Senior Project Manager (Surkhet, Nepal)

The Organization:

Lutheran World Relief, which is part of Corus International, has been present in Nepal since 2013. Corus International is the parent of a family of world-class organizations working to deliver the holistic, lasting solutions needed to end extreme poverty once and for all. We are a global leader in international development, with 150 years of combined experience across our brands. Our nonprofit and for-profit subsidiaries include IMA World Health and its fundraising brand Corus World Health, Lutheran World Relief, CGA Technologies, Ground Up Investing, and Farmers Market Brands. In Nepal, Corus operates under Lutheran World Relief. Our more than 400 employees around the globe are experts in their fields and dedicated to helping the world's most vulnerable people break the cycle of poverty and lead healthy lives.

At Corus we believe that good only grows stronger and we reflect that belief in our workplace culture. We value every employee's specialized area of expertise and nurture professional growth. We promote an engaging and supportive work environment, where employees feel enabled and driven to innovate, learn and collaborate. And because our subsidiaries often function as partners, our employees have the opportunity to work across our enterprise family.

Job Brief:
The Senior Project Manager (SPM)-Suswastha is responsible for managing the project cycle of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) funded ("Good Health"): Strengthening warning systems, infrastructure, and health responses for climate-sensitive diseases and disasters "Suswastha (Good Health") project by providing programmatic guidance and solutions to team leadership ensuring that the programmatic goals/deliverables are met. The SPM works collaboratively with headquarters to ensure project success. Duties include organizing and coordinating technical, administrative, logistical, and managerial support project implementation and program development within the Program Business Unit (PBU).

Responsibilities:

Project Management

• Manage, model and coach Suswastha project colleagues in best practices in project cycle, especially adherence to the Project Management Manual as well as complementary policies and procedures related to subawards, procurement, and finance and administration.
• Take active management roles in project startup processes including participating in the handover from the Program Strategy and Business Development and Grants and Contracts teams, convening project startup processes with relevant stakeholders, and participating in the recruitment of project staff (e.g., writing job descriptions, participating in interviews, etc.) as required.
• Work in partnership with Project Managers/Coordinators/Officers/Directors/Team Leads in monitoring implementation of the country-level programs, including tracking progress of program targets and deliverables, identifying issues/challenges that need to be addressed, and ensuring that technical and financial reporting requirements are met in line with Project Management Manual as well as complementary tools, policies, and procedures. Serve as prime and subaward contract and grant agreement's primary focal point unless otherwise assigned.
• Fully understand Takeda rules and regulations apply knowledge to monitor for compliance for various actions during project start up, implementation, and close out (e.g., procurement, budget adjustments, modifications).
• Develop and manage new award/projects development, approval, implementation, and closedown deadlines and flow process in accordance with the Project Management Manual and relevant donor requirements. Play designated role on in these teams as assigned.
• Collaborate with country staff and International Finance to supervise grant funds and sub-agreements and contracts, review budget variance analysis, financial reports, and project spending, and monitor/update spending plans with project teams as required.
• Liaise with the Grants and Contracts team to provide information or carry out follow up actions related to sub-recipient management (contracting, reporting, and monitoring).
• Monitor implementation of the country level programs, backstopping and participating in regular work planning, review of progress toward project targets and deliverables, monitoring expenses vs. budgets, identifying issues that need to be addressed, and implementing needed adjustments.
• Provide inputs into budgeting and forecasting exercises related to project spending within the fiscal year; coordinates with International Finance to support the project team in timely review, analysis, and decision making related to spending versus budgets.
• Provide surge support and backstopping of project management roles at the country level, including serving in project leadership functions, acting as legal representative, and other project and operational roles.

Coordination and Collaboration:

• Based on knowledge of the PBU and project portfolio, provide inputs into interdepartmental efforts such as quarterly portfolio reviews, program implementation and learning exchanges (PILE), and other program reviews, audits, and strategic initiatives.
• Manage documentation of Corus' technical capacities based on project achievements in coordination with country team and partnership with Technical Advisors in the Quality Impact and Learning team.
• May represent Corus for technical and planning meetings and at professional conferences and other events in the internationally.
• Compile project information required for regulatory and donor compliance reporting or internal and external audits, in coordination with relevant teams in the Finance and Administration (F&A) Department.
• Contribute to the wider work of the PBU through active participation in the achievement of the business unit's goals, team meetings, working groups and the development and sharing of technical knowledge and resources.
• Assist with team's administrative duties such as international wire transfers, documentation, and other operational support.

Data Management, Documentation, and Reporting:

• Maintain project communications with donors through implementation for coordination and reporting purposes.
• Lead country teams to prepare high quality, timely technical and programmatic reports, including bi-weekly reports, quarterly and semiannual reports, newsletters, websites and press releases, for internal audiences as well as donors and Corus constituents.
• Ensure data integrity and completeness by maintaining project documentation in electronic databases, including Salesforce and SharePoint.
• Onboard/train new staff in PBU in database entry and reporting functions.

Business Development:

• Articulate the PBU portfolio strengths and challenges to inform positioning, capture, and project development decisions.
• Work with the Managing Director and the Program Strategy and Business Development Unit to implement strategies to strengthen key partnerships with local partners and authorities. Work with the regional team and the Business Development team to prepare concept notes and proposals.
• When requested, serve in a proposal role for relevant country-specific interventions and proposals that are related to their current portfolio and/or technical expertise.

Supervisory:

This position has no direct reports.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's in Public Health with at least 7 years' experience managing and implementing international development programs or equivalent combination of education and experience; Master's desired.
• Experience working with colleagues in a multicultural, multi-linguistic environment.
• Demonstrated experience managing terms and conditions as well as other international donors.
• Proven track record of developing and maintaining strong working relationships with host country counterparts and NGO/FBO/CBO actors.
• Experience working with international partners (NGO/FBO/CBOs, universities and other technical institutions).

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong working knowledge of international donor funding mechanisms (including grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements) required.
• Strong knowledge of international development, including humanitarian standards and best practices, economic development/livelihoods, and health.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills to communicate effectively and credibly, both verbally and in writing.
• Second language fluency preferred.
• Proficiency in Office 365 applications including Word, Excel, SharePoint, and PowerPoint. Experience with Salesforce a plus.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
• Demonstrated ability to lead the coordination of/collaborate on program implementation across multiple teams (between departments, between HQ and country offices, etc.).

Physical and Mental Requirements:

• The physical requirements that may be needed to execute responsibilities may include bending, standing, and walking, etc.
• The mental requirements that are essential to satisfactorily executing the responsibilities outlined in this job description include, but are not limited to: learning new tasks, comprehending, and retaining information, completing tasks independently, effectively communicating verbally and in writing, demonstrating proficiency in using computer software to perform assigned tasks.

Other Duties:

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities for the position. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. All positions are required to perform any additional tasks assigned by the supervisor. Global positions that are bound by contracts will not be changed without notice and approval.

Working Conditions, Travel and Environment:

• LWR has a hybrid work policy, allowing work to be done remotely; 3 days/week minimum in the office is required. The employee must be available to work outside normal office hours or on weekends as required.
• This position must be able to travel as required for standard domestic and international business purposes. While performing the duties of this job in different locations, the employee may be exposed to precarious settings under high-security risks and/or very basic living conditions and outside weather conditions, as well as to infectious diseases.
• If applicable, must have authorization to work in the country of assignment.

As a member of the Corus Family, each employee is expected to:

• Foster a work environment where everyone feels valued and included.
• Support employees' evaluation and promotion processes based on skills and performance.
• Promote a safe, secure, and respectful environment for all members of Corus family, stakeholders in general, and particularly for the communities we serve.
• Follow Corus Code of Conduct helping to prevent any type of abuse including workplace harassment, sexual abuse and exploitation, and trafficking in persons.
• Adhere to the Organizational Core Values.

Corus International prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability status, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by U.S. or International law.