Job Vacancies at at Palladium Group

Project Overview and Role:

The objective of the SCALE Activity is to support civil society organizations (CSOs) and business membership organizations (BMOs) across all of USAID/Nigeria’s programmatic sectors with a basket of managerial, business strengthening, and advocacy capacity-building interventions aimed at advancing Nigerian CSO sustainability combined with targeted grants to advance mutually agreed upon priorities. The activity is designed to enhance local civil society organizations’ ability to be positive and responsible change agents in Nigeria.

The project has five main components: 1) Improve CSO organizational capacity, 2) Enhance capacity for CSO advocacy, collaboration, and management, 3) Improve the policy and regulatory environment for civil society, 4) Countering Trafficking in Persons (CTIP), and 5) Sector strengthening and advocacy.

Working closely with the SCALE project’s Social Protection and Inclusion Advisor, the Vulnerable Populations Sector Manager will support SCALE in achieving objectives relating to strengthening the capacity of CSOs to address vulnerable populations’ needs, including countering trafficking in person (CTIP), curbing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and child early, and forced marriage (CEFM), and promoting inclusion of women, young people, and persons with disabilities across all project components.

 Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support project efforts towards strengthening the capacity of CSOs/BMOs and relevant stakeholders to conduct policy advocacy, improve service provision, enhance referral systems, and strengthen networking to counter trafficking in persons, and curb SGBV and CEFM.
• Provide technical support and offer innovative approaches to activity design and implementation, with a focus on inclusion efforts that promote ownership & local sustainability of project ideals.
• Monitor implementation of the awards to selected CSOs on vulnerable populations, CTIP, SGBV, and CEFM.
• Support in refining and implementing project approach for CTIP, SGBV, CEFM and related sectoral issues.
• Support to develop, adapt and implement effective, innovative capacity strengthening approaches, tools, and methodologies for integrating gender equality and social inclusion into project activities.
• Interact with internal and external stakeholders, resources, and subject-matter experts to bring new and “cutting edge” ideas into project’s approaches.
• Support the design, development, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of the program’s multi-year strategy and annual work plans.
• Develop strategies for documenting and sharing key learnings, progress and success stories from the project engagements.
• Align with the project’s media strategy and leverage growth in technology to improve performance, accountability and transparency of services and beneficiary feedback.
• Manage, implement, document, and disseminate project activities. Draft success stories and project highlights to reflect project achievements.
• Other duties, as assigned by supervisor.

Required Qualifications:

• Relevant qualification in international affairs, public administration, policy, social sciences, law, development studies or related field.
• Relevant experience in civil society engagement and policy and regulatory reform particularly around SGBV, CEFM and/or CTIP.
• Experience working in gender, vulnerable populations (including persons with disabilities, youth, and women and children) and/or human rights.
• Strong technical expertise in organizational capacity assessments and developing capacity development plans.
• Prior experience of working with donor funded projects.
• Experience of engaging and working with senior leadership in government, civil society, private sector, and communities.
• Clear and effective writing and oral communication skills, including significant experience with report development and presentation.
• Strong program management, organizational, and interpersonal skills required.
• Attention to detail and ability to perform multiple tasks, work independently and balance competing priorities effectively and efficiently often within a required timeframe.
• Good computer skills (Microsoft Office, Email, Internet).
• Fluency in English and a local language.

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Project Overview and Role:

The objective of the SCALE Activity is to support civil society organizations (CSOs) and business membership organizations (BMOs) across all of USAID/Nigeria’s programmatic sectors with a basket of managerial, business strengthening, and advocacy capacity-building interventions aimed at advancing Nigerian CSO sustainability combined with targeted grants to advance mutually agreed upon priorities. The activity is designed to enhance local civil society organizations’ ability to be positive and responsible change agents in Nigeria.

The project has five main components: 1) Improve CSO organizational capacity, 2) Enhance capacity for CSO advocacy, collaboration, and management, 3) Improve the policy and regulatory environment for civil society, 4) Countering Trafficking in Persons (CTIP), and 5) Sector strengthening and advocacy.

The Policy and Governance Reform Advisor provides technical leadership to strengthen policy, legal, and regulatory reform for CSOs and oversees Component 3 (Improve the Policy and Regulatory Enabling Environment for Civil Society). The Policy and Governance Reform Advisor supports the design and implementation of activities and grants to improve the enabling environment for civil society and promote accountability and transparency.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Lead review of the regulatory frameworks affecting CSO/BMO's operations, citizen participation, access to government data, and engagement in policy and governance processes to understand the relevant policies, barriers, and facilitators.
• Assist CSOs/BMOs and clusters with their efforts to develop strategic interventions for influencing national policies.
• In coordination with the relevant stakeholders, lead identification and design of select interventions from the “Strengthening Regulatory Frameworks for a More Accountable and Transparent Civil Society in Nigeria,” for implementation to promote and complement the ongoing efforts in strengthening an effective self-regulation framework for CSOs/BMOs.
• In line with the assessment recommendations, in collaboration with the project technical staff and resource partners, work to design grant fund, including scope, milestones and M&E plan, for local CSOs as applicable
• In consultation with stakeholders, lead the design of an effective and efficient national CSOs/BMOs directory.
• Develop a promotion and marketing plan and other incentive mechanisms to increase uptake of the directory by the CSOs/BMOs and develop a sustainability plan for the ongoing maintenance and utilization of the system.
• Advise and monitor local organizations in implementation of the grant’s interventions.
• Identify priority topics/issues around CSOs/BMOs regulatory environment, assist the CSOs/BMOs, and clusters and the government counterparts to conduct dialogue forms; and assist with follow-up of the action items from the dialogue forum meetings.
• Lead the implementation of SCALE's media strategy, with SMART objectives, in consultation with USAID, the resources partners and the Advisory Committee.
• Lead the management and implementation of Civil Society Organization ATLAS (Management Information Systems)
• Implement the action plan for the platform as well as a sustainability plan to ensure self-sustainability of the platform.
• Provide monthly, quarterly, annual reports and other reports as requested.
• Draft success stories and project highlights to reflect project achievements.
• Adhere strictly to the branding and marking policy of the project.

