El Salvador: Country Director

Organization: Save the Children
Country: El Salvador
Closing date: 13 Oct 2017

The Chief of Party (COP) for the regional program in Latin America/Caribbean will provide overall technical and management leadership to support and engage the core components of this five-year cooperative agreement funded by USAID and valued from $4 – $9.9M. This program will strengthen child protection systems in El Salvador, especially for child victims of trafficking, sexual abuse, displacement and violence. It will focus on strengthening institutions to ensure adequate care and protection of vulnerable children. The program will increase capacity of child protective services at the national and regional level; improve monitoring to ensure child protection laws and rights are upheld; and ensure institutions across the regions provide required services to protect vulnerable children.

The COP will ensure that the program is technically sound, evidence-based, and responsive to country and USAID priorities. The COP will be responsible for the overall quality and impact of the program. S/he will lead the development of program strategies, design of program approaches, advocacy and fundraising, networking with key stakeholders including government, NGOs, national and regional forums and representation of the country office at various levels. S/he will play a key role in designing partnership strategies, building diversified collaborations and networking with key players at the community and national levels. The COP will also be responsible for planning and monitoring the financial budget and its expenditures for effective and efficient programming in El Salvador and for the target regions.

Essential Duties, Responsibilities and Impact

Lead the planning, designing and implementation of programmatic activities in alignment with organizational strategic vision and project objectives
Identify partnerships and collaborations strategies with NGOs, government and/or the private sector
Establish and maintain professional relationships with government ministries and departments, UN agencies and NGOs, and actively participate in coordination meetings
Provide managerial and technical support throughout the implementation of the project, including management of sub-partners
Manage program budget and monitor program progress towards achieving results and anticipated outcomes
Ensure financial systems are in place to control funds, equipment, property & facilities; Submit accurate and timely reports as required
Ensure compliance with all relevant administrative and financial policies and procedures of the El Salvador country office, Save the Children and USAID
Establish, build and nurture effective teamwork both at El Salvador country office (CO) and district levels to create a cohesive workplace environment
Foster a learning environment among the program team members to encourage innovation and sharing of ideas; ensure appropriate training and capacity building activities for program staff members, to support high quality program implementation
Provide management leadership in staff supervision, performance appraisals, hiring and mentoring employees to ensure quality and retention of core program staff. Develop and update the organogram for effective management and supervision
Support the development of strong M&E mechanisms and identify gaps through a robust monitoring process. Ensure that the program monitoring tools and system are in place to ensure high quality implementation

Required Background and Experience, Skills and Behaviors

Master’s degree in social sciences, public health, international development or administration is preferred
Minimum eight years of senior-level management experience designing, managing and implementing large and complex child protection programs
At least five years management experience and working/ living in a developing country, preferably in Central America

· Previous experience strengthening child protection systems at both national and sub-national levels, and linkages to legal and judicial structures

· Experience working in child protection, particularly serving children victims of trafficking, sexual abuse, displacement and/or violence preferred

Prior experience as Chief of Party or Deputy COP as well as knowledge of USG approaches and regulations is required
Knowledge and proven experience in setting strategy, staff oversight, program administration, contractual compliance, and financial management; ability to communicate strategy and vision to both partners and colleagues
Proven ability to ensure gender integration in project design, implementation and M&E strategy
Ability to navigate politically sensitive terrain and maintain constructive relationships with a diverse set of key stakeholders and host country government as well as with USAID/El Salvador.
Excellent oral and written communication skills; fluency in English and Spanish.
Familiarity with the political, social, and cultural context of El Salvador and the region is ideal
pioneering programs give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. Our advocacy efforts provide a voice for children who cannot speak for themselves. As the leading expert on children, we inspire and achieve lasting impact for millions of the world's most vulnerable girls and boys. By transforming children's lives now, we change the course of their future and ours.

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom Save the Children is in contact. As a humanitarian agency, Save the Children is obliged to create and maintain an environment that aims to prevent the sexual exploitation and abuse of children and promote the implementation of its child safeguarding policy. All representatives of Save the Children – employees, volunteers, interns, consultants, Board members and others who work with children on Save the Children’s behalf – are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation.

Save the Children provides an attractive benefits package including competitive salaries, a matching retirement plan, health and welfare benefits, life insurance, an employee assistance program, generous time off and much more. We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws.