Senior Advisor, Military at the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) Center

Department: Africa
Reports To:  Country Director
Employment Type: Full-Time

Job Summary

• The Senior Military Advisor (SMA) will be a highly valued member of CIVIC’s program in Nigeria, which currently focuses on the protection of civilians in the country.
• The SMA will be responsible for providing training and technical assistance to CIVIC’s government security partners on the implementation of civilian harm mitigation initiatives; supporting CIVIC’s research and advocacy initiatives; and contributing regular analysis of current events to aid in project planning, reporting, or other CIVIC activities; Provide training, analysis, and representation for CIVIC’s Nigeria Country program, primarily to government security force partners, but other civilians and government stakeholders as well.

Job Responsibilities

• Cultivate strong working relationships with senior government, military, and civil society leaders.
• Oversee the provision of, and directly provide, technical expertise pertaining to the protection of civilians in armed conflicts to which Nigeria are party.
• Oversee the design and implementation of tools, systems, processes, tactics/techniques/procedures to minimize the harm caused to civilians during operations and foster better protection of civilians.
• Develop training modules and deliver workshops – in close coordination with CIVIC’s international military advisors – on the key tenets of civilian harm mitigation and protection of civilians to military and civilian members of Nigerian governments.
• Oversee and conduct advocacy with senior government and military officials to advance programmatic and policy changes related to the protection of civilians.
• Oversee and coordinate the program portfolio to ensure the highest level of project quality and accountability, while fostering continuity through building the capacity of external partners.
• Support the management, training, and mentoring, of new trainers or military advisors across the program.
• Disseminate findings from CIVIC’s work that are of importance to decision-makers in a position to fund or implement projects in Nigeria.
• Work with the various SMAs African Region to promote CIVIC within NGO networks and among government stakeholders to promote effective collaborations and partnerships.
• Promote the representation, training, and advocacy on civilian protection and harm mitigation.
• Assess training efforts to provide recommendations to diverse stakeholders to improve civilian protection.
• Keep CIVIC’s international and national partners and others informed about progress of the projects, plans for the development of new programs/projects/activities.
• Conduct monitoring and reporting of activities in support of project reporting requirements.
• Work with the monitoring, evaluation and learning team to track on the effectiveness efforts.
• Build Strategic relationships and partnerships with key foreign missions’ such as the European Union, UK, the US, and others.

Educational Qualification & Experience Requirements

• Past Military Experience as a senior officer, such as Army Lt. Colonel, Navy Commander, Air Force Lt. Colonel, or higher rank.
• Prior service with Nigerian Defense Forces strongly desired.
• Experience training armed forces, preferably in the army, specifically relating protection of civilians and/or International Humanitarian law. Additional experience working with police forces is also highly desired.
• Prior experience working at a non-profit desirable.
• Flexibility, cultural awareness, and sensitivity.
• Computer literacy including proficiency with