Project Coordinator at Search For Common Ground’s International

Position Summary

• Search for Common Ground seeks professional, motivated, and creative State Project coordinators to be responsible for the overall coordination and implementation of the ‘Transforming the Farmer-Herder Conflicts and Promoting Freedom of Religions and Belief in Nigeria’s Middle Belt” project in the state. The project coordinator will report to SFCG’s Senior Program Manager and will cooperate with partners to launch a state project designed to Transforming the Farmer-Herder Conflicts and Promoting Freedom of Religions and Belief in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
• S/he will support the implementation process of this project and ensure that the activities are executed as planned and within the timeframe and are of highest quality; coordinate with the project participants and ensure the logistics of all the events go smoothly; and prepare monthly progress and quarterly reports. S/he will work under the direct supervision of the Senior Program Manager and work in close coordination with other project coordinators under the Project. The position will be based in Benue and will include frequent travels to the field.

About the Project

• The overall objective of the Farmers/Herders project ‘Transforming the Farmer-Herder Conflicts and Promoting Freedom of Religions and Belief in Nigeria’s Middle Belt’ is to contribute to preventing violence and the destruction of lives and properties resulting from protracted violent conflicts between farmers and herders while combating impunity and promoting the freedom of religions and belief in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria.

The overall goal is supported by three specific objectives which will guide the project’s activities:

• Objective 1: To increase collaboration between farmer and herder communities to develop joint, effective, sustainable local mechanisms for early warning response, dispute management, and violence prevention and mitigation at the community levels.
• Objective 2: To strengthen implementation of rule of laws and accountability measures by the government of focal states and relevant federal government institutions to respond to and prevent violence resulting from farmer-herder conflicts at the state levels.
• Objective 3: To enhance public understanding of the farmer-herder conflicts by promoting conflict sensitive contents and, countering hate speech, stereotypes, biases and negative narratives that fuel violence.

Roles and Responsibilities
Program Planning:

• Ensures proper, timely implementation of project activities, taking into consideration partner capacities, the operational environment and potential security issues, and based on the principles of inclusivity and do no harm.
• Ensures effective application of results-based management methodologies;
• Works with the SPM to monitor and manage the projects’ costed work-plans, preventing delays and maximizing cost-effectiveness;
• Keeps abreast of context developments and drafts regular context updates to steer project activities as needed; and
• Ensures all donor and internal reports are submitted within the given deadlines and to the expected quality standards.
• Works with the SPM and media coordinators to develop and implement a costed work plan for the project;
• Work closely with the Design, Monitoring and Evaluation and Learning (DMEL) Manager to monitor and track project’s progress and draw out results, success stories and lessons learned;
• Work closely with the Communications team to capture the stories and highlight the outcome and results of the project;
• Ensure that the project meets all its deliverables on time and the expected results are of high quality;
• Develop and nurture relations with relevant state, NGO, religious bodies and other stakeholders at the national, regional and state level;
• Analyze the context within the scope of the project and provide inputs for regular context updates;
• Writing and producing reports that include but not limited to context updates, monthly reports, quarterly reports, success stories, and case studies;

Program Monitoring & Evaluation:

• In collaboration with M&E officer, assist with the implementation and development of Monitoring and Evaluation tools;

Financial Management:

• S/He will ensure successful management of the budget for community/LGA level activities:
• Financial request for community/LGA level activities
• Retirement and financial report

Documentation and Reporting:

• Produce activity and monthly reports
• Any other duties as may be assigned by the line manager.

Representation and Coordinator:

• Under guidance of the SPM, represents Search in Benue and Nasarawa State
• Provides orientation of Search at local level and supervises all staff in the Benue office
• Responsible for the upkeep and office administration

Qualifications
Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Science, Arts, Development Studies or related field;

Required Experience:

• At least 3 years of professional experience in project cycle management, coordinating project activities, outreach, and/or advocacy;
• Experience working in peacebuilding projects will be an added advantage;
• Past working experience in the project state with CSOs and relevant state actors

Other Relevant Requirements:

• Resident in Benue state is an added advantage
• Ability to speak Hausa and Tiv,  the local languages is a plus
• A demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards and a diverse workplace; and
• Ability to prioritize, plan and organize workflow, handle multiple tasks, and be flexible with changing priorities.
• Familiar with the Common Ground Approach