Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) Jobs for Programme Manager

Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is currently recruiting for the position of Programme Manager to manage its parliamentary strengthening programme ‘Enhancing the Participation and Leadership of Women Parliamentarians’ in Abuja, Nigeria.

The main purpose of the programme is to contribute to strengthening legislative processes by engaging directly with members, parliamentary staff, National Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS) and civil society organisations on policy issues in Nigeria.

CONTEXT

The Foundation
Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is an independent political foundation sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DFID) specialising in parliamentary strengthening and political party development.  It does this primarily by supporting the development of parliaments, political party structures and civil society organisations.  It is uniquely placed to draw directly on the expertise of the Westminster political parties in all its work.

Established in 1992, WFD has supported transitions to democracy in central and Eastern Europe, strengthened multi-party democracies in Africa, and extended its work to Asia and Middle East and North Africa in recent years.  In 2012, the organization celebrated its 20th anniversary – a year in which it’s set to greatly increase its role and impact as a world leader in supporting the development of democracy. For more information, please visit www.wfd.org

The Programme

• WFD is looking to recruit an experienced Programme Manager to manage WFD’s parliamentary strengthening programme ‘Enhancing the Participation and Leadership of Women Parliamentarians’ in Nigeria.  The main purpose of the programme is
• to contribute to strengthening legislative processes by engaging directly with members, parliamentary staff, National Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS) and civil society organisations on policy issues in Nigeria.

Main purpose of the role

• The Programme Manager Nigeria will have responsibility for leading the planning and management of WFD’s parliamentary strengthening programme in Nigeria.

The Programme Manager will play an important role in stakeholder management of senior parliamentary figures and democracy organisations.  This will include maintaining crucial relationships with parliamentary staff and members of National Assembly, NGOs and National Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS).  The main aim of the programme is to increase skills and mechanisms for gender budget scrutiny and also to provide capacity support for members to improve their legislative roles.

Management and key relationships
Staff managed: Programme Administrative and Finance Assistant
Reports to: Head of Programme Africa and Rest of the World – AROW (based in UK)

Key Relationships

1. WFD’s focal person in the National Assembly and the parliamentary leadership
2. Key national and international partners and stakeholders in Nigeria; including consultants and trainers
3. Institutions and organisations in the wider west African region, especially the ECOWAS Secretariat; and the parliamentary centre of Ghana
4. WFD London Office and WFD programme staff particularly those in DRC, East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) Kenya, Uganda and Pakistan

Main Duties

• Programme stakeholder management
• Consult and agree with the National Assembly leadership and other democratic institutions in the region to plan and organise activities for the programme.  
• Develop and maintain stakeholder mapping
• Establish and maintain key donor relations

Programme Management

• Maintain an up-to-date risk register
• Coordination and planning of inward and outward visits
• Development of materials and tools for training
• Source and contract suppliers for delivery of programme activities
• Review progress of programme according to WFD’s monitoring and evaluation guidelines  
• Conduct programme activity follow-up
• Develop and apply programme communications strategy
• Based on the outcome review either close-down of programme or transit into second phase

Financial Responsibility

• Oversee the profiling and forecasting of programme budgets
• Oversee preparation of cashflows
• Oversee the preparation of accurate monthly accruals
• Oversee accurate and timely financial reporting to WFD
• Oversee the tracking of finances and expenditure  

Reporting and analysis

• Research, analyse trends and report on parliamentary practice in Nigeria and wider ECOWAS.  Use information to explore new opportunities for parliamentary strengthening
• Undertake information gathering for WFD Board of Governors and other analysis as required for WFD

Person Specification
Knowledge, skills and experience

Requirement	E/D	Evaluation
Educated to Masters Degree level in a relevant discipline such as political science or international relations	E	Application
Thorough knowledge of the political environment in Nigeria and ECOWAS, combined with an understanding of the challenges of democracy building in the region	E	Application and Interview
A sound understanding of the Westminster parliamentary and political systems	E	Application and Interview
Significant number of years experience in designing and implementing programmes.  This should include management experience of parliamentary strengthening or related democracy development work.	E	Application and Interview
Excellent English written and oral communications skills necessary to produce proposals and reports and to present them to WFD’s Board and funders, to donors, and to local partners and other stakeholders	E	Application and Interview
Ability to communicate both written and oral in another international language – notably French	D	Application
Thorough understanding of financial management and  numerical competency	E	Application and Interview
Significant experience of gathering and consolidating information for monitoring and evaluation purposes	E	Application and interview
Significant experience of producing programme reports with analysis and documentation of outcomes and programme learning	E	Interview

Competencies 

Requirement	E/D	Evaluation
Credibility and confidence to lead programme implementation and coordination	E	Application and Interview
Proven experience of programme monitoring and evaluation methodologies	E	Application and Interview
The flexibility to work in a fast changing environment with the ability to manage and prioritise a range of operational, financial and administrative responsibilities	E	Interview
The ability to consult and negotiate with others to develop advice for decision makers on new areas within his/her area of responsibility	E	Application and Interview
Good judgement in taking decisions where there is sometimes no precedent or specific guidance	E	Interview
Ability to work independently and effectively, and drive to manage workload, with limited supervision or guidance from more senior colleagues	E	Application and Interview
Ability and confidence to multi-task in an international  environment	E	Interview
Strong diplomatic skills and ability to influence and negotiate with senior officials, politicians, and representatives of international organisations and NGOs	E	Application and Interview
Ensuring that lessons learnt are captured to inform new ways of working and identify future opportunities and challenges	E	Interview
Achieves a level of delivery which exceed client expectations and enhances the reputation of the organisation	E	Application and Interview

Last date of application
The closing date for applications to be received is Friday 12th April 2013.

How to apply?
Interested candidate should click here to access/download the application form. Please email completed applications to recruitment@wfd.org.