Program Advisor - Girls First Fund at Geneva Global

Location: Niamey, Tillaberi, Niger
Term: 6 months - with potential for extension, based on program needs.
Status: Full-time, consultant
Type: Contract

Introduction

• Geneva Global seeks a consultant to act as a Program Advisor in the set-up and launch of the Girls First Fund’s grantmaking services and related activities in Niger. Geneva Global is a social enterprise that provides a full range of advice and services to help individuals, foundations, corporations, and nonprofits in their social change initiatives.
• Geneva Global is providing services to the Girls’ First Fund, a pooled philanthropic fund that seeks to expand resources to community-based organizations, particularly women- and girl-centered and -led organizations that are working to comprehensively prevent and respond to child marriage. The Girls First Fund is being supported by eight founding partners including, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), David & Lucile Packard Foundation, Dutch Postcode Lottery, Ford Foundation, Girls Not Brides, The Kendeda Fund, NoVo Foundation, and an anonymous foundation.
• The Girls First Fund puts girls, families, and their communities first and champions community-led efforts to end child marriage. The Fund’s primary vision is, “to realize a world in which every girl has access to the information, services, resources, skills, and support necessary to decide when, if, and whom to marry in order to live a healthy and equal life and to achieve her full potential.” Geneva Global is currently working with the Fund’s Board to design a pilot program in six countries with the aim of making grants in early 2019. 
• The Program Advisor will work closely with other Geneva Global team members and Girls First Fund stakeholders to ensure that the values and guiding principles of the Fund inform its in-country activities and practices. Through the Girls First Fund, the Program Advisor will work alongside selected community-based organizations and locally-focused national organizations, supporting them to design and implement their own context-specific approaches, solutions, and innovations to address child marriage. The Fund is committed to being community-driven, transparent, and collaborative, utilizing grantmaking practices that are gender transformative and adhere to the highest standards of child protection. Therefore, it is necessary that the Program Advisor’s work and behavior be guided by such principles.
• The consultant will be an independent contractor to Geneva Global and not an employee of the company. The consultant is not eligible for any employee-related benefits, plans, or programs of Geneva Global, and the consultant is expected to provide their own workspace to successfully carry out the deliverables listed below. This is a 6-month, national consulting post – with potential for extension based on programmatic needs.

Key Deliverables
Fund set-up and implementation:

• Inform the Girls First Fund’s understanding of the changing context, country-specific trends, and challenges related to child marriage and grantmaking.
• Organize local events and meetings for a diverse range of participants.
• Plan and lead site visits for the Girls First Fund and stakeholders.
• Ensure that the values and guiding principles of the Girls First Fund are adhered to through the Fund’s grantmaking activities.
• Identify and build relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders including, but not limited to: CBOs, NGOs, INGOs, other donor agencies, government officials, and existing networks and conveners to establish support for the Girls First Fund, and develop linkages that foster complimentary, versus duplicative, activities.
• Attend relevant local, national, and international meetings.

Grantee identification and portfolio management:

• Support the Girls First Fund’s understanding of the location of community-based organizations in Niger.
• Support in-country dissemination of Girls First Fund funding opportunities, ensuring RFP materials are accessible to eligible organizations. The Fund has a commitment to reaching traditionally neglected and under-funded organizations, including newly established organizations and organizations that have not received international funding previously.
• Accompany applicants through the application process by providing technical assistance and support as they complete RFP/application materials, when requested.
• Review application materials and support the shortlisting, vetting, and selection of grantees by providing contextual and technical input, utilizing an inclusive approach. This process could include organizing and managing an in-country review panel.
• Lead the in-country due diligence process, including conducting field visits to applicants, as needed.
• Monitor grants through reviewing reports, site visits, meetings, etc.

Learning:

• Conduct field visits to grantees to understand project progress and learnings and to gather feedback on the Girls First Fund's draft Theory of Change, learning agenda, and country strategy.
• Actively solicit input from grantees and other stakeholders to shape the Fund’s future.
• Disseminate learning and professional development opportunities to grantees on a regular basis.
• Facilitate the dissemination of lessons learned and best practices between grantees and document and share this information with other Program Advisors based in five additional countries and U.S.-based team members.
• Ensure that lessons learned globally are disseminated to grantees.
• Contribute to and coordinate special projects in-country, including research projects and learning events.

Technical assistance and capacity building:

• Provide capacity building support to grantees in areas such as organizational development, financial management, and best practices in addressing child marriage, when requested.
• Provide assistance to grantees to ensure completion of reporting materials.

Other:

• Communicate regularly with the Girls First Fund team in the U.S. by providing updates and analyses on contextual developments, progress, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Participate in Girls First Fund/Geneva Global conferences and workshops, as needed.
• Complete additional assignments, as requested.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8-10 years of experience in project management/coordination and community development in Niger.
• Master's Degree in Social Sciences, Law, or other relevant subject.
• Grantmaking experience on behalf of international organizations to local community-based organizations through a grantee-centric approach.
• A passion for the Fund’s work, including a commitment to community-led development, gender equality, and grassroots movement building.
• Knowledge and experience working on initiatives to address child marriage required; experience in addressing other key areas such as gender inequality, gender-based violence, right to education and sexual and reproductive health is an asset.
• Experience working on human rights issues - particularly women, youth and minority rights - through a human rights and gender equality approach is preferred.
• In-depth knowledge of, and ability to advise Geneva Global on, economic, political, social, and cultural trends that impact the country-level work.
• Experience engaging with government stakeholders is preferred.
• Experience supporting a learning community of grantees to encourage networking, capacity building, and collaboration is preferred.
• Experience monitoring and evaluating grants and programs, including data collection, data management, and financial monitoring.
• Experience working with girls, families, and communities in a highly sensitive environment.
• Willingness to travel up to 50%, including to remote areas of the country.
• Candidates should be legally authorized to work in Niger.

Skills:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and French required.
• Excellent written and verbal communication in additional locally spoken languages such as Hausa, Songhai, and Arabic is preferred.
• Deep understanding of the context in which community-based organizations are working in Niger.
• Proficiency with Microsoft office tools (especially Word and Excel) and experience with grant management databases is preferred.
• Strong group facilitation, presentation, and organizing skills.
• Detail oriented with the ability to manage and track data and deadlines across multiple grantees.
• Strong problem-solving, analytical, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple deadlines as part of a remote team.
• Ability to contribute to and lead in the development and set-up of programs, systems, and processes.
• Proven experience working effectively in a cross-cultural team.
• Flexible and willing to perform other tasks as assigned, in a fast-paced work environment.
• Self-starter and proactive.