Project Assistant (Early Warning & Early Response) at Search For Common Ground’s International

Requisition Number: PROJE001184

Context

• Benue and Nasarawa States are located in Nigeria's Middle Belt, a region with a long history of farmer-herder clashes, ethno-religious violence, and criminal activity such as kidnapping, banditry, and cattle rustling. Benue State has emerged as one of Nigeria's most acute humanitarian crises: a massacre in Yelewata, Guma LGA in June 2025 claimed more than 150 lives and uprooted over 3,900 people, laying bare the severe breakdown of community protection mechanisms.
• The state currently shelters upwards of 510,000 internally displaced persons. In Nasarawa State, insecurity is escalating rapidly, driven by a surge in kidnappings, banditry, and farmer-herder tensions, including the high-profile abduction of prominent individuals and the state's growing use as a corridor for illegal arms movement.
• Earlier EWER programming in the region had measurably curtailed violence by strengthening the link between communities and security actors. However, when programming ended, it left a critical protection gap, one that became tragically evident in the lead-up to the Yelewata massacre.
• The pattern is consistent: communities on the ground regularly detect early warning signs, but those signals either fail to travel up the chain or are not acted upon swiftly enough by state institutions and security agencies.
• This project directly responds to that breakdown by reviving community-level peace platforms, establishing or reinforcing State-level Situation Rooms, and creating reliable, trusted referral pathways that connect what communities see on the ground to the authorities with the power to respond.

Position Summary

• We are seeking experienced Project Assistants (Early Warning and Early Response Assistants) for an 18-month, European Union-funded project. Implemented in partnership with consortium co-applicants, this initiative aims to reduce religious and intergroup violence in Benue and Nasarawa States by strengthening multi-level early warning and rapid response (EWER) systems.
• The Project Assistant will support the implementation of community-based early warning, conflict prevention, and mitigation activities across both states.
• The successful candidate will coordinate community early warning observers, verify and analyze incident reports, facilitate timely information sharing, and assist in producing high-quality monthly reports. Additionally, the Project Assistant will work closely with community-based EWER structures—including community and Local Government Area (LGA) peace committees where they exist—and other key stakeholders to build local capacities for conflict prevention and rapid response.
• This position reports directly to the Project Officer and collaborates closely with other projects and country office support staff to ensure the seamless execution of activities. Successful candidates will be strategically based in either Benue or Nasarawa State.
• This 18-month action aims to strengthen conflict prevention, rapid response, community resilience, and psychosocial support systems in Benue and Nasarawa States by improving coordination among communities, government authorities, security actors, and protection service providers. Implemented by Search for Common Ground in partnership with Terres des Hommes (Tdh), the project combines strengthened Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) systems, including training, Community Safety and Resilience Committees, State Conflict Monitoring Situation Rooms, and livelihood support, with integrated mental health, psychosocial, and protection services. Through these complementary interventions, the project seeks to reduce violence, address its underlying drivers and impacts, strengthen rapid response and conflict management capacities, and promote trauma healing, social cohesion, and trust between communities and institutions.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Support in the organization and implementation of activities; assistance in the design and delivery of training and other support activities.
• Contribute to effective communication and reporting on project activities in the field.
• Provide inputs for periodic technical reviews and manage changes in program direction and focus; project monitoring, evaluation, accountability & learning, etc.
• Conduct frequent supervision and monitoring visits to project areas and identify any issues needing attention related to implementation, compliance, and program quality standards.
• Work closely with the Search team for the implementation of learning and recommendations from external or internal reviews and feedback.
• Work with the project team to develop a detailed costed work plan at the start of the project and ensure monthly updates are made to the output databases.
• Online and offline tracking of incidents and conversations with potentials to instigate violent reactions.
• Identify conflict triggers and violence to understand the conflict dynamics and spikes in violence over a period.
• Work with project officers to verify and triangulate reported incidents/EWER indicators across project locations.
• Work closely with other projects with EWER components to support and strengthen the Centralized EWER platform.
• Manage situations involving violent conflicts in project communities by providing real time assistance and support to the necessary response units.
• Communicate with stakeholders periodically to collate and ascertain information within their communities to support data analysis.
• Triangulate information with security agencies, community influencers and other relevant stakeholders to ensure valid information is shared appropriately for early response.
• Perform other tasks assigned by the supervisor.
• As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties broadly in line with the above key duties.

Requirements
Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree or its equivalent in Conflict Studies, with relevant practical experiences, working on early warning and early response mechanisms or a related field.

Core Competencies:

• Familiarity with data tracking and monitoring tools.
• Familiarity with data analytics
• Familiarity with social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
• Fluency in written and spoken English and other Nigerian Languages.
• Demonstrate integrity and promote Search values and ethical standards;
• Promote the vision, mission, and strategic objectives of Search;
• Demonstrate capacity to adapt to a multicultural context, tolerance, and respect for issues related to gender, religion, race, and nationality.

Required Experience:

• At least 2 years’ experience of project implementation, including engagement with several actors including governments, community, and religious leaders, civil society, governments, security organizations and specialist networks, etc.

Other Relevant Requirements:

• A good understanding of North Central Nigeria, particularly in terms of key political, social, security and economic issues
• Resident in the state of application, speaks local language (Hausa, Fulfulde, Tiv, Idoma, etc.) and understands the terrain.
• Excellent diplomacy and interpersonal skills and an ability to work in a non-partisan manner, appreciating gender, cultural and ethnic diversity
• Ability to work individually, but also with experience of working effectively as part of a team
• Ability to manage multiple tasks effectively with attention to detail and an orderly approach to tasks
• Strong analytical skills, including drafting reports and briefings
• Fluency in English (written and spoken).
• Must have a ‘hands-on’, practical mentality, be self-driven, and very motivated.