Summary
Date Posted: Friday, May 12, 2023 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Founded in 1937, Plan International, Inc. (“PII”) is a development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We strive for a just world, working together with children, young people, our supporters, and partners in both humanitarian and development settings.
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian (dual mandate) non-profit organisation that believes in the power and potential of every child, but knows this is often supressed by poverty, violence, exclusion, disasters and discrimination.
Working together with children, girls, young people, supporters, and partners, Plan International strives for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenge’s girls and vulnerable children face. Plan International has been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years and now active in more than 70 countries, delivering humanitarian assistance and driving changes in practice and policy at local, national, and global levels using our reach, experience, and knowledge.

Our global strategy “All girls standing strong creating global change” has a specific focus on girls, as they are often the most marginalised and most often left behind. We have committed ourselves to the ambitious target of reaching 200 million girls over 5 years, to ensure they can learn, lead, decide and thrive. This is our contribution to reaching the sustainable development goals, and in particular the goals on gender equality in both humanitarian and development settings. Our organisation is transforming itself to meet the enormous challenge everywhere we work. We need bold, forward-thinking, and innovative individuals to lead our country operations, driving change and delivering results that will allow us to reach our target of 200 million girls.

Plan International commenced operations in Uganda in 1992 and since has been supporting children, especially the most marginalised, to realise their full potential. To address persistent and often gendered inequalities in Uganda, Plan International’s Country Strategy goal is to make significant contributions so that:
“Children and youth, especially girls, develop their full potential in communities that promote their rights and gender equality.”
The country programme will achieve this with two integrated programs that aim to contribute to gender transformation while building resilience of individuals, communities, and institutions:

Learn:
Enables quality learning experiences for children from early childhood to working age while building their skills for life and work in both in and out of school settings.

Decide:
Promotes the protection of girls from Child Early and Forced marriage, and unplanned, undesired, or forced pregnancy and sexual violence, while enabling access and use of Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Sexual and Gender Based Violence services.

Plan Uganda’s family and community centred work is sustained by an ambitious influencing agenda which advocates, together with girls’ activists and the Ugandan feminist movement, for Better early childcare, safer and more gender responsive schools, social protection for poor children and youth and their families; as well as Legal frameworks and education policies that protect and promote girls’ rights to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health, support them to access quality SRHR services and information, and to be protected from early pregnancy and SGBV. Plan Uganda’s operational goals include living our organizational values and feminist leadership principles better, improving our operational effectiveness and efficiency, becoming more climate-aware and reducing our environmental footprint.

At present Plan Uganda implements a portfolio of approximately 16 million Euros every year of which over 80% is from grants from both bilateral and multilateral donors e.g. The Lego Foundation, Educate a Child Fund, the Dutch, Norwegian, Finish, Belgium, Swedish, Korean and Danish Governments, Education Cannot Wait etc. and around 20% from sponsorship funding.
Plan International Uganda currently has programme operations in four regions of the country with six field or satellite offices including a significant refugee response programme for the South Sudanese refugees.
‘PI Uganda currently employ approximately 259 staff. It has a Country Leadership Team comprising of the CD and five heads of departments. The Country Office also has a country management team of middle level managers created to promote inclusive decision making and mutual accountability’.

Dimensions Of The Role
Plan International Uganda has recently gone through a transformational change and strategy development process. The Country Director will lead Plan International Uganda (PIU) to achieve its bold strategic ambition, ensuring that:
• Our development and humanitarian programmes are well funded and growing and our work is recognized locally and internationally and remains relevant to the needs of girls and vulnerable children in Uganda.
• Our team is motivated, skilled, and relevant and our organisation is effective and efficient, compliant with the policies, standards and expectations of PII. This includes effective and up to date risk management relevant to a complex operating and influencing/advocacy environment in Uganda. Equally, you will ensure the country-operating model is fit for
• purpose, we have the right funding mix to achieve our ambition, key business processes are in place and organisational values are embedded in everything we do.
• Our work is guided by effective operations, strong financial management and reporting of budgets and performance of work plans to create a positive change for children, youth, and their communities.
• Safeguarding of all programme participants and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in our programmes.
• Our organisation is fully represented and visible in government, UN and NGO coordination systems including variety of working groups for development and refugee context.

