Project Director (PD)

Project Director (PD), GOAL

GOAL is an Irish international humanitarian organisation founded in 1977 and currently operational in 15 countries working across the crisis to resilience trajectory. GOAL stands with local populations and actors to assist them to overcome crises and on the journey to longer-term solutions. For GOAL, crises are defined as when local systems are unable to respond or continue to function when confronted with shocks and stresses.

GOAL works to understand these shocks and stresses; including conflict, climate change, environmental degradation, rapid unplanned urbanisation, weak or unstable governance, inequality and forced displacement all of which interact and threaten the health, safety, and well-being of affected populations.

Description of the Role

The Project Director (PD) will be based in Venezuela or any country in the Latin American (LATAM) region and will provide overall technical leadership and operational oversight for a three-year program to support and strengthen the capacity of local NGOs to provide quality maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services and improve MNCH knowledge and practices, including in indigenous, mining and/or mining-affected communities.

The PD will serve as the primary liaison with and foster collaborative working relationships with key project stakeholders, GOAL partners, and the GOAL LATAM headquarters (HQ) based in Honduras. The PD will ensure the project team and partners operate with a single vision, applying effective strategic, technical, managerial, and operational leadership and planning.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic and Technical Leadership

• Provide overall management, strategic direction, and technical leadership to technical, program, finance, and operational teams to deliver on program deliverables, tasks, and responsibilities within budget and timeframe
• Represent the project in all technical, policy and programmatic fora at all levels (regional, national, and international)
• Serve as the project’s primary liaison with the donor, LATAM Regional Office and HQ, multilateral and NGO partners, and key health stakeholders
• Ensure high level of coordination and harmonization, as necessary, and nurture relationships with all key stakeholders, including partner organizations/at national and county level, on administrative, financial, and programmatic matters related to the project

Managerial Leadership

• Oversee the management of a project team based in Venezuela or working remotely from the LATAM region
• Manage the selection, onboarding, performance monitoring, relationship building, and capacity strengthening of local partners in Venezuela
• Lead preparation of annual work plans, project activity updates and other project- related communication and reporting materials

Operational Leadership

• Ensure regular reporting and timely submission of deliverables as required under the award
• Ensure compliance with policies and procedures, donor rules and regulations, and quality and progress standards by project staff and sub-awardees
• Ensure the development and adherence to policies and protocols to identify, manage, and mitigate risks, and to ensure the safety and security of staff and assets
• Ensure adherence to GOAL’s safeguarding and PSEA policies and ensure development and maintenance of safeguarding protocols
• Monitor annual workplans and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) plans to ensure that the activity is meeting goals and challenges are identified and addressed in a timely manner

Behaviours 

• Respectful of local sources of knowledge and with the recognition that Technical Advisors do not bring all the solutions to a problem.
• Skilled communicator and ability to work effectively across multiple cultures, including remotely.
• Act as a representative of GOAL and demonstrate the highest standards of behaviour towards children and vulnerable adults both in your private and professional lives.
• Demonstrate clear leadership in compliance with humanitarian principles

Requirements (Person Specification)

Essential

Education

• Advanced degree: Master's in public health or related field or MD

Experience

• At least 10 years of senior-level management experience working on internationally funded health projects
• Familiarity with national and key international mechanisms and regulations for the procurement of medical commodities and delivery of health services
• Demonstrated leadership qualities, depth, and breadth of technical, management, and evaluation expertise for complex programs in resource-constrained countries.
• Experience collaborating and coordinating with partner organizations and diverse stakeholder groups
• Demonstrated experience in developing and maintaining broad alliances and strong relationships with health stakeholders, including international donor agencies, international and local aid organizations, civil society, and local communities
• Must be comfortable in high-level representational role
• Proven ability to develop and communicate a common vision among diverse public and private partners and the ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams.
• Ability to diplomatically supervise staff and coordinate programs with partners from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences.

Knowledge/skills:

• Fluency in Spanish and English required - written and verbal
• Demonstrated knowledge of Venezuela’s health context and needs
• Knowledge or experience working with indigenous and mining communities
• Deep knowledge of the political, social, and economic context of Venezuela required.
• Expertise in provision of MNCH or other critical health services, ideally in under-resourced or fragile contexts
• Expertise or familiarity with Social Behaviour Change approaches to improve health knowledge and practices
• Excellent planning and prioritization skills as well as creative problem-solving and analytical skills
• Strong interpersonal, writing, and oral presentation skills.
• Knowledge and experience with international donor rules and regulations

Safeguarding

Children and vulnerable adults who come into contact with GOAL as a result of our activities must be safeguarded to the maximum possible extent from deliberate or inadvertent actions and failings that place them at risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, injury, and any other harm. One of the ways that GOAL shows this on-going commitment to safeguarding is to include rigorous background and reference checks in the selection process for all candidates.

Accountability within GOAL

Alongside our safeguarding policy, GOAL is an equal opportunities employer and has a set of integrity policies. Any candidate offered a job with GOAL will be expected to adhere to the following key areas of accountability:

• Comply with GOAL’s policies and procedures with respect to safeguarding, code of conduct, health and safety, confidentiality, do no harm principles and unacceptable behaviour protocols.
• Report any concerns about the welfare of a child or vulnerable adult or any wrongdoings within our programming area.
• Report any concerns about inappropriate behaviour of a GOAL staff or partner.

 General Terms and Conditions

This Job Description only serves as a guide for the position available. GOAL reserves the right to change this document.

GOAL has a Staff Code of Conduct and a Child Protection Policy, which have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants and children from exploitation. GOAL also has a confidentiality policy ensuring the non-disclosure of any information whatsoever relating to the practices and business of GOAL, acquired in the course of duty, to any other person or organisation without authority, except in the normal execution of duty. Any candidate offered a job with GOAL will be expected to adhere to these policies any job offer made is also subject to police clearance. GOAL is an equal opportunities employer.

This Job Description only serves as a guide for the position available. GOAL reserves the right to change this document. Any published closing dates are estimated.  Due to the nature of GOAL’s work we aim to fill vacancies as quickly as possible.  This means that we will close adverts as soon as we have found the right candidate, and this may be before the published closing date.  We would therefore advise interested applicants to submit an application as early as possible.