Senior Project Officer – Mupaka Shamba Letu
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Title of post |
Senior Project Officer |
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Line manager |
Project Manager, Mupaka Shamba Letu |
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Management responsibility |
Partners, Project officer, Consultants to the project in Rwanda |
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Place of work |
Kigali – Rwanda, with frequent travel to Rubavu, Rusizi, Bugarama Nemba and occasional travel to North and South Kivu in DRC for team activities |
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Grade |
3.2 |
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Duration of contract |
Fixed term contract of 12 months with the possibility of renewal |
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Salary |
Competitive and in line with Alert’s salary scale in Rwanda. |
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INTERNATIONAL ALERT |
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International Alert (Alert) is an international organization headquartered in the United Kingdom that works to build peace by working with local civil society organisations through research, advocacy, capacity building, inclusive dialogue, and political and civic participation. Alert often works in collaboration with other national and international partners to deliver its projects. In this project, Alert will work with 7 local partners, each of whom will have a long experience of working on issues of cross border trade in 4 border regions:
The goal of the project is to contribute to a more inclusive society, improved cooperation, and sustainable peace in the Great Lakes region of Africa. The project focuses on strengthening the role that women traders living in these border communities can play in facilitating greater understanding between communities, through cross border trade. The specific objective of the project is to strengthen the capacities of women small-scale cross-border traders in border areas of DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi to jointly challenge gender dynamics that contribute to conflict in their communities and the wider region and use their influence to promote greater social cohesion and regional cooperation. Focusing on four border crossing points, the project aims to achieve four key results:
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General description of the position
The aim of this post is to accompany the implementation of activities of Alert’s Mupaka Shamba Letu project with the support of local organisations and groups of small-scale women cross-border traders in building peace, strengthening economic empowerment, and strengthening civic and political participation. The Senior Project Officer will work under the supervision of the Project Manager and in close collaboration with the Rwanda Country Director.
The Senior Project Officer will collaborate with Alert’s administrative and finance teams to ensure an effective accompaniment of local actors involved in the project and to ensure that all regulations and procedures of both International Alert and the donor are respected by implementing partners.
Description of responsibilities
Ensure the effective implementation of activities
- Assist the Project Manager in the management of the project and act as a technical adviser of the project in the domain of small-scale cross border trade in Rwanda;
- Assist the Project Manager in the planning and organisation of activities;
- Be the project focal point for all activities being implemented in Rubavu, Rusizi, Nemba/Ruhwa, and Bugarama;
- Accompany partner organisations in the planning and implementation of activities against the work plan and the project strategy in collaboration with the Project Manager and ensure that partners adhere to the terms and conditions of their contracts on the project;
- Provide technical assistance to facilitators employed by partner organisations and accompany them in the implementation of activities, ensuring that the project’s results are sustainable, that partners’ capacities are strengthened, and that the project has greater impact;
- Plan training in collaboration with the Project Manager and participate in their execution;
- Work closely with the Project Manager to accomplish all relevant activities pertaining to the project.
Support the Project Manager in the establishment and implementation of appropriate systems and procedures for the implementation of the project and lead on some elements of strategy development
- Ensure that project partners respect and apply all of Alert’s administrative, logistical and financial systems, as well as those of the donor, Sida, and respect the laws of Rwanda, specifically labour laws;
- Coordinate and organize activities using a community and participatory approach to achieve the expected results of the project;
- Actively contribute to the development of the project’s strategy and activities to ensure that these are conflict and gender sensitive, for example:
- Ensure that the principles of inclusion, representation and participation of women and ethnic groups are taken into account in the implementation of every activity in the project
- Ensure that gender and conflict-sensitive approaches are integrated into all activities through the participatory identification of beneficiaries
- Technically accompany the staff of partner organisations as they implement project activities to ensure that these contribute to the overall objectives of the project and are aligned with the project strategic direction;
- Support the Project Manager in the preparation and organisation of the project evaluation workshops together with partners;
- Undertake regular security, political, and social analysis in the cross-border regions and share this analysis with the Project Manager, together with recommendations on how to adapt activities/strategies to the context.
3. Reporting monitoring, and evaluation
- ake the lead in the organisation and facilitation of reflection and planning sessions with partners as often as necessary and develop recommendations for the adaptation of the strategy of the project based on the results of these sessions;
- Organise activities together with partners, including advocacy activities and exchanges;
- Identify the capacity building needs of partners, make clear recommendations to the Project Manager, organize appropriate training sessions that respond to these needs;
- Take the lead in ensuring that the narrative and financial reports of partners are submitted on time and conform to the rules and procedures of Alert and the donor;
- Collect and give constructive feedback on partner organization’s activity reports and develop reports based on the context and other data collected from the field; submit these reports to the Project Manager in a timely fashion.
