Program Coordinator (Crops) at Heifer International

Functions

• The Project Coordinator will be responsible for the coordination and monitoring of all the projects of the Youth and Innovation department, to ensure that project goals and objectives remain on track.
• Areas of focus include efficient management of project resources; project plans and budgets; engagement with relevant stakeholders; ensuring quality control and timeliness of all deliverables as required.
• The Project Coordinator will report to the Signature Program Director, Naija Unlock.

Responsibilities & Deliverables
Project Management and Effectiveness (50%):

• Develop detailed project work plan to drive changes and improvements, for approval and ongoing monitoring to ensure project activities are on schedule.
• Provide coordination of project implementation including technical, administrative, operational, and logistical direction of the projects.
• Develop and provide an ongoing project management dashboard.
• Monitor and review progress on project tasks within the context of agreed project deliverables and timelines.
• Provide support to project teams through planning and reviews as well as implementation.
• Collaborate with relevant teams and departments and ensure timely dissemination of project information and reports.
• Carry out operations on the Naija Unlock signature program.

Quality and Risk (25%):

• Carry out all necessary activities for the review, documentation, and optimization of processes that will enable seamless project execution.
• Provide project performance highlights and communicate major issues, slippage, and suggested remedies and escalations as required.
• Track and assess the effectiveness of projects.
• Provide project status reporting and updates of progress, dependencies, issues, and risks.
• Compile and present research findings and recommendations as may be beneficial to the project.

Stakeholder Management (20%):

• Provide practical and all necessary support to Signature Program Director in achieving successful execution of the project.
• Manage the day-to-day projects/logistics and the corresponding communication for each project.
• Establish plans for multi-stakeholder engagement and learnings.
• Develop strategies for capturing and processing sharing knowledge from projects.
• Participate in periodic meetings with stakeholders.

May perform other job-related duties as assigned (5%):

• Any other job-related tasks assigned by the supervisor.

Illustrative Key Performance Indicators

• FY23 annual workplan
• Monthly program performance update
• Program management dashboard
• Draft progress reports (annual and quarterly).

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree required in Agricultural Economics or related field, plus 7 years relevant work experience.
• Extensive project management experience managing projects differ in size and complexity. 
• Astute understanding of and effectively employ strategies within the political, social, cultural and economic landscape in the state when designing and implementing agricultural development initiatives
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

 Preferred Requirements:

• Master’s Degree preferred in relevant field.
• Project management certification.
• Experience in tech-enabled programs, with an understanding of leveraging technology and supporting business plan competitions.
• Experience in a tech- incubator environment.

Most Critical Proficiencies:

• Ability to formulate a plan to meet the objectives of the project while adhering to an approved budget and timeline.
• Excellent communication, people, and leadership skills, as well as a keen eye for others’ strengths and weaknesses.
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to interact effectively at all levels.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills with attention to detail.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Critical thinking and excellent decision-making skills
• Ability to manage conflict
• Proven ability to supervise the successful execution of each stage of the project.
• Ability to resolve derailments and communicate effectively with team members and other stakeholders to ensure the project gets back on track.
• Expert level risk management and contingency planning experience.
• Ability to monitor spend rates and make modifications based on budget allocation.
• Experience in managing project data and reports.
• Ability to determine ongoing maintenance and troubleshooting needs of a project.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite.

Essential Character Traits:

• The ideal candidate is self-driven, detail-oriented, adaptable, team player, collaborates across various teams, communicates clearly and frequently, and is persistent in delivering reports on time and to a high degree of quality.

Additional traits include:

• Strong interpersonal communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Strong collaboration and partnership skills with people and teams across organizational levels.
• Analytical approach to work with strong problem-solving skills.
• High attention to detail.
• High energy and enthusiasm with a can-do attitude.
• Ability to tolerate stress.

Essential Job Functions and Physical Demands:

• Ability to sit, stand or walk for long periods of time.
• Ability to work with a computer and computer software.
• Ability to lift or move up to 25 pounds.
• Ability to work independently.
• Ability to perform mathematical and/or statistical computation and apply good analytical skills.
• Ability to work with sensitive information and maintain confidentiality.