Core Management Skills Trainer

About Chemonics RAMP UP South

Job Summary

RAMP UP-South is building the capacity of municipal employees across southern Afghanistan by providing administrative and management trainings to enhance the ability of municipal officials, managers and technicians to perform core management responsibilities. Administrative training, conducted by RAMP UP-South project staff, has already been launched and will be on-going. RAMP UP-South is now focusing on the development and implementation of management skills training in all six targeted municipalities over the next 10-12 months. These trainings, along with other capacity building initiatives, are designed to support the sustainability of service delivery and revenue generation systems, which will in turn allow municipalities to provide better services to their citizens.

The management skills training will comprise four core areas: project management, human resources management, public procurement, and policy and strategy. The Core Management Skills Trainers will develop training curricula for each core topic and training manuals, deliver trainings to municipal officials, and monitor and evaluate the impact of training on municipal capacity and performance. In preparation for the development and launch of these trainings, the trainers must participate in Training of Trainer events organized by RAMP UP-South to ensure that the project’s objectives are being met and activities are being implemented appropriately. The group of up to 8 trainers selected for these assignments must form a cohesive cadre of professional trainers of municipal employees.

Duties & Responsibilities

Participate in Training of Trainer (ToT) events organized by RAMP UP-South to ensure that the project’s objectives are being met and activities are being implemented appropriately. The ToT will enable the participants to understand how to conduct RAMP-UP South trainings, training methods, RAMP-UP South training standards, how to identify needs for on-the-job assistance to trainees, etc.

Develop new or modify existing training curricula and corresponding training manuals for each core topic.

Deliver trainings, comprising 2 hours of daily classroom training and up to 4 hours of on-the-job training to trainees to complement or reinforce classroom instruction, to municipal officials and designated municipal employees in selected municipalities. The training courses will be between 2 weeks and 1 month.

In collaboration with RAMP-UP South staff, monitor and evaluate the impact of training on municipal capacity and performance through skills testing, employee performance evaluations, and employee self-assessments, as well as other tools that may be identified.

Collaborate closely with other trainers to discuss best practices, issues faced, and to formulate overall training and capacity building strategies through regular (bi-monthly) trainer meetings.

The curricula should cover the following topics:

1. Project Management As a result of the training, municipal officials are expected to exhibit the following competencies when undertaking specific assignments that can be considered discrete projects: leadership, staff development, customer relations, perspective, project planning, negotiating, team building, performance management, risk management, communication, problem solving, organizational effectiveness, and decision making. The curriculum should cover the following sub-topics:

Introduction to Management

Basic Terminologies of Management

Functions of a Project Manager

Managerial Skills and Qualities

Project Management versus Team Leading

Setting up project objectives and constraints; needs assessments

Stakeholder and client roles in project objectives

Resource allocation and management

Establishing a schedule (ie. Gantt charts)

Planning for Monitoring and Evaluation

Key principles for The Monitoring Process (“how to”)

Key principles for The Evaluation Process (“how to”)

2. Human Resources Management As a result of the training, municipal officials are expected to exhibit the following competencies: development and implementation of municipal hiring strategies, recruitment of Tashkeel staff, introduction of staff retention policies and professional development opportunities, management of a growing municipal organization, development and maintenance of appropriate human resources records, management of staff needs and relationships. The curriculum should cover the following sub-topics:

The municipal organization.

Organizational and internal communications.

Leadership and teams.

Managers and employees: the relationship, rights, and responsibilities.

Human resources departments within the larger municipal organization

Management of change.

Personnel management: recruitment and selection; employee development; measuring staff effectiveness; and human resources record keeping.

3. Procurement As a result of the training, municipal officials are expected to exhibit the following competencies: development or improvement of internal procedures and capacities, which may include drafting/upgrading a Rulebook or Standard Operating Procedure on public procurement including the organizational structure for efficient public procurement process and efficient contract management, development or improvement of reporting skills of local authorities to public procurement State institutions, and practical application of the procurement rules and regulations through the development of at least one package of procurement documentation. The curriculum should cover the following sub-topics:

Government of Afghanistan procurement regulations.

Best practices related to public procurement, including open solicitation and competition.

Public procurement process focusing on reviewing commodity and service procurements.

Effectively conducting local public procurements in strict adherence with Government of Afghanistan rules and regulations.

Review and development of required documentation execute procurement.

Transparency, ethics, and conflicts of interest related to public procurement.

4. Strategy, Policy, and Leadership This course is intended to provide an overview of modern methods of managing a city for municipal leaders (e.g., deputy mayors, district managers, and department heads), and should help to identify which of the subsequent core management skills training topics are relevant for which municipal officials. The curriculum should cover the following sub-topics:

The role of strategic planning – goals, processes, and participants.

Afghan National Development Strategy

Managing a municipal organization as a service provider.

Managing successful public sector employees.

Municipal financial management.

Transparency, accountability, and responsiveness.
DELIVERABLES
For each of the core management skills topics, the following deliverables will be required:


Training curriculum that comprises both classroom training and hands-on training/technical assistance. This curriculum should be standardized, but should include opportunities for inclusion of specific points or messages that must be provided to individual municipalities must be approved by the Component 1 Team Leader.

Instructor’s guide to the curriculum. must be approved by the Component 1 Team Leader.

Evaluation report of each training course at half-way through the course and upon completion to be submitted to the Component 1 Team Leader.

Weekly and monthly progress reports on municipality participation in the training courses to be submitted to the Component 1 Team Leader.

Job Requirements

Knowledge of Adult Education Theory and Best Practices.

University degree in training, curriculum development, education and/or other relevant field preferred.

Experience managing training programs relevant to technical areas for government employees and other stakeholders, in municipal governance.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills; fluency in both Dari and Pashtu; English language proficiency highly desirable.

Minimum three to five years of experience in local governance subject matter expertise including: strategic planning, financial management, human resource management, public procurement, or other relevant municipal functions is desirable.

Core Management Skills Trainer

Submission Guideline

Interested Afghan nationals should submit their applications in English (including letter of motivation and detailed CV) before August 08, 2012.
Applications indicating on the subject line the Vacancy Number 005 CMST 2012 should be sent by e-mail to: recruitments@rampup-south.org

Applications received after the closing date will not be given consideration. Only short listed candidates will be contacted for test and interview.

Functional Area

Training

Countries

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