With over 70 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.
Come join our 33,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!
Employee Contract Type:Local – Fixed Term Employee (Fixed Term)
Job Description:
The Technical Excellence Team exists to drive WV’s technical brand in programming, influencing and resourcing for sustainable impact. The purpose of this role is to lead the Regional Technical Excellence Team to ensure integrated resource development, technical support, high quality program design and consistent technical implementation of World Vision programs in the Southern Africa Region (SAR) creating impact for the children and adults in the communities where World Vision operates. Supporting Field Offices (FOs) to have technical capability is crucial for our future impact, and using SAR’s technical excellence, this role will enable us to position ourselves with external audiences based on our technical excellence across SAR’s core technical sectors; HIV, Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI), Health, Environmental Sustainability and Climate Action (ESCA), Child Protection, Livelihoods, Faith and Development (F&D), WASH; achieved through integration between funding streams Humanitarian/Disaster Management, Gifts in Kind, Sponsorship and Grants. The role will work together with Field Offices (FOs), Support Offices (SOs) and World Vision International teams.
This role can work from any location within SAR where World Vision is registered, with a preference for Angola or Mozambique.
LEADERSHIP AND VISION
- Provide exceptional strategic leadership, direction and management for SAR’S Technical Excellence team focusing on best-in-class program design and technical implementation.
- Lead and drive integration of funding across private and public revenue streams, ensuring all funding streams (Grants, PNS, Sponsorship, GIK) contribute to strategic objectives.
- Ensure strong collaboration, integration, and partnership between technical leads, funding leads, and cross-functionally with SAR’s Program Quality and Impact team and other SAR Teams.
- Provide vision for technical branding, funding diversification, and external engagement across the region.
- Engage in strategic leadership decisions aimed at aligning SAR’s work with the global, Our Promise Strategy, aimed at ensuring children embrace life in all its fullness.
- Maintain strong relationships with Global Center technical leads, ensuring SAR and Field Offices are up to date with the latest WVI guidance.
- Support the achievement of SARO’s vision for seamless integration and collaboration between our regional teams. Empower your team to work in a silo-free environment that enables cross-functional communication and collaboration, to create a deeper understanding of the challenges to implementation and changes in the process required to maximize income, impact, and influence opportunities, for WV in the future.
- Be digitally agile and work collaboratively to leverage SAR’s collective skills to support each of the unique FO’s in the region, building upon each other’s work and capitalizing on the vast knowledge within our region.
TECHNICAL QUALITY & SUPPORT
- Lead by example, empowering the Technical Excellence Team to work collaboratively across SAR functions.
- Support development and implementation of integrated Technical Approaches and Technical Programs that are evidence-based, agile, and meet the needs of Institutional/Private donors as well as Sponsorship.
- Provide leadership to the technical design and effective implementation of projects from all revenue streams.
- Lead the technical advisor team, ensuring context-appropriate, best practice, quality designs and proposals across all funding streams that align with strategic objectives and donor priorities.
- Ensure that staff designing and managing programs have access to specialised support in HEA, Grants, Private Non-Sponsorship, and Sponsorship, to guarantee technical excellence in these programs.
- Ensure high-quality Humanitarian Emergency Affairs (HEA) programs by enabling rapid access to technical support and sector expertise quickly.
- Work with flexibility and agility to ensure technical advisors are available to meet organizational needs, including project design and external engagement, with timeliness and efficiency.
- Ensure that all SAR programs, regardless of funding stream, pay attention to the spiritual drivers of poverty, injustice, and inequality, incorporating F&D approaches where appropriate.
- Ensure appropriate external representation of the Technical Excellence Team in external meetings, events, and coordination fora, in line with external engagement priorities including donors, partners, and academia.
- Ensure the capacity and impact of SAR are expressed through technical briefs and capacity statements for use with external engagement and donor positioning.
- Ensure the highest quality implementation meeting WV technical and international standards across SAR, for all SAR Priority sectors (ESCA, HIV, GESI, Health, Child Protection, Livelihoods, F&D, WASH; HEA; Sponsorship and Grants)
REVITALIZE TECHNICAL COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
- Provide vision and leadership to the renewal and revitalization of SAR’s technical communities of practice, as they pivot towards our changing funding context, and ensure they deliver improved technical capacity, implementation, and results.
- Ensure the Technical Excellence team convenes and chairs the communities of practice, and that participation embodies our integrated, collaborative approach, including RO, FO, SO, and GC technical staff.
- Develop communities of practice that support FO’s to adjust, adapt, combine, and re-frame our evidence-based approaches to ensure they are fit for purpose to meet grant donor requirements in our changing funding market.
- Encourage new, outside-the-box discussions and ideas. Deliver communities of practice that focus on ideas and solutions for adapting our models to meet institutional funding requirements, not just project models.
- Within each community of practice, drive holistic conversations that speak to our strengths as a Partnership and not just a region of nine countries. Ensure the integration of Communications and Advocacy colleagues to support the communication of this externally.
- Share ideas and solutions with SARO leadership and ND’s to ensure we can continue to increase our income, while continuing to ensure the quality of our impact.
- Thriving technical communities of Practice that have diverse participation and viewpoints, encourage learning and develop new ways of working.
GROWTH AND DIVERSIFICATION FUNDING
- Lead growth and diversification of funding in FOs through supporting the HEA, Sponsorship and Resource Development and Partnering Leads to build capacity and ensure funding opportunities are strategically aligned.
- Ensure integration between technical leads, funding leads, and Program Quality & Impact (PQI)team to build holistic proposals and designs.
