Project Lead

Options Consultancy Services Ltd London United Kingdom Business Development
Warning! Vacancy expired

Company Description

Options Consultancy Services Limited is a leading global health consultancy established in 1992 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Marie Stopes International. We manage health programmes that ensure vulnerable women and children can access the high quality health services they need. We work with partners to co-create and implement locally informed solutions to complex health problems. This includes governments, development partners, NGOs, civil society and health workers. Our programming is flexible, evidence-based and politically informed. This means we adapt to changing contexts, use data to inform our decisions and ensure our approach is appropriate. Our focus is always on building local skills and systems that last.

Position

Options is seeking an exceptional Project Lead to lead the delivery of DFID’s Technical Assistance to Strengthen Capabilities Project (TAN), worth up to £5.3 million and running from June 2020 until September 2021. This project will provide technical assistance (TA) to SUN (Scaling up Nutrition) Governments, the SUN Movement Secretariat, and DFID. The post holder will be accountable for the overall development and implementation of the programme, leading the consortium in effective, results-oriented execution of high-quality work on time and within budget.

The objective of this programme is to provide:

  • Technical assistance to Governments in the SUN Movement and to the SUN Movement Secretariat to catalyse country efforts to scale up nutrition impact (Component 1). This will predominantly be short-term TA to multiple countries, though there may be some instances of longer-term engagement.
  • Technical assistance to DFID to maximise the quality and effectiveness of its nutrition-related policy and programmes, to support evidence generation and lesson learning and to develop nutrition capacity (Component 2)

The Project Lead will have overall responsibility for management and quality assurance of the programme. Specifically, this will include managing TA requests, including ensuring appropriate expert/s are identified to carry out requests and provide quality assurance of work produced. Under Component 1 of the programme, the Project Lead will also be expected to work with the SUN Movement Secretariat to stimulate country-led demand for TA. 

The Project Lead will be responsible for managing the programme’s core team, in addition to an extended pool of expert consultants. The core team will include two Component Leads who will assume responsibility for the day-to-day engagement with the SUN Movement Secretariat and DFID, respectively, as well as a Programme Manager.

The post holder will also support cross learning across Options programmes, including building relations with current and potential clients, key government stakeholders, in-country partners, and representing the programme’s broader interests to leverage and develop new opportunities for programme growth and development.

Responsibilities will include:

  • Strategic leadership and technical expertise – Provide high-level technical expertise across the programme, ensure TA assignments are delivered with the best available international evidence and best practices in nutrition, ensure appropriate governance across the programme’s consortium members. 
  • Programme delivery, and oversight - oversee programme strategies, technical approaches, workplans, and budgets. Ensure the programme delivers against its theory of change and achieves its intended milestones.
  • Team management and leadership - managing the programme’s core team, and an extended pool of expert consultants. The core team will include two Component Leads and a Programme Manager.
  • Client, government and partner relations - be the primary liaison with the donor, represent the programme and ensure close collaboration with relevant local, national and international stakeholders active in global health security.
  • Implementing Partner management – provide oversight of implementing partners’ contribution to effective implementation, monitoring, and learning.

Requirements

  • A demonstrated ability to effectively manage and quality assure multi-disciplinary and cross-functional teams in complex programmes,
  • Demonstrated experience in managing rapid response demands for short-term TA. This should include managing internal systems for identifying and deploying TA rapidly and relationship management with donor and TA beneficiary.  
  • Language skills in Spanish and/or French is highly desirable.
  • Experience in fragile and conflict-affected states is desirable.
  • Excellent technical skills in managing technical assistance teams or programmes for nutrition.
  • Expertise in effectively delivering technical assistance to donors, country governments and multilateral agencies.
  • A strong willingness to collaborate with other stakeholders.
  • A proven track record in overseeing the measurement and communication of robust results and downstream impact beyond the immediate outputs of technical assistance.
  • Skills in ensuring strong and effective gender, disability and broader equity lenses in the delivery of technical assistance are desirable.
  • Experience of developing and implementing quality improvement processes to maximise quality of delivery.
  • Track record of working with the SUN Movement Secretariat and/or broader SUN Movement structures is desirable.
  • Clear understanding of donor priorities and ways of working, including bilateral donors.
  • Demonstrable experience in use of iterative and adaptive approaches to widen or narrow the scale and scope of technical assistance considering donor and Government priorities.

Other information

  • This project is currently in design and subject to securing donor funding - the precise details of timelines and tasks are subject to change prior to project start-up
  • Options is an equal opportunities employer
  • Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and post holders to share this commitment.
  • We seek people who are pro-choice, energetic and enthusiastic about Options’ vision.
  • Please note that this role will be subject to full pre-employment background checks including CRC,  identification check, employment references and right to work verification (where appropriate).
  • Overseas candidates require a valid UK work permit