TITLE: Program Officer (PO) 
UNIT: Nepal Office
REPORTS TO: Sr. Program Officer/ Program Director 
SUPERVISES: Relevant Consultant

THE ASIA FOUNDATION NEPAL CORE VALUES

At The Asia Foundation, we are committed to the following core values:

1. Caring Trust: To foster and promote healthy relationship among team members,
2. Open Communication: To uphold trust and actively increase it among ourselves and our partners,
3. Inclusive Community: To ensure acknowledgement of and respect for our diversity,
4. Ownership: To provide the freedom to define the right approach and be genuine with each other about ideas, learning and responsibilities,
5. High Quality Effective Work: To work intentionally in the focus areas of our country strategy while maintaining high quality technical and professional standards in our fields with maximum efficiency and agility.

We seek candidates who bring not only the required skills and experience but also demonstrate a deep alignment with our core values.

1. SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES

The Program Officer (PO) provides technical and programmatic support for the Subnational Governance program (SNGP). This will require maintaining professional relations with the designated implementation partners, consultant/s, and relevant government agencies. They will also be responsible for identifying emerging issues and program opportunities, assisting in building program relations with multi stakeholders at federal, provincial and local tiers and in program implementation. They will act as the point of contact for assigned implementing partner/s to foster inter-provincial collaboration and coordination between provinces tier and different tiers of government.

The Program Officer will also be responsible for building and maintaining strategic partnerships, cultivating, and supporting formal and informal networks, and managing recipients, and services. And will facilitate different events, workshops, training, or other on-demand services from province governments with ensuring activities are accessible, equitable, and inclusive for targeted groups.

The position will participate in regular field visits to program locations and should have strong reporting writing skills, identify issues and challenges, and develop and recommend solutions. Furthermore, they will provide support for developing program acquisitions as assigned by the Governance Director, Deputy Program Director, Deputy Country Representative, Country Representative, or designate.

2. RELATIONSHIPS

Internal

Regular contact with the supervisor, Governance Director, Deputy Program Director, Deputy Country Representative, Country Representative, and other program staffs, grantees, and independent contractors of The Asia Foundation – Nepal.

External

Frequent contact with the province government stakeholders, such as Office of the Chief Minister officials, sectoral ministries, province planning commission, province parliamentary secretaries and committees, relevant agencies of province governments, the private sector, civil society organizations, media, professional organizations, and academic and other local institutions, at all three tiers of government.

3. REQUIREMENTS

Education

Master’s degree in public administration, political science, economics, law, development studies or other relevant fields in social science.

Experience:

Minimum of five years' experience in programming, planning, and implementing development programs in the areas of governance, policy-making, and intergovernmental coordination. Proven project management skills and experience, with strong problem-solving ability, with prior experience in report writing, finance and grants management. Two years’ experience in lieu of master’s degree may be considered.

Other

• Demonstrated in-depth knowledge of Nepal’s federalism implementation, intergovernmental coordination, subnational coordination mechanism, research and evidence-based dialogues with sound understanding of political, economic, and social context.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills in English and Nepali, and the ability to harmoniously interact with people from a diverse cultural and professional backgrounds.
• Proven management, analytical, and research skills, with strong problem-solving ability.
• Advanced data analysis skills (both qualitative and quantitative) and report writing skills.
• Willingness to travel to provinces, districts, and municipalities across the country.
• Ability to work under pressure in a team environment or independently.

4. JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Support and Management

• Provide programmatic management leadership to fostering federalism dialogues on interprovincial coordination, horizontal and vertical collaboration, generating evidence on governance and federalism and evidence-based policy dialogues.
• Provide support in the management of the stability pillar of SNGP, including but not limited to, intergovernmental relations and coordination, generating data and evidence on governance, and policy dialogues. Work closely with the SNGP program team to establish synergies and coherence between the different components of the program including cross- cutting areas of monitoring, learning and evaluation, gender and social inclusion, and communications.
• Support preparation of the program reporting requirements such as monthly updates, quarterly reports, annual reports, annual work plans, and other documents.
• Provide substantive input, coach, and assist grantees, contractors, and consultants as they plan, design, and implement project activities, write reports, and document the impact of program. Ensure timely reporting and that quality deliverables are received from partners/grantees.
• Conduct rapid needs assessment and generate data related to federalism, democratic governance, public institutions, and gender equality, disability, and social inclusion issues.
• Conduct field visits and establish a good working relationship with relevant stakeholders, and federal, provincial, and local tier government authorities.
• Coordinate with different thematic areas of the SNGP to bring synergy in the program implementation to ensure coherence, compile, maintain, and report on program statistics to prepare reports for donors and the Foundation Headquarter.
• Collect necessary data/information for reporting requirements, monitoring, and evaluation of the program interventions, and ensuring linkages between contributions of SNGP and annual outcome and output indicators.
• Ensure that gender equality, disability, and social inclusion are effectively mainstreamed throughout the program and address through targeted activities to contribute to increased intergovernmental coordination, and evidence-based research and policy dialogues.
• Track ongoing developments at both national and sub-national government mechanisms, intergovernmental coordination, collaboration across the sectoral authorities in the provinces. Provide regular feedback to the supervisor, Deputy Program Director, and Governance Director, on contextual issues impacting program implementation including in generating briefing notes, program summaries, and presentations.
• Track activities of development partners, also implementing governance-related activities at the national and sub-national tiers.
• Compliance with all Foundation and donor policies, procedures and practices when carrying out all activities.

Financial Management

• Assist potential partners/grantees develop their budget proposal, monitor their expenditures, and ensure that they are within approved budget and that spending targets are met.
• Prepare partnership management documents such as memos, letters of grants, letters of contracts, requests for payment, and procurement requests, as necessary.
• Work closely with the supervisor for preparing and revising budget management plan, spending projections, and assessing partners and consultants on Child Protection Policy (CPP) and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse & Harassment (PSEAH).
• Coordinate with the Finance & Grants Unit in conducting due diligence of potential partners/grantees. Monitor due diligence to potential partners/grantees performed by Finance and Grants unit.
• Maintain filing system (i.e. consultants’ contracts, grant agreements, grant/ contract amendments) both in electronic and hard copy format.
• Process procurement requests and requests for payments with proper documentation.
• Follow the Foundation’s policies and practices and ensure that all financial documentation related to the program is prepared, updated and settled with respective units, including supporting documents.
• Support partners/ grantees/ contractors to ensure values and compliances of the Foundation.

Representation

• Participate in the Foundations and other meetings, professional forums and events with development partners, governments, civil society organizations and other stakeholders.
• Organize coordination meetings, communication, and liaison with stakeholders.
• Coordinate field visits of donor agencies, policymakers, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Contribute to articles, written materials, and documentation for publication.

Other Responsibilities

• Provide support to other on-going programs and activities of the Foundation as may be necessary.
• Support fundraising and bid proposal development as assigned.
• Other job responsibilities maybe as assigned by Country Representative, Deputy Country Representative, Governance Director or designate.

Applicants are requested to read through the job descriptions above for the position. Job shall be applied through the Foundation Online Job Application form HERE by September 15, 2024. Please attach your Curriculam Vitae (CV) along with a cover letter describing suitability for the position in the Job Application form. In case of any technical difficulties, queries can be forwarded to c[email protected]. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Telephone calls will not be entertained.

The Asia Foundation is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to building a diverse and inclusive office environment. Women and people from economically and socially excluded groups are encouraged to apply.