Programme Assistant at European Commission (ECHO)

Job Summary

• The job holder carries out activities to contribute to the delivery of an effective humanitarian response.
• The job holder contributes to assessments, monitoring and evaluations of projects, as well as to the analysis of the humanitarian context in the area of coverage.

Responsibilities & Tasks
Within delegated authority, the Programme Assistant (Group II) will be responsible for the following tasks:

Programme Work:

• Contributes to the appraisal, monitoring and evaluation of projects, including financial assessment of proposals;
• Critically studies and comments upon partners' reports and field operations and reports to line manager
• Assists the Head of Office/TA in the preparation of fiche-ops, as appropriate;
• Assists with, participate in, and report on meetings, as appropriate;
• Advises on the operational capacity of implementing partners;
• Draft reports on the humanitarian situation, including any political, economic and security
• events relevant to the analysis of the humanitarian situation in the country/region;
• Produces and circulates information of common interest (humanitarian situation reports, background information, etc.);
• Accompanies the TA on field visits, as requested and may act as an interpreter if necessary.
• Assists the HoO/TA in the event of an emergency response;
• Prepares maps, when appropriate;
• Provides back-stopping and surge support capacity in case of need.

Specific Duties for the Programme Assistant:

• Pro-actively follows local or regional events that may impact on the humanitarian situation in
• the country/region;
• Assists in appraising, monitoring and evaluating projects and reports to the line manager.

Working with partners:

• Maintains contacts with ECHO's partners, advising the TA of any major issues arising;
• Ensures communications with ECHO's partners, including establishing and maintaining a
• database of relevant organizations and personnel;
• Maintains contracts/grants database;

Representing ECHO:

• Participates in meetings, as requested and appropriate;
• Liaises with local authorities and institutions, as delegated and appropriate;
• Assist with enhancing the visibility and communication of ECHO's overall assistance.

Other Specific Responsibilities/Tasks: (IF/When applicable):

• Provides reports and other ad-hoc documents as requested and to be verified and agreed by the HoO/TA;
• Respond to requests for information as delegated
• Prepares missions: agenda setting, contacts with partners, programming visits, meetings, etc.;
• Undertakes any additional tasks as assigned by the TA, Head of Office/RSO and/or Headquarters.

Competencies Required
See list of competencies for this job category in annex below:

• The definition of each competency and examples of behaviours expected for each level are listed in annex below.

Job Requirements
Education:

• A relevant first level university Degree or equivalent professional experience.

Knowledge and Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience at national or international level in supporting programme/project operations., including at least 2 years of experience with an NGO's, donor or national/international organization;
• Good knowledge of the EU humanitarian aid system;
• Good knowledge of International NGOs, UN Aid agencies and Red Cross Movement;
• Good understanding of Humanitarian Aid principles, policies and Standards ;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.).

Languages:

• An excellent knowledge of English (verbal & writing).
• Good command of Hausa an asset