Program Manager at Creative Associates International

Reference No.: 2021-1863
Location: Mubi, Adamawa
Category: Program Management

Overview

• Creative Associates International (Creative) is a dynamic and fast-growing professional services firm that specializes in international development in the areas of education, democratic transitions and stabilization in post-conflict environments. Based in Washington, DC, the firm has a field presence in 30 countries worldwide with a strong and diverse portfolio that includes global contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other clients including the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Defense. The firm has earned a solid reputation among its clients and missions worldwide and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike.
• The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has contracted Creative Associates International to implement the Northeast Connection activity to strengthen the resilience of communities vulnerable to violent extremist infiltration and conflict. By targeting communities not yet under the control of violent extremist organizations (VEOs), this activity will seize the opportunity to mitigate the grievances that make communities vulnerable to violent extremism, while building social cohesion within and across communities in northeast Nigeria. In addition to helping northeastern Nigerians create a stronger foundation against the violent extremist and conflict threats, the activity is designed to develop local capacity to respond to emerging threats. In order to enable flexible and adaptive management of the activity in a complex environment, the activity includes a focused effort on research and analysis of the threats and coordination around programmatic opportunities and responses.
• The Program Manager (PM) will be responsible for the design, planning, contracting, implementation, and close-out of a portfolio of activities. The PM will work with in close collaboration with the Senior Management Team (including USAID) and community stakeholders to identify, prioritize, and design activities that will respond to community development priorities in order to further the objectives of the Connection program.
• The PM, working with a small multidisciplinary team, will be charged with oversight of project activities to ensure that all tasks are completed within timeframe and budget parameters defined during project design.
• The PM will be responsible for programmatic and administrative closeout of all activities, including final reporting, request and delivery of goods and services (in concert with procurement staff), disbursement of funding (in concert with finance staff), and disposition of any project inventory. The PM will serve as the main point of contact for state-level actors and community stakeholders to ensure that all activities fit within a strategic and coherent portfolio.
• The PM will be expected to report daily to and receive guidance from the Senior Management Team. The PM will be expected to liaise with various levels of stakeholders, including government officials, civil society organizations, and community actors; the PM must be able to maintain good relations with all associated parties. In addition, the PM will be expected to collaborate horizontally with other PMs to share lessons learned and jointly design program strategy.
• The PM will report to the Chief of Party (COP). The PM will oversee the Program Officer.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for general oversight of a portfolio of projects. The geography of targeted communities as well as type of programming may shift over the course of the program.
• In concert with senior management, advise on 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.
• Take a leadership role in the program’s learning process by feeding information to monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) and senior leadership in a timely manner on political and security developments in the PM’s target areas.
• Work closely with the grants team to oversee grants activities in target areas as part of the project portfolio.
• Develop activity-level Theory of Change (TOCs), thinking strategically about the contribution of each activity to the overall program objective.
• Work alongside Government of Nigeria (GoN) officials, community stakeholders and civil society actors to ensure coherent and strategic programming as part of a unified project endeavor.
• Manage civil society strengthening work with local civil society actors.
• With team members, establish community-level project oversight committees to ensure community buy-in of activities.
• Establish transparent management and oversight mechanisms and work to incorporate as wide a range of project beneficiaries, GoN and other important stakeholders.
• Responsible for the proper use of the program database for project and program development and management, ensuring updated 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, procurement, operations and security.
• Perform other tasks, as assigned.

Qualifications

• University Degree in a related field is required.
• At least five (5) years of general work experience is required.
• Experience in working with communities to implement grassroots development projects preferred.
• Prior experience (three years or more) in grants management with internationally 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 Hausa is required.