Project Manager (PROACT) at Oxfam

Internal Job Grade: C1- national
Contract type: 1 Year Fixed Term
Job Family: Program
Reporting to: Deputy Country Director - Programs
Staff reporting to this post: State Livelihood coordinators in Adamawa and Kebbi Collaborates with Implementing partners, CRUDAN and DEC
 
Job Purpose

• To manage Oxfam-EU funded PROACT Project and lead on related strategy development.
• The Project Manager will be the main liaison person for PROACT project activities between Oxfam and The Federal and State Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development officials, Ministries of Women Affairs and Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and private sector and Agricultural Research Institutes involved in the project implementation.

Dimensions:

• Coordination and delivery of agreed plans and strategies to achieve significant impact from PROACT project unit and meet targets.
• Establish and maintain effective partnerships with NGOs and government bodies to increase national resource mobilization and long-term sustainability for PROACT.
• Work as part of the Program Management Team (PMT) in Nigeria and lead PROACT management team.
• Input into and influence long term vision on Economic Justice (GROW campaign), inequality in the food system and World Influencing Network (WIN) in Nigeria.
• Working autonomously with significant financial, human resource, and representational responsibility.
• Produce, assimilate, analyse, and use project information from varied and diverse sources to provide in-depth analysis in the project unit or policy area.
• Decision-making is strategic and operational with a high degree of judgement based on specific problem solving experience and a range of external and internal factors.
• Role as a key decision maker/responsible person for project unit.
• Represent Oxfam in coordination meetings and some external relationships in relation to the PROACT project.
• Play an active role in lobby and advocacy through personal contacts and co-ordination of allies at national and occasionally regional level.
• Plan and implement fundraising plans and ensure proper reporting and accountability to donors.
• Ensures that the notion of “women’s rights at the heart of our work” is present in all work s/he takes forward. Assess food security situation, designing, implementing, and scaling up of Food Security and Livelihoods programs when acute emergencies are forecast as required.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities
Strategic Leadership:

• Leadership of Oxfam PROACT project management at all levels (strategic, tactical, and operational) ensuring that primary stakeholder needs and interests drive the project.
• As a member of the Programme Management Team (PMT) and leader of the PROACT management team, contribute to overall development of longer-term strategy and management of the Oxfam programme in Nigeria.
• Keep up to date with national and regional trends in resilient livelihoods, food security and agricultural value chain development order to fully understand the context within which Oxfam operates (present and future).
• Work with relevant actors to establish yield insurance scheme.
• Lead Household Economy Assessment, food security and nutrition assessments, and rapid care analysis in PROACT areas and coordinate implementation of recommendations.
• Actively represent PROACT in the quarterly Cadre Harmonise analysis, Regular Cash Working Groups, and Food Security Cluster at the national level
• Design social protection/safety net initiatives (cash transfer and/or voucher program, considering a fluctuating market system and security situation, temporary employment in the form of food for work, VS&L, livestock management, backyard gardening, local food reserve, nutrition enhancement programming) in chronically food insecure areas working with the Livelihood Program Team and Humanitarian team.
• Support gathering and sharing of good practice within thematic groups that are integrating disaster risk reduction, social protection/safety nets and sustainable livelihoods approaches to work in areas of chronic poverty and inequality.
• Facilitate learning and contribute to knowledge management across our program, Oxfam International, and with partners and external organisations.
• Provide strategic analysis and direction through high quality advice, analysis of food security trends, and synthesis of learning from external sources and our programs to help the organisation make strategic program, policy, and campaign choices

Fundraising:

• Prepare capacity statements, concept notes and project proposals ensuring they are aimed at achieving resilient income and food security for small holder farmers especially women and youth.
• Ensure that proposals developed for calls are in line with co-financing targets and priorities of the PROACT project.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, mid-term and annual reports to be submitted to Oxfam and existing as well as potential donors.

Project Management and Implementation:

• Ensure PROACT project achieve its planned outcomes, and provide an effective framework for project work.
• Pro-actively share information within the Nigeria and PROACT project teams and ensure that team members are coordinating effectively over activity planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and learning.
• Ensure adherence to Oxfam quality standards and integration of best practice in livelihood programme in close liaison with Oxfam technical advisers, finance, MEAL, and another support staff.
• Ensure that PROACT management information systems are maintained accurately and up to date.
• Ensure delivery of PROACT project reports and donor reports to quality standards and deadlines.
• Ensure that all work is carried out in a way that is gender-sensitive, and promote the full and equal participation of women in all aspects of the work.
• Commission and supervise research or analysis to underpin programming and advocacy on rural livelihood and related areas.
• Share information within region and to other Oxfam colleagues related to PROACT and advocacy issues in Nigeria.
• Facilitate the implementation of counter fraud, anti-aid diversion and safeguarding recommendations for operational excellence.

