CFTC - Vice President of Programs and Partnerships

Vice President of Programs and Partnerships

About Canadian Feed The Children

Canadian Feed the Children’s vision is a world in which children thrive, free of poverty. CFTC works with and through local partners in Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Bolivia, and with Indigenous Nations and communities in Canada, to deliver programs that have positive, meaningful, and sustained impact on the health, education and well-being of children and the selfsufficiency of their families and communities.

CFTC is a community and partner-led organization founded over 35 years ago. CFTC helps people achieve long-term change for children, families and communities with a focus on food security and education as catalysts of change, and capacity building to ensure sustainability.

CFTC is achieving significant advances in creating greater food security – especially in the face of the growing impacts of climate change on smallholder farmers – for families and communities through large-scale, collaborative and institutionally-funded projects.

Last year, CFTC reached 147,392 people in 111 high-need communities recognizing that supporting immediate food security and education needs is the first step to healthy futures for children, families and communities. In Canada, support is reaching across Turtle Island where 31 Indigenous partners and communities are helping children and youth re-connect to their heritage, and repair ties broken by colonization and residential schools. Globally,

programs are helping women access financial services, support their families and build new businesses around the world. All through the support of institutional and individual donors as well as foundations.

In 2022, the organization began an exciting new chapter, a revisioning of its future with the launch of a new strategic planning process and rebranding exercise. 2023 will see the completion of this new strategy and the launch of an exciting new brand identity that more closely aligns with the organization’s values.

Mission

To unlock children’s potential through community-led action in Canada and around the world

Vision

A world where children thrive free from poverty

Values

With shared values as touchstones, we are able to act with courage, honesty and integrity to deliver impact.

• We are driven by our mission

• We are innovative and open to change

• We are a listening and respectful organization

• We believe in each other’s potential

Role Summary

CFTC is a community and partner-led organization, and the Vice President of Programs and Partnership’s (VPPP) work will be driven by the goals in our strategic plan, our values, and ultimately delivering high-quality impact through effective partnerships and programs. The VPPP will be a creative, effective systems thinker who sees how the parts of the organization fit together to perform as an impactful, results-oriented organization.

The successful candidate will be a consensus-builder, a collaborator and a coach with the ability to drive action at the organizational level, community/partnership level, and the government/policy level. They will inspire others while living CFTC values. As a proven people motivator, listener and champion of change, the VPPP will deliver team-based results in complex, diverse and ever-evolving environments.

As part of the Senior Leadership team, the VPPA contributes to building and modeling a positive and engaging organizational culture, and establishing a great working relationship with staff, the board of directors and all the stakeholders, including supporting and advancing CFTC’s diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-racism and decolonization efforts. This contribution is of great importance to CFTC work internationally and its work with Indigenous Peoples and organizations across Turtle Island, to ensure alignment with CFTC’s vision, mission and values.

In collaboration with the President and CEO, the VPPP will deepen and strengthen CFTC’s impact through external strategic relations and advocacy efforts. They will serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, the President & CEO, and the Board of Directors.

This VPPP is responsible for strategic development and delivery of global programs and partnerships utilizing best practices to achieve long-term sustainable impact through community-led partnerships while ensuring the highest levels of accountability and reporting at CFTC’s head office, in country offices, and among local partners. The VPPP, in collaboration with Senior Leadership, will contribute to building and modeling a respectful company culture, establish positive working relationships with staff, the board of directors and all the stakeholders, and support and advance CFTC’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

The VPPP will lead the development and execution of a successful institutional funding strategy, with an emphasis on Global Affairs Canada, as well as collaborate with the philanthropy team on the development and implementation of multi-year programs funded by gifts from leadership giving. The VPPP will be responsible for the successful implementation of all multi-year programs and annual core programs funded by private donors. This role works collaboratively and respectfully across countries of operations and with all stakeholders. They will provide leadership in the design and implementation of monitoring, reporting and evaluation systems that strengthen CFTC’s impact on children, youth, their families and communities.

2023 will mark a very exciting year at Canadian Feed the Children. An Indigenous-led strategic planning process is underway and as a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the VPPP will play a key role in developing and operationalizing this new plan.

Responsibilities

Leadership and Governance

• Provide support to the President and CEO in the development and implementation of CFTC’s Strategic Plan and annual operating plans and budgets.

• Participate as a key member of CFTC’s senior leadership team, contribute to a values-driven and performancebased culture at every level of the organization.

• Foster and develop collaboration between departments, business units, and other internal groups to ensure an integrated approach to operations and support CFTC’s strategic goals and objectives.

Program Development and Delivery

• Strategically develop and deliver focused program strategy utilizing best practices to achieve long-term sustainable impact through community-led partnerships while ensuring the highest levels of accountability and reporting across Canada and internationally.

