December 6th, 2021 at 11:37 am
About the job
- Role Title: Head of Programs and Stakeholder Engagement
- Annual Pay: GHS 73,752.00 (gross)
- Duration: 2 years (option for renewal)
- Reports to: Partner Director
About AFS Intercultural Exchange Programs, Ghana
In Ghana, AFS is registered as Intercultural Exchange Programs, Ghana or AFS IEP Ghana. For over fifty years, AFS IEP Ghana has provided intercultural learning opportunities to countless host families and volunteers across the length and breadth of Ghana.
Role purpose
To provide strategic leadership to AFS IEP Ghana’s Programs and Stakeholder Engagement plans to quality standards, impact, and income targets.
The post holder will support the Partner Director to drive the strategic overview of the programs and stakeholder portfolio in Ghana ensuring smooth implementation and achievement of set goals and targets, budget management, bringing new partners on board, and providing business solutions.
Program development, management, evaluation, and reporting
- Work with Partner Director and Program Managers and project partners to develop effective program management plans for the AFS IEP Ghana Programs portfolio including responsibility for exchange program operations and their development.
- Creation and implementation of sending and hosting strategy for AFS IEP Ghana including program and participant support.
- Lead programs team to deliver projects and contracts in the program’s portfolio to budget, time, and quality standards, ensuring logistical efficiency of program
- Support the Partner Director in the successful delivery of all financial and non-financial targets and indicators for all services, programs, projects, contracts, campaigns, and events in the portfolio.
- Lead responsibility for ensuring all core program management plans and documents are completed and kept up to date by program managers at all times.
- Lead responsibility for ensuring program reports are completed on time by program managers and to the quality standards expected.
- Provide insight into costing projects/programs for external partners/donors.
- Support the internal governance of programs by organizing meetings and follow-up actions arising.
- Key contact person with AFS partners globally in program negotiations (both sending and hosting).
- Ensure the program learning journeys associated with students, host families, and volunteers are properly utilized within the program timelines and the program outputs are achieved.
Financial management
- Responsible for ensuring effective management of program budgets by program managers and checking cash flow forecasts and end-of-month checks and reports are done to the standard expected.
- Support Partner Director with external reporting on budget performance to the requirements set by funders, partners, and clients.
- Support Partner Director with preparing financial plans and forecasts with program managers, for approval by Partner Director.
- Support Partner Director with preparing ad hoc or scheduled financial reports as required.
- Support Partner Director with ensuring procurement in the teams is conducted in accordance with established corporate policies and processes are appropriately documented and retained.
Risk management
- Responsible for maintaining and updating program risk registers for all programs.
- Convenes regular program risk review meetings with program staff and escalates risks as appropriate.
- Escalate major risks and issues with stakeholders to Partner Director.
- Lead on completion of annual AFS Ghana scorecards, PSE and CSE reports according to AFS INT requirements and leads on report actions and mitigation of risks identified within scorecard and PSE reports.
Stakeholder Engagement and AFS Organisational development
- Develops, organizes, and implements the national volunteer development strategy for AFS Ghana, working closely with Field Staff and Local Chapter volunteers from around the country.
- Including developing and implementing a national recruitment and retention strategy for volunteers, manage and developing a training program for volunteers, developing a volunteer recognition system, developing Volunteer and Chapter Policies and Procedures, creating new or developing existing volunteer opportunities, and developing relationships with external organizations to maximize the opportunities for volunteering.
- Ensure that the volunteer system is up to date and well designed to empower teams of volunteers via online and in-person learning resources, workshops, and practices.
- Have responsibility for stakeholder satisfaction e.g. natural parents, students, school club members, and host families
- Active role in using SalesForce, Global link, and Workplace to ensure AFS Ghana information is up to date and all posts are responded to in a timely manner.
- Support Partner Director to develop and manage relationships with key government and private sector stakeholders, development organizations, funders, donors, and partners.
- As delegated by Partner Director, ensure relationships with all key clients, program stakeholders, and project partners are maintained by program managers, ensuring professional standards of communication, timely responses, and follow through at all times.
- Ensure the highest standards of customer care are applied to our audiences and participants at our events and on our programs
- As part of the Country stakeholder management process, ensure the maintenance and updates of all databases of contacts, recording contacts/ leads and outcomes of meetings, ensuring follow up action is carried out in a timely and efficient manner including Salesforce, IEP Ghana members, IEP Ghana volunteers, school club members, host families, and new customers.
- Provide guidance to program managers in external official written communications with partners, officials, and consultants, ensuring standards on external communications are upheld.
- Ensure that the highest standards of customer service are applied at all times, and inquiries and requests for assistance via email, website, phone, and social media are acted on within 3 working days.
Communications
- Work with the Marketing and Communications Coordinator to develop and disseminate case studies, reports, and impact stories for external and internal communication channels including digital and print media.
- Write briefs and ad hoc reports for internal and external audiences as required.
- Coordinate the management of AFS Ghana social media platforms with a content calendar related to programs and activities.
- Ensure that AFS Ghana website information is up to date and managed regularly to reflect the relevant program and organizational information.
- Work collaboratively with colleagues across the AFS Ghana and AFS INT to share intelligence and opportunity that creates added benefit to program partners and contacts.
Business Development
- Ensure due diligence checks are carried out on new clients and partners, under the direction of the Partner Director
- Support Partner Director to complete contract approval process forms when required
- Use knowledge and insight from working with stakeholders and customers in the sector to contribute to business development and new program/service models
Line management
- Manage program managers to establish corporate performance management standards
- Provide coaching and mentoring to support the programs team
Education and experience
- A minimum of First Degree or Post-graduate degree or Project Management Qualification
- Minimum of five (5) years of experience in the education and/marketing/stakeholder engagement or Project Management, with of experience leading and managing a team
- Demonstrated expertise and established networks and relationships in education, training, innovation, and/or teaching and learning.
- Experience with initiating new operations, preferably in the education space.
- Proven experience effectively engaging and collaborating with high-level stakeholders, government officials, key partners, media, business leaders, and other network influencers.
- Exposure to systems thinking with an ability to understand and engage with stakeholders in an education ecosystem and design programming that addresses root causes and critical needs.
- Experience in working with donor/grant/ client funds Project Management in an international context
- Knowledge of the skills for the employability and youth capacity building discourse
- Demonstrated strong organizational skills with excellent prioritization and attention to detail.
- Comfortable and highly effective when faced with ambiguity and/or complexity. Able to formulate and develop new or creative ideas and approaches
- Ability to recognize and manage partnership opportunities and develop relationships for influence
- Commitment to AFS IEP Ghana values, vision, and work principles.
Desirable skill and experience
- AFS Alumni, member of volunteer
- High-level attention to detail and accuracy
- Ability to follow through on tasks
- Flexible, creative, responsive, able to take initiative, open to learning
- Able to work within systems and procedures, work effectively in a small team environment involving the sharing of information and at times sharing workloads
- Willing to demonstrate, apply and share expert technical knowledge across the organization;
- Able to work independently and multi-task and meet deadlines.
HOW TO APPLY
Please submit your CV and a cover letter to gha.recruitmentg@afs.org using the title “Head of Programs and Stakeholder Engagement”.
CLOSING DATE: The deadline to apply is Friday 10th December 2021.
Successful applicants will be invited for a phone/video interview and may be asked to submit a writing sample.