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ASSISTANT MANAGER - SOUTH AFRICA URBAN RESILIENCE & JUST ENERGY TRANSITION PARTNERSHIP SUPPORT PROGRAMME

  • Hybrid
    • Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
  • Corporate Positions

Job description

ABOUT THE PROGRAMME

The Urban Resilience Programme (URP) and Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) Support Programme are FCDO’s flagship programmes in South Africa to deliver inclusive, sustainable and climate resilient – economic development in cities. Over the period of three years (August 2024 – July 2027) the programmes will build local government capability for long-term infrastructure planning, finance mobilisation and sustainable project delivery, and secure public and private investment to drive catalytic economic development. URP was designed to establish project-based support for improved urban management and governance, township economic development and resilient infrastructure, and the JETP Support Programme was established to leverage $9.3bn pledged by donors in support of South Africa’s transition from coal to clean energy. Whilst URP and the JETP Support Programme have similar objectives and vision, they sit as two independent programmes with separate FCDO counterparts and reporting channels.

ABOUT THE ROLE

ASI is recruiting for an Assistant Programme Manager to support the URP and JETP Support Programme teams. The full-time role will be based in Cape Town, with potential for travel in South Africa. The Assistant Programme Manager will work alongside the existing Assistant Programme Manger on URP and the JETP Support Programme, and she/he will work closely with both the Programme Manager and the Senior Programme Manager.

She/he will be a core part of the programme management unit and will help ensure the programmes run smoothly and efficiently. Both South African and international candidates are encouraged to apply.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

This role will initially be responsible for:

  1. Assisting with the day-to-day operational, financial and administrative tasks including the approval and management of invoices and associate onboarding, as well as minute taking and coordination of actions.

  2. Mobilising field operations and logistics, including project office facilities and local procurement of goods and services and workshops.

  3. Developing an understanding of technical and programme delivery processes for URP and the JETP Support Programme; supporting their implementation; and contributing to the success of their objectives.

  4. Ensuring that URP and JETP Support Programme activities are implemented in line with company policies and procedures, with internal targets, and in compliance with the client contracts and regulations.

  5. Fostering and maintaining strong working relationships with the programme team, partners, and other stakeholders to ensure smooth programme implementation.

The role will also be intermittently involved in:

  1. Assisting in activity planning, monitoring and management of work plans and outputs. 

  2. Supporting quarterly written reports to the client and conducting quality assurance of deliverables, technical documents and management reports. 

  3. Contributing to communications outputs. 

  4. Undertaking research to support technical delivery of the programmes.

  5. Capturing and disseminating lessons learned.

  6. Risk management and finding solutions to complex issues. 

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

  • ASI staff, particularly the Senior Programme Manager, Programme Manager, and existing Assistant Programme Manager.

  • Additional staff across ASI, including in the Finance, Legal and Compliance, IT, and People and Talent teams.

  • Key contact persons for ASI’s alliance partner organisations in South Africa.

  • URP and JETP Support Programme teams, particularly the Team Leader, URP Lead, and JETP Lead.

Job requirements

Key Skills and Experiences

  1. An undergraduate degree in economics, political science, international development, business management, or other relevant field from an internationally recognised university.

  2. At least 1-3 years of experience in programme management within donor-funded programmes, ideally with FCDO.

  3. Demonstrated experience of using initiative, client-orientation, risk taking, and working in complex and time-pressured contexts.

  4. Enthusiasm, flexibility and a strong attention to detail.

  5. Excellent communication, inter-personal, and team-working skills.

  6. Strong grasp of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and financial software.

  7. Outstanding written and spoken English.

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