Livelihoods & Food Security Specialist at Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

Job ID: 1831
Location: Maiduguri
Reports to: Head of Programme
Grade: 9
Supervision of: N/A
Travel: 40%
Duration and Type of contract: 12 months (extendable)

Duties and Responsibilities

• The LFS Specialist will provide technical oversight and strategic direction to Country and Area Offices to further the development of the LFS Core Competency (CC).
• The Specialist will provide quality assurance for all projects, develop a collaborative country strategy, capacity build staff through mentoring and training to increase the technical capacity of the staff, and develop a donor strategy to further grow the program.

Role and Responsibilities

• The LFS Specialist will provide technical oversight and strategic direction to Country and Area offices to further the development of the LFS Core Competency (CC).
• The Specialist will provide quality assurance for all projects, develop a collaborative country strategy, capacity build staff through mentoring and training to increase the technical capacity of the staff, and develop a donor strategy to further grow the program.

The following is a Brief Description of the Role:
Generic Responsibilities (Max 10):

• Develop LFS CC strategy, technical guidance and Macro LFAs
• Compliance with and adherence to NRC policies, guidance and procedures
• Contribute to fundraising, develop and revise funding proposal, budgets and donor reports
• Identify trends technical standards and donor priorities
• Follow up on compliance with contractual commitments within CC, ensure high technical quality and synergies in project implementation
• Provide technical direction and project implementation support to the implementation team
• Ensure that key learnings are extracted from CC implementation, and incorporate them in CC and staff development processes
• Provide systematic training and build capacity of LFS staff
• Represent NRC in relevant forums/clusters, including with national authorities and donors
• Promote the rights of IDPs/returnees in line with the advocacy strategy

Specific Responsibilities:

• Responsible for technical innovative development and quality of CC in country, holistic programming (with other CCs) and to ensure harmonisation and consistency across CC projects in line with NRC Programme Policy
• Lead the process on proposals, budgets, modifications, project reviews and reporting and ensure high technical quality
• Take the lead on quality project deliverables to ensure high technical outputs
• Provide strategic leadership on the development of programming that recognizes the challenges faced by conflict-affected affected populations
• Support programmatic M&E and indicator tracking in conjunction with project teams and M&E department
• Ensure workplans and spending plans in line with donor budgets are developed and maintained by supporting Project Coordinators, Managers and Area Managers
• Develop and lead on conducting needs assessments (approved by the HoP, and in collaboration with Area Program teams, Protection team and M&E team), baseline, mid-and end-evaluations
• Represent NRC with relevant donors, government ministries, and in relevant humanitarian coordination meetings in country
• Actively promote and operationalize synergies between LFS and other NRC programmes to move toward integrated programming
• Provide support and input to the recruitment processes for all LFS staff
• Accountable for organisational learning from programme implementation, sharing of best practice and capacity building.

Critical Interfaces:
By interfaces, NRC means processes and projects that are interlinked with other departments/units or persons. Relevant interfaces for this position are:

• Programme development: Core Competencies section (HO Oslo, Region, in-country), Country Program Department, Area Programme teams
• Proposal development: Area Managers, Project Managers and Coordinators, Program Department
• Quality control/ support: Area Managers, Project Managers and Coordinators
• Capacity development: LFS staff

Scale and Scope of Position

• Staff: No direct management of staff however close technical support and capacity building of LFS team
• Stakeholders: UN agencies (focus on UNICEF), Protection Sector and Working Groups, INGOs, local NGOs, civil society, governmental bodies
• Budgets: Not budget holder, however support and oversight of LFS team financial management and budgeting within new grants development
• Information: Information resources the postholder is responsible for include GORS, Agresso, Intranet
• Legal or compliance: Legal or compliance responsibility for donors’ contractual obligations, beneficiary personal data, GDPR, SSD

Competencies:

• Competencies are important in order for the employee and the organisation to deliver desired results.
• They are relevant for all staff and are divided into the following three categories:

Professional Competencies:

• These are skills, knowledge and experience that are important for effective performance.
• Generic professional competencies for this position:
• Experience working in complex and volatile contexts
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal

Context / Specific Skills, Knowledge and Experience:

• Knowledge of the Lake Chad Basin region and north-eastern Nigeria context specifically
• Experience with start-up or expansion of new programmes
• Experience in team capacity building
• Advanced computer skills, especially in Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook
• Experience with youth/adolescent programming, particularly vocational training is desired
• Experience with alternative LFS in a humanitarian context an asset
• Understanding of SPHERE and INEE Minimum Standards
• Candidates with an advanced degree preferred; significant experience in the field of LFS, PSS or Child Protection considered in lieu

Behavioural Competencies (Max 6):

• These are personal qualities that influence how successful people are in their job.
• NRC’s Competency Framework states 12 behavioural competencies, the following are essential for this position:
  • Handling insecure environments
  • Strategic thinking
  • Empowering and building trust
  • Influencing
  • Initiate action and change
  • Analysing

Required Experience:

• Minimum First Level University / Bachelor’s Degree, Advanced Degree preferred 
• Minimum 4 years of experience within a humanitarian / recovery context
• Minimum 2 years of LFS expertise (as Specialist/TA or Project Manager)

Performance Management:

• The employee will be accountable for the responsibilities and the competencies, in accordance with the NRC Performance Management Manual.
• The following documents will be used for performance reviews:
  • The Job Description
  • The Work and Development Plan
  • The Mid-term/End-of-trial Period Performance Review Template
  • The End-term Performance Review Template
  • The NRC Competency Framework 

What We Offer

• Salary / Benefits: Grade 9 in NRC’s Salary Scale. NRC offers an attractive compensation and benefits package.