Program Manager at Mentally Aware Nigeria

Mentally Aware Nigeria is founded on two core beliefs: first, that all possible steps should be taken to alleviate stigma and the suffering arising from it, caused by ignorance and an unbelievable silence and negligence towards the health of the mind, from federal setups down to the locales; and second, that it becomes known that those affected by this disaster (as depicted in the first point), have a right to life with dignity and therefore a right to assistance.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Program Manager

Location: Lagos
Job Type: Full Time

Job Overview

• The Program Manager is responsible and accountable for the program components of Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative. As the leader of the Program team, you will be responsible for the central and strategic program planning.
• Success requires working in close collaboration with partners and team members to develop, win support for, and ensure the effective delivery of a growing portfolio of program work, across mental health awareness, policy advocacy, media advocacy research, and development.
• S/he will ensure high standards and maintenance of effective and authentic partnerships. Establish strong capacity in all aspects of the project cycle: project design, proposal development, effective project implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and learning within the MANI Office and partners in the event of sub-granting.
• We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and people with lived experience who live and have the right to work in Lagos, Nigeria.

Responsibilities 

• Provide programmatic leadership in the development and implementation of the organisation’s plans.
• Lead the Programs team within the organisation. Clearly articulate a compelling vision and direction for the team. Inspire and direct the team towards achieving this vision. Build team performance through management, coaching, and mentoring.
• Foster a culture of learning and accountability by promoting the inclusion of good monitoring, evaluation, feedback, and learning practices within projects. Support learning dissemination, and documentation of good practice cases.
• Support the Finance Manager/Officer to ensure that program and financial aspects of project design, budgeting, and implementation go together.
• Monitor in-country calls for proposals from institutional donors and support the Executive Director in building focused relationships with representatives of such donors and other NGOs with whom MANI can collaborate.
• Advocate, champion, and model disability inclusion to promote inclusion of people with disabilities in their communities and all aspects of society.
• Ensure that all children and adults who come into contact with MANI’s programs are safeguarded to the greatest extent possible. Comply with all aspects of MANI Safeguarding policy and associated standards and procedures.
• Build and maintain authentic partnerships with stakeholders in the mental health space and movement, ensuring our work reflects and is responsive to the needs of people with mental health concerns and other disabilities. Foster a model and approach to partnership that aligns with and supports our partnership principles.
• Working with partners, and team members, lead the development of a coherent and balanced portfolio of program work, across mental health awareness, policy advocacy, media advocacy research, and development. Champion an approach that embraces effective service delivery, and partnership with individuals or organisations with mental health movement.
• Identify funding opportunities for MANI’s work. Actively support fundraising and cost recovery and raise funds from in-country sources.
• Work with team members to ensure effective and timely delivery of projects in line with required standards, objectives, activity plans, budgets, and compliance requirements. Ensure project reporting requirements are met in line with partners' and donor requirements, standards, and timelines.

Safeguarding Responsibilities
Knowledge:

• Understands what safeguarding means for the teams/departments they manage and the work they do.
• Understands power imbalances and ways in which team/organizational culture may be reinforcing negative stereotypes and biases, and the impact of these dynamics on the vulnerable and marginalized.

Skills:

• Leads teams to develop the necessary skills and expertise to undertake their roles and responsibilities for safeguarding.
• Explicitly and visibly challenges power imbalances, inequalities, gender bias, and discrimination in organizational systems and processes.
• Leads on organisational change within their teams to embed safeguarding in their work and processes.
• Develops indicators and frameworks for measuring how well teams are delivering on roles and responsibilities for safeguarding.
• Creates organisational mechanisms that strengthen accountability to communities, Members, and donors on safeguarding.

Behaviours:

• Holds teams accountable for delivering on safeguarding standards. Articulates and promotes the strategic importance of safeguarding all aspects of the organization’s work.
• Demonstrates leadership in ensuring that staff, programs, and operations are safe for all program participants, staff, and volunteers. 

Experience

• Professional experience in a national or international NGO with a minimum of 3 years at the management level, with a track record in successfully developing and delivering an overall programmatic strategy with an appropriate portfolio of projects/programs and partnerships.
• Strong experience in all aspects of programmes related to compliance and procedures and achieving high operational standards across the team and with partners.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office; working knowledge of program/project management software.
• Experience in Monitoring and Evaluation is a strong advantage
• Proven experience successfully leading and managing a programs team and ensuring good collaboration and coordination between the programs team and other teams within the organisation (e.g. Finance team)
• Experience and a track record in developing and managing large-scale inclusive development and/or humanitarian programs in collaboration with national partners, including consortium-led projects.
• Experience and a track record of identifying fundraising opportunities; successfully securing grants from donor organisations and building productive relationships with donors.
• Thorough understanding and proven experience in results-based and project cycle management, including project assessment and design; all aspects of project planning; log frames, monitoring, and evaluation; budgeting and programme finance management.
• Demonstrated experience in managing internal and external relationships and partnerships, particularly with national/local governments.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply