IFAD Country Programme Manager

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision and strategic, policy and management guidance of the divisional Director NEN, the Country Programme Manager will be responsible for managing the country programme(s) as assigned by the Director.  Specifically, the incumbent will be required to:

• 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.
• Provide coaching and guidance to staff under her/his supervision.
• Administer the related budget for cost-effectiveness
• Perform any other duties as assigned by the Director

At P-5 grade, and in addition to the above, the incumbent is expected to:

• 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.
• 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 rural development, agriculture, economics, public policy, social sciences 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, international NGOs, rural development/financial institutions, 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.
• Proven experience in managing teams and supervising and guiding staff
• Field experience in developing countries is required.

Technical/functional competencies:

• 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 results based teams with a capacity to deliver high quality products within tight deadlines 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.
• Analytical skills: you will have analytical ability and thorough understanding of socio-economic issues as well as the capacity to lead specific analytical work.

 Other information

Please note that we are recruiting 1 position at grade P-5 and 1 position at grade P4.

Applicants should note that IFAD staff members are international civil servants subject to the authority of the President of IFAD, and they may be assigned by him/her to any of the activities of IFAD, including field assignments and/or rotation within IFAD.

IFAD reserves the right to appoint a candidate at the appropriate grade commensurate with experience and knowledge.

Interested candidates are requested to apply by completing IFAD’s Personal History Form (PHF) in English. A separate CV may be attached if you so desire, only as a supplement and not a substitute to the PHF. THE APPLICATION SHOULD BE MADE THROUGH THE ONLINE SYSTEM ONLY at this link.

https://job.ifad.org/index.html?Page=HRS_CE_JOB_DTL&Action=A&SiteId=1000&JobOpeningId=1192

In the interest of making most cost effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to applicants who are short-listed for interview. Candidates who do not receive any feedback within three months should consider their application unsuccessful.

Candidates may be required to take a written test and to deliver a presentation as well as participate in interviews.

Organization Description

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an International Financial Institution and a Specialized United Nations Agency whose mission is to enable poor rural people to overcome poverty. IFAD's headquarters is in Rome, Italy, and is present in more than 90 countries to develop and finance programmes and projects aimed at increasing agricultural productivity and incomes.

The Programme Management Department (PMD) is responsible for the overall lending programme of the Fund, and is composed of five (5) regional divisions, a Policy and Technical Advisory Division and an Environment and Climate Division.  The Near East, North Africa and Europe Division (NEN) handles the lending programme and strategic and policy dimension of this region.

Apply by 07 August 2013