Early Warning Coordinator at Search For Common Ground’s International

Location: Yola, Adamawa

About The Project

• Search for Common Ground with support from the EU is working on an 18 months project titled “Contributing to the mitigation of conflict over natural resources between farmer and herder communities in Adamawa State, Nigeria (COMITAS)”. The project pursues four specific objectives: First, it will aim to strengthen traditional conflict resolution in the targeted locations in Adamawa state to support conflict prevention and mitigation efforts. Secondly, this project will aim to improve trust in authorities’ commitment to providing security and adequate resource management to help prevent communities to turn towards violence. The third specific objective of the project is to address the root causes of conflict between farmer and herder communities over natural resources and lastly, the fourth specific objective of this project is to improve intra and inter-communal perceptions. The project will be implemented in Demsa, Girei, Numan, Lamurde, and Song local government areas in Adamawa State, Yola in Adamawa State.
• This project” will work to contribute to the mitigation of conflict over natural resources. Search and her partners will work with authorities first at the lowest level (local administration, authorities, the judiciary) and other higher levels (State, Federal) where necessary. This approach, as developed has successfully applied, in USAID-funded “Building Bridges Between Herders and Farmers in Plateau, Nasarawa, and the Kaduna States” program in the Middle Belt, consists of conflict prevention, dispute resolution, and sustainability beginning from the local level and conflict-affected people themselves. 
• The project will support community-based Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) to identify risks and partner with civil society, security or government actions to institutionalize strategies and approaches that will build community capacity and skills for sustainable peace. 
• Additionally, the project seeks to ensure conflicts identified through the EWER feed into multi-stakeholder forums for dispute resolution and higher-level policy change and create open and neutral spaces for the farmer and pastoralist community members and leaders to identify collective solutions.
• The position holder will be responsible for the conduct of community early warning prevention and mitigation activities in Adamawa State.
• S/he will ensure that the conflict scanning is executed as planned; coordinate early warning observers, confirm and analyze reports and prepare monthly reports. S/he will work closely with the State project coordinator in the implementation of early warning and conflict prevention activities.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Has the responsibility for managing the Early Warning System (EWS) and integrated hub in Adamawa state with guidance from the Conflict Analyst
• Organize monthly meetings with Community Observers (COs) and quarterly meetings with Community Response Networks (CRNs) in Adamawa and Borno States.
• Ensure that the EW system receives daily SMS/voice incident reports from COs, CRNs and other stakeholders and such reports are documented on the system and analyzed in real-time and disseminated to actors and communities for immediate response.
• Collate and develop weekly EWS reports/analyses and Monthly updates to be shared with donors and other stakeholders.
• Develop bimonthly EWS bulletin to share in printed and electronic copies to local actors, government and stakeholders including NGOs.
• Participate and share analysis of EWS reports with CSADs and PAD members.
• Document key success stories from the EWS reports, incidences and/or responses of actors and stakeholders linked to the reports received from the system.
• Support programmatic and logistical support and assistance to the State Project Coordinator
• Serve as a link and intermediary between Search for Common Ground and local communities and partners.
• Facilitate and organize field visits for Search staff, visitors and donors to local communities
• Contribute to the preparation of funder reports
• Participate in research in support of project implementation and development
• Work with program staff in the development and continuous improvement of systems
• Provide necessary support to implementing partners and government under the supervision of the program managers
• Provide weekly and monthly progress reports to supervisor and management team 

Financial Compliance:

• Prepares activity budgets and ensures that budgets are spent as per approved budget;
• Organises the payment to all local vendors, as well as transport reimbursements and per diems;
• Documents all expenses
• Provides activity spending reconciliation reports as per Search for Common Ground’s guidelines
• Ensure effective implementation and compliance with the overall finance and guidance manual and compliance with procedures
• As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key duties.
• Reports to: Line managed by the Head of Office, Middle Belt and technically managed by the National Conflict Analyst
• Supervisory function: Early Warning Officer
• Working relations: Work closely with the project team
• As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key duties.

Required Profile

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent in Social Science, Arts, Development Studies or a related field;
• At least four (4) years of experience in Early warning and conflict management  or related fields
• Relevant experience working in the non-profit and NGO sector;
• Experience with conflict analysis tools;
• Substantial experience working with government officials, NGOs and communities;
• Experience writing reports and project proposals;
• Understanding of the social, political and economic context of the state and how it impacts on conflict drivers and conflict in the state and targeted communities;
• Knowledge and experience in computers and crowd mapping software;
• Other Relevant Requirements
• Ability to identify issues and to use sound judgment in applying technical expertise to resolve a wide range of problems;
• Good knowledge of the political, economic and social dimensions of North - East region as well as farmer Herder conflict dynamics.
• Ability to work under extreme pressure in a highly stressful environment;
• Willingness to keep abreast of new developments in the EW/ER field;
• Basics financial management skills;
• Hausa language skills are essential; Knowledge of other languages spoken in the state will be an advantage;
• Strong command of English language, with excellent written and oral communication skills and interpersonal communication skills;
• A demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards and a diverse workplace; and
• Ability to prioritize, plan and organize workflow to tight timeframes, handle multiple tasks, and be flexible with changing priorities.

Required Competencies:

• Leading and supervising: Has the ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of SFCG. Is able to build trust within the team and acts with integrity.
• Accountability: Being accountable and passing on accountability for one's own actions and those of colleagues and the organization.
• Attention to detail: The ability to process detailed information effectively and consistently
• Collaboration: The ability to work effectively with others in order to achieve a shared goal - even when the object at stake is of no direct personal interest possibilities.
• Creativity: The ability to come up with original and innovative ideas and solutions, to adopt points of view outside the usual parameters.
• Focus on Quality: Setting high-quality standards and striving for continuous improvement and quality assurance.
• Learning Ability: The ability to absorb new information readily and to put it into practice effectively
• Adaptability: The ability to remain fully functional by adapting to changing circumstances (environment, procedures and people).