Project Director

ABOUT ARK:

ARK is a social enterprise, empowering local communities through the provision of agile and sustainable interventions to create greater stability, opportunity, and hope for the future.

We believe that resilient communities are the foundation of local, national, regional and international development and stability – and ultimately a safer, peaceful and more prosperous world. At ARK, we have delivered research and programmatic interventions validating this approach in over twenty countries since 2008. As a social enterprise we work in partnership with communities, our donors, and other implementers to build local capacities, generate opportunity and bring about sustainable change.

PURPOSE OF POSITION:

The Project Director will be responsible for the delivery of a P/CVE project in northern Mozambique, overseeing all aspects of project management through each project phase and leading on coordination with the donor representatives based in Maputo.

The multi-year project will begin with a five-month inception phase to understand the drivers of extremist recruitment and to identify resilience factors in northern Mozambique, which will inform the design of interventions and detailed workplans for the implementation phase. The project will adopt an adaptive programming approach, requiring the development of robust frameworks for selecting activities and downstream partners and a comprehensive Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning approach to inform the donor of ‘what works’ in this space. The Project Director will be required to direct and oversee the various workplans and regularly brief the client and other stakeholders on project progress. They will be supported by an experienced team of staff and consultants based in northern Mozambique.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Lead the Project:

· Lead the planning and implementation of all project activities in collaboration with the project and operations team (Research, MEAL, Finance, Human Resources, Compliance and Logistics and Procurement), donor, and implementing partners to ensure activities are aligned with the project objectives. Provide continuous oversight of the project and identify need for adjustment and improvement of systems and processes to improve efficiency, optimise utilization of resources and improve quality of deliverables.

· Coordinate project team meetings with key internal stakeholders to review project activities and agree upcoming deliverables with all project team members.

· Oversee the project Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning plan, Results Framework and Logical Framework with the project’s Monitoring and Evaluation staff.

· Regularly brief the client on project progress, upcoming workplans, and lessons learned. Oversee the delivery of all contracted client reporting deliverables including monthly, quarterly, analytical and closedown reporting.

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Essential

· 10 years+ professional experience in a project management role for government agencies, international development organisations, the armed forces or INGOs on thematically and geographically relevant projects.

· Bachelors degree in a relevant field such as international development, international relations, area studies, political science, sociology, public administration, communications and media studies.

· Excellent team management skills.

· Ability to work under pressure, be a self-starter, team builder, innovative and demonstrate the capacity for maintaining high professional standards

· Full professional fluency in English.

· Proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite.

Desirable

· Experience managing P/CVE projects in Mozambique

· Relevant project management qualification such as PMD Pro, PMP or PRINCE 2.

· Postgraduate degree in a relevant field such as international development, international relations, areas studies, political science, sociology, public administration, communications and media studies.

· Experience of MEAL systems and processes in a development project environment.

· Familiarity with donor compliance and regulations.

· Additional languages relevant to the project, including Portuguese.

MORE ABOUT OUR COMPANY:

What Makes Us Different

We pride ourselves on being the first people able to access and operate in challenging fragile and conflict-affected environments. We are expeditionary by design and our systems and structures enable flexible and agile responses while ensuring safe, effective and compliant delivery.

Working with and through teams drawn from the communities in which we operate enables us to deliver impactful interventions built on intimate local understanding. In collaboration with our global network of international and local experts, we integrate nuanced understanding of the challenges we aim to solve with best practice and field-leading innovation to deliver programming that meets short-term stabilisation objectives and builds the evidence base and knowledge needed to lay the groundwork for long-term peacebuilding and development programming.

What We Do

We enjoy sectoral experience in civil society development, good governance, protection and human rights, preventing and countering violent extremism, refugees and migration, stabilisation, gender, security and justice, as well as cross-cutting experience in programme design and learning, organisational development and management, research and analysis, needs assessments, monitoring and evaluation, communications and capacity building.

Our People

Today, our team covers a diverse range of professional backgrounds; from diplomacy, humanitarian, development and the military, to the UN, civil society groups, multilateral organisations, journalism and the private sector.

They bring sectoral expertise in civil society development, good governance, protection and human rights, refugees and migration, gender and security and justice, as well as practical experience in programme design and learning, organisational development and management, research and analysis, needs assessments, monitoring and evaluation, communications and capacity building. The multi-disciplinary and multi-national nature of our team means the research we undertake and the programmes we deliver are grounded in empirical need and deliver measurable and sustainable impact.

ARK Group is an equal opportunity employer. We actively seek a diverse applicant pool and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. ARK Group does not discriminate on the basis of ability, age, gender identity and expression, national origin, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. We welcome all kinds of diversity. ARK Group places human dignity at the centre of its development and stabilisation work and is thus committed to the protection from sexual exploitation and abuse of children and adults. All ARK Group employees and related-personnel are expected to share this commitment, and only those who also uphold these values will be recruited as part of our team. This vacancy is therefore subject to a range of due diligence checks.