Job description: Director of Pacific Programmes, Pacific Region
Job Title: Director of Pacific Programmes
Location: Melbourne or Port Moresby, with frequent travel
Contract: Permanent
Reporting to: South East Asia and the Pacific Department Director
Responsible for: Directing Conciliation Resources’ programmes in the Republic of Fiji, the Solomons Islands and Papua New Guinea
Conciliation Resources
Conciliation Resources is an independent international organisation working with people in conflict to prevent violence, resolve conflicts and promote peaceful societies. We believe that building sustainable peace takes time. We provide practical support to help people affected by violent conflict achieve lasting peace. We draw on our shared experiences to improve peacebuilding policies and practice worldwide. We have worked in the South East Asia and the Pacific (SEAP) regions since 1994 and currently work in: the Republic of Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.
Our work seeks to contribute to building more peaceful societies through enhanced analysis and comparative knowledge and through supporting and implementing targeted and adaptive peacebuilding and mediation support programmes. We seek to contribute to change through long-term partnerships; and enhance context-specific peacebuilding and mediation practice through comparative learning.
Within the Pacific region Conciliation Resources supports community led peacebuilding initiatives, working with numerous civil society partners, including in Fiji, Solomon Islands and PNG Highlands and Bougainville, PNG. The programme also supports processes of political dialogue and mediation. Conflict challenges the programme is currently working on include: dealing with past legacies of conflict; the intersection between governance and peace; masculinity, youth and violence; and climate change and conflict.
Job Purpose
The Director of Pacific Programmes leads Conciliation Resources’ peacebuilding and mediation support work in the Pacific region. They are responsible for developing and managing multiple peacebuilding and mediation support teams - the PNG team, with programmes in Bougainville and the PNG Highlands; The Fiji and Solomon Islands team, including developing programmes related to climate change and conflict. This position will provide strategic leadership and operational management to the whole Pacific team, with direct line management of Project Managers.
The postholder is responsible for setting and overseeing programme budgets, and for ensuring the integrity and credibility of Conciliation Resources’ reputation in the Pacific region. They lead the team’s efforts in developing new programmes, and working to secure new funding for our work. The Director of Pacific Programmes is also a member of Conciliation Resources’ Senior Leadership Team, working with Conciliation Resources’ senior leaders around the world.
Specific responsibilities and tasks
a. Strategic and operational planning
Set the Pacific programme’s overall strategic direction in consultation with the PNG team, and lead the Pacific team in its annual financial and programmatic design and planning, including coordinating partner and other external input.
Lead in developing stand-alone research and advocacy projects for the Pacific Programme.
Contribute to the development of organisation-wide strategy, policy and cross-organisational learning.
Be part of the South East Asia and the Pacific Leadership team, contributing to department decision-making in areas such as operational policies, department financial management and department strategic direction.
Play an active role as part of the Conciliation Resources Senior Leadership Team, participating in processes regarding the strategic and organisational development of Conciliation Resources Australia. Lead the Pacific team’s contribution to organisational policy development and comparative learning processes.
b. Programme management and partner support
Develop, lead, support and oversee the work of the multiple peacebuilding teams and consultants, including in developing and implementing programme plans at all stages (design, costing, implementation, reviewing and reporting).
Provide oversight, support and advice to the building of strong relationships between the Pacific peacebuilding teams and partner organisations. Ensuring that they are working towards mutually agreed outcomes, while implementing projects in compliance with contractual criteria agreed with donors.
Lead on monitoring the delivery of the Pacific programme, including reporting and communications obligations to donors, partners and Conciliation Resources’ Executive Management and Board.
Lead the team’s exploration of opportunities for programme development, new partnerships and innovative approaches to conflict transformation, including developing project concepts. Ensure there is appropriate consultation with partner organisations and other interlocutors on the development of initiatives.
Support the programme by frequent travel including, when necessary, to areas experiencing or have experienced violent conflict.
Lead on monitoring the delivery of the Pacific programme, including regular narrative and financial reports on activities and impact to donors, partners and CR’s Executive Management Team and Board.
Responsible for the safety of all Pacific team staff, including leading in implementing and enforcing safety processes and procedures, maintaining a safety culture, and ensuring that context safety analysis is complete and current. Leading in approving Pacific staff travel, and monitoring staff travel.
Responsible for developing and maintaining a safeguarding culture within the Pacific team, ensuring that any incidents are reported appropriately and safeguarding related work is prioritised.
Comply with internal information management systems, including entering data on Podio (MEL system) to ensure we are monitoring our activity and impact. Handle information in line with Conciliation Resources' Data Protection and Privacy Policy and any other relevant policies.
c. Research, learning and policy
Develop and direct research and policy advocacy projects related to Conciliation Resources Pacific programmes, ensuring that SEAP Policy and Learning work is aligned and where needed integrated into the work of the Research Accord and Policy team in CRUK (London).
Ensure that each of the Pacific Peacebuilding teams sustain an independent analysis of conflicts and peace processes in the Pacific, and keep informed of political, social, economic and security developments within the region and affecting the region.
Ensure that the Pacific teams are developing and integrating programme learning, through programme reviews, regular monitoring and evaluation, and conflict and gender-sensitive analysis, while ensuring that these learnings feed into broader Conciliation Resources peacebuilding and conflict analysis, and organisation policies.
d. Representation and networking
Represent the Pacific programme, and Conciliation Resources, in public forums, consultative fora or networks, and with government ministries, embassies, donors, the media, partners, and other interested and relevant organisations and individuals, advancing Conciliation Resources’ policy agendas and building its credibility.
