Program Director - The Philippines - Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative

BRAC is an award-winning international non-governmental development organization, with the vision of a world free from all forms of exploitation and discrimination, where everyone has the opportunity to realize their potential. BRAC is a leader in developing and implementing cost-effective, evidence-based programs to assist poor and disadvantaged communities in low-income countries, including in conflict-prone and post-disaster settings. It is an organization of and for the people of the Global South, pioneering new development and social enterprise approaches to equip communities to achieve prosperity. As well as being the world's biggest NGO by the number of staff and people directly reached, BRAC has regularly been ranked the number one NGO in the world by the Geneva-based NGO Advisor, an independent organization committed to highlighting innovation, impact, and governance in the non-profit sector. BRAC retained the top spot in 2023 among the top 500 NGOs for the fifth consecutive year.

BRAC was founded in Bangladesh in 1972 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. It started its first program outside of Bangladesh in Afghanistan in 2002 and has since reached more than 6.5 million people in 11 countries in Africa and Asia. BRAC has a holistic approach to development that uses a wide array of programs that include microfinance, education, health, agriculture, gender, and human rights. BRAC invests in communities’ own human and material resources, catalyzing lasting change and creating an ecosystem in which the poor have the chance to seize control of their own lives.

About the Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative

The Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (“UPGI”) is a global unit of BRAC that was founded in 2016 to build off the success of BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation program in Bangladesh. BRAC UPGI aims to position the Graduation approach as a key driver to eradicate extreme poverty worldwide. It does this by:

●      Advocating for uptake of the Graduation approach by policymakers, national governments, multilateral institutions, and non-governmental organizations; and

●      Effective adaptation and implementation of the Graduation approach in countries around the world, supported through technical assistance and capacity strengthening for external stakeholders.

In 2002, BRAC pioneered the Ultra-Poor Graduation (“Graduation”) approach in Bangladesh - a holistic intervention to help people lift themselves from extreme poverty - after recognizing that existing poverty alleviation programs were not reaching the poorest people. Through the provision of livelihood assets, cash transfers, and continued mentoring and training, the Graduation approach addresses participants’ multidimensional needs within the local context and helps lift people from extreme poverty into sustainable livelihoods.

Graduation is an evidence-based, scalable intervention proven to break the poverty trap for the long term. So far, BRAC’s flagship Graduation program has impacted over 2 million Bangladeshi households—totaling over 9 million people. To help eradicate extreme poverty, BRAC UPGI is working to scale globally by integrating Graduation into existing government programs and help 21 million more people lift themselves from extreme poverty by 2030.

The BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) seeks to hire a Program Director to spearhead BRAC UPGI’s efforts to scale the Graduation approach in the Philippines.  The Program Director will drive sustained impact on extreme poverty through engaging and influencing governments, local partners, and other key stakeholders to adopt, implement, and scale Graduation programs and policies.  Currently, BRAC UPGI has developed key partnerships with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Management and Budget (DMB) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). 

Reporting to the Director of Country Portfolio, the Program Director for the Philippines will lead and implement BRAC UPGI’s country strategy, oversee technical assistance engagements with partner organizations including governments, multilateral and bilateral institutions, develop and maintain close working relationships with civil society organization and development actors engaged in programs or advocacy initiatives designed to assist people in extreme poverty. 

In addition, the Program Director will create and leverage opportunities for policy reforms that address extreme poverty; and work collaboratively with BRAC UPGI’s global support units (Operations, Policy and Practice, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, and Program Design and Impact) to embed the Graduation approach into the Government of the Philippines’s social safety net programs.

The Program Director plays a critical role in strategy development, cultivating strategic partners, influencing policymakers, and strengthening the technical capacity of government personnel and other partners.

This position will be based in Manila and will work closely with team members based in the US, Europe, Asia, and Africa. 

Strategy Development

●      Refine and enhance BRAC UPGI’s country engagement strategy and work plan in the Philippines, developing new partnerships and expanding current relationships with existing partners.

o   Explore new opportunities to engage and influence program development and policy revisions with government counterparts.

o   Conduct strategic stakeholder meetings and workshops and share learnings and evidence with partners to drive influence.

o   Assess opportunities to work directly with Local Government Units (LGUs) with high levels of extreme poverty and enhance locally led poverty alleviation programs.

●      Cultivate and manage partnerships with the government (at multiple levels), multi/bi-laterals, donors, and private sector actors.

●      Create stakeholder engagement strategies that drive the overarching country strategy in coordination with UPGI’s technical support units.

Country Engagement

●      Actively engage in government consultations and working groups, multi- and bi-lateral working groups, and civil society working groups related to poverty reduction, economic inclusion, and social protection.

●      Identify policy asks for governments and develop policy briefs to support national scale-up of Graduation, including where and how the Graduation can be integrated into new or existing government policies/programs.

●      Identify, explore, and pursue partnership opportunities and entry points for scaling the Graduation approach within the Philippines more broadly with many potential stakeholders, including government, CSOs, media, peer agencies, think tanks, and other research organizations.

●      Manage and oversee the implementation of BRAC UPGI’s USAID Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) program in partnership with DOLE, DSWD and other actors. 

●      Support government capacity building and training efforts for local government service providers on crucial Graduation topics to address skills and capacity gaps (monitoring, evaluation, livelihood development, and beneficiary targeting, for example). 

●      Support country engagement team members liaising with and advising national and local government and multilateral institution partners such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and various UN agencies on the design, delivery, evaluation, and promotion of impactful Graduation and other economic inclusion approaches integrated into social protection systems nationally.

Other (Safeguarding Responsibilities)

●      Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation to achieve the program’s goals of safeguarding implementation.

●      Practice, promote and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action. 

●      Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, and encourage others to do so.

●      A proven track record in developing strong relationships with partners, governments, civil society actors, multilateral institutions, and/or peer agencies.

●      Master’s degree in social sciences, international development, or other related fields required.

●      7 - 10 years of experience in international development, government service, NGOs, or civil society organizations required.

●      Sector expertise in livelihoods and economic inclusion, social protection, gender, or financial inclusion; Graduation, cash-plus, or similar experience preferred.

●      Proactive leader with the ability to prioritize and effectively manage competing work streams.

●      Strong knowledge of the Philippines government systems, previous experience working within government institutions, highly desirable.

●      Proven experience developing conducive work environments, environments that encourage and promote debate, inclusiveness and innovative thinking.

●      Diplomatic, with strong interpersonal skills and a high degree of political sensitivity. 

●      Fluency in English and one or more national language required.

●      Exceptional communication and representational skills.

This is an outstanding opportunity to support a highly effective, collaborative, and innovative non-profit. BRAC International offers a competitive salary and benefits package.  If you feel you are the right match for the position mentioned above, please follow the application instructions accordingly:

Please submit your resume and detailed cover letter, via the below link ;

PROGRAM DIRECTOR - PHILIPPINES 

Only complete applications will be accepted, and short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Application deadline: September 16, 2024