As a Country Director, you will have a strong background in business development including with private foundations and UN donors and good programming and influencing experience to sustain the excellent growth dynamics of the programme and advance public policy in favour of girls.
You will have wide experience in humanitarian response – being able to respond rapidly to emergencies. You will well be versed in disaster risk reduction, climate change programming and the nexus approach.
You will drive Plan International’s programme, influencing and advocacy work, setting the overall direction, leading a high performing team, ensuring accountability for meeting demanding targets and maintaining alignment with the global strategy in order to deliver positive change for children and girls in Uganda.
You will be a values-based and feminist leader, deeply comfortable with leading and sustaining transformative change within the organisation, but also have a demonstrable commitment to gender equality and represent Plan International to the highest levels of government, UN, donors, civil society, the media, and international media.
You will lead by example in ensuring gender equality is evident in everything we do from staffing to programming and influencing, to ways of working. You will work with your team to bring about the right culture that ensures we are champions for girls and gender equality.
As a member of Middle East, East and Southern Africa (MEESA) Regional Leadership Team, you will have shared accountability, with other Country Directors, Regional Director and Directors of Sub regions, to contribute to the overall learning and strategic direction of Plan International in the region with a total budget of approximately €170 million and a staff complement of over 2800 people.

Accountabilities
Plan International’s work in Uganda will be focused on gender transformation and will be relevant to the needs of the most vulnerable children, particularly girls
• Embed the newly developed strategy – ensuring our programme and influence approach is effectively utilised and that we are achieving impact at scale by linking grassroots action to national level influencing
• Work with and lead the country leadership team to ensure that Plan International Uganda is ready to respond to emergencies – predictable and sudden onset – in a timely and professional manner and show consideration for gender equality. Work with the team to ensure that preparedness analysis, risk reduction and resilience building is part of all our programme and influencing work in country.
• The location of programme work is regularly reviewed to ensure alignment of sponsorship and grant funding, that existing sponsorship communities receive regular benefits as per the Sponsorship Commitments and that phase in and out of communities are managed appropriately.
• Country leadership and staff are well aware of the country security situation and protocols, and Standard Operating Procedures are developed and implemented giving due consideration to security and safety of staff and visitors.

Plan International’s work will be delivered by a motivated and efficient team, skilled in their area of expertise and compliant with the expectation Plan International has of all staff
• The Country Office meets performance against organisations management standards at all times.
• Develop and manage a high performing team that delivers excellent technical work, using child-centred, participatory and gender-sensitive approaches in line with the Global and Country Strategy
• Manage individuals across the team to ensure full development of potential through induction, mentoring/ coaching, and performance management, ensuring compliance in all core policy and business areas, including Gender and Child protection
• Ensure staff numbers and structures are designed and kept at a level that is efficient and cost effective, in line with the available country budget
• Manage work environments to reduce risk from health and safety and security hazards
• Generate solutions for identifying and supporting high performing staff to deliver country objectives.
• Ensure that Plan’s portfolio of work is registered with the relevant authorities and compliant with local law, including having the relevant MoUs with concerned ministries that give due recognition to Plan International and its work.
o Plan International’s work will be guided by accurate and timely work plans and budgets that can be used to create impact and efficiency
• Deliver accurate and timely Annual Plans and Budgets
• Develop work plans from Country Strategy documents, ensuring the context and environment at any point in time is considered
• Create realistic phased budgets for all programme and influence work and projects
• Ensure efficient and fully compliant financial management in the allocation/budgeting, disbursement and accounting for all resources
• Ensure proper use of corporate systems in country as well as data quality to enable reporting and analysis
• Deliver grant and sponsorship work on time, scope and budget with clear measurable impact on children and in full compliance with donor requirements and Plan International’s policies and procedures ensuring that effective monitoring and evaluation systems are in place to measure outcomes and stimulate learning within and beyond the organization.

Plan International’s work will be well funded ensuring sustainability as required
• Develop and Implement an effective Resource Mobilisation strategy that enables Plan International to maximise its value in country, meet its strategic ambition and has the greatest impact for children.
• Represent Plan International to donor agencies locally and track potential funding sources to ensure timely knowledge of funding opportunities in a coordinated manner
• Explore local funding opportunities and support proposal development in partnership with Plan International’s National Organisations and in line with the agreed strategy.
• Ensure sound proposal development and budgeting, maximising opportunities to cost recover
o Plan International’s work will aim at influencing key decisions of local, national and international institutions to advance the rights of children, particularly girls
• Develop, implement and maintain strategies, capabilities and structures to maximize the impact of Plan International’s influencing work on key decisions with respect to gender equality and girl’s rights in an increasingly constrained civil society space.
• Lead representation of Plan International’s work and positions on priority issues to all key stakeholders within the country, including media and the highest levels of government.
• Initiate and engage in extensive collaboration with local and central authorities, INGOs, national NGOs and local communities.
• Ensure timely and engaging external communications that keeps Plan International at the forefront of the issues affecting children and equality for girls.