Lead in the development of representation and networking skills with the Pacific team, and support Pacific Peacebuilding teams in their efforts in relation to representation and networking.
Actively develop and maintain relationships and networks with individuals and organisations in the strategic interest of the Pacific programme, and build and maintain collaborative partnerships and donor relationships.
Oversee the delivery of all central communications deriving from the programme (including written publications, multimedia material, website and intranet entries and other public resources) and ensure that the programme’s public outputs are developed through appropriate interface with other parts of Conciliation Resources.
e. Financial management and fundraising
Set and manage the annual budget for the Pacific programme budget, including each of the Pacific Peacebuilding team’s budgets. Lead and monitor quarterly re-forecasts of the team’s budget, reporting on any arising issues to the Department Director.
Lead on fundraising for the Pacific Programme, including developing an overarching fundraising strategy and approach. Within this strategy, lead in building strategic relationships with key donors (government and philanthropy), while ensuring each Pacific peacebuilding team builds and maintains strategic donor relations as required for each programme.
Oversee the financial management of grants working closely with the Conciliation Resources Australia finance team in this oversight role and preparation for audits.
Ensure that appropriate project documentation, systems and processes in relation to the programme are in place, and ensure that the programme complies with and participates in maintaining Conciliation Resources’ administrative and financial systems and policies.
f. Personnel management
Provide leadership to all members of the Pacific team, ensuring that there is an accessible and strong strategic vision for the team. Ensure that appraisal processes, and team development and individual career development processes and opportunities are pursued.
Oversee workload analysis and management processes, and lead on ensuring the wellbeing and morale of the Pacific team.
Line manage a number of Project and Programme Managers, and a Policy and Learning Manager, and where necessary programme consultants. Providing operational management, ensuring professional development and performance management, including through weekly/fortnightly meetings and quarterly and annual appraisals.
Ensure they, all staff and consultants adhere to Conciliation Resources’ security and safeguarding policies and guidelines when working and travelling to the Pacific. Be mindful of and plan around the security implications for partners of engaging with Conciliation Resources.
g. Other
Share in collegial duties as a senior staff member of the CR SEAP department and CR as a whole and performing other duties and tasks consistent with the skills and expertise of the post-holder as required on an ad hoc basis, including participating in ad hoc working groups.
Apply our core values to all work and develop them within the organisation, including through signing and adhering to Conciliation Resources’ Code of Conduct.
Person specification
Essential knowledge, skills and experience
- Significant (min 6-8 years) project management experience, designing and implementing conflict resolution and peacebuilding interventions, including programme design, budget development, programme implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
- Practical and conceptual knowledge of peacebuilding and conflict transformation processes, of processes of social and political change and of supporting the development of local capacities for peacebuilding.
- Significant (min 4 years) senior team management experience, including line managing project / programme managers and their teams, and overseeing team performance management and professional development.
- Experience of working with local and national partners in an accompaniment role, including capacity enhancement and due diligence.
- Significant financial management, including experience preparing and managing annual budgets of at least AUD1.5mil, monitoring and forecasting spend, and overseeing internal and external financial reporting.
- Experience of managing research projects.
- Experience of leading government or other donor-funded programmes, including donor relationship management, programme development and reporting.
- Significant experience of securing funding for new work, including concept development, building donor relationships and writing proposals and budgets.
- Understanding of anti-racist and decolonisation approaches to peacebuilding practice, team management and programme management.
- Excellent communication skills, to communicate complex issues effectively and adjust communication style to varying circumstances, including ability to listen actively to people from varying backgrounds and with a range of political, cultural, gender and sexual identities and value orientations, combined with an ability to engage with them clearly and sensitively.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
- Experience implementing projects in difficult social and political situations or conflict contexts, and experience of hostile environment training or willingness to undertake hostile environment training.
- Graduate level study or equivalent by experience in conflict resolution, international relations, development studies, international humanitarian law, gender, peace and security or other related fields.
- Excellent organisational and coordination skills, including the ability to think and plan strategically while also retaining close attention to detail, to manage and prioritise a diverse and demanding workload, to convene and run efficient meetings and meet deadlines.
- Ability to navigate political sensitivities and awareness of the complexity of working in conflict-affected situations, including appreciation of confidentiality and handling sensitive information with due care.
- Willingness and ability to work irregular hours on occasions and to undertake frequent international travel in sometimes uncomfortable or insecure conditions.
- Excellent word processing, spreadsheet, database and email software skills.
Desirable knowledge, skills and experience
- Experience facilitating workshops and dialogue processes.
- Experience developing and managing advocacy strategies and engagement with policymakers.
- Experience of and managing advocacy projects.
- Experience of producing high-quality written work.
- Experience of designing, organising and managing research and advocacy events.
- Extensive knowledge of the social and political landscape in the Pacific and wider region, and its conflicts.
- Experience living and working in the Pacific region.
To Apply
Please do not send your CV or Resume at this stage.
Please go to https://www.c-r.org/jobs and download the Application form and Application Statement and submit them via email to aurecruitment@c-r.org before the closing date.
If you have any further questions on the positions please email Conciliation Resources Australia via aurecruitment@c-r.org