Country Programme Manager(s)

Vacancy announcement No.:	10/01/P
Date of issue:	09 January2010
Deadline for applications:	08 February 2010
Position Title:	Country Programme Manager(s)
Organizational Unit	Western and Central Africa Division (PA) Programme Management Department (PMD)
Level	P-4/5
CCOG Code:	1.A.01
Duty station:	Field Based (West and Central Africa)
Date of entry on duty:	As soon as possible
Duration of assignment:	2 years fixed term - (Possibility of renewal is subject to availability of funding)

Background to the job

Duties and responsibilities

• Lead and manage the development and implementation of medium to longer-term strategies for IFAD’s collaboration with governments and other national stakeholders for rural poverty reduction. This will entail analysis of the dynamics of rural poverty; country-specific rural poverty reduction strategies; and the definition of IFAD’s value added in this context.
• Lead the design and supervision of the IFAD loan and grant financed rural poverty reduction programmes assigned by the Director. Support their implementation with a view to maximising development effectiveness, impact and sustainable development results. Analyse relevant information and assist in the periodic evaluation of results achieved.
• Lead loan and grant negotiations with the borrowing and donor governments, in accordance with IFAD’s lending policies and criteria.
• Play a catalytic role in the development of pro-poor rural poverty reduction policies and in enabling the rural poor to advocate for institutional transformation.
• Build effective partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders in rural poverty reduction, including government and non-governmental institutions, bilateral and multilateral financing institutions, civil society organisations, research centres and the private sector.
• Perform any other duties as assigned by the Director.

• Promote evidence-based knowledge management and learning in IFAD’s country programmes. Promote innovative approaches to poverty reduction and collaborate with partner institutions to facilitate their replication and scaling up.
• Contribute effectively to the IFAD organizational change agenda, with particular reference to issues related to IFAD’s direct supervision modalities.
• Administer the related budget for cost-effectiveness.
• Provide coaching and guidance to staff under her/his supervision.
• Perform any other duties as assigned by the Director.

Education and experience

• Minimum requirement is an advanced university degree (Master’s level or equivalent) in agriculture, rural development, finance, economics, public policy or a closely related field.  
• At least 8 years (at grade P-4); or 10 years (at grade P-5) of relevant post qualification professional experience with International Financial Institutions, the United Nations, rural development/financial institutions, international NGOs, Foundations or government services in the design and administration of rural development programmes with emphasis on rural project management , rural finance and market development.  
• Good knowledge of policy oriented, programme based pro-poor approaches;  
• Knowledge in pro-poor policy design and programme-based development approaches with International Financial Institutions/Development Cooperation agencies government agencies and international NGOs.
• Field experience in a developing country would be an asset.

Technical/Functional competencies

• Analytical skills: you will have analytical ability and thorough understanding of socio-economic issues as well as the capacity to lead specific analytical work.
• Leader and Team Worker/Builder: you will possess excellent management skills, and will be able to deploy these in a multicultural setting . You will have the capacity of leading teams and inspire them to work together to achieve stretching objectives;
• Planner and Organiser/Decision-Maker – you will have excellent judgement and the ability to think strategically, assessing and responding to new challenges in rural development. You will be able to set clear priorities within a boundless and often challenging agenda with tight deadlines.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in either English or French; including the ability to set out a coherent argument in presentations and group interactions. Where one of these languages is the first language, candidates must have working knowledge of the other.
•  Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft packages and electronic communication.

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