Call for Expert - USAID / Opportunities to Learn Proposal at International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Requisition ID: req15909
Sector: Program Administration
Employment Category: Fixed Term
Employment Type: Full-Time
Open to Expatriates: Yes

Job Description

• The IRC began working in Nigeria in 2012, providing assistance to communities displaced by large-scale floods. In response to escalating armed conflict in 2014, the IRC launched an emergency response in Yola and has since scaled health and nutrition, education, protection, and WASH programming across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states.
• As one of the largest multi-sector actors in the northeast, the IRC has strong linkages with civil society organizations (CSOs), state line ministries, and local stakeholders to ensure lasting gains for communities in need.

Objectives:

• The International Rescue Committee is looking for strategic leaders, technical specialists, and project managers to work on the anticipated USAID-funded Opportunity to Learn (OtL) project in Nigeria, a five-year, multi-million dollar education opportunity with an anticipated start date in late 2021.
• The project will focus on access to education by equipping out-of-school children and youth in northeast Nigeria with the foundational skills needed to progress to higher levels of education, training, and/or engagement in the workforce.
• OtL will be delivered by a project-specific leadership structure working closely with the IRC Nigeria country program teams and global technical advisors. The IRC is seeking candidates to fill the following roles in the project-specific leadership structure, subject to award and approval by USAID:
  • Deputy Chief of Party - Technical
  • Deputy Chief of Party - Operations
  • Grants and Compliance Manager
  • Partnerships Manager.
• Access to Basic Education; Technical and Vocational Education; Safeguarding and Protection; Systems and Policy Change; and Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) Leads.
• These are senior positions which require outstanding leadership, strategic thinking, and organizational, team-building, and representational skills to ensure children and youth in Nigeria have access to quality formal and non-formal education opportunities that allow them to thrive. They will be responsible for the technical and managerial oversight of the project, and are envisaged to be full-time based in Abuja, Nigeria. Travel to the areas of implementation may be required, subject to COVID-19 and security situations.

Job Description
Responsibilities for Management Leadership Roles (Deputy Chief of Party - Operations; Grants and Compliance Manager; and Partnerships Manager) include:

• Overseeing, supporting, and mentoring operations staff working in a complex operating environment.
• Oversight of day-to-day project activities, project finances, operations, staffing, grants management and compliance, work planning, reporting, and overall operational delivery.
• Facilitating country-level partnerships, capacity strengthening, and knowledge sharing by placing national partners at the center of project design.
• Representing the project with in-country stakeholders, including Government of Nigeria focal points, local authorities, and other key actors.

Responsibilities for Technical Leadership Roles (Deputy Chief of Party – Technical and Thematic Leads) include:

• Overseeing, supporting, and mentoring Access to Basic Education, Technical and Vocational Education, Safeguarding and Protection, Systems and Policy Change, and MEAL teams to achieve project goals.
• Leading the development and implementation of the project’s overall approach in each of its components and thematic areas in coordination with partners and advisors.
• Leading or supporting the development of MEAL plans and approaches.
• Ensuring linkages between relevant national actors in evidence generation and dissemination, and driving improvements to implementation based upon lessons learned and best practices.

Qualifications

• A strong track record of leading the design, management, or technical delivery (as relevant for the position) of large and/or complex USAID-funded projects, including USAID’s current design and implementation approaches and emerging priorities.
• Extensive experience working in West Africa is required; Nigeria is preferred.
• Strong skills in consortium-based management and implementation with international and national institutions and development agencies.
• Specific technical knowledge of education programming, according to preferred role, including formal and non-formal education, context-specific barriers to access and retention, improving social-emotional skills and wellbeing of children and youth, technical and vocational education, gender-sensitive programming, and education in emergency settings will be essential.
• Ability to perform at a senior management level, with a focus on adaptive management.
• Fluency in English required; competency also in relevant Northeast Nigeria languages preferred.
• Qualified candidates from Nigeria or the West Africa region are preferred.