Program Manager
Position Circumstances
- Career Category: Social Work, Exec. / Management, Community Development, Child Protection
- Schedule:Full-time
- Salary: $1150
REPORTS TO: The Program Manager Reports to the Country Director
HOURS: 8:00 am–5:00 pm, Monday to Friday, including a one-hour lunch break
The Program Manager provides strategic and operational leadership for Free To Shine’s program team in Cambodia. The role leads the delivery of high-quality, child-centred, gender-responsive and evidence-informed services that protect girls and support families at risk of trafficking.
Working closely with the Country Director and Leadership Team, the Program Manager oversees program quality, case-management practice, safeguarding, staff supervision, partnerships, planning, budgeting, monitoring and reporting. The role also contributes to organisational strategy, program development, donor engagement and continuous improvement.
Duties & Responsibilities:
- Program Leadership and Strategy
- Provide strategic and operational leadership for the program department and contribute actively to the Leadership Team.
- Lead implementation of approved program plans and ensure activities meet organisational, donor and legal requirements.
- Contribute to strategic planning, program design, funding priorities, grant applications, donor reports and organisational communications.
- Ensure program commitments and reporting obligations are met within agreed timeframes.
- Identify, assess and manage program risks, escalating significant issues as required.
- Lead continuous improvement of program systems, practice, tools, procedures and guidance materials.
- Ensure program staff understand and comply with organisational policies, safeguarding requirements and relevant Cambodian laws.
- Represent Free To Shine in relevant forums and maintain positive relationships with government, schools, communities, NGOs and other stakeholders.
- Maintain confidentiality, ethical conduct and professional standards across all program activities.
- Safeguarding, Child Protection and Case Management
- Uphold Free To Shine’s Child Protection Policy, Code of Conduct and safeguarding procedures, including prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.
- Ensure safeguarding concerns, child-protection concerns and serious incidents are identified, documented, managed and escalated appropriately.
- Promote safe, ethical, child-centred, strengths-based and rights-based practice across the team.
- Conduct field-visit observations and assessments to strengthen professional practice and service quality.
- Lead or support safety meetings and case conferences for complex or high-risk cases.
- Supervise effective case management for girls and families, including intake, assessment, risk assessment, safety planning, referrals, case planning, review, monitoring and closure.
- Provide professional guidance on complex cases and directly manage cases when required.
- Ensure case records, referrals and client information are accurate, confidential and completed in a timely manner.
- Conduct regular file and data-quality checks to strengthen compliance and practice.
- People Management and Team Development
- Lead, motivate and support a high-performing, respectful and collaborative program team.
- Conduct regular supervision, including quarterly satisfaction, progress and performance conversations with supervisees.
- Set clear work expectations, monitor performance, provide constructive feedback and address performance concerns promptly and fairly.
- Identify individual and team learning needs and facilitate relevant training, mentoring, coaching and professional development.
- Promote staff wellbeing, resilience, accountability, inclusion and respectful teamwork.
- Community Engagement and Partnerships
- Build and maintain effective relationships with schools, local authorities, Commune Committees for Women and Children, community leaders, service providers, NGOs and networks.
- Strengthen coordination and safe referral pathways with government and community-based service providers.
- Support the delivery of community engagement, child-protection awareness, women’s leadership and trafficking-prevention activities.
- Ensure required engagement and coordination visits with authorities, schools and community structures are completed.
- Prepare the annual Authority Report and other required program information on time.
- Promote community ownership of child safety, girls’ education, gender equity and trafficking prevention.
- Planning, Budgeting, Monitoring and Reporting
- Lead annual and quarterly program planning with the Country Director and program team.
- Manage program budgets, monitor expenditure and ensure resources are used efficiently, ethically and in accordance with financial procedures and delegated authority.
- Work with finance and operations staff to plan procurement and ensure resources are available for program delivery.
- Ensure assistance provided to girls and families is distributed fairly, safely, transparently and in accordance with program criteria.
- Lead implementation and improvement of monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) systems.
- Ensure program data is accurate, secure, analysed and reported on time.
- Monitor progress against objectives, indicators, targets and performance measures.
- Facilitate reflection and learning to identify challenges, adapt approaches and improve delivery.
- Ensure timely, accurate and evidence-based reports for management, donors, authorities and other stakeholders.
- Maintain program documentation, including work plans, budgets, risk registers, reports, training records, partnership records and case-management oversight records.
- Support evaluations, audits, reviews and other quality-assurance processes
- Undertake other reasonable duties as directed by the Country Director or Leadership Team.
Benefits:
- Unspecified-duration employment contract.
- 18 days paid Annual Leave
- 7 days Special Leave (which includes sick leave)
- All public holidays as specified by the government
- Local health and accident insurance
Expected Profile of Candidates
Languages:
- Khmer - Fluent
- English - Fluent
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's Degree in Social Work, Psychology, Child Protection, International Development, Community Development or a related field
Work History:
- Social work, child protection, community development or a related area for 5 years as a minimum
Skills & Knowledge:
General & Technical Skills
- Demonstrated experience managing, supervising and developing staff in an NGO or community-development setting.
- Experience providing or overseeing case management for children, adolescents and/or families experiencing vulnerability or protection risks.
- Strong knowledge of child protection, safeguarding, gender equity, child rights and rights-based approaches to development.
- Understanding of factors contributing to trafficking vulnerability and their impact on children and families.
- Experience in program planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
- Experience working with government authorities, schools, community structures, civil-society organisations and service providers.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills in Khmer and English.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office and internet-based systems.
- Experience in trafficking prevention, gender-based violence prevention, girls’ education or women’s leadership programming.
- Experience contributing to grant applications, donor reporting and program budgets.
- Experience working with Cambodian government institutions, Commune Councils or Commune Committees for Women and Children.
- Experience supporting evaluations, audits or quality-assurance processes.
Soft Skills
- Values-based leadership and the ability to lead, motivate and develop a diverse team.
- Strong commitment to safeguarding, child protection, child rights, gender equity, inclusion and ethical practice.
- Sound judgement and the ability to manage sensitive, complex and high-risk situations calmly and professionally.
- Strong social-work and case-management knowledge, including supervision and professional decision-making.
- Effective planning, analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build trusted relationships with staff, children, families, communities, authorities and partners.
- Strong written communication, reporting and presentation skills in Khmer and English.
- High organisation, attention to detail and ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.
- Integrity, resilience, self-awareness, emotional intelligence and commitment to confidentiality.
- Willingness and ability to travel regularly to rural communities, including by motorbike on difficult roads.
