Technical Expert - Rural Livelihoods at VSO

Location: VSO Office Abuja, Nigeria or Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Based within the Knowledge for Impact Team as well as the Resilient Livelihoods Core Programme Area Team
Responsible to: Global Head of Knowledge for Impact with matrix to Global sponsor, Livelihoods.
Contract type: Permanent
Full Time: 35 hours per week

Role Purpose

• You will provide technical leadership in resilient livelihoods to a globally dispersed team of staff and volunteers to identify, test, and document new and promising practices across VSO’s Rural Livelihoods programmes, specifically in Nigeria, but also in Cambodia and other countries in Africa and Asia that have Resilient Rural Livelihoods programme activities.
• The overall aim of the position is to support improvement in the quality and impact of VSO’s Resilient Rural Livelihoods programmes globally to enable VSO to document, replicate and expand effective approaches, with the aim of helping more of the world’s poor and marginalized people to achieve their livelihood aspirations.

Responsibilities
Leadership:

• Lead the implementation of the resilient livelihoods strategy and theory of action, with its assets and capabilities core, around which VSO is seeking to build a unique identity in its livelihoods programming.
• Review progress made with programme implementation and documentation of promising approaches against the theory of action and identify where additional or modified approaches are required.
• Track areas where the assets and capabilities approach can be developed further in resilient rural livelihoods programming.

Promote good practice: 

• Ensure completion of the learning and guidance documentation work around the promising approaches identified in the resilient livelihoods theory of action.
• Support the conduct of vulnerability context analyses in Nigeria and Cambodia, especially with regard to the analysis of social differentiation and power relations.
• Lead work in identifying value chains and the associated market actors that are most
• Suitable for VSO’s primary actors (poorer households, women, youth and Persons with Disabilities).
• Support the development of work around sustainable agricultural practices and the development of more balanced and resilient rural household food security and livelihood strategies.
• Ensure that the implications and lessons learned from analyses are used to influence new project and signature programme designs, including with respect to who VSO targets, where, how, and with which other actors we should be collaborating

Improve Programme Quality: 

• Provide support and advice to programmes to improve programme design and the quality of our interventions, through signature package development in particular.
• Explore the perceptions of VSO Nigeria and Cambodia staff, volunteers, partners and key stakeholders about VSO capacity, value adds, niche, strengths and weaknesses in Rural Livelihoods programming and their views about future programming.
• Support all country offices with rural livelihoods activities in the replication and adapting of the promising approaches identified and documented, and in the continuous learning of how to improve these approaches. 

Knowledge management and dissemination: 

• Promote the generation and or use of quality internal and external evidence, practice and learning within VSO.
• Contribute to the improvement of the Resilient Livelihoods evidence building and impact assessment practices, particularly at outcome and impact level, and in the use of digital technologies.
• Work with the Evaluation and Research Specialists to identify gaps and areas for improvement in monitoring and evaluation and documentation of learning and assess key tools and use of innovative methods for this purpose.
• Identify and recommend key lessons that can inform VSO’s work within Rural Livelihoods Programme.

External communication and influencing:

• Support the building of VSO’s external identity and reputation.
• Represent VSO at conferences, workshops and task forces and or support programme actors to participate as appropriate. 
• Contribute to the development of communications for internal and external VSO audiences.
• Play a leading role in supporting Country Offices to raise more programmatic funding, including through donor liaison where appropriate, and in developing high quality project proposals and donor communications.

Team working and sustainable development approaches:

• Work as a member of the Resilient Livelihoods Core Programme Area Team (CPAT) and with other thematic leads and core approach advisors, as well as Country Office programme managers and livelihoods coordinators.
• Work as part of the Resilient Livelihoods CPAT to implement the Resilient Livelihoods “Volunteering for Development” investment strategy and to continue the implementation of the Resilient Livelihoods strategy and improvement of programme quality and funding.
• Support the implementation of an overall Volunteering for Development framework for VSO and the development of a clearer programme identity for the organisation.

Skills Required
Essential:

• Master's in Development studies, Agriculture or other relevant qualification, or equivalent experience.
• Extensive experience and knowledge of innovations in assets and capabilities enhancement in rural livelihoods programming, especially on-farm and off-farm; enterprise development; market-led approaches.
• Proven experience of securing external funding and grants, including proposal development. Evidence of understanding the challenges of donor and contract management and the implications for programme management.
• Proven experience in financial management, including building a budget, monitoring and managing expenditure. Experience of having compiled financial reports.
• Excellent understanding and demonstrated experience of project cycle management, organisational assessment, planning and M&E tools and processes.
• Experience of compiling donor reports.
• Leadership and people management skills; including handling complex
• Situations to an effective conclusion; experience of developing, coaching and managing high performing teams.
• Self-motivated, ability to use own initiative, flexibility.
• Strong representation and negotiation skills; ability to negotiate and maintain relations with external stakeholders.
• Oral and written fluency in English, with ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences.
• Able to travel, including work away from the home base for up to 30% of time, both within the country and occasionally internationally with some weekend and evening work.
• Excellent coordination and planning skills with experience of working under pressure. Time management skills.

Desirable:

• Practical experience gained within a volunteering NGO context and of managing a volunteer programme.
• Evidence of ability to provide effective support to international and national volunteers.
• Experience and knowledge of the country and region.
• Experience of working in a matrix organization with multiple reporting lines across different locations.

Salary
N20,400,000/annum