Program Assistant at North East Regional Initiative (NERI)

(Kafanchan)

 Position Summary:

 The Program Assistant (PA) will support and receive hands-on, on-the-job training from Program Managers in designing and implementing a portfolio of small grants. The PA will work with in close collaboration with Program Managers and community stakeholders and contribute to identifying, prioritizing and designing activities that will respond to community development priorities in order to further the objectives of the NLCB program. The PA will be part of a small multidisciplinary team charged with oversight of project activities to ensure that all tasks are completed within timeframe and budget parameters defined during project design. The PA will be tasked with the administrative closeout of all activities, including final reporting. The PA will be expected to report daily to and receive guidance from Program Managers. In addition, the PA will be expected to collaborate horizontally with Grants Officers and members of the Program Team to share lessons learned and jointly design program strategy. This position is based in Kafanchan with frequent travel within the program LGAs and to Abuja.

 Reporting & Supervision:

 The Program Assistant will report to the Program Manager based outside of Abuja. The Program Assistant will provide administrative support to the Program Manager while the Program Manager leads multidisciplinary activity management teams. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELIVERABLES 

Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Provide administrative support to the Program Manager who will oversee a portfolio of projects
• Under the guidance of the Program Manager, participate in programmatic design of new projects, including identification of potential local partners and beneficiaries, monitor implementation to ensure timely completion and adherence to budget and administrative and programmatic closeout throughout the portfolio of activities.
• Provide administrative support to the program’s learning process by collecting and reporting information in a timely manner on political and security developments in the target area(s).
• Under the guidance of the Program Manager, relay communications to/from Government of Nigeria (GoN) officials, community stakeholders and civil society actors to support the Program Manager in ensuring coherent and strategic programming.
• Provide transparent administrative management and support the Program Manager to incorporate as wide a range of project beneficiaries, GoN and other important stakeholders as possible.
• Responsible for the proper use of the program database for project and program development and management, including updating information on projects and activities per week.
• Comply with all Creative and USAID procedures and policies with regards to ethics and compliance, grants management, HR, finance, operations and security. 
• Perform other tasks, as assigned.

 Required Skills & Qualifications 

• University degree in a related field is required.
• At least two (2) years of general work experience is required.
• Experience in working with communities to implement grassroots development projects preferred.
• Prior experience in grants management with international-funded projects is highly desirable.
• Proficiency at using Microsoft office: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook etc. is required.
• Ability to work under short deadlines and efficiently handle multiple tasks.
• Attention to detail and the ability to function well in a team.
• Experience of working in a conflict environment is a plus.
• Fluency in oral and written English is required.
• Fluency in one or more of the languages spoken in North West and North Central Nigeria is preferable.