Household Economic Strengthening Advisor, OVC at Save The Children

The Organisation
We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.
 
Role Purpose

• The Economic Strengthening/Livelihoods Advisor will provide comprehensive support to orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) and their caregivers in select states in Nigeria for an anticipated USAID/PEPFAR project.
• As a member of the technical leadership technical team, the Advisor will be responsible for the technical aspects of project implementation that relate to household economic strengthening and livelihoods activities using a graduation approach.
• She/he will report directly to the Technical Director and will advise and support the project team in providing technical excellence through contributions made to project implementation.
• She/he will take technical leadership role designing and promoting use of low-risk activities to diversify and stimulate growth in household income and integrate economic activities with complementary interventions across the project.
• She/he will be knowledgeable about evidence-based and state-of-the-art household economic strengthening approaches/strategies, including savings-led approaches that address the different levels of household vulnerability.
• This position is contingent on the issuance of USAID funding and the selection of applicants is subject to USAID approval.

Key Areas of Accountability
The main responsibilities for the Economic Strengthening/Livelihoods Advisor include:

• Provide technical leadership and oversight for high quality design, implementation and evaluation of the household economic strengthening and social protection components of the project.
• Conduct initial scoping and mapping activities to gather information on what models of economic strengthening services are available in the target communities, both formal and informal; which models are working effectively and why, etc.
• Based on the above, design a flexible and adaptable economic strengthening model based on best practices and relevance to the southern Nigeria context, which can be feasibly rolled out in target communities.
• Provide technical support and coordinate the development of relevant tools and resources related to the economic strengthening and social protection components of the project.
• Provide training, capacity building and ongoing technical support and mentoring for staff and partners to roll out and implement the economic strengthening strategy in target communities, working with state teams to plan and implement the strategy.
• Continue to maintain current understanding and awareness of related services being provided throughout Nigeria, networking and sharing information on lessons learned and best practices. This includes maintaining links with international resources provided through the Save the Children global and regional networks.
• Facilitate linkages with government safety net programs and other stakeholders to ensure that activities complement other economic strengthening initiatives and adhere to country and global standards
• Ensure timely, high-quality work plans, quarterly and annual reports, financial reports, and any other reports required by the donor or the government.
• Provide technical assistance in documenting and scaling up best practices related to the economic strengthening and social protection components of the project through case studies or success stories.
• Support project team efforts to ensure quality, timeliness and efficiency of all deliverables on household economic strengthening component of the project.
  

Required Background and Experience, Skills and Behaviors
At a minimum, the Economic Strengthening/Livelihoods Advisor will have:

• Master's Degree in commerce, economics economic development, business management and administration or related field.
• Minimum of seven years’ experience in the provision of economic strengthening services, preferably savings and loan models, to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups (such as OVC and HIV-affected families), in Nigeria.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the socioeconomic context in Nigeria, and preferably in the South South / South East.
• Be fully conversant on global best practices in household economic strengthening.
• Understanding of PEPFAR OVC programming priorities, strategies and monitoring and evaluation tools and systems.
• Willingness to travel frequently and in difficult circumstances.
• Experience working in multi-cultural environments, and in ‘grassroots’ community-based settings.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with government representatives, for-profit private sector entities, local community organizations, donors and other stakeholders, particularly at the sub-national level.
• Leadership qualities and ability to create synergies where applicable.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work as part of a team.
• Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills.
• Expert computer skills in Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Qualified Nigerian nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.