Project Director at FHI 360

Job ID: 18902
Location: Cross River

Description

• The FHI 360 Four Pillars PLUS project in Nigeria aims at improving the quality and relevance of secondary education for girls and Other Vulnerable Children (OVC); boosting retention and graduation rates; and increasing the potential of adolescents to leave secondary school with the assets and credentials necessary to successfully pursue their career and life options.
• This will be achieved through collaboration with participating schools, communities, healthcare centers, other NGOs in Calabar, and the Cross River State government.
• The project’s interventions include girls’ and boys’ mentoring, teachers’ professional development/gender sensitive methodologies, and community engagement to address the complex barriers to education for girls and OVCs.
• The PLUS component will focus on strengthening Adolescent Reproductive Health Education (ASRH), addressing Early Pregnancy, Early Marriage and School-related Gender-based Violence (SRGBV) and creating linkages between schools and primary health care facilities.
• This is a 3-year project (2015-2018) with funds provided annually.

Job Summary / Responsibilities

• As the FHI 360 Four Pillars PLUS project in Nigeria focuses on activities in the areas of secondary school education, the Project Director will be responsible for providing overall technical support, advice and guidance to the staff, overall management, supervision and implementation of all technical and financial responsibilities.
• The Project Director will ensure that all deliverables to the donor are being met on time and with quality, and will perform all the responsibilities and duties related to supporting beneficiaries in secondary schools as well as collaboration with stakeholders and creating linkages with local partners including relevant ministries, local government and private agencies.

Essential Job Functions

• Ensure that all planned activities under the Four Pillars PLUS are being successfully implemented and that local solutions are provided for any challenges met;
• Prepare, review and oversee sound financial management systems that keep a balanced and working budget;
• Oversee the project implementation and logistics plan ;
• Facilitate additional mentor training sessions, if needed, and ensure that girls’ mentoring sessions are taking place on a regular basis and impact is captured, promoted and celebrated;
• Ensure that trained teachers are delivering gender sensitive and inclusive/participatory education methodologies and oversee the planning of additional training, if needed, to be well organized and relevant to the deliverables requested to improve education quality and academic performance of all direct and indirect beneficiaries;
• Facilitate the participation of school and local communities in the activities of the project whether planned in or outside project schools;
• Work with staff and communities to create and strengthen project’s sustainability mechanisms through stakeholders’ continued involvement and effective engagement and contributions;
• Monitor the development and execution of required field budget, monthly and yearly work plans;
• Prepare and submit monthly and yearly project reports on a timely manner;
• Enforce the established internal control mechanisms that adhere to FHI 360 compliance system;
• Work closely with the Sr. Finance Administration Officer, Country Office (Abuja) Finance team and with the HQ staff throughout project implementation, and on project close out process at the appropriate time;
• Act as an advisor on all matters pertaining to the financial and technical management of the project including Human Resources, travel and transportation, office administration and security;
• Work diligently on promoting project’s successes through Success Stories/Blogs/short audio/video recording and assist in the creation of a project documentary;

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Project Director will supervise 5-6 staff members and a project driver in the field office location in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.

Necessary Skills and Requirements

• Proven ability to solve problems with staff and encourage consistent high quality performance;
• Fluency in English and local languages is required;
• Experience in working with schools, preferably secondary schools, and local communities in Nigeria/Cross River State in particular;
• Understanding the ways that CBOs / NGOs operate;
• Ability to inspire girls and boys and passion for the development of young people;
• Ability to set priorities and meet deadlines;
• Ability to take initiative to make choices without direct supervision;
• Ability to work as a team member and independently;
• Excellent interpersonal, facilitation and presentation skills;
• Ability and willingness to assume responsibility, and be flexible;
• Strong cross cultural and interpersonal skills;
• Strong organizational skills, including task and time management;
• Excellent report writing and communication skills;
• Ability to speak the local language/dialect is a PLUS;
• Familiarity with the local culture and communication practices is a PLUS;

Qualifications

• Master's Degree with minimum 5 years’ experience or Bachelor’s Degree with minimum 10 years’ experience in Education, Social Science, Gender Studies, International Development, or other similar fields;
• Must be computer literate (MS Office Package/Internet, etc.)
• Must be able to provide three references from previous employment.