- Build strong relationships with Support Offices (SO’s) and ensure coordination with SO, FO, and RO grant teams to actively maintain strong donor relationships at global, regional, and country levels.
- Support the Technical Excellence team to build relationships with technical working groups to ensure better alignment with donor priorities and funding opportunities
LEVERAGE OUR REGIONAL PRESENCE FOR EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT
- Leverage WV SAR’s regional presence to make us a partner of choice for bilateral and multilateral donors in the region.
- Lead integration between the Technical Excellence Team, PQI Team, and Communications Team, to drive technical branding and create the platform for SAR to lead from our technical strengths being able to tell one regional story to partners, donors, and supporters.
- Actively network, build relationships, and strengthen the reputation and positioning of World Vision with key donors and development partners through regular meetings and other engagement activities.
- Execute technical branding plans, using consolidated regional impact evidence, ensuring SAR communicates as one organisation, with clear direction and impact towards our vision of life in all its fullness
- Ensure delivery of external engagement strategies and positioning plans and drive intelligence gathering.
- Lead external engagement with regional donors and partners alongside the Resource Development Lead and SAR SMT.
- Develop strategic approaches or partnerships with key implementing partners and cultivate shared value partnerships with NGOs, faith-based organizations, technical partners, and other potential consortia members.
- Ensure participation in relevant regional and international networks, working groups, workshops, and meetings. Contribute to those forums with SAR’s experiences, perspectives, learnings, and best practices.
- Support advocacy influencing policy revision or development, to achieve improved child wellbeing.
STRENGTHEN CAPACITY
- Support the Technical Excellence team to build the capacity of FO staff through the development of capacity-building plans, regular coaching, honest and timely feedback, and field monitoring.
- Collaborate with the PQI team to promote action learning across the SAR portfolio, directly with FO’s and using communities of practice.
- Provide support to the Resource Development Lead to build capacity in proposal development and project design.
- Oversee the development of appropriate capacity-building plans for technical specialists.
- Support the Organizational Excellence and Culture team to bring about attitude and behavioural changes in SAROs and FO’s to build a future-ready organisation.
KNOWLEDGE AND QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE ROLE
Required Professional Experience and Skills
- You will bring a deep understanding of the complex drivers of poverty, injustice, and inequality; and a holistic, inquisitive approach to seeking solutions to these complex development challenges. You understand no one person, sector, donor or team can achieve this alone, and you are comfortable building and leading high-level partnerships. You are skilled at big-picture leadership and can contextualize your vision for a variety of audiences. You will also bring:
- At least 10 years’ experience in relief and development work, of which at least 5 years in a leadership position at national or regional level preferably in Southern Africa or similar context
- Experience leading and managing a diverse team of technical experts
- Extensive experience in design and implementation of integrated programs that are multi-sector and muti-donor.
- Excellent diplomatic skills and demonstrated ability to establish professional relationships and engage at a strategic level with stakeholders, including donor government officials, UN agencies, NGOs, and the private sector
- Significant experience of building personal internal and external networks at senior level
- Knowledge of major donors and multi-laterals and understanding of institutional donor priorities and approaches to technical issues.
- Leadership and people management skills
- Experience designing and leading training programs across technical areas.
Universal:
- Digital dexterity, and in-depth computer knowledge including Word, Excel, Outlook and Power Point
- Excellent presentation and communication skills
- Excellent facilitation, negotiation, coordination and networking skills at all levels
- Strong interpersonal, negotiation and diplomacy skills and ability to bring people from different cultures on-board
Required education,training, license, registration, and certification
- Master’s degree in in Management, International Relations, International Development, Social Science, Evaluation, Data analytics or similar field
- Preferred technical qualifications in one of SAR’s core technical sectors; ESCA, HIV, GESI, Health, Child Protection, Livelihoods, Faith & Development, WASH, HEA, Sponsorship or Grants.
Preferred Knowledge and Qualifications
Technical Excellence Specific:
- Knowledge on international technical standards across SAR’s core technical sectors
- Excellent understanding of relief, development and advocacy
- Experience with World Vision’s Design, Monitoring and Evaluation framework
- Experience in Resource Acquisition and knowledge of donor requirements and funding sources (e.g., bilateral and multilateral donors)
- Performance history in strengthening organizational capacity and behaviour change
- External engagement experience working with non-WV entities in technical leadership or advocacy
Universal:
- Grounded in biblical knowledge, particularly as it relates to the holistic mission and calling of World Vision
- Passion to work cross-functionally, ensuring integration of funding types and sectors to increase impact.
- Understanding the Southern Africa contexts through experience working in the region
- Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, and lead presentations, training courses, and effective meetings
- Strong analytical (incl. quantitative analysis), organizational, problem-solving, time management, and cross-cultural skills
- Proven track record of delivering consistent, quality results with accountability and integrity
- Able to solve complex and rapidly changing operational challenges in today’s dynamic and connected business environment.
- Ability to cope under significant pressure while maintaining a healthy work life balance
- Ability to travel and work within challenging environments, such as conflict locations
- Ability to effectively communicate and negotiate with key internal and external stakeholders while maintaining effective working relationships with varied stakeholders of different academic, cultural, gender, denominational etc. background
Travel / work environment requirement
- 40% travel to World Vision Field Offices is expected
- Virtual/hybrid work environment
- Based in any location within SAR where WV is registered, with a preference for Angola or Mozambique
Language requirements
- Fluency in written and spoken English, required
- Fluency in written and spoken French and/or Portuguese desired
Applicant Types Accepted: Local Applicants Only