Required Qualifications:

• Master's or Bachelor's Degree in International Affairs, Public Administration, Policy, Social Sciences, Law, Development Studies or related field;
• Relevant experience in civil society engagement; policy and regulatory reform and advocacy in Nigeria.
• Prior experience of working with donor funded projects.  
• Experience of engaging and working with senior leadership in government, civil society, and private sector.
• Experience in multi-sectoral coordination and networking with a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Experience working in gender, vulnerable populations (including women and children) and/or human rights desired.
• Strong technical expertise in advocacy/accountability/research/media campaigns, program and strategy development.
• Demonstrated strategic ability, diplomacy, conflict management, written and oral communication, and negotiation skills.
• Good computer skills (Microsoft Office, email, internet)
• Fluency in English and a local language.

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Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

Under output 4, Palladium seeks the short-term technical services from the expert that supported the establishment of the EHF committees in the 42 LGAs and initiated the use of ethical and endowment funds as alternative financing sources to improve health, and social services to deliver on this TOR which will positively contribute to the programme outcomes.

Purpose of Assignment  

Lafiya programme being a catalytic technical assistance programme supports the LGAs Primary Health Care (PHC) Departments to better coordinate the delivery of PHC services in the LGAs. To facilitate an efficient coordination, a number of structures that include Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent and Elderly Health Plus Nutrition (RMNCAEH+N), Logistics Management Coordination Unit (LMCU), LERRIC, LGA PHC Advisory Committee, LGA Emergency Preparedness & response (EPR) committees among others are aligned to the Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR) initiative, National Action Plan for Health Security and other national health reforms initiatives.
With the successful establishment of these structures, it’s important to enable their functionality and coordination role amongst others through an annual conduct of self-assessing their capacities using an organizational capacity assessment tool (OCAT).
To achieve this, an STTA consultant will be engaged to deploy expertise and deliver the following areas of support towards the successful roll-out of Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) for Local Government Authorities (LGAs) health departments in Lafiya Programme States of Borno, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano & Yobe. The OCA will help the LGAs to identify their weaknesses and develop capacity development plans (CDPs) that address their shortcomings.  

Specific Tasks

• Work with Lafiya team, SMOH and SPHCDAs TO develop or review OCAT to be used in assessing RMNCAH & EPR in LGAs.
• Develop a capacity development plan (CDP) for the LGA teams.
• Strengthen capacity of focal persons from State SPHCDAs on conduct of OCA
• Submit STTA consultancy report.

Deliverables

• Desk review of various OCATs.
• Virtual Engagement Meetings with State & Lafiya Teams.
• Facilitate 3 -day OCAT and capacity development plan template.
• Field test OCAT in 2 LGAs in Kano.
• Revise OCAT based & capacity development plan (CPD) template based on field testing.
• Virtual OCAT/CDP validation meeting.
• Facilitate OCA Stakeholders Orientation Workshop.
• STTA consultancy final report.

Expected results

• Different versions of OCAT reviewed, and a single version developed with recommendations for discussion with States and Lafiya teams.
• Report of meeting with Lafiya and State teams to discuss OCAT version adoption, scope of deliverables and develop roadmap.
• Draft OCAT Framework with domains standardised, agreed, and developed.
• Report of a central workshop conducted with Lafiya and State representatives attending.
• Report of field testing of OCAT submitted.
• Draft OCAT shared with States.
• OCAT validated and finalized.
• OCA orientation workshop report  .
• STTA final report, Final OCAT + User guide and CDP template and submitted to STL.

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree or higher in Public Health, Policy and Governance, Health Economics, or another relevant field required.
• Previous experience of providing support for the design, capacity strengthening and roll-out of Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA).
• Must be an experienced professional in the field of health systems strengthening.
• Demonstrable capacity to facilitate, network and negotiate with key stakeholders across different sectors in support of health.
• Experience with technical assistance for programs funded by FCDO and/or other donor programs in developing countries, with significant Northern Nigeria experience.
• Experience in coordination and collaboration of stakeholders including Government agencies, host country governments and counterparts, and international donor agencies.
• Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills in English required.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.