Thailand: Program Quality & Research Specialist

Purpose:

The purpose of this position is to support the overall technical leadership to Plan’s Stopping Exploitation through Accessible Services (SEAS) project, and lead the development and implementation of the YES! Research Agenda. S/he will serve as the principal point of contact for technical management and guidance to defining expectations in order to achieve the deliverable associated with projects. This will entail supporting the overall design, development, monitoring and evaluation of Plan’s projects, including country office level technical assistance and support to meeting donor requirements. In addition, the incumbent will promote organizational learning, facilitate new program development and resourcing, and provide technical guidance to scale up and sustain programs and represent Plan with donors in regional and global forums.

Dimensions of Role:

• As an expert in migration and research, the post holder influences Plan’s decision makers – country management teams, program management units, country program teams – and provides overall management and quality assurance for donor funded programs and strategic support to country programming quality.

• The post holder is expected to provide technical assistance to country offices and to work with national offices, specifically SIDA funded SEAS project and NLNO GAA research agenda.

• The post holder is expected to provide leadership to the project leadership committee and the supply chain engagement group within the project structure.

• The post-holder is also responsible for final donor reporting for SIDA in coordination with relevant team members.

  Typical Responsibilities - Key End Results of Position:

  Project Management and Technical Support (50%): Provide technical oversight and assistance, and lead monitoring, evaluation and learning in identified projects—specifically SEAS and GAA but not limited to others as defined—and support in project management. Support to projects will represent 50% of the time allocation of this role and will entail as a minimum:

• Intensive support for SEAS project and appraisal of monitoring end evaluation—including sustainability and development of potential phase 2.

• Monitoring of project progress against program designs and review of quarterly monitoring reports projects.

• Intensive support to projects in instances of low capacity or poor project performance, including the provision of targeted training to project teams.

• Risk Management and the reporting of any emerging project risks, including any child protection risks.

• Input into and review of targeted projects to meet the submission deadlines.

• Provision of broader technical support to regional project, particularly in relation to guidance on inclusion of marginalized youth, including young women, youth with disabilities and youth ethnic minority groups and, where appropriate, the development of common tools/methodologies to enable vulnerable youth.

  Strategy and Learning (40%)

  The post holder will spearhead the development and implementation of a robust and creditable research agenda that advances the sector for scaling up and organizational sustainability:

• Contribute to the review, development and revision of standardized M&E systems to generate common performance indicators which demonstrate meaningful impact and contribute to and meeting the region’s strategic direction;

• Assess country and partner organizational capacity and action plans developed to address knowledge and skills gaps;

• Capture evidence-based, research; baseline studies; and mid-term and final evaluations of related projects;

• Develop a regional strategy for generating knowledge on youth employment knowledge gaps, and for disseminating documentation on best practices and lessons learned;

• Contribute to the (1) development of tools which identify appropriate services for migration sectors with sufficient demand for the skills that have been acquired; (2) development of strategy and tools for the identification and selection of suitable local training and business partners; and (3) development of cost-effective scaling up model and develop mechanism for following the alumni etc.;

  Influencing (5%):

  The post holder will contribute to enhancing Plan International’s reputation as a leading practitioner and stakeholder in Youth Employment Solutions on migration at the regional and global level:

• Represent Plan International in national, regional and international forums; and

• Establish strategic and operational partnerships at the country, regional and global levels.

  Program Development and Donor Liaison (5%):

  The post holder will contribute to expanding YE3 programming with emphasis on migration in the region:

• Identify and contribute to new opportunities for developing new projects that enable scale-up of related interventions.

• Provide input to new project/s designed in collaboration with others.

  Dealing with Problems:

• The post holder will be responsible for providing technical support on Youth Employment Solutions and migration across a range of operating environments throughout Asia.

• He/she will provide overall management, quality assurance and monitoring to ensure programs are appropriately designed; program quality standards and targets are met; and implementation is enabled through effective partnership identification and management. The postmaster will need to adapt to the varying levels of country office and program unit capacity, and ensure that their support is pitched at an appropriate level.

• S/he will also ensure that Plan’s Child Centered Community Development and Child Protection principles and gender transformative focus are built into programmes including Plan’s special focus on marginalized youth, especially girls, youth with disabilities and other excluded youth; and, that there are appropriate linkages with other programs undertaken by Plan.

  Communications and Working Relationships:

• Influence country program and management teams on the formulation, implementation and evaluation of youth employment programs, especially those dealing with migration;

• Network with key stakeholders at country and regional level, including donors, strategic and organizational partners in the field of migration/youth employment to increase Plan’s visibility in the area; and,

• Foster exchange platforms in the region in order to ensure sharing of lessons learned and adoption of best practices.

  Knowledge, Skills, Behaviors, and Experience Required to Achieve Role’s Objectives:

• Knowledge

• Proven knowledge of the latest issues, research, policy and practice in migration and economic empowerment in a range of contexts.

• Senior professional qualification and advanced degree preferred with focus on on child protection, labor, migration and educational approaches and/or related area, or equivalent professional experience:

• Up-to-date on latest M&E frameworks, research, baseline studies and evaluation models;

• Demonstrated understanding of gender and other factors of marginalization and capacity to work with project teams to undertake gender analysis and develop project-level strategies to address gender inequality and marginalization;

• Knowledge and experience in one or more Asian countries context would be desirable.

• Skills

• Demonstrated managerial or technical advisory expertise in the design, implementation and evaluation of migration and employment/livelihoods projects;

• Experience in the development of workable guidelines and standards;

• Demonstrated facilitation and training experience;

• Influencing, representational and advocacy skills;

• Excellent communication skills operating at a distance and across a wide variation in cultures; and;

• Excellent command of English and Thai, both speaking and writing and prior experience in writing donor proposals and reports.

• Attitude

• Self motivated

• Culturally sensitive

• Flexible, adaptive while maintaining the big picture

• Inclusive of others: gender sensitivity and inclusion of those with special needs is central to effective Youth Employment & Livelihoods

Physical Environment and Demands:

May be “typical office environment”; note if heavy lifting, climbing, excess travel, etc.

• Frequent travel within and outside the region (50%).

  Level of Contact with Children and Youth:

  *Low contact: Moderate frequency of interaction*

  Please attach an organization chart of your department.

  This role will report directly to the ARO Head of Youth Employment Solutions.

https://career5.successfactors.eu/sfcareer/jobreqcareer?jobId=23563&company=PlanInt&username=