As Country Director you will work collaboratively across Regional Hubs and National Organisations as required:
• Work with regional management and other country offices to identify and implement options for shared services that contribute to the efficiency and/ or impact of Plan International’s work in country and within the region – these can be for programmatic, influencing or operational activities in both development and humanitarian contexts
• Enable the sharing of lessons, programme models, good practices, etc. within the region and wider organisation for organisational learning
• Be an active contributor and volunteer to participate in global or regional initiatives where you believe your experience can add value or where your country can benefit from and contribute to such work.

Safeguarding and Gender Equality & Inclusion
Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

Key Relationships
Internal:
• Country Leadership Team
• Country Management Team
• Staff within the country office and all Programme Areas
• Director of the Sub Region – line manager
• Regional Office Management Team members
• Other Country Directors, especially those in the region.
• Plan International National Organisations
• Functional departments in Global Hub.

External:
• National and local authorities (national government, municipalities, etc.)
• Community leaders in the areas of Plan International’s operations
• Partners, civil society members and alliances
• Media at local and national level
• Grants donors, National Organisations, Corporates, and National Institutions
• Other INGO leaders and networks.
• Relevant UN cluster group, including UN and donor representatives
• Relevant university, research and influencing partners in country

Knowledge, Skills And Competencies
Knowledge and skills
• Master’s Degree in development studies (or equivalent) in social sciences, business administration or related field; or equivalent experience.
• Cultural understanding and proven significant experience of exercising leadership functions with increasing responsibility in an international environment related to development or with diverse populations, cultures, and social or economic contexts.
• Proven experience of exercising leadership functions with increasing responsibility in an international environment related to development and humanitarian action.
• Proven understanding of “child rights” and “gender in development and humanitarian contexts” concepts and the promotion of girls’ rights in the context of relevant International Conventions (Convention of the Rights of the Child, Convention for the Eradication of Discrimination against Women) and the Global Goals (SDGs).
• Knowledge of the geopolitical factors affecting child-poverty in the country and the political, social and environmental opportunities for change is an advantage
• Experience and understanding of the concepts of sustainable community development and participatory approaches and practice in development interventions.
• Knowledge of humanitarian response and in particular responding to large refugee populations in a protracted crisis environment to bring about durable solutions.
• Knowledge of the requirements of donor compliance and financial management
• Knowledge of programming in challenging environments with good understanding and appreciation of the historical, security context, political environment, economic, social/religious and humanitarian context in Uganda or a comparable environment.
• Proven skills in the development and management of effective and motivated teams, including distance management.
• Excellent English and written and verbal communication skills.
• Proven networking and negotiation skills with governmental and non-governmental actors
• Strong diplomatic and communication skills, including through mass-media in order to influence decision-makers and key stakeholders.

Strategic Leadership Competencies
• Drive progress in the area of responsibility by setting and communicating an ambitious but realistic strategy, aligned with Plan International's short and longer-term priorities and appropriately resourced.
• Use own behaviour to role model the culture change we need, upholding our values and accelerating progress towards gender equality inside Plan International, with our partners and in wider society.
• Ensure effective delivery by leading through others, working closely with our support functions, keeping abreast of what is going on in the own business unit or function and responding quickly if problems arise.
• Make timely decisions, even in uncertainty and when information is imperfect. Manage opportunities and risks and adjust actions as situations unfold and we learn more.
• Grow the professional and leadership capabilities we will need in future by developing the skills and potential of our workforce and coach teams to act in turn as developers of other people.
• Communicate clearly and persuasively with large and diverse groups of people, giving them the understanding and motivation to succeed and involving all staff in reflection, innovation and improvement.
• Build strategic relationships with key leaders, experts and stakeholders across the Plan International federation and externally, navigating political and power interests and negotiating positive outcomes.

Business and management competencies:
• Organisational understanding - Purpose, priorities, values and approaches
• Business processes, policies, practices and standards
• Managing resources and finance
• Formal people management
• Managing risk
• Managing technology and digital working
• Project management

Terms And Conditions
The salary is commensurate with the seniority of the appointment. Plan International will be happy to disclose the salary range and applicable benefits to applicants as part of this process.

Physical Environment And Demands
Based in the country office located in Kampala with extensive local and some international travel ( estimated 20%). Ability to travel frequently to deep field areas

Level Of Contact With Children
Mid contact: Occasional interaction with children

Job Experience: No Requirements

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months:

Level of Education: Postgraduate Degree

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