Regional Program Officer at CAMRIS International

Overview

• The Regional Program Officer (RPO) is charged with successfully developing and implementing a portfolio of national- and regional-level program activities across Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin (LCB). 
• The RPO will based in the NLCB Program’s Principal Office in Abuja. Activities will be carried out in targeted areas in Nigeria, in communities along Nigeria’s borders, and will extend into neighboring LCB countries. 
• This portfolio of regional activities will be coordinated closely with the USAID/OTI Senior Regional Specialist (SRS - LCB), Senior Regional Specialist – Africa (SRS – Africa), and Regional Field Program Coordinator (RFPC -LCB) currently based out of USAID’s West Africa Regional Mission in Accra, Ghana.   Extensive and frequent travel throughout the LCB is expected and required. 
• The RPO is responsible for leading activity development and overseeing activity implementation. 
• The majority of activities will be developed in collaboration with local entities and implemented through in-kind awards. 
• Grantees and stakeholders can include a wide range of governmental and non-governmental organizations, including local faith-based groups; youth associations; cooperatives; associations; informal groups; Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs); local, regional and national entities; Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs); U.S. Organizations; student groups; media; international organizations; private sector; and coalitions of these entities.
• The RPO will work with stakeholders to develop activity concepts; refine these with USAID/OTI staff input; assist in the development and negotiation of budgets; and oversee implementation of activities in the field.
• The RPO works with an AMT, comprised of a PDO, Grants Specialist (GS), Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting Specialist (MERS), and Procurement Specialist (PS) and is charged with developing and delivering a creative, innovative, and diverse portfolio of activities.

Responsibilities

• Participate in regular team meetings to discuss current country context issues, present and discuss activity ideas, and report on the progress of activity implementation.
• Conduct analysis of local, national, and regional political and security trends, assess program and activity outcomes and impacts, and participate in strategy development to advance the program goals.
• Cultivate and maintain strong working relationships with grantees, consultants, stakeholders, and beneficiaries in areas targeted by the program.
• Become familiar and comply with all CAMRIS and USAID/OTI procedures and manuals (e.g., Activity Manual Addendum; Activity Cycle Flowchart; Field Procurement Guide; and Physical Security, Operational Communications, Emergency, and Information Security Plans).
• Become familiar with USAID’s Automated Directives System and the regulations which apply to NLCB activities.
• Responsible for the daily use of the USAID/OTI database and OTI Anywhere for program and activity development and management.
• In consultation with the USAID/OTI country representatives (USAID/OTI CR), Chief of Party, Regional Program Manager (RPM), and/or Senior Operations Manager, coordinate work and tasks with AMTs.
• Play an active role in activity monitoring and evaluation and contribute to the feedback loop, which uses information gathered about ongoing activity implementation to inform development of new activities.
• Identify potential activities, as directed by the SRS - LCB and SRS - Africa, keeping the COPs, RPMs, and USAID/OTI staff informed.
• Liaise with community groups, CBOs, NGOs, host government entities and other community stakeholders to identify potential partners.
• Draft activity ideas with estimated budgets and present them in weekly new activity idea meetings.
• Work with SRS - LCB, SRS - Africa, and COP to develop pending activities through submission to USAID/OTI and clearance.
• Once activity ideas are approved by USAID/OTI, with the support of the PS, MERS, and GS support grantees, consultants, and other stakeholders to design activities including brief description of the interventions to be implemented, objectives, timelines for implementation, expected results, and plan for how activity will be monitored and evaluated (objectives, expected results, indicators, timeline, etc.).
• Develop activities in USAID/OTI Activity database incorporating project objectives, activities, deliverables, monitoring and evaluation plan, media and outreach plan, budget, and implementation workplan.
• Work with the GS, PS, grantees, consultants, stakeholders, and vendors to develop activity budgets and plan procurements.
• Support the GS to train grantees, consultants, and stakeholders on the NCLB approach, policies, and procedures.
• Lead the technical supervision of assigned activities, ensuring compliance with timeline for activity implementation, approved budget, and tracking achievement of activity objectives, outputs, and outcomes.
• Conduct regular follow-up meetings with grantees, consultants, and stakeholders in coordination with GS and MERS.
• Review and provide technical concurrence for all activity-related payments to be made by finance to local vendors, service providers, consultants, and stakeholders as activity implementation progresses.
• Monitor activity implementation and triangulate data in reports, during site visits, and/or collected through remote monitoring platform.
• Identify, in a timely manner, and support GS to prepare justifications for modifications of activities.
• Ensure all activity files are up-to-date, update the USAID/OTI database and provide information and/or files for the GS and/or MERS to upload into the database, OTI Anywhere, and CAMRIS web-based file management system.
• Coordinate with the GS and PS to ensure timely financial and administrative management of activity implementation.
• Identify needs for short-term technical assistance (STTA) and, as required, assist the GS to prepare scopes of work for consultants and/or service providers.
• Attend focus group discussions and program activity events to derive lessons learned to inform future activities.
• Confirm, in conjunction with the GS, that the grantee or STTA has complied with terms of the award and required deliverables.
• Assist the GS and PS to review budget expenditures on activities for financial and administrative close out.
• Review final reports and/or other related deliverables from grantees and STTA, in coordination with the MERS.
• Draft Final Evaluation Reports and support activity closure.
• Support Monitoring, Evaluation, & Learning Specialist to identify trends and document ‘success stories’ and ‘lessons learned’.
• In coordination with the GS and MERS provide documents and information (e.g., number of beneficiaries, outputs, outcomes, and/or impacts) on the activity to ensure M&E information is captured in the database and activity files are complete prior to activity closure.
• Any other duties and tasks as needed and assigned.

Qualifications
Required Skills & Experience:

• Four-year university degree in Political Science, Development, Sociology, Law, Social or Political Science, or related field.
• Minimum of five (5) years of work experience.
• Three (3) years’ work experience with local communities, local organizations, NGOs, or government.
• Willingness and ability to travel throughout northeastern Nigeria.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated experience in community participation/engagement-type projects and violence prevention.
• In-depth knowledge of northeastern Nigeria and the NLCB program’s target states and communities.
• Ability to identify and develop creative and innovative approaches and activities that support execution of the program strategy and achievement of the program’s goal and objectives.
• Capacity to understand and analyze the political and security context at the local, state, federal, and regional levels.
• Ability to network and identify appropriate local, national, and international partners, grantees, and stakeholders.
• Ability to draft well written succinct reports.
• Ability to oversee activities through all phases of the activity cycle, including conceptualization, development, implementation, completion, and closure.
• Ability to coordinate budget development in close collaboration with procurement staff, grantees, partners, and stakeholders.
• Ability to coordinate the AMT members and ensuring procurement, grants, and monitoring, evaluation, & reporting specialists work as one team and support partners to implement activities, monitor activity outputs and outcomes, and learn by doing.
• Ability to work under pressure, efficiently handle multiple tasks, quickly find creative solutions to problems and challenges that arise, and manage stress and time in a fast-paced work and fluid operating environment.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office software: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.
• Prior experience working in northeastern Nigeria and/or a conflict environment.
• Written and spoken fluency in English and French.
• Fluency in one or more of the local languages used in northeastern Nigeria (Hausa, Kanuri, and Fulfulde, etc.).
• Ability to work both independently and as a part of a team.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Prior experience with USAID- or donor-funded projects.
• Prior experience using MS Access and/or web-based database applications