment made up of a team of extremely
dedicated staff & volunteers. We’re looking for someone who can fit in well and bring their
personality, creativity and professionalism to our programmes and the wider charity.
Experience/ Technical Skills:
 Successful grant management and donor liaison experience
 Experience of producing high-quality and factually accurate reports
 Experience of rigorous budget and expenditure management
 Experience of working and coordinating with colleagues remotely via email, phone,
Skype, etc.
 Understanding and knowledge of child protection, the protective environment and child
rights programming
 Written and verbal English must be of the highest calibre
 Right to work in the UK
Competencies (Soft Skills):
 Team player
 Able to process and articulate complex issues in a clear and coherent way
 Accurate, systematic, with an eye for detail
 Able to work in a small, dynamic organisation with limited resources
 Flexible and willing to support others at times when particular organisational priorities
take precedence
 Patient and appreciative of the circumstances faced by field staff
 Be self-motivated, work accurately and efficiently to deadlines and targets managing
a wide and varied workload
 Exceptional organisational skills with the ability to plan ahead and manage priorities
calmly to ensure continued progress and meet deadlines.
 Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build positive
working relationships with a broad range of stakeholders.
 Commitment to War Child’s aims, values and mission.
Desirable Criteria:
 Advanced University degree in International Development, Humanitarian Affairs, or
other relevant field
 Knowledge of the social and cultural context of the Middle East specific to War
Child’s countries of operation
 Knowledge and experience of monitoring and evaluation
 Experience of producing concept notes/proposals for restricted funding
 Language skills in Arabic, Kurdish, Dari, or Pashto would be an advantage
C) CONTRACT TERMS
Working Hours: Full time (37.5 hours per week)
Probation: 6 months
Start date: January 2017
Travel: Occasional based on operational need and subject to security
Salary: £26,008 - £29,870 per annum (depending on experience)
Leave: 28 days pa pro-rata, increasing by one day for each year’s service up
to a maximum of 5 additional days
Pension: Matching contribution to your private pension up to 5% of gross salary
Other: As defined in standard War Child contract terms

To apply, follow this link: https://www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs/regional-programme-officer-asia-middle-east/476837?tsId=1 or alternatively email recruitment@warchild.org.uk for the job description and an application pack.