• Provide leadership in the design and implementation of monitoring, reporting and evaluation systems that strengthen CFTC’s impact on children, youth, their families and communities and our ability to report this impact to various stakeholders.

• Ensure proactive planning, implementation and delivery of international and Canada programs aligned with CFTC’s vision and mission, including strategic planning, annual/quarterly operational planning, attendant budgets and financials.

• Ensure quality of program outputs, outcomes and on-time on-budget execution, expenditure controls, effective use of PM tools and online platforms, team management, subaward management, quarterly technical and financial reporting.

Institutional Funding Development and Management

• Lead research, development, delivery and reporting on all institutional funding proposals.

• In collaboration with Philanthropy, ensure programs, budgets and impact objectives are aligned with grant and funding proposals to major donors, foundations and other key funders and funding streams, such as sponsorship.

Strategic Thought Leadership and Government Relations

• Engage and co-ordinate strategic networking with Global Affairs Canada and other organizations, such as Cooperation Canada, OCIC, CanWaCH, Food Secure Canada and other networks, NGOs and agencies.

• Collaborate with the CEO on strategic government relations, policy and advocacy initiatives with key government organizations at the federal and provincial levels.

People & Culture

• Ensure effective leadership and talent cultivation of Programs staff in the country offices and head office, fostering teamwork, personal and team success and values-driven communication within the department and throughout the organization.

Candidate Profile

Key Qualifications

• Post-secondary degree in a related field (e.g., international development studies or Indigenous studies) combined with ten or more years of progressively responsible positions, ideally in the international development sector. In addition, experience working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples in Canada is highly valued.

Experience & Core Competencies

Leadership:

• Strong strategic leadership skills with proven, practical operations expertise in developing community-led and partner-implemented initiatives.

• Ability to lead complex program and project planning, development and evaluation of community-led programs internationally and with Indigenous Peoples and communities in Canada.

• Experience in leading proposal development processes with a demonstrated track record developing, securing and implementing multi-year institutional and other grants with success in negotiating funding with governments and foundations.

• Demonstrated success in cultivating high-performance teams, an inclusive and collaborative leadership style, respectful and effective communication skills, inspiring coaching and supervisory skills.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Experience working with Boards and committees an asset.

Indigenous Partnership:

• Ability to engage in thoughtful dialogue, inclusive and community-led consultations with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

• Knowledge of the social, political, and historical context of Indigenous peoples in Canada, including the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Program management & knowledge:

• Experience with food security programming.

• Sound knowledge of gender equality and its importance for creating and implementing sustainable communityled programs.

• Demonstrated project management skills including project cycle management, results-based management, monitoring and evaluation, and impact reporting etc.

• Strong analytical and reporting skills across a variety of stakeholder groups.

• Commitment to and understanding of diversity, equity, inclusion, decolonization, anti-racism and antioppression, including demonstrated cultural knowledge, sensitivity and awareness of diverse communities.

Other qualifications:

• Ability to travel internationally on a regular basis.

• Eligible to work in Canada.

• Desire to make a sustainable difference while having fun in the process!

Desired:

• Living experience as a person of Indigenous identity.

• Living or lived experience in the Global South.

• Living or lived experience in an Indigenous community.

Equality Statement

Canadian Feed the Children is dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, If you’re excited about this role and believe you have what it takes, but your skills and experience don’t align perfectly with every qualification in this profile, we encourage you to apply.

Ongoing compliance with CFTC policies is a condition of employment and a requirement of this position. These policies include but are not limited to child protection, confidentiality, respect in the workplace and code of conduct.

Equality and diversity are at the core of CFTC’s values. Staff are expected to work collectively and individually to promote a constructive and sensitive approach to others from a variety of backgrounds, where the work of others is valued and respected.

How to Apply

All correspondence, at this stage, should be via Oxford HR. To apply for this post, click on the “Apply” button on the job advert page, complete our online application form, and submit your CV and cover letter. Please provide a CV and cover letter in two different documents, which should be prepared before applying as they will be considered in the application process. The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit.

The document should be saved in PDF in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name-Date (mmyy) e.g., Pat-Jones-CV-122022-CFTC or Pat-JonesCoverLetter-122022-CFTC.

Timeline Closing

Date: February 7th, 2023

Selection Process

All candidates will receive an update regarding their application after the closing date. We advise candidates to add the role email to their safe senders list and regularly check their spam folder.

Queries

If you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or would like to have an informal discussion, please email at canadianfeedthechild-vpprograms@oxfordhr. com in the first instance.

About Oxford HR

Oxford HR operates globally - mainly within the international development and charity sectors. We carry out retained executive search mandates at board and senior management levels. We also offer human resource and organisational development consultancy.

Oxford HR has many years of experience in search as well as an extensive network of international development, social sector, corporate, public sector, and academic contacts from across the world. We carry out comprehensive and often international searches designed to meet the specific needs of our client.