Head of Programme Development & Quality - Sudan at Trócaire · Nairobi

Trócaire is an international NGO. We work with local partners in the world’s most at-risk communities and with people in Ireland to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and injustice and respond to the crises they create. Together we bring about positive and lasting change for a just world. Trócaire works in up to 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. We work towards five goals:

• Promote Access to Justice;
• Achieve Climate & Environmental Justice;
• Ensure Women & Girls’ Protection, Voice & Influence;
• Save Lives and Protect Human Dignity and
• Mobilise the Public on the island of Ireland to achieve Global Justice.

Find out more about the organisation at www.Trócaire.org

Trócaire works through local partners in Sudan delivering an integrated humanitarian & development programme that includes the provision of life saving assistance, food security, livelihood, WASH and protection services while strengthening social cohesion within conflict affected and displaced communities. As a partnership agency, Trócaire works with a portfolio of national and local partner organisations to strengthen their capacities to deliver humanitarian assistance and implement development-oriented programmes in a way that ensures compliance with international standards.

Trócaire is seeking to recruit a Head of Programme Development & Quality (HoPDQ) to be based in Nairobi, Kenya to support local partners in South Kordofan, Sudan. As a member of the Country Management Team (CMT), the Head of PDQ is responsible for driving cross-functional engagement in the development and delivery of Trócaire’s Country Strategy Plans in Sudan, developing annual plans and reporting on results. S/he is responsible for ensuring development and delivery of high quality, evidence-based, innovative programmes in all contexts, that contribute to Trócaire’s Global Strategic Plan.

The Head of PDQ ensures that a robust monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) system is in place, that the country office engages in the collection and use of evidence and that this is shared across the organisation, and that reliable data is used for decision-making.

The Head of PDQ supports strategic positioning with donors and partners and leads on programme and project design to ensure that the country office strategies can be delivered in line with Trócaire’s programme framework, Localisation agenda and a gender transformational approach.

As a senior leader in the country office s/he plays a representational role with the government/authorities, donors, partners, peer agencies, and others.

As one of the most senior staff in the Country Office, the Head of PDQ must demonstrate the qualities of agile leadership. S/he plays a key role in defining and pursuing the strategic direction for Trócaire’s programmes in Sudan, ensuring the relevance, coherence, safety and impact of our programmes in all contexts.

This is a challenging role requiring an individual who can work with complexity and multiple tasks at one time. It demands dedication to demonstrating outcomes for communities at risk, experience in integrated programming and a highly motivated leader. S/he has specific oversight for ensuring that programmes demonstrate thematic excellence in contributing to Trócaire’s Global Strategic Plan.

About the Role

The Head of PDQ will report to the Country Director in Nairobi and will lead, develop and empower an experienced, committed and hardworking team of 12. The Head of PDQ will directly line manage four Programme Coordinator including the MEAL Coordinator, Protection & GBV Coordinator, Food Security, Livelihoods & Resilience Coordinator, and a Health & Nutrition Coordinator. The Head of PDQ will work closely with the Business Development & Grants Manager, Finance & Admin Manager, and HQ/global technical advisors.

This is a two-year fixed-term contract, renewable, based in Nairobi, with frequent travel to programme locations in Sudan.

Key Areas of Accountability

Strategy, Planning and Reporting

• Lead the development, implementation and review of programme strategies in Sudan, ensuring alignment with Trócaire's Global Strategic Plan and Country Strategic Plans.
• Drive strategic programme planning, prioritisation and adaptive management to ensure programmes remain relevant, context-responsive and impactful.
• Lead annual planning, programme reviews and reporting processes, ensuring evidence-based decision-making and organisational learning.
• Promote innovation, learning and continuous improvement across programmes and partners.
• Identify and monitor strategic and programme risks, ensuring appropriate mitigation measures are integrated into planning and decision-making.
• In collaboration with the BDGM, ensure programme growth, fundraising prioritisation, donor positioning, and strategic partnerships.

Programme Development, Quality, and Learning

• Provide strategic leadership to ensure programmes are evidence-based, partner-centred and aligned with Trócaire's Programme Quality standards.
• Ensure robust MEAL systems, knowledge management and learning processes are embedded across programmes.
• Lead programme quality improvement efforts, including reviews, evaluations, learning and adaptive management.
• Ensure cross-cutting priorities including gender equality, safeguarding, disability inclusion, accountability, conflict sensitivity and nexus approaches are integrated across programming.
• Promote innovation, evidence generation and the use of learning to strengthen programme effectiveness and impact.
• Promote a culture of learning, reflection, evidence generation, knowledge management, and adaptive management across programme teams and partners, organization wide and externally.
• Ensure research and evaluation jointly with Programme, Impact & Learning Unit at HQ to generation of evidence for development and improvement of programme approaches, sound decision making and policy influencing internally and externally.

