Our Organisation:

War Child is an independent and impartial international non-governmental child rights organization investing in a peaceful future for children and young people affected by armed conflict. With a focus on child protection, mental health and psychosocial support, Education and Food security, we strive to empower children and young people, while enabling adults to bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of conflict-affected children and young people. War Child has been working in the Afghanistan since 2002.

Your Challenge:

War Child is looking for an experienced Head of Fundraising, Programme Quality and Complaince to provide strategic leadership of the institutional fundraising function in War Child Afghanistan in order to achieve sustainable growth and strengthen external strategic partnerships. The position holder will lead the expansion of the funding portfolio by diversifying funding sources through developing and maintaining effective relationships with stakeholders, networks and strategic partners resulting in increased visibility of the organisation.

Oversee high quality Grant Management, Programme Quality Assurance and Compliance by setting up strong monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) systems. You will drive coherence, relevance and effectiveness of War Child’s overall Afghanistan programme, in accordance with humanitarian and sector-specific standards as well as War Child’s mandate & strategy.

You will report to the Country Director (CD) – Afghanistan, and be part of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). Working very closely with other heads of departments and the different in-country Programme/Project Managers, ensuring smooth and positive cross-departmental collaboration at all levels is also key in the role. Additionally, you will also maintain strong engagement and relationships with regional and global colleagues with responsibilities in the field of fundraising, grant management, communication and programme quality.

Your responsibilities:

• Lead on the development and implementation of a country fundraising strategy.
• Support the development and execution of overall country and programme strategy.
• As a member of SLT, support with organisational decision-making through a collaborative and inclusive approach for the Afghanistan programme.
• Network with the relevant stakeholders and stay updated on fundraising trends, donor priorities, and industry best practices.
• Develop donor engagement plans and scope out relevant funding opportunities.
• Develop and nurture strategic partnerships with donors, UN agencies, national, regional and international entities with a special focus on areas such as protection, education, and food security and livelihood programming.
• Partner to foster organization’s  strategic presence in key humanitarian and development forums, working groups, and clusters, enhancing the organization's visibility and positioning for effective fundraising.
• Lead the development of new proposals, in close consultation with the in-country Programme Managers, external partners, to respond to new funding opportunities.
• Oversee grant management and donor compliance function with effective implementation of the grant management system including reporting.
• Ensure coherence, relevance, and effectiveness of War Child’s overall Afghanistan programme, in accordance with humanitarian and sector-specific standards as well as War Child’s mandate and strategy.

Lead the MEAL team, overseeing timely and effective monitoring, evaluation, and learning for accountability and future programme design. Develop evidence-based theories of change and log frames with SMART indicators.

• Lead the development and implementation of program quality standards, guidelines, and tools to ensure high-quality program delivery across all technical areas with support from Technical Advisors and MEAL Manager.

• Oversee regular needs assessments in accordance with applicable standards to inform project proposal design, adjustments and implementation.

• Oversee compliance with government policies and procedures, particularly those related to registration processes.
• Strengthen the staff expertise and capabilities in fundraising, grant management and programme quality expertise through effective and inclusive coaching and mentoring.
• Raise the profile of Afghanistan in funding countries through strategic communication of the challenges faced in country and the impacts on children's lives.
• Contribute to creating a culture committed to the safeguarding of children, and adults and compliant to War Child’s Integrity Framework.

You have:

• Strategic vision with knowledge and understanding of institutional donor networks and extensive experience of senior-level institutional donor engagement.
• Expert level of understanding and analytical skills of, and the application of sector and thematic trends in funding mechanisms.
• Demonstrated expertise in institutional funding strategy development and its operationalisation.
• Proven experience in developing new partnerships. Particularly in building new networks, multi-agency consortia and high-quality local partnerships as well as government liaison.
• Proven experience of leading the proposal writing process as well as strong writing skills.
• Strong knowledge of War Child’s key thematic areas: child protection, education, MHPSS, and livelihoods.
• Experience of grant management approaches and donor compliance, with experience of managing grants from institutional donors such as UN agencies.
• Demonstrable experience of developing and implementing a programme quality agenda at an institutional level with record of building continual improvement; 
• A collaborative and inclusive approach to work with experience of strengthening capacities.
• Strong interpersonal skills to influence stakeholders and convey organisational impact.
• Committed to and have an understanding of safeguarding within the humanitarian and development sector.

Note: War Child particularly encourages qualified, local applicants to apply.

Our offer:

• War Child local or expatriate employment contract of 12 months with salary and secondary benefits based on War Child’s Salary Scale and T&C’s.
• The role is based on full-time working hours.
• The position is based in Kabul, Afghanistan, with expected travel within country, subject to security considerations.

Safeguarding:

War Child is committed to humanitarian values, standards and norms and we expect the same from job applicants. War Child is especially committed to safeguarding the children and youth we support and doesn’t tolerate any form of abuse. Because we want to prevent and deter any actions that place children and youth at risk, conduct references are an important part of our recruitment procedure. As part of the selection process, War Child will request standardized references in accordance with the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and a recent Criminal Records statement.

How to Apply:
Interested and qualified candidates are invited to apply by 11 August 2024 by visiting the link: https://warchild.onlinevacatures.nl/job/322216/apply

N.B. War Child will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis and reserves the right to close the vacancy if a successful candidate is identified prior to the closing date.