Job: Country Engagement Manager, West Africa

Are you looking for a challenging role where you can make a real impact and improve the lives of Children in West Africa? Then you might be right for our new Country Engagement Manager role. 

MANAGE RELATIONS WITH COUNTRY OFFICES AND ENSURE QUALITY 
We are looking for a Country Engagement Manager (CEM) for the West and Central Africa Region, with particular emphasis on the Sahel.  You will be joining the Africa Unit, where you will be supporting (and supported by) our Senior Country Engagement Manager working on the West and Central Africa portfolio. You will have the opportunity to influence the strategy of the Africa Unit, and the International Department. Our CEMs manage Save the Children Denmark’s (SCD) relations with Country Offices and ensure quality assurance and control of funding proposals and donor reports, hence mitigating programming, and financial risks.  The CEMs develop and safeguard SCDs strong and positive portfolio management relations with Country Offices in the assigned region and with donors of SCD-funded awards.

There are countless opportunities for networking and development via close collaboration and sparring with colleagues in the same regional team, as well as a Compliance Officer, SCEMs of other regional teams and colleagues from other sections such as “Project Finance,” “Education in Emergencies,” “Global Unit (Climate, Gender, Localisation)” and “Evidence & Learning.”  Externally you will work with Institutional Donors who fund SCD activities, as well as partner NGOs.

Moreover, you will become part of an amazing team with equal deep passion for both the important work and for ensuring that going to work offers growth, autonomy, impact and having fun.
 
KEY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 
In short, the Country Engagement Manager (CEM) serves as the key focal point on day-to-day programmatic and donor contract management between Save the Children Denmark (SCD) and selected Country Offices and projects in West Africa. The CEM ensures close coordination and monitoring of new project design processes, programme implementation, compliance and in reporting both in French and English. 

More specifically, the CEM will be responsible for the following:

Management of assigned country programs

• Collaborating with COs on all aspects of project cycle management.
• Monitoring progress towards achieving results.
• Capturing and sharing key lessons from country and regional programming in relation to assigned programmes and projects.
• Ensuring contract compliance for the grant throughout reporting cycles and closeout.
• Performing Quality Assurance/Quality Control on COs’ funding proposals, reports, modification requests, and other significant correspondence with donors.
• Keeping track of in-house co-financing and cost-sharing decisions.
• Informing and advising COs on relevant developments at SCD’s Copenhagen Office.
• Bringing questions of programmatic risks to the attention of the Senior Country Engagement Manager and Head of Region, Africa.

Management of donor relations for SCD-funded grants in COs, including:

• Writing high-quality funding proposals (following best practices in PCM and intervention logic formulations).
• Submitting high-quality funding proposals to institutional donors, especially Danida, the EU and Education Cannot Wait, but also private corporations and foundations for co-financing.
• Coordinate and develop a combined Communications and Visibility Plan.

The CEM has no direct line management responsibility but advises the Country Offices and project teams assigned.
 
YOUR PROFESSIONAL & PERSONAL PROFILE
The relevant candidate has a Master level university education in a relevant area of study.  In addition, we expect that you have the following experience and competencies: 

• International Project Cycle Management experience, with documented successes writing proposals and managing projects and donor contracts. Concrete, first-hand and significant experience with Danida and the EU is desirable.
• Experience working with aid programming in at least one (preferably more) of the following areas: Education (including Education in Emergencies), Child Protection, Local Partnerships and regarding contextual analysis of the conditions for children and youth preferably in West and Central Africa.
• Financial literacy: Strong ability to develop, read, understand and revise budgets and financial accounts.
• Superior English and French writing skills: Ability to independently present different thematic theories of change.
• Good analytical skills: Ability to develop intervention logics on the basis of context analysis and to design projects and write convincing funding proposals.
• Proven success performing Quality Assurance/Quality Control on funding proposals, reports, modification requests, and other significant correspondence with donors.
• Some operational field experience and experience travelling to COs and/or project implementation sites (1-2 years as a minimum).
• Understanding of the specific needs and rights of children in fragile and development settings.
• Demonstrated experience successfully applying above-listed skills for more than three years.

CONDITIONS AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS
You will be employed according to the terms and conditions of the local Collective Agreement between Red Barnet (Save the Children Denmark) and the relevant unions. The position is an AC classification without specified working hours per week. We intend that everyone normally works 37 hours per week. 

There will be travel of up to 8 weeks annually, in the assigned region. 

Deadline for applications is October 11 COB. However, we expect to begin conducting interviews from the week of 18th of September. All candidates are therefore encouraged to apply as early as possible.   

CONTACT
For further information, please contact HR Partner, Nikolaj Rønde Holm at [email protected]

Department: Africa team

Application due: 10/11/2023

Work place: København

Homepage: https://redbarnet.dk/

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