- Assist partner organizations in editing their reports, ensuring these are results-driven;
- Collect data against the impact indicators of the project and develop reports in line with the monitoring and evaluation plan of the project, under the supervision of the Monitoring and Evaluation team; make recommendations on how project activities and strategy can be adapted based on the results of these impact indicators;
- Ensure that any data collected and shared by partners is reliable;
- Undertake field visits as often as possible in order to ensure the effective implementation of activities by partners and ensure these are being implemented in line with the TORs validated by the Project Manager;
- Collect stories of success and lessons learned on a monthly basis and share these with the Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer.
- Participate in and accompany different types of evaluation undertaken during the course of the project;
- Participate in the development of the annual project report in collaboration with the Project Manager.
4. Contribute to the internal and external coordination of the project, and strategic advocacy activities
- the focal point of the project in Kigali; take the lead in the coordination, strategic engagement, and active participation of state actors and private sector in the activities of the project in Rubavu, Rusizi, Bugarama, Nemba/Ruhwa, and Kigali, in particular, results pertaining to Results 3 and 4 of the projects;
- Take the lead on developing and implementing the business for peace strategy for the project in Rwanda, in close collaboration with the Project Manager.
- Contribute and assist in weekly staff meetings, sharing regular updates on the project;
- Actively participate in Alert team meetings and other meetings as required;
- Coordinate with partners of Alert’s other projects in Rwanda and in the Great Lakes region; identify potential synergies and make clear recommendations on how project activities/strategy can be adapted appropriately;
- Ensure good relations and cooperative with state authorities at the sector, district, and national level, with different communities and more specifically the women small scale cross-border traders and other key actors to the project to ensure that they engage actively in the peacebuilding, economic empowerment, and civic participation processes implemented as part of the project;
- Participate in relevant coordination mechanisms, representing the project in Rwanda and feeding back to the Project Manager;
- In collaboration with the Project Manager, identify and support the organization of strategic advocacy activities and initiatives.
PROFILE OF THE POSITION
TRAINING
Essential
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Essential |
Desirable |
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Be of Rwandan nationality. |
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Hold a university degree in social sciences, rural development, agroeconomic science, political science, international relations, or a similar domain. |
EXPERIENCE
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Essential |
Desirable |
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At least 6 years of experience in supervising community development projects, including budget planning and monitoring. |
Substantial professional experience in the supervision of social cohesion, women’s economic empowerment, and community projects. |
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At least 5 years’ experience in the domain of social cohesion through women’s economic empowerment, engaging women/gender in community processes, business, and decision-making positions. |
Have skills and direct experience of facilitating various training workshops and the development of training modules. |
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Experience in economic development, working with VSLAs and cooperatives, participatory action research, and strengthening women’s engagement in decision-making procedures. |
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Be capable of cultivating and maintaining open, non-discriminatory, and professional relationships with communities, public administration, and representatives of other organisations implementing projects in the same cross-border regions targeted by the project. |
KNOWLEDGE AND COMPETENCIES
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Essential |
Desirable |
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Demonstrate strong professional integrity and respect the principles of the organization. Have a commitment to equality and justice and a high degree of loyalty to the organisation. |
A good understanding of written and spoken English will be a considerable advantage as well as the ability to speak local languages. |
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Demonstrable capacity to work in an objective and apolitical manner. |
Have direct experience in the implementation of projects that use a gender-based approach. |
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Be capable of developing good interpersonal relationships and of working in a multi-disciplinary and diverse organizational culture. |
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Excellent French language skills. Strong capacity to develop different types of documents. |
Be methodical and pay attention to detail, know how to organise your work, especially in respecting priorities and deadlines. |
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Have a good understanding of gender-sensitive approaches and how to practically apply this concept. |
Be practical, know how to identify problems, and propose alternative positive solutions that benefit all concerned and fall within the deadline. |
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Know how to respect deadlines, strong capacity to organise workloads, and in managing multiple urgent priorities concurrently. |
Have experience in developing written activity reports related to project implementation. |
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Knowledge of the following programmes: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and the internet. |
Excellent knowledge of other Microsoft office products and a good understanding of IT. |
PERSONAL QUALITIES
Essential Essential
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city to work under pressure and with autonomy while still in line with the ethics of the organisation and in maintaining a high quality of work. |
Commitment to the approach and values of Alert, in particular in responding to the needs of populations affected by conflict. |
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Ability to think strategically |
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Capable and willing to take proactive decisions and to adapt when necessary. |
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Capacity to manage conflicts tactfully, strong capacity in communicating diplomatically with others, and in facilitation. |
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Capacity to respond to needs in an independent manner and with a minimum of technical supervision. |
Applications for the post should be send by email only no later than 15 December 2020 to Rwanda@international-alert.org with NZihindula@international-alert.org in copy.
Please mention the following reference in the subject heading of your email:
Each application should consist only of the following documents:
- A curriculum vitae that clearly respond to the education, experience, and essential skills mentioned in the table above
- A cover letter that explains why you are the ideal candidate for the position as well as what has motivated you to apply for the position.
Please note that only selected candidates will be contacted in the next step of the application process.
Women candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
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