Project Coordinator at Oxfam

Requisition ID: 10488
Job Family: Programs
Level: C2
Duration: Until Dec. 31, 2022
Reporting to: Project Manager, LINE
Direct reports: Initially none to increase to up to nine persons after Mar 31, 2022

Job Purpose

• To lead the remaining implementation and final closure of the Global Affairs-funded Livelihoods and Nutritional Empowerment (LINE) project in Bauchi State. The position holder will work closely with LINE’s Implementing Partners in Bauchi State to deliver core objectives of the project in line with the project’s approved work plans and budgets, and with Oxfam in Nigeria’s Country Strategy (2021 -2025).
• The position holder will also lead in stakeholder engagement in the state towards achieving improved service delivery by governments and promoting transparent and accountable systems at all levels of government.
• Critical to the success of the project will be the collective design and implementation of sustainability plans in support of all project interventions which the Project Coordinator will lead.
• It will be expected that the project’s gender justice mainstreaming and women’s economic empowerment components will be sustained during and at the completion of the delivery strategies by the position holder.
• It is anticipated that the Project Manager will mentor and coach the successful candidate before handing over further responsibilities for overall project management and closure.

Major Responsibilities

• Initially, in support of the Project Manager, oversee the project teams of Oxfam LINE and partners by providing technical and administrative support for efficient management of the project in Bauchi State where the position is based.
• To oversee the implementation of LINE’s activities, including project workplans, budgets and results monitoring frameworks, using Results Based Management (RBM) principles.
• To help guide the implementation of LINE’s advocacy and influencing activities, working in collaboration with the project’s Governance and Influencing Officer, and with support from relevant units at the Oxfam in Nigeria Country Office when appropriate.
• Support the design and implementation of climate-resilient initiatives across target rural communities and LGAs that are community-led, gender responsive, and appropriate to deepen adaptive and preventive capacities of vulnerable populations.
• Strengthen and identify opportunities for relevant program linkages and partnerships with governments and the private sector for the promotion of inclusive and sustainable markets and livelihoods for the poor.
• Working with the Environmental Compliance Officer and other staff members, support the development and implementation of strategies to promote disaster risk reduction, peace and conflict management and community development using appropriate methodologies.
• Work closely with other Project Staff (Oxfam and Partners) in promoting active citizenship among rural people and their VSLAs/VSLFs through structured engagement, appropriate mobilization, and capacity building to effect positive change in policies and leadership in government and traditional governance systems.
• Support the identification and documentation of stories of change and evidence of changes on the ground using case studies and other related approaches, the output of which shall be used for advocacy engagements at all levels in alignment with the project’s theory of change.
• Provide support to other Project Staff (Oxfam and Partners) towards understanding how to implement community development planning, policy influencing, social/behavioural change strategies and stakeholders’ influencing strategies among others.
• Support relevant documentation of best practices, and generation of evidence towards effective policy influencing works.
• Lead the project closure and reporting conditions, including end-of-project evaluations, asset disposal plans, human resource issues, etc.
• Represent the LINE project at numerous fora.
• Undertake any other tasks as requested by the Project Manager.

Key Tasks

• Support the development of sustainability plans for all project interventions through evidence-based data
  • To support the collection of project results as per the project’s Performance Measurement Framework, identify data gaps, and work with the project’s MEAL Officer to design appropriate data collection modalities using RBM approaches.
  • To coordinate and support the design and development of sustainable strategies and plans.
• Support all project community engagement activities as per the annual work plan
  • Work closely with the Project Team and Implementing Partners to support all of the project’s interventions with each of LINE’s communities and groups, recognize their peculiar needs and instil community ownership.
  • Adapt and adjust, when appropriate, implementation strategies for greater sustainability.
• Represent LINE and Oxfam
  • To establish and develop relationships with relevant high-profile influencers, including but not limited to State Governors, Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, Local Government Chairmen, civil servants, think tanks, academia, private sector players, religious leaders, and reputable states(wo)men etc.
  • Maintain cordial and productive relationships with LINE’s implementing partners.
  • To represent the LINE project at relevant public events and in the media, including speaking at project events after due clarification from the Project Manager.
• Work with the Oxfam in Nigeria country office
  • To provide LINE project lessons and data for inclusion in country-level programming and reporting.
  • Recognizing LINE implementation stages and in alignment with Oxfam in Nigeria’s advocacy and influencing strategy. to work with the Project Team in the development of advocacy and influencing strategies that are suitable and relevant to the contexts where LINE is being implemented.
• Design and develop advocacy plans for project closeout
  • To identify, work with and collaborate, where necessary, with LINE’s local NGO partners on advocacy, influencing and campaigning on improving food security and agricultural governance systems.
  • In association with the relevant team members, to identify any potential opportunities and impact of LINE’s advocacy or influencing or campaigning on local partners and advise the Project Manager accordingly.
  • Guide and support the final project data collection and evaluation processes and ensure all donor reporting requirements are completed as per the project’s contribution agreement.

Other Duties:

• To work closely with other members of the Project Team, including NGO partners, in delivering on all the objectives of LINE.
• To provide regular communication and feedback to Oxfam management, both in Abuja (Oxfam in Nigeria) and Montreal (Oxfam Quebec).
• To ensure at all times that Oxfam’s Policy on Safeguarding is strictly adhered to and provide supports to colleagues and beneficiaries to report any suspicious act of sexual harassment, inappropriate behaviours and fraud using appropriate communication channels.
• To undertake any other tasks that may be regarded as appropriate for a role of this nature within the organisation and those to be assigned by the Project Manager.
• To travel as required and represent LINE at appropriate national fora.

Requirements
Educational Qualification:

• University Degree or equivalent in Development Studies, Sociology, Rural Sociology & Extension Services, Development Communications, or other relevant fields, with a minimum of five (5) years cognate experience. OR,
• Post-graduate qualification in Development Studies, Sociology, Rural Sociology & Extension Services, Development Communications, or other relevant fields, with a minimum of three (3) years cognate experience.
• Relevant training in thematic professional areas will be an added advantage.

Experience:

• Experience in working with high, mid and low-level influencers across different socio-economic groupings and geographies.
• Knowledge of working on international donor-funded projects, and the requisite narrative and financial reporting structures.
• Working with rural communities and facilitation of community development activities using participatory methodologies.
• Experience with managing people and overseeing performance review processes.
• Experience working with vulnerable rural people, including women, young children, and youth.
• Experience in advocacy and campaigning targeting diverse stakeholders in a similar position.
• Working in difficult terrains with limited access to urban facilities.
• Cultural awareness of northern Nigeria and/or experience of the socio-cultural and religious issues of the region.

Skills and Attributes:

• Demonstrable negotiation, influencing and relationship-building skills.
• Skilled at communicating in a clear, concise and compelling manner to a wide range of audiences.
• Fluency in spoken and written English language. Hausa language proficiency will be an added advantage.
• Practical skills and experience in using RBM approaches and methodologies.
• Strong written communication skills.
• Proven organisational and administrative skills.
• Computer literate in Word, Excel and Outlook.
• Proven ability for planning and carry out training sessions.

Personal Qualities:

• Self-motivated and able to work under pressure and prioritise effectively.
• Good team player prepared to contribute to the overall success of the organisation.
• Personality with a ‘can do’ spirit and a great deal of attention to detail.
• Willingness to carry out extensive and frequent travels in northern Nigeria.

Key Behavioural Competencies:

• Decisiveness: We are comfortable making transparent decisions and adapting decision making modes to the context and needs.
• Influencing: We have the ability to engage with diverse stakeholders in a way that leads to increased impact for the organization We spot opportunities to influence effectively and where there are no opportunities, we have the ability to create them in a respectful and impactful manner.
• Humility: We put ‘we’ before ‘me’ and place an emphasis on the power of the collective, nurture the team and play to the strengths of each individual. We are not concerned with hierarchical power, and we engage with, trust and value the knowledge and expertise of others across all levels of the organization.
• Relationship Building: We understand the importance of building relationships, within and outside the organization. We have the ability to engage with traditional and non-traditional stakeholders in ways that lead to increased impact for the organization.
• Listening: We are good listeners who can see where deeper levels of thoughts and tacit assumptions differ. Our messages to others are clear and consider different preferences.
• Mutual Accountability: We can explain our decisions and how we have taken them based on our organizational values.  We are ready to be held to account for what we do and how we behave, as we are also holding others to account in a consistent manner.
• Agility, Complexity, and Ambiguity:  We scan the environment, anticipate changes, are comfortable with lack of clarity and deal with a large number of elements interacting in diverse and unpredictable ways.
• Systems Thinking: We view problems as parts of an overall system and in their relation to the whole system, rather than reacting to a specific part, outcome or event in isolation. We focus on cyclical rather than linear cause and effect. By consistently practising systems thinking we are aware of and manage well-unintended consequences of organizational decisions and actions.
• Strategic Thinking and Judgment: We use judgment, weighing risk against the imperative to act. We make decisions consistent with organizational strategies and values.
• Vision Setting: We have the ability to identify and lead visionary initiatives that are beneficial for our organization and we set high-level direction through a visioning process that engages the organization and diverse external stakeholders.
• Self-Awareness: We are able to develop a high degree of self-awareness around our own strengths and weaknesses and our impact on others. Our self-awareness enables us to moderate and self-regulate our behaviours to control and channel our impulses for good purposes.
• Enabling: We all work to effectively empower and enable others to deliver the organizations goals through creating conditions of success. We passionately invest in others by developing their careers, not only their skills for the job.  We provide freedom; demonstrate belief and trust provide appropriate support.