Vacancy title:
Team Leader – Zambia Poverty Reduction Programme

Jobs at:

Deadline of this Job:
Wednesday, September 18 2024 

Summary
Date Posted: Wednesday, September 04 2024, Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:

1 | Introduction to Genesis Analytics

Genesis Analytics is a global African advisory firm. Genesis Analytics was founded in February 1998 in the Johannesburg suburb of Blairgowrie. Since then we have rapidly internationalised, becoming the preeminent consulting firm in Africa, growing to include 14 partners and more than 150 full-time consultants working in over 100 countries across the world. But our roots are still firmly in South Africa.

Our purpose is to unlock value in Africa for our clients and its citizens by helping them to make better decisions that are creative and optimistic, and sustainable and defensible over time. We have forged relationships with government, regulators, corporates, banks, development finance institutions, law firms, development agencies, foundations, NGOs as well as regional and international organisations and law firms.

Our style of working is distinctive. We work collaboratively and with rigour. We like solutions that have a creative, practical bent. We nurture in our staff the courage to speak truth to power. We aim to leave the individuals and institutions with whom we work stronger and more confident than they were before meeting us. We don’t pretend to have a lock on wisdom, but there is strength in our humility. We stay the course.

We work in key human development areas: health, nutrition, and WaSH; youth, education and early childhood development; and social protection and social care. Our social protection team supports our partners in optimising social protection systems for human development. We do this by supporting governments to reform policies, improve financing and access, ensure sustainability, integrate technology for better delivery, and tailor systems to contribute to the more holistic development of individuals and societies. This includes leveraging social protection to improve education and health outcomes, ensuring access to earning opportunities and a decent standard of living, and reducing vulnerability to shocks. We work closely with our partners and with governments to support the development of social protection systems that seek to reach everybody, including particularly vulnerable groups such as refugees and asylum seekers.

Genesis has been working in Zambia since 2007, conducting more than 35 assignments in the past five years. We are currently working closely with the World Bank and the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services to design and pilot service delivery models for the inclusion of vulnerable children orphaned or affected by Covid-19 and other adversities into the country’s Social Cash Transfer Programme. This work involves assessing the implementation of the SCTP, such as its targeting guidelines and its case management framework, to explore whether it is able to reach the most vulnerable children. Our other ongoing work in Zambia includes an education evaluation for UNICEF in Luapula Province; a costing analysis of a health intervention for the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia; and a study for UNDP into climate-related financial risks.

2 | Project Description

Donor: UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Project title: Zambia Poverty Reduction Programme
Duration: 72 months

Zambia is at a critical juncture. Despite consistent economic growth, the benefits have not fully reached those who need them most, leaving over 60% of the population living in poverty as of 2022. 75% of the population survive on subsistence agriculture and are therefore highly vulnerable to shocks and the impacts of climate change. The economy is dominated by extractives and services, and economic growth has failed to translate into poverty reduction. Climate change is disrupting agricultural productivity, inflation is eroding incomes, and a significant debt burden is constraining the government’s ability to respond effectively. These factors have combined to create a cycle of vulnerability, where the most disadvantaged communities are struggling to access basic services, food security, and economic opportunities. Despite these challenges, there are promising developments. Zambia’s social cash transfer scheme stands out as one of the most effective in the region, reaching over 1.3 million households—translating to over 6 million people, or 50% of the poor. The scheme is well-targeted, with the government contributing 60% of its financing, reflecting a strong commitment to social protection.

The UK has a long record of support to Zambia, including two decades of support to Zambia’s flagship social protection programme – helping to build it from a pilot reaching a few thousand households to over a million households. The FCDO’s approach is aligned to Zambia’s eighth National Development Plan and works directly to improve the services that reach the most vulnerable communities through nutrition, social protection, health, and education, while also working upstream to support Zambia to create the jobs and growth to deliver long-term poverty reduction.

Building on the progress and lessons learned from 20 years of FCDO programming in Zambia, the  Zambia Poverty Reduction Programme (ZPRP) aims to reduce levels of poverty and vulnerability by (i) ensuring the poorest and most vulnerable Zambians are protected; (ii) improving the effectiveness, efficiency, accountability and shock resilience and responsiveness of GRZ’s social protection systems; and (iii) transforming service delivery systems, particularly in nutrition, education and sexual and reproductive health to enhance human development, including through strengthening coordination, local governance and linkages to economic development opportunities. The programme will also seek to improve the use of evidence for policy and implementation effectiveness.

Under the ZPRP, FCDO will contract a supplier to implement a flexible and innovative programme which is likely to include (i) piloting innovative approaches to sectoral service delivery and system strengthening; (ii) Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning; (iii) generation and uptake of evidence; and (iv) embedded Technical Assistance in Government ministries.

The FCDO is currently designing the programme and a competitive tender process is expected to commence in early 2025. In preparation for this, Genesis Analytics is building an exciting team of existing Genesis staff, new full-time project recruits, and part-time independent associates.

3 | The Team Leader

Duty station: Lusaka, Zambia
Indicative start date of the project: Q2 2025
Project duration: 72 months

Qualifications and skills

• Preferably a Master’s degree in the field of public policy, political science, social sciences,  economics or equivalent. Alternatively, a University degree in the above-mentioned fields or equivalent with 15 years of relevant experience
• At least 10 years’ experience working in south-central Africa; substantive experience in Zambia is highly preferred.
• At least 5 years’ senior leadership experience as a Team Leader, Director, Executive,  etc
• Significant experience working with senior government stakeholders, preferably also with experience of subnational government
• Technical expertise in one or more of the following fields: government reform, governance, social protection, education, nutrition, health
• Experience in research and evidence uptake and familiarity with approaches to Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning is preferred
  Experience working for or engaging with international donors, UN agencies, INGOs, etc.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build and manage effective partnerships
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including ability to prepare reports and conduct presentations
• Ability to perform under pressure and tight deadlines
• Commitment to transparency and value for money

Education Requirement: No Requirements

Job Experience: No Requirements

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months:

Level of Education:

Job application procedure
• Applications should be made via the job listing available on our website, here: https://genesis-jobs.tenderwell.app/ 
• Further instructions are provided there. Applicants are required to upload a CV. You are welcome to further upload a short cover letter highlighting your interest, availability and expertise, but this is not mandatory.
• Please note:
• We cannot accept e-mailed CVs or other applications (for example, via LinkedIn or other job boards where we might advertise). We will only accept applications received via our tenderwell page
• We will process applications on a rolling basis, so early application is encouraged
• Communication will be limited to short-listed candidates only
• Please note these positions are subject to award of the FCDO contract to Genesis, through a competitive tender process
• Genesis Analytics reserves the right to not proceed with any appointment
• Once you have applied via our career portal, you will receive a system-generated confirmation e-mail that your application was received
• Please be advised that uploaded documents/attachments cannot exceed 4MB in total, as the system will not accept your application if they exceed 4MB combined
• Genesis Analytics reserves the right not to proceed with an appointment of any advertised role
• All appointments will align with Genesis Analytics’ Employment Equity Plan and Transformation Policies
• All applications and personal information will be treated confidentially and in line with all relevant legislation and regulations, including POPIA (RSA) and GDPR (UK)
• Your application and information will be treated confidentially
• To apply for this job please visit genesis-jobs.tenderwell.app.

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