Household Economic Strengthening Advisor, Steer Project at Save The Children

Role Purpose

• As a member of the STEER Team, the Household Economic Strengthening Advisor will support technical programme management, information gathering, results communication and documentation.
• He/She will be expected to support project level assessment, project planning and coordination.
• With supervision from the STEER Technical Director, the Household Economic Strengthening Advisor will generally support the design and implementation of high quality household economic Interventions in the STEER Project States and provide technical oversight on activities of the Household Economic Strengthening Coordinators in the Project.

Key Areas of Accountability
Programme support:

• The Household Economic Strengthening Advisor will provide overall technical direction on Household Economic Strengthening of the STEER program that is funded by USAID.
• S/he will facilitate relationships between households caring for OVC and public and private sector actors by identifying economic constraints and ensuring appropriate activities that have long-term viability.
• Emphasis will be placed on market-oriented strategies to ensure sustainability of livelihood gains, including: private sector demand-driven job creation, enterprise development, financial education, value chain linkages and appropriate savings, credit and insurance services for various age groups.
• The Household Economic Strengthening Advisor will work closely with other donor funded programs, and private sector actors in designing and implementing innovative economic strengthening and livelihoods support approaches.
• S/he will assist with the development of innovative economic strengthening strategies for vulnerable households to compliment other Nigerian government, private sector and international donor funded program interventions by strengthening the capacity of Nigerian entities (NGOs, CSO, and or local financial institutions).
• S/he will guide a portfolio of approaches and activities that mitigate economic vulnerability and enable targeted households to better cope with economic shocks allowing them to protect and grow financial, human and social assets.
• Provide technical support in one or more of the following areas: market-driven economic development, private sector engagement, microfinance, youth-focused financial services, financial education, village savings and loan associations (VSLA), micro-insurance, entrepreneurship development, and value chain linkages. Manage implementation of program activities, developing work plans in collaboration with counterparts in the organization, monitoring implementation, and evaluating impact.
• Provide programme technical support through frequent field visits to the implementing States, presenting a report with recommendations.
• Ensure teams develop quality timely workplans and budgets according to the frequency requested by the project.
• Support training of Project Staff on HES or other related topics.
• Supported by the STEER Technical Director, lead on supporting national level coordination with stakeholders and Save the Children direct responses.
• Observe principles of child rights programming inform in all activities related to HES programming including design, analysis, implementation and M& E with a particular focus on gender and diversity, children’s participation. Ensure quality of practice by adhering to the SC Practice Standards on Child Participation.
• Establish and maintain relationships with other agencies and organizations within STEER communities to meet community needs and to ensure that quality services are provided.
• Support recruitment of technical staff for the project, as well as induction.

Documentation and reporting:

• Support State teams to produce timely high quality reports and documentation both to meet donor and internal demands.
• Provide information and other communication materials for effective support of other departments by meeting service requirements.
• Provide program updates to STEER partners, and stakeholders on a regular basis
• Submits monthly reports to the STEER Technical Director
• Complete other duties as assigned.

Representation and proposal development:

• Participate on the development and review of related national documents (guidelines, policies, etc.) providing technical inputs in line with Save the Children position paper, policies and evidence based programme expertise.
• Support proposal development, including budgets, for funding both to maintain and expand Save the Children’s work and influence within the OVC portfolio.
• Comply with the requirements of Save the Children’s child protection policies and other staff policies.

Management and human resources development:

• Line manage staff as defined by the Country Office organogram.
• Support learning and development of line managed staff, by directly building their capacities, advising on learning needs, sharing training opportunities and encouraging the use of e-tools for self-learning.
• Ensure performance reviews line managed staff and other HR requirements are met.

Place of Work:

• The post will be based in Abuja, but will require approximately 50% time travelling in other States.

Skills, Experience and Education
Essential:

• MA/Sc in Business, Finance, Economics, Agriculture, Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, or related field
• Fluency in English required, including report development, writing and editing.
• Strong management skills, with good understanding of relevant cross-cultural issues.
• Previous experience in Nigeria, especially in Northern Nigeria.
• Demonstrated experience in training, capacity building of partners and team members.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members required
• Highly developed computers skills with strong familiarity with Microsoft Word and Excel are mandatory.
• Candidate must be willing to travel and work throughout Nigeria.
• At least 5 years work experience with for profit organization, non-governmental organization (NGO) or for-profit agribusiness working with vulnerable, marginalized groups in West Africa, preferably Nigeria
• Proven knowledge of international best practices of household economic strengthening for OVC and OVC caregivers.
• At least 5 years proven experience in innovative value chain development or business models using best practices.
• Proven experience in one or more of the following: market-driven economic development, private sector engagement, microfinance, village savings and loan associations (VSLA), micro-insurance, entrepreneurship development, and value chain linkages.
• Demonstrable experience in budget formulation and monitoring.
• Sound strategic thinking and planning skills, including ability to think creatively and innovate and to set priorities, manageable work plans and evaluate progress.
• Demonstrable ability to acquire a high level of thematic expertise on priority issues within HES.
• Experience in providing technical support to partners and in particular government at senior levels.
• Proven capacity to develop a network of contacts with key players from amongst government, donors, international agencies and NGOs, to maintain these relationships over time and to raise significant funding from donor grants.

Desirable:

• Strong computer skills required, especially the ability to work comfortably in the MS office package
• Ability to work independently and manage various projects in a team setting with limited supervision
• Demonstrated ability to assess priorities and handle multiple tasks simultaneously to meet deadlines with attention to detail and quality.
• Good interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate and negotiate clearly and effectively at all levels.
• Proven capacity to deliver results against objectives, reporting schedules and workplans.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Proficient in word processing, presentations and spreadsheet computer packages.
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s values and mission.
• Analytical & research skills, experience in conducting health systems research, ability to analyse data.

Additional Qualifications:

• Work experience in household economic strengthening/food security and or rural resilience and agriculture.
• Experience with providing institutional support and technical assistance to development partners, government/community institutions.

Additional skills:

• Ability to work effectively both independently (with minimal supervision) and as a member of a team
• Commitment to gender equity, child rights, community empowerment, and grassroots development approaches
• Effective planning and organising skills.

Skills and Behaviours (Our Values in Practice)
Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically.

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, members and external partners and supporters
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity.