NGO JOBS

Organization: Farm Africa
Country: Ethiopia
Closing date: 09 May 2014

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The Team Leader will be responsible for leading the overall BRACED project implementation, as well as leading a multi-disciplinary and multi-location team comprised of Farm Africa and Mercy Corps staff. He/she will undertaking overall project management, and planning, donor reporting, as well as coordination of inputs from knowledge partners, and other stakeholders. He/she will be responsible for overall M&E, financial management, and management of the BRACED team. He/she will play a major role in extracting learning from the innovative approach of the project, ensuring that there is evidence to back up the claims of the project, and leading on external stakeholder management across all outputs. The Coordinator will be a renowned international expert in drylands resilience, ideally with experience in the Horn of Africa, and will have a solid background in land use management/ environment and/or climate change. He/she should also have significant experience of working within a market system, especially in difficult environments. Experience of explicitly addressing the needs of vulnerable women through markets-based approaches would be an advantage.

KEY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Successfully manage the implementation of BRACED Ethiopia on behalf of Farm Africa (the lead organisation).

Project planning & delivery

• In consultation with consortium members review and prepare the project’s annual work plan and budget.
• Manage monthly, quarterly and annual work plans for project logistics and activities, identifying and responding to the implications of interdependencies between different sub-project workstream activities.
• Plan for and ensure successful implementation of a sustainable macro exit from the project.
• Ensure that project activities are implemented and outputs achieved as planned and within the agreed budget, striving for Value for Money throughout.
• Prepare quarterly progress reports as per standard Farm Africa procedure.
• Participate in periodic project progress review sessions with the Steering Committee (including Country Directors)
• Proactively identify and monitor any risks to non-delivery and, mitigating actions
• Ensure the timely submission of narrative and financial reports to DFID’s Fund Manager, as well as to the GoE
• Overall financial management and governance of the programme, including ensuring adherence of the project team to procurement, anti-corruption and other FA/MC organisational compliance procedures as appropriate.
• Ensure compliance of the project to the Charities and Societies Agency’s 30:70 directives.
• In liaison with the relevant consortium member leadership, lead on the recruitment of new staff to the project team.
• Provide leadership and motivation to all project staff building values-based team working and individual staff skills relevant to the project.
• Regularly provide both informal and formal coaching and feedback to all project staff
• Hold in-person supervision sessions with all line-managed staff at least once per quarter (to discuss progress against their personal development objectives and work targets) and carry out in-person annual appraisals with all line-managed staff
• Effectively and promptly deal with any poor performance and actively recognise and encourage strong performance

2. Manage the M&E, knowledge and policy/ practice influence components of the project

Monitoring and evaluation of the project’s outcomes and impact

• Develop and oversee implementation of a project monitoring and evaluation process that meets the basic monitoring and outcome reporting requirements of each consortium member and the wider BRACED KM contract holder.
• Ensure the KM of BRACED Ethiopia is consistent with overall DFID guidance on tracking resilience outcomes
• Work closely with KM partners (as yet to be identified) to contribute lessons learned, ensure dissemination and maintain dialogue on key project findings
• Ensure the project’s log-frame and data collection plans are regularly reviewed and refreshed, and the project is collecting the breadth of indicators required at a frequency and timing in line with reporting purposes
• Ensure that the project is regularly (at least quarterly) conducting beneficiary surveys, collecting other data through relevant sources[1], developing case studies and collating photos
• Actively participate in relevant forums to disseminate BRACED experience and evidence, as well as seek and build on potential synergies with a) other DFID programmes, b) other CRGE-focused programme, c) other Farm Africa and Mercy Corps programmes, and lastly d) other private sector development endeavours in Ethiopia.

3. Lead consortium coordination, and external stakeholder management

• Implement consortium governance and decision making structures, acting as the point person for day-to-day consortium partner management and relationship building
• Proactively identify and raise with the Farm Africa CD (and others as appropriate) any consortium-related delivery risks, and work with consortium partner staff to implement action plans to resolve identified issues
• Act as an ambassador, promoting the project, including hosting visitors, speaking at workshops and conferences, and meeting donors and other officials when required.
• Provide formal representation of the project with respect to key signatory government parties, ensure periodic reports are submitted to them on a timely basis.
• Organise external events, forums and conferences to share project lessons and experiences.
• Lead thinking and practice in innovative approaches to NGO-Private sector partnership models, and ensure that experience is well-documented and contributing to thinking of both consortium members.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

1. Technical

• MSc or above qualification in NRM, Watershed management or related fields;
• A minimum of 8 years of progressive and relevant experience and research working in the areas of INRM, watershed management and/or landscape approach demonstrating knowledge of how actions and interventions can be integrated across scales and sectors;
• A sophisticated understanding of the role of natural resource management, agriculture and ecosystems and their relative balance and input to livelihoods
• A solid understanding of market systems, including market-based mechanisms for risk management, and incentives driving private sector decisions
• Extensive experience and demonstrated successes in managing and implementing integrated and complex projects that involve multi-sector, diverse groups of stakeholders and natural resources;
• An understanding of the role of community-based approaches, in particular gender issues as they relate to risk management, markets and NRM
• Demonstrated leadership experience, team work, excellent networking skills and proven ability to forge constructive and dynamic relations with government partners, and private sector in equal measure;
• Excellent record of writing including briefs, project report compilation, communication and dissemination;
• Knowledge of public policy development processes in Ethiopia or Africa

2. Project & Contract Management

• Structures and leads teams in problem solving to address complex issues, prioritising efforts towards the most critical issues and regularly updating the ingoing hypothesis as required to focus the team
• Creative thinker, inspiring innovative thinking among all team members to reach imaginative solutions with high potential for impact
• Ensures high quality from across the team in all activities
• Manages all aspects of complex projects well; dynamically adjusting work and activity plans and individual team member workloads as required as new opportunities emerge or the context shifts
• Able to craft and synthesise project activities, outcomes and learning into compelling donor reports

3. Team building and line management

• Develops strong capabilities and skills in team members, group members and organisations working with
• Balances workloads of team members to both ensure successful delivery of the project as well as provide development opportunities for people to grow and learn
• Builds an open and collaborative team environment, encouraging the contributions of the whole team, and creating a rewarding experience for all
• Able to motivate individuals building a shared pride in individual and team accomplishments
• Strong at performance management - combining coaching with effective and insightful feedback on strengths, development areas and ways to grow, even on tough issues
• Able to manage team members remotely
• Manages upwards to the POM. CD, and other consortium leadership, actively bringing them into the team as required to challenge and support the team’s activity and keep them informed and abreast of the situation

4. Values

• Believes in Farm Africa’s values, acts as an inspiring model of them and instils them in others through behaviours, storytelling and dialogue
• Farm Africa seeks to employ those who believe, as we do, that farmers can and will play a key role in achieving long-term rural prosperity in Africaand who seek to deliver on those beliefs by:
• being experts in our field, delivering insightful/impactful evidence-based solutions
• pushing boundaries, being creative with new and old solutions
• acting for the long-term, building relationships and delivering long-lasting change for farmers
• working flexibly, taking advantage of the most effective solutions, whether from the communities, private sector or government
• sharing knowledge with others, reaching more farmers than we do alone, ensuring effective technologies are widely accessed.

Place of work:Addis Ababa

Contract period: one year with a possibility of extension

Terms of the position:Attractive salary & benefit package according to Farm Africa’s field staff handbook.

Those who meet the above requirements should apply in writing with CV and copies of all relevant testimonials to:

How to apply:

Those who meet the above requirements should apply in writing with CV and copies of all relevant testimonials to:

Farm Africa
P.O.Box 5746
Addis Ababa; Ethiopia

Tel. 251-011-467-4129; 465-5156
Fax. 251-011-467-4281
E-mail: ephrataf@farmafrica-eth.org or submit it in person

Document will not be returned and only short listed candidates will be contacted.

APPLICATIONS ARE ESPECIALLY WELCOMED FROM FEMALE APPLICANTS.