Job Title: Project Director -Scaling Sustainable Poverty Graduation in Rwanda
Employer: Village Enterprise
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Reports to: Chief Government Relations Officer
Matrix Report: Chief Programs Officer
Direct Report: Graduation Technical Assistance Manager
Project Name: SCALING SUSTAINABLE POVERTY GRADUATION IN RWANDA
About Village Enterprise:
Village Enterprise’s mission is to end extreme poverty through entrepreneurship and innovation. We have impacted the lives of over a million people living in extreme poverty in East Africa and our new strategy focuses on ‘scale and impact’, and the organization has ambitious goals in both areas. Village Enterprise aims to end extreme poverty for 20 million Africans by 2030. We recognize the importance of partnerships in achieving this goal, and as such, we actively collaborate with Governments and other partners to scale our cost-effective approach, which has been proven to work in multiple countries and with different populations.
Project Overview:
This $6.5 million future funded project is a three-year award aiming to scale Village Enterprise's poverty graduation model and support the Government of Rwanda in implementing this transformative approach. The project has ambitious goals, including direct implementation, Government implementation, capacity building for the government, MIS development and management, training of parasocial workers, and catalyzing additional funding for widespread impact.
Role Overview:
As the Project Director for the Scaling Sustainable Poverty Graduation in Rwanda project, you will play a pivotal role in leading and managing the project's successful execution. Your responsibilities encompass strategic partnership and stakeholder engagement, government relations, project management, reporting, capacity building, collaboration, representation, and learning. This role requires a visionary leader who can drive results, foster collaboration, and navigate the complexities of scaling a poverty graduation model in partnership with the Rwandan Government.
Key Responsibilities:
Government Engagement:
- Build and maintain effective relationships with government officials, partners, and other stakeholders.
- Act as the primary liaison between Village Enterprise and the Government of Rwanda.
- Collaborate with the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) and LODA to train parasocial workers and facilitate the effective implementation of the graduation model.
- Ensure compliance with VE’s safeguarding policies in all program operations.
- Co-develop with GoR strategy for long-term sustainability of poverty graduation implementation beyond the secured funding
Project Management:
- Oversee the successful execution of project activities, ensuring alignment with project goals.
- Collaborate with project teams to achieve milestones and deliverables.
- Update project activities using our Project Management tool, Wrike.
- Ensure the project remains within budget and meets financial accountability standards.
Project Reporting and relationship building with the large secured funder**:**
- Manage and submit project reports as per the timelines
- Ensure compliance with reporting requirements.
- Provide timely updates on project progress and challenges to the Senior Management Team
- Prepare, organize and lead monthly calls with the large secured funder
- Act as the primary liaison between Village Enterprise , the large secured funder and Rwanda Mission.
Capacity Building:
- Work closely with the Technical Assistance Manager to build the capacity of officials of Rwanda Government at the national and districts’ levels
- Facilitate knowledge-sharing sessions and workshops to transfer technical expertise and best practices to government officials, ensuring their proficiency in poverty graduation program management.
Management Information System (MIS) Development:
- Work closely with the VP for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) to support the development, deployment, and management of a comprehensive Management Information System (MIS) for the project.
- Engage with the Rwandan Government to ensure 1) the MIS meets their monitoring and reporting needs effectively and 2) long-term management and effectiveness of the MIS.
Collaboration and Representation:
- Collaborate with the Rwanda Country Manager to build relationships with the government, NGOs, bi-multilateral agencies and other stakeholders.
- Represent Village Enterprise at conferences, events, and government-level meetings when needed.
Safeguarding:
"Safeguarding at VE is everyone’s responsibility"
- Ensure program participants are continuously sensitized about possible risks of child abuse, sexual/financial exploitation, prevention and response mechanisms.
- Ensure compliance with VE’s safeguarding policies and Code of Conduct in all programs, operations and practices.
- Report any child or adult safeguarding incidents in program operations for appropriate action and follow up.
Living Our Values:
- Ubuntu: We serve people living in extreme poverty with respect, empathy, and dignity regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion, or education level, and value our common humanity.
- Passion: We believe passionately in our mission and the ability of people living in extreme poverty to improve their lives.
- Integrity: We operate with the highest levels of integrity and trustworthiness.
- Innovation: We value innovation as a means to reduce poverty and treat new ideas, new technologies, and new partners as opportunities to grow our impact.
- Sustainability: We are committed to ensuring that our businesses and our organization are sustainable in the long-term.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
- Timely and successful project implementation including timely delivery of milestones and payments.
- Effective training and capacity building of government officials at national and district-level Successful development and utilization of the MIS.
- Strong collaboration and partnerships established with government officials and project stakeholders
- Documentation of lessons learned and incorporation into project strategies as well as into GoR National Strategy for Sustainable Graduation.
- Effective management of TA Manager
Qualifications and Experience:
- Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
- A minimum of 3 years of experience in Government engagement, capacity building, and project engagement.
- At least 3 years of experience managing bilateral/multilateral projects with a preference for USAID-funded projects.
- Strong understanding of poverty graduation approaches and rural development.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Proficiency in English (both written and spoken); knowledge of Kinyarwanda is a plus.
- Commitment to Village Enterprise's mission and values.