Job Summary

The Program Quality Manager provides country-level managerial and technical leadership for program quality across CARE Yemen’s portfolio, ensuring programs are designed, implemented, adapted, and reviewed to a consistently strong standard in line with CARE Yemen’s strategic direction and operational reality in IRG areas. CARE Yemen is focusing its work on integrated water, health and epidemic preparedness; food security and climate-resilient livelihoods; education and youth opportunity; protection and women’s safety and economic participation; and stronger locally led systems and partnerships, with an increasing emphasis on practical, cost-conscious, and evidence-based delivery. 

Reporting to the Deputy Country Director Programs, the role manages the program quality function, line manages senior technical and quality staff, and provides country-level oversight to strengthen practical links between field delivery, technical guidance, accountability, learning, and evidence use. The position is expected to drive coherence across sectors, strengthen standards, tools, and review processes, and ensure program quality remains credible, well-prioritized, and fit for CARE Yemen’s evolving operating model.

JOB RESPONSIBILITY 1 : Lead and manage program quality across the country portfolio

Provide country-level leadership and management for CARE Yemen’s program quality function across the full project cycle so that programs are technically sound, realistic, coherent, and aligned with country strategy and operating context.

Key tasks:
Lead the country’s program quality function across design, start-up, implementation support, review, adaptation, and close-out

• Provide managerial oversight to ensure sectoral and thematic work is coherent, practical, and grounded in field realities across IRG locations

• Set and maintain clear standards, usable guidance, and consistent quality benchmarks for programs and projects• Ensure program approaches are relevant to community priorities, contextual risks, delivery constraints, and likely funding conditions

• Promote integrated programming across priority areas where this improves relevance, quality, and efficiency

• Advise senior management on quality-related priorities, trade-offs, and decisions affecting program performance and strategic direction

• Ensure program quality expectations are realistic and proportionate to the size, complexity, and funding outlook of the portfolio 

End result: CARE Yemen maintains a credible, well-managed, and operationally realistic program quality function that supports stronger program performance across the portfolio.

JOB RESPONSIBILITY 2 : Manage and strengthen the technical and quality team

Provide line management, coordination, prioritization, and development support to senior technical and quality staff so that the team works as one function, with clear accountability and stronger contribution to country-level priorities.

Key tasks:

• Line manage assigned senior technical and quality staff and ensure clear objectives, priorities, and accountability

• Provide managerial direction across technical advisors, quality staff, and relevant field-based roles to ensure consistency and stronger collaboration

• Ensure staff time is directed toward the highest-value quality priorities rather than fragmented support

• Lead performance management, staff development, coaching, and succession support within the function

• Shape a lean and fit-for-purpose quality function that matches CARE Yemen’s operating model and resource constraints• Clarify roles, decision-making, escalation, and ways of working between technical support, quality review, learning, and field implementation support

• Foster a strong team culture focused on problem solving, sound judgment, and timely escalation of risks and bottlenecks

End result: The program quality team operates as a focused, coordinated, and well-managed country function that adds practical value to the country program.

JOB RESPONSIBILITY 3 Lead stronger program design, implementation quality, learning, and adaptation
 

Improve the quality of program design and implementation by ensuring that evidence, field learning, accountability, and technical judgment are translated into practical country-level decisions.

Key tasks:

• Provide substantive technical and quality leadership to concept notes, proposals, design discussions, and technical review processes where program quality input is required

• Ensure programs are designed with clear logic, feasible delivery models, and an appropriate balance between ambition and operational reality

• Review quality risks early and support teams to adapt approaches when context, access, funding, or implementation conditions change• Strengthen use of learning, monitoring findings, review exercises, and field feedback to improve implementation decisions and program design quality

• Promote practical accountability to affected communities and stronger attention to participation, feedback, and access barriers• Ensure technical choices are informed by evidence, prior learning, and realistic assumptions on delivery, staffing, and partner capacity• Strengthen the consistency and quality of technical input to donor reporting, internal review, and program reflection processes

End result: Program design and implementation are more adaptive, evidence-informed, and responsive to operational realities and community experience.

JOB RESPONSIBILITY 4: Provide oversight on standards, compliance, and responsible programming

Ensure program quality systems, technical standards, and review processes support responsible delivery and meet internal and external expectations in a practical and proportionate way.

Key tasks:

• Ensure program quality systems and processes are understood, applied, and monitored in a practical way across teams

• Oversee consistent application of relevant humanitarian, technical, and organizational standards across the portfolio

• Ensure programs consider safety, dignity, access, and practical barriers that may affect how different community members benefit from assistance

• Identify and address risks linked to implementation quality, technical weakness, weak follow-up, or unrealistic design

• Guide strengthening of SOPs, review tools, technical guidance notes, and minimum quality expectations

• Contribute to preparedness for internal review, donor scrutiny, and external engagement on program quality matters

• Ensure stronger documentation of decisions, rationale, and lessons learned in key quality-related processes

End result: CARE Yemen’s programs are delivered with stronger consistency, accountability, and attention to quality, risk, and responsible practice.

Safeguarding

• CARE has a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of abuse. All reports of safeguarding, physical and emotional abuse, neglect, and child abuse, as well as any other type of abuse or misconduct within CARE, are taken seriously. CARE will only hire and retain Employees and Related Personnel who align with our vision, mission, and values. Prior to any employment offer, we shall undertake reference checks with former employers regarding misconduct that applied to this policy.

• CARE undertakes comprehensive measures to ensure the well-being and dignity of everyone we work with, including our employees, partners, and the community we serve.

Job requirements