Partnership Management and External Relationship:

• Build and manage relationships and partnerships with producer organisations, NGOs, research institutions, private sector, and other key stakeholders in the Agricultural and rural sectors in Nigeria.
• Provide and facilitate technical support, training, and information to partners to enable them to effectively use Oxfam resources and best practices in project implementation.
• Represent Oxfam in coordination meetings related to PROACT and some external relationships with donors and other key stakeholders.
• Ensure regular communication with counterparts and government organisations.

People Management:

• Line manage Oxfam PROACT project staff in Adamawa and Kebbi States.
• Provide and facilitate technical support, training, and information to PROACT project staff and partners to enable them to effectively use Oxfam resources as well as best practices in programme planning and implementation.

Financial Management:

• Direct responsibility for budget management of up to 4- 5 million EUR project per year including significant donor funds.
• Ensure that budgets are drawn up for all activities, and that costs are kept within budgets, providing a monthly financial summary and quarterly analysis of trends.
• Recommend and approve Oxfam grants within strategic priorities.

Education and Competence
Essential:

• Excellent analytical and critical thinking ability, with a Master Degree in Agriculture, Agri-economics, Food Security, Climate Change or a related field of study with 8-10 years of field experience in food security, agriculture, and resilient livelihoods, including experience in emergency response and recovery following natural disaster and social protection/safety nets.
• Minimum of 8 years “hands-on” working experience of managing development programmes; 3 years of managing livelihoods and agricultural projects including ability to integrate private sector, rural financial management, and nutrition components especially within an NGO setting in a coordinating capacity.
• Knowledge of market-based agriculture especially the value chain approach, rural financial services, and promotional nutrition interventions.
• Strong skills in market based agricultural models and value chain approach from smallholder farmers’ perspective.
• Excellent knowledge of the political economy in Nigeria, politically astute, with a good understanding of key external organisations, how they operate and make decisions, and the country development context.
• Commitment to and knowledge of working with partner-led operational approaches, developing, and supporting partner organisations to achieve direct impact and results relating to the programme objectives.
• High levels of strategic and people management skills, able to support and mentor teams in their professional and personal growth and use a variety of strategies and approaches to motivate teams.
• Excellent personal communication skills, in written and verbal English, with high impact influencing and persuasive skills an able to represent Oxfam to donors and external institutions.
• Experience and ability to work well in, manage and lead large project teams and steer them to achieve and deliver results.
• Experience in budgeting, budget monitoring and expenditure forecasting.
• Demonstrated experience of integrating Gender and Diversity issues in market based rural agric sector.
• Demonstrable experience of working with and managing local Civil Society partners, donor funding management and reporting.
• Ability to work effectively with others persuading, influencing, negotiating, and supporting, following as required to achieve targets.
• Ability to manage competing tasks; ability to prioritise and produce high level output consistently.
• Strong analytical skills and experience using a computerised information management system (Ms. Word, Excel etc.)
• Commitment to Oxfam’s overall aims and policies and experience of promoting women’s rights and the interests of marginalized people in all aspects of Oxfam’s work
• Understanding of and commitment to Oxfam’s One Program Approach (linking humanitarian, development & influencing work).

Key Behavioural Competencies

• Decisiveness - We are comfortable to make transparent decisions and to adapt decision making modes to the context and needs.
• Influencing - We can engage with diverse stakeholders in a way that leads to increased impact for the organisation We spot opportunities to influence effectively and where there are no opportunities we have the ability to create them in a respectful and impactful manner.
• Mutual Accountability - We can explain our decisions and how we have taken them based on our organizational values.  We are ready to be held to account for what we do and how we behave, as we are also holding others to account in a consistent manner.
• Agility, Complexity, and Ambiguity - We scan the environment, anticipate changes, are comfortable with lack of clarity and deal with a large number of elements interacting in diverse and unpredictable ways.
• Systems Thinking - We view problems as parts of an overall system and in their relation to the whole system, rather than reacting to a part, outcome or event in isolation. We focus on cyclical rather than linear cause and effect. By consistently practicing systems thinking we are aware of and manage well unintended consequences of organizational decisions and actions.
• Strategic Thinking and Judgment - We use judgment, weighing risk against the imperative to act. We make decisions consistent with organizational strategies and values.
• Listening - We are good listeners who can see where deeper levels of thoughts and tacit assumptions differ. Our messages to others are clear, and consider different preferences.