Senior Manager pour le programme Elan RDC

ÉLAN RDC is a £50m DFID-funded private sector development programme implemented by Adam Smith International that aims to increase the incomes of over a million low-income men and women in the DRC by 2020.

The programme collaborates with the private sector to pilot and scale innovative, inclusive business practices to increase the incomes of over one million poor smallholder producers, entrepreneurs and consumers by 2020. This collaboration focuses on six areas: (1) Perennial Agriculture, (2) Non-Perennial Agriculture, (3) Branchless Banking, (4) SME Finance, (5) Transport, and (6) Renewable Energy.

We aim to build a more efficient and inclusive economy for the DRC. We provide international expertise and market insight to businesses, financial institutions and industry associations, supporting them to innovate and grow.

We follow a “market systems development” approach (also known as the “Making Markets Work for the Poor” (M4P) approach), which seeks to develop and promote sustainable and scalable solutions to systemic constraints in markets that prevent poor producers and consumers from benefiting from their participation in them.

The ELAN team currently comprises 90+ team members operating across three provincial offices in Kinshasa / Kingo Central, Katanga, and the Kivus.

Objectives

Project level: During the final year of implementation, ELAN RDC is focusing on ensuring the scaling up, sustainability and successful closure of its 150+ interventions implemented in partnership with private sector partners active in the DRC market. ELAN 1.2 is a new programme for which ASI is bidding.

Corporate level: In the meantime a core priority for ASI is to identify new business opportunities in the DRC and retain ELAN RDC’s human resources in preparation for upcoming DRC programmes.

In line with the above, we are hiring a Senior Manager who will oversee and support ELAN’s Senior Management Team and Project Management Unit in the successful delivery and closure of the progamme by December 2018 and in positioning ASI for upcoming business opportunities in the DRC.

Scope of Work

Responsibilities:

• Client relationship management:
• Lead client (DFID) engagement and manage other key stakeholder relationships (including with other component programmes in the DFID DRC private sector development portfolio);
• Ensure the project milestones are met and project deliverables completed on time and to a high standard;
• Oversee, quality assure, and present quarterly technical and financial reports to DFID;
• Prepare and facilitate the independent reviews of ELAN by the Decision Support Unit appointed by DFID
• Maintain transparent and trustworthy relationship with DFID counterparts through proactive communication

ELAN risks management:

• Supervise the programme’s Operations & Security Team to ensure effective operations and security handling in the context of a complex political and security environment;
• Maintain a milestones dashboard and an issues and risk register on a monthly basis (legal & compliance, security, financial, reputational, technical)

Effectively elevate concerns;

• Prepare and roll out mitigation plans for the risks identified
• Monitor and maximize programme compliance with DFID policies and UK and DRC laws

ELAN financial management:

• Supervise the local finance and administration team and oversees their activities pertaining to grant management, expenses reconciliation, and RPS preparation;
• Oversee financial management activities managed by the ELAN PMU including partnership disbursements approvals; monthly cash request submission; RPS review and submission to ASI finance team; Billing Listings processing; monthly invoicing to DFID; maintenance of a resource burn-rate, an accurate financial forecast and provision of other management reports (monthly)
• Prepare Financial and VFM report for submission to DFID (quarterly)
• Prepare and facilitate internal and external audits processes

ELAN procurement, partnerships, and contract management:

• Act as member of the programme’s Senior Management Team, taking and enforcing decisions on programme strategy, approval of spending on projects; resource planning; and partnerships management (continue / amend / terminate)
• Oversee ELAN procurement activities and contract management in line with ELAN’s procurement manual, ASI policies, and ASI rules and approval levels
• Careful partners relationships management

HR management:

• Line manage other ELAN PMs including performance management, mentoring, professional development, team level coordination and motivation;
• Oversee HR manager activities pertaining to payroll approval, handling personnel delegation meetings, and local staff and local contracts management;
• Oversee international contracts management;
• Proactively communicate on and address issues arising within a workforce of 90+ ELAN team members
• Maintain a strong network of advisers and partners to support winning and delivery of new programmes

Programme closure management:

• Ensure project closure plans are maintained effectively and that they feed into a master plan;
• Partnerships closure management including partnership letters sent to all partners; comprehensive Partnership closure reports completed for all interventions and inclusive of key lessons learned, MRM, and financial data; financial reconciliation completed for all partnerships
• Administrative closure management including successful office closure and DFID assets disposal in Lubumbashi, Goma, and Kinshasa; legal requirements completed
• Management of the final review by the Decision Support Unit (DSU) and submission of the Project Completion Report to DFID

Business Development:

• Build an effective network of partners and advisers to support winning and delivering new programmes;
• Pro-actively communicate to relevant stakeholders on ELAN’s activities and impact in the DRC and ASI’s global portfolio;
• Identify opportunities for new business development;
• Push concept notes to potential funders;
• Update DRC BD strategy, stakeholders mapping, and BD tools

KEY PERFORMANCE TARGETS

• Successfully delivering the ÉLAN RDC programme until financial close;
• Successful office closure, assets disposal, and administrative clearances;
• Deliver programme budgets and other financial reporting;
• Deliver programme annual and quarterly progress, financial and VFM reports;
• Enable the production and publication of high quality communication and knowledge management pieces;
• Build and maintain a strategic network of advisers, partners, and colleagues;
• Win new business in the DRC and contribute to setting up ASI activities in the DRC post ELAN closure.

Required Skills

• Postgraduate degree in economics, political science, international development, business management, or other relevant field from a top-tier university.
• Excellent oral and written English and French.
• Excellent numerical ability with a focus on financial awareness and ability.
• Commercial acumen.
• Computer literacy with Microsoft Office products.
• High level of reasoning and problem solving ability.
• Report, policy and document writing skills
• Basic budget, finance and forecasting skills.
• Ability to build effective, credible client relationships and networks.

Required Experience

• Practical experience implementing relevant development projects in developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa;
• Experience managing project teams, consultants and other stakeholders.
• Experience managing programme closure processes
• Understanding of the M4P approach
• Experience undertaking relevant research and producing high quality written research outputs;
• Experience leading business development initiatives, or tendering new opportunities working for a development agency.
• Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis.

Application deadline is July 26th 2018 : https://adamsmithinternationalcareers-openhire.silkroad.com/epostings/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.jobinfo&jobid=190&source=ONLINE&JobOwner=992277&company_id=30140&version=2&byBusinessUnit=&bycountry=0&bystate=0&byRegion=&bylocation=&keywords=&byCat=&proximityCountry=&postalCode=&radiusDistance=&isKilometers=&tosearch=yes&city

Due to high volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

ASI is committed to continually improving the diversity of our workforce through the attraction, retention and development of a diverse range of talented people. We want people to be comfortable bringing their whole self to work and recognise that inclusion brings further opportunities for innovation and creativity.

Job Location

Kinsasha, Kinshasa, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the

Position Type

Full-Time/Regular

Toute personne qualifiée en matière de gestion de projet est invitée à postuler. Mme Alix Landais se tient à la disposition des candidats pour discuter du poste avec les personnes intéressés (alix.landais@elanrdc.com // Skype : a.landais).