Senior Program Officer

Senior Program Officer
For Programs Promoting Inclusion of Disability in Viet Nam

Viet-Nam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH) (www.vnah-hev.org) is an international NGO based in  Virginia, USA that provide humanitarian and development assistance programs in Viet Nam since 1990. On-going projects include technical assistance to government partners in development and implementation of policies and programs related to people with disabilities and domestic non-profit organizations.  We also provide vocational training and employment assistance; rehabilitation services; delivery of assistive devices for people with disabilities as well as small rural development projects and disaster relief assistance.
In the disability sector, VNAH has played an instrumental role in assisting governmental and non-governmental partners to develop and implement important disability related policies and programs, including the establishment of the National Coordinating Council on Disability - NCCD (2000), Code and Standards on Accessible Construction (2002), the amended Decree on employment for the disabled people (2004),  the Accessible Vehicle Standards and Regulations for Public Transportation (2006), the national Disability Action Program 2006-2010 and 2011-2020, and the National Law on Disability June 2010. In addition, VNAH is working with its partners to promote the inclusion of Vietnamese with disabilities in social and economic activities,  and promote an integrated comprehensive rehabilitation delivery system that incorporates case management and vocational guidance techniques.
VNAH is currently collaborating with key members of NCCD, including the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), Committee on Social Affairs of NA (CSA), the Ministries of Construction and Transportation etc… to implement the above polices/programs and promote new policies/programs, such as the disability law, designed to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities in Viet Nam.  The NCCD is currently led by MOLISA and has 28 members from ministries and organizations most concerned with people with disabilities in Viet Nam.  In addition, VNAH is working with its partners to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in social economic development activities, and support the development of disabled persons organizations. 

VNAH is now looking for 01 position of Senior Program Officer working with Disability Unit in Hanoi.

The senior program officer (SPO) shall be primarily responsible for providing support and leadership to program officers in his/her unit of responsibility for the implementation and completion USAID funded disability program activities and objectives. The SPO shall also provide support, when necessary and as requested, for the design and implementation of other projects funded by the Nippon Foundation, the Ford Foundation and others donors.

The SPO will work under direct supervision of the Assistant Project Director/Deputy Chief of Party.
 
Specific responsibilities and duties include, but are not limited to:
- The SPO shall be assigned with, and provide general supervision to a unit comprised of project officers (as well as interns, volunteers, consultants, if any) that involve in the USAID disability project, particularly in the programmatic areas that were assigned to the SPO mentioned below.
- The SPO will act as a unit supervisor, to provide guidance and support to unit members in all aspect of project implementation and management. The SPO needs to establish monitoring tools to monitor performance of unit members and assist in conducting his/her unit meetings to review and evaluate project performance/ progress.
- The SPO shall, together or in consultation with the DCoP assign tasks to unit members and monitor their performance.
- The SPO shall assist in recruiting new members and evaluation of performance of unit members working within his/her unit. The SPO will also provide recommendations rehiring, promotion/demotion, disciplinary measures or discontinuation of employment of unit members.

Major program duties:
The programmatic focus of the SPO will be primarily on program components that relate to: 1) National Coordinating Council on Disability (NCCD), Vietnam Federation on Disability (VFD), development of an M&E and feedback system, training and implementation of vocational rehabilitation system, coordination of the Blue Ribbon Employer Council (BREC). The SPO will mainly provide  support and advice involving day-to-day implementation. Moreover, when needed or as requested, the SPO will also provide support for other activities, including those related policy development issues and work in coordination with other SPO.

The SPO will assign the management, on daily basis, in all technical and managerial aspects of project/program preparation and implementation (mainly for the above program components), this would include, but not limited to:
- Initiate and guide unit members to design work plan (monthly, quarterly and annually), budget plan, TOR etc., and implement these plans and other project activities.
- Coordinate the general implementation and completion of the assigned project activities in consistence with project objectives, work plans and budgets.
- Set up the internal monitoring and evaluation tools to collect and monitor the progress of the project activities (vis-à-vis planned indicators and target) including those assigned to the SPO and the unit members.
- Advise and report to the DCoP on project progress and problems with a priority on preventing and minimizing difficulties or delays, and in coordination with other SPO unit.
- Conduct regular monitoring visits to project sites, partners and beneficiaries, including out-of-town travel for program and/or organization’s business as assigned
- Undertake other assigned actions to meet program deadlines; objectives and indicators etc., and creatively initiate ideas, approaches to meet these objectives.

Communication and interaction with partners/ external customers:
- External customers include all partners and beneficiaries involved in the projects, and relevant stakeholders including government agencies, DPO, local and international NGO, media and businesses.
- Develop and maintain good and effective communication and working relationship with staff of relevant programs partners and external customer, priority given to direct partners, and beneficiaries of the disability program.
- Conduct regular meetings and communication with these entities as necessary
- Represent, when assigned, VNAH in matters relating to the program.
- Reach out of to and networking with external customers to promote VNAH and disability programs and expand the support network

Others:
- Organize, coordinate, facilitate and participate in project meetings, seminars, workshops, trainings, site visits, and other events;
- Prepare articles, news release, routine correspondence and report ( monthly, quarterly, annual and ad hoc), success story, and assist with the preparation of more complex correspondence, reports and documentation;
- Cooperate  and support the administration and financial unit in monitoring project expenditures and financial reporting relevant to project activities
- Cooperate and support other programmatic units (of VNAH) as needed and as requested.
- Assist in developing new project concepts, proposal and expanding VNAH programs.
- Keep current on Government of Viet Nam and donor policies, programs and plans related to disabilities , social economic issues and other VNAH areas and sectors of interest ( these would include reading relevant reports, monitor/follow up on progress on these issues, doing research, study, analysis, etc)
- Assist in the translation, collection, maintenance and finding of projects documents, success story, donor’s grant file and their requirements
- Complete other duties as assigned.

Qualification Desired
The ideal candidate will have:
- Master’s degree or other professional degree in social science, public health or other equivalences (knowledge of disability is an advantage)
- Thorough knowledge of program management and institutional capacity building.
- Extensive experience with designing, implementing and managing development projects.  
- Proven communication skills and ability to work cooperatively with multiple stakeholders. (Government of Vietnam, international donors, NGOs, etc.)
- Demonstrated problem solving and team building skills.
- Past experience with working  in a deadline oriented organization 
- Experience in quality improvement, monitoring and evaluation desirable
- Fluency in English, written and verbal communication is required
- Demonstrated competency with Microsoft Office applications including Excel, Powerpoint, and Word
- Familiarity with and commitment to inclusion, diversity and right based approach to development and disability

All additional terms and responsibilities of this Program Officer position are as stipulated in VNAH’s Policies and Procedures to which both VNAH and the PO are bound with.

VNAH is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender or disability in its employment and promotion practices.

For more information please call Mr. Bob Horvath, in Hanoi, at 3747 3000 or send expressions of interest and CV to [email protected]