Director Strategy, Program Quality & Impact (SPQI)

The Opportunity - Director Strategy, Program Quality & Impact (SPQI)

As a member of the Save the Children Vietnam Senior Management Team (SMT), the Director of Strategy, Program Quality and Impact (SPQI) plays a key leadership role in overseeing the strategic direction of the program portfolio from a Theory of Change perspective, with a particular focus on strengthening evidence-based and results-oriented practice, innovation, strategic partnerships, advocacy and other cross cutting areas such as gender and inclusion.

The SPQI Director is responsible for driving cross-functional engagement in the development, review and delivery of the Country Strategy Plan (CSP) and annual planning and reporting processes.

The Director of SPQI oversees the MEAL lead to ensure that a robust monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) system is in place, that the country office engages in the collection and use of evidence and that this is shared across the global organization, and that reliable data is used for decision-making. 

S/he also oversees the Advocacy function for the country office, ensuring the quality of ongoing Advocacy, work and pursuing new opportunities to increase SC visibility and profile, both nationally and internationally. The position also overseas our partnership strategy 2022-24 and the CSP Roll-Out plan, particularly identifying and establishing strategic partnerships with the private sector, academia or CSOs.

The SPQI Director also oversees technical experts, including Education, Child Protection, Health & Nutrition and any emergency surge TE deployed to the country office. The Director SPQI will support the Director Program Implementation/ Manager (as lead Emergency focal point) in EPP process and will lead on all Response Strategy for large Categorized emergencies.

As a senior leader in the country office s/he plays a representational role with the government, donors, partners, peer agencies, SC Members and others.  The Director of SPQI supports head of NBD and the CD on strategic positioning with donors, members and partners and supports on project design to ensure that the country office strategy can be delivered in line with child rights programming principles.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy, Planning and Reporting (25%)

• Provide leadership, strategic vision and direction to the Vietnam country program by leading the development/updating of the Country Strategy Plan (CSP) that is in line with the global strategy, Ambition 2030, with child rights at the core of all programming and advocacy work.
• Lead the development/updating of the Child Rights Situation Analysis, including analysis of country context and considering child rights principles, ensuring participation and buy-in from all relevant staff, partners and other stakeholders as necessary
• Provide leadership on development of the Country Office Self-Assessment and completion of accurate, on-time Country Annual Report of outcomes and impact for children, aligned with the Global Results Framework.
• Facilitate the development and pursuit of thematic and cross-cutting strategic priorities in line with the CSP, including gender equality and inclusion, to guide current and future SC programming and humanitarian strategies.
• Support ownership and commitment to the Country Office strategy by all staff and departments through clear communication, regular feedback on progress and engagement of all functions in updates.
• Participate in global discussions and working groups to represent country office, and the voice of children, in strategy design and policy development.
• Support donor reporting in coordination with the Awards and Program Coordinators, ensuring reports are submitted on time and are of good quality.

Technical Assistance (25%)

• Ensure the provision of high-quality technical assistance and capacity building to all projects and staff by managing all internal and external technical assistance
• Ensure that the different thematic sectors are coordinated, integrated and support each other to optimise programs and projects
• Ensure learning by Vietnam programme from relevant internal and external thematic trends and best practice
• Ensure active engagement and participation in national dialogues, working groups and with thematic stakeholders and partners.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, Learning (MEAL) and Knowledge management (15%)

• Support the MEAL Manager and TEs in ensuring the country office is building a culture of learning and becoming a leader in evidence-based programming. This includes providing oversight to ensure there is a functional interface between MEAL and Project teams for data collection, analysis and quality, systems for reflection, interpretation and action planning.
• Strategic oversight in ensure that there is a strong monitoring system that provides timely and accurate project results by embedding MEAL across program implementation.
• Promote a culture of learning, reflection and continuous improvement and supports the MEAL team and TE in ensuring there are specific learning agendas and effective forums of learning across the CO and leadership to ensure their uptake and roll out across SC in Vietnam.
• Support MEAL in establishing and rolling out Country Office knowledge management strategy and systems, with special attention to storing and sharing program experience, data, learning and results
• Ensure the delivery of internal and external program/project evaluations as per the Evaluations Essential Standard and donor requirement, and execution of baseline, and periodic research in coordination with Director of Program Implementation
• Ensure our work is accountable to children and other stakeholders through the establishment and management of effective accountability mechanisms and processes

Advocacy, Communications and Research (10%)

• Provide overall leadership, vision, strategic direction and management of the Save the Children’s advocacy and campaign work across thematic areas and in line with relevant regional and global campaigns
• Ensure the development and execution of country office advocacy and learning agenda that link to the CSP, with clear objectives and deliverables.
• Ensure that active advocacy, campaigns and external communications are used to influence public opinion and political commitment nationally in support of children’s rights
• Identify, develop and oversee operational and analytical research, coordinate the publication and dissemination of results and ensure that research informs advocacy
• Advise communications team on media channels and overall media strategy and to make optimal use of national and international media to influence key targets and public opinion
• Coordinate the production of high-quality policy briefing papers, statements, external communications products and case studies to influence target audiences
• Represent Save the Children externally as part of advocacy and networking, including with high level government officials, donors, civil society actors, partners, and other stakeholders to build relationships to facilitate achievement of CSP strategic goals and success of our projects for children.

Partnership (5%)

• Ensure that SC has a clear partnership strategy and that systems and guidelines are in place (that reflects SCI Theory of Change) to make it operational across departments.  Co-chair the CO Partnership Working Group with the Program Implementation Director/ Manager.
• Play a leading role in identifying nurturing and strengthening strategic partnerships with local and international civil society organizations, NGOs, governments etc., in advancing the country and global strategy to inspire our three breakthroughs for the most deprived and marginalised children.
• Provide technical support and capability building to implementing and strategic partners.

Team management, capacity building, mentoring and coaching (10%)

• Establish and maintain a culture of teamwork, participation, and accountability for excellence.
• Put in place appropriate management systems, including regular team and individual meetings, mechanisms for cross department coordination and collaboration, and norms and practices that are results driven.
• Build the capacity of, mentor and coach SC teams and individual staff, ensuring the development of a strong team and supporting a clear career professional trajectory for key staff.
• Manage the performance of all staff through effective use of the Performance Management System including the establishment of clear, measurable objectives, ongoing feedback, periodic reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations; Documentation of performance that is less than satisfactory, with appropriate performance improvements/ work plans.
• Where applicable, line manage Surge/ emergency TEs.

As a member of the Senior Management Team (10 %)

• Contribute to overall leadership of the Vietnam Country Office,
• Support an organizational culture that reflects our dual mandate values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation, and frees up our people to deliver outstanding results for children.
• Maintain a strong and effective working relationship across all departments to enable Save the Children in Vietnam to meet its objectives and priorities. 
• Support Country Director and SMT in decision making and strategic direction, especially in relation to funding and portfolio development, pipeline management, go/no go decisions, and communications and brand development.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Masters degree or its equivalent in years of experience in relevant social sciences, development studies, human rights or other relevant sector (especially in Child Development or Community Development), human rights, NGO management or equivalent fields.
• Minimum of seven years progressive senior management and/ or development experience, including experience designing and implementing programs for children in both development and emergency contexts
• Experience in Save the Children priority sectors: education; child protection; child rights governance; child poverty; emergencies.
• Proven track record of a positive, active, strategic and collaborative contribution at a senior level
• Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to set priorities and organize a challenging and diverse set of responsibilities
• Demonstrated knowledge of children’s issues, rights-based program approaches, and child safeguarding principles.
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Experience leading strategic planning, and programme design
• Strong understanding of different methodologies of monitoring and evaluation and operational research and experience in developing integrated MEAL systems
• Ability to effectively establish a learning culture within an organisation
• Experience in successfully establishing and managing collaborative relationships and partnerships with donors and government counterparts.
• Strong representation and influencing skills, and ability to build donor relationships
• Experience of management of diverse workforce including effective performance management and utilisation of capacity building, coaching, and mentoring skills
• Excellent problem solving, attention to detail and strategic thinking skills.
• Excellent in written and spoken English and Vietnamese

Desirable

• Demonstrated skills in designing and carrying out qualitative and quantitative research and using research to inform program design and advocacy.
• Demonstrated capacity to design innovative and high impact programs, and leveraging project results towards broader systemic impact.
• Excellent analytical skills.
• Effective negotiator, with the ability to positively influence cross departmental and cross sector work

The Organisation

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education, and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realize children’s rights and ensure their voices are heard. 

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
• All children learn from quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated

We know that great people make a great organization and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children.  We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

Application Information

Please apply using a cover letter and up-to-date CV as a single document and use format. Please also include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at:

Job Description - Hanoi - Director of Strategy, Program Quality & Impact - National Only (220001RC) (taleo.net)

If you have any issues with applying via our system, please send an email explaining your troubles to [email protected]

Closing Date for Application: 18^th March, 2022

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties by our global anti-harassment policy.