Nigeria Programme Officer at British High Commission

Job Category

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Policy & Political roles)

Job Subcategory

Political

Job Description (Roles and Responsibilities)

Main purpose of the job:

This is an excellent programme officer role in the West Africa Regional Conflict and Security Team, in the British High Commission in Abuja.

This dynamic and growing team has a regional remit in support of upstream conflict prevention, rapid crises response and security in the West Africa and security sector institutional reform. The team currently oversees £30m p.a programmes across West Africa region supporting a range of UK Government departments in Nigeria, the Sahel and Manu River Union (MRU) such as the Foreign Office (FCO), Department for International Development (DFID), Ministry of Defence (MOD) and National Crime Agency (NCA).

The job holder will be responsible for the effective management of programmes and underpinning projects funded by the CSSF in Nigeria (and wider West Africa as needed). This involves working with programme leads, implementing partners and stakeholders to help manage and monitor projects within the CSSF portfolio to time, cost and quality.

Roles and responsibilities:

Programme Management

• Oversee and support the programme management of approximately £23m CSSF funds p.a. in Nigeria being delivered by lead departments and external implementers.
• Work with relevant lead departments to run procurement processes and draft and agree contracts with implementing partners.
• Oversee programmes to ensure that delivery is to time, cost and quality. Identify problems and success, escalating as needed.
• Create and maintain schedule of key projects and programme milestones (start/end dates, report due dates, monitoring visits required for evaluations).
• Liaise with finance officer on ensuring accurate and timely budget and spend figures are provided by the Nigeria programme.
• First point of contact for implementers on management and delivery.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

• Undertake regular reporting on projects progress to the Head of CSSF West Africa and team, CSSF Working Group and Local Strategy Board chaired by the DHC and HC respectively.Work with programme leads and implementing partners to monitor progress against set criteria to deliver programme and component objectives.
• Ensure regular reporting from implementing partners against their programme and projects plans.
• Highlight successes, risks and opportunities, and help identify and assess new projects.
• Arrange review visits drawing on in-house or external expertise.
• Ensure feedback from monitoring is acted on by implementing partners and relevant stakeholders.

Wider duties

• Support wider West Africa programme work as needed.
• Develop and maintain stakeholder communication plan
• Secretariat support to the Nigeria Strategy Board.

Essential qualifications and experience

• BA Degree or above from an internationally accredited university.
• Successful project management experience (ideally working for international agencies, governments and/or NGOs)
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Highly organised, strong attention to detail and able to take initiative and to work accurately within deadlines.
• Strong team player, at ease working with a wide range of actors, including UK diplomats, military and development officials, Nigerian government and NGOs

Desirable qualifications and experience

• Experience working on peace, conflict and security issues in Nigeria.
• Qualifications in project/programme management or finance.
• IT skills, MS Office applications e.g. Excel and PowerPoint.
• Numerical and budget management skills, with ability to report against agreed criteria.
• Monitoring and Evaluation experience.

Required competencies

• Making Effective Decisions, Collaborating and Partnering, Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace

Additional information

• Employees recruited locally by the British High Commission in Abuja are subject to the Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in Nigeria.
• All applicants must be legally able to work in the country of application with the correct visa/status or work permit.
• Employees who are not eligible to pay local income tax: e.g. certain third-country nationals and spouses/partners of UK diplomats will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.
• Reference and security clearances checks will be conducted.
• Any questions you may have about this position will be answered during the interview, should you be invited.
• Information about the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Competency Framework can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-competency-framework
• Successful candidates not resident in Country will be personally liable for costs and arrangements to relocate, including accommodation and work permits.
• Complete the application form in full as the information provided will be used for screening purposes.
• Check your application and attachments before you submit your application, as you will not be able to make any changes once submitted.
• The British High Commission will never ask you to pay a fee or money to apply for a position.