Project Manager - Promoting and Protecting Freedom of Religion and Belief in Nigeria” (PP-FORB Nigeria) at Search For Common Ground’s International

Department: Programs - Africa - West
Employment type: Full Time - Local

Position Summary

• Promoting and Protecting Freedom of Religion and Belief in Nigeria (PP-FORB Nigeria) project aims to empower actors to prevent and address conflicts along religious lines and advance Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Nigeria by establish effective Early Warning/Early Response (EWER) and referral mechanisms for addressing FoRB violations and violence along religious lines in Nigeria
• Strengthening support mechanisms for individuals at risk of FoRB violations and enhance public understanding of interfaith conflict and the importance of FoRB.
• The Project Manager will ensure effective implementation of all the project activities.
• S/he will be responsible for effective organization and coordination of rapid conflict assessment on religious conflicts in Nigeria,
• Monitoring of FoRB-related conversations and incidents and quarterly FoRB monitoring reports, the establishment of a national high-level inter-religious EWER platform for FoRB, convene national and community level meetings,
• Support the development of a curriculum on human rights laws in response to religious based conflicts and FoRB violations, and training of legal practitioners on human rights laws,
• Development of case management protocols for managing religious-based conflicts, and facilitate support to survivors and victims of religious-based conflicts and FoRB violations in Nigeria,
• Support the development of curriculum and training of selected Journalists on Common Ground Journalism in relation to FoRB, train social media influencers on conflict-sensitive reporting of religious-based conflicts and FoRB related issues and support the production of film that highlights the role of FoRB Champions in Nigeria.
• The Project Manager's expected outputs are geared towards supporting the delivery of outputs and outcomes of the project as a whole.
• He/she shall ensure that the project’s plans are in place and kept updated as per the project’s overall objective.
• S/he will ensure all reporting requirements of the project and will keep track of the unfolding social, political and conflict dynamics in Nigeria.
• The project manager will support the Head of National Projects in engaging high-level religious actors, partners and relevant government agencies, national and international actors relevant to Search’s activities related to Religious Engagement.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Project management: Facilitate the creation and implementation of a detailed annual work-plan, which identifies sequences of activities needed to successfully implement the project and ensure project objectives are met;
• Review the project schedule with the line Manager and all other staff that will be affected by the project activities; revise and regularly review the schedule as required;
• In collaboration with key stakeholders, facilitate the development and roll-out of detailed implementation plans at the State and National level.
• Convenings: Coordinate and arrange all logistics for various meetings, and workshops, including invitations, venue, participants travel and accommodation while working with the logistics team to ensure that logistical management for project implementation is provided in real time
• Budget tracking and management: Liaise with the finance team for continuous review of the budget and plan accordingly.
• Communications: Establish a communication schedule to update stakeholders including appropriate staff in the organization on the progress of the project.
• Managing documentation and reports: Document project activities and ensure that all project data is appropriately secured; Ensure donor reporting and any other report is done in a timely manner.
• Stakeholder management: Seek out opportunities to build partnership with religious actors and or organizations at state and national levels, and liaise government, civil society, security actors, donors, media, UN bodies, and the private sector as needed to further improve information in the reports.
• Program Communications: Liaise with the media team to enhance strategic communications and discussion to dispel hate speech and misinformation related to religious tensions, specifically FORB.
• Program Monitoring & Evaluation: In collaboration with DMEL team, coordinate the implementation and development of Monitoring and Evaluation of all project activities; Monitor the progress of the project implementation and make adjustments as necessary to ensure the project remains on track and is successfully implemented.

Educational Qualifications

• University Degree in Social Sciences, Conflict and Peace Studies, Peacebuilding, Development Studies, Humanities, Media & Communications or related field is required.
• Master's Degree in the aforementioned fields is desirable.

Required Experience:

• Five years of relevant work experience and three years specific work experience in project management related to religious engagement is required.
• 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
• Superior written and oral communication skills in English.
• Must have a ‘hands-on’, practical mentality, be self-driven, and very motivated.
• Proficiency at using Microsoft office software: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc. is required.
• Prior experience in religious engagement, advocacy, liaison and collaboration with donors, partners, security agencies, relevant government agencies, security forces and media is desirable.
• Experience working on Freedom of Religion or Belief is a plus.

Other Relevant Competencies:

• Accountability: Being accountable and passing on accountability for one's own actions and those of colleagues and the organization.
• Attention to detail: The ability to process detailed information effectively and consistently
• Collaboration: The ability to work effectively with others in order to achieve a shared goal - even when the object at stake is of no direct personal interest possibilities.
• Creativity: The ability to come up with original and innovative ideas and solutions, to adopt points of view outside the usual parameters.
• Focus on Quality: Setting high quality standards and striving for continuous improvement and quality assurance.
• Learning Ability: The ability to absorb new information readily and to put it into practice effectively
• Adaptability: The ability to remain fully functional by adapting to changing circumstances (environment, procedures and people).