Programme Oversight and Risk Management

• Maintain strategic oversight of programme performance, grant health, compliance and risk management across the portfolio.
• Support Programme Coordinators and Officeres to deliver high-quality programmes that achieve intended outcomes and meet donor and organisational standards.
• Ensure effective programme monitoring, reporting and documentation systems are in place.
• Ensure regular documented structured team meetings for information exchange and strategic discussions as well as to facilitate rolling out of organisational programme processes and policies within the country team.
• Promote integrated programme and finance oversight to strengthen accountability, risk management and partner support.
• Oversee a monitoring system that provides timely and accurate project results by embedding MEAL across programme implementation.
• Ensure proper documentation of programmes using Trócaire’s cloud-based Salesforce/Box/Box Drive system.
• Ensure regular and coordinated visits by finance and programme staff to all programme partners to review systems and financial management and to provide support to partners in line with Trócaire’s Partner Governance and Finance Policy.

Advocacy, Partnerships and Localization

• Provide strategic oversight of Trócaire's partnership portfolio, ensuring strong, equitable and accountable partnerships across Sudan.
• Champion locally led approaches and ensure localisation commitments are embedded across programme design, implementation and learning.
• Support the development of evidence-based advocacy priorities and policy positions linked to programme learning and contextual analysis.
• Strengthen strategic engagement with partners, networks and stakeholders to advance programme objectives and influence.
• Support partner diversification, capacity-sharing and organisational development in line with Trócaire's partnership approach.

People Leadership

• Lead, mentor and develop a high-performing programme team, fostering accountability, collaboration, innovation and continuous learning.
• Line manage Programme and MEAL Coordinators.
• Ensure staff have clear objectives, performance expectations and opportunities for professional growth and leadership development.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration and effective teamwork across programme, finance, business development and support functions as well as with global technical advisors.
• Maintain oversight of the country office technical capacity and development (with People & Culture), ensure that positions are adequately funded (with Finance & BDGM), and secure specialised expertise to fill gaps, when needed.

Representation and Senior Management

• Represent Trócaire externally with donors, partners, coordination forums and other stakeholders as delegated by the Country Director.
• Actively contribute to Country Management Team leadership, strategic decision-making and organisational performance.
• Support strategic positioning, donor engagement, fundraising and external communications efforts.
• Deputise for the Country Director when required and undertake other responsibilities consistent with the role.
• Fulfil other reasonable duties and responsibilities, as requested by the Country Director and Head of Portfolio FCAS, including deputising for the Country Director when necessary or appropriate.

Experience:

• Minimum 7 years in leading multi sector humanitarian/development programming.
• At least 5 years managing managers and playing a leadership role in ensuring cohesiveness, inclusion and development of staff at all levels.
• Experience in working in Sudan or similar context
• Proven technical experience in designing and leading the implementation of humanitarian and development strategies, program development and sectoral interventions across multiple thematic areas: Protection, Public Health, Livelihoods, Food security, Social Cohesion, Cash-based interventions as well as applying a nexus approach, is highly desirable.
• Experience in partnership-based programming and programme quality benchmarks.
• Demonstrated successful fundraising and donor engagement experience.
• Strong strategic leadership and people management skills.
• Ability to navigate security protocols and develop risk management strategies for operations in Sudan.
• Solid experience of managing teams in a multi-cultural environment and playing a leadership role in ensuring cohesiveness, inclusion and development of staff at all levels.
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship management skills and demonstrated ability in using these with internal and external stakeholders (partners, donors, host government etc.).
• Demonstrated ability to manage budgets in complex humanitarian contexts.

Qualities:

• Highly organised, with excellent planning, prioritisation and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written, oral and presentational communications skills.
• Fluency (written and spoken) in English. Arabic desirable.
• A team player but also willing and able to work with minimal supervision.
• Ability to multitask, work under pressure and to deadlines.
• Patient and pays high degree of attention to detail.
• Trócaire experience an added advantage
• Understanding of, and empathy with, the role of the Catholic Church in development.
• Ability and willingness to travel within and across countries (Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan) and internationally including travel to HQ in Ireland.

For the candidate with the required experience and passion for the role, Trócaire offers a competitive package of salary and benefits on local Kenya terms and conditions. Candidates must have right to work and live in Kenya. Trócaire does not offer work sponsorship for this position.

This is a Two year Fixed Term Contract, subject to renewal, based in Nairobi with regular travel to programme locations in Sudan.

Closing Date: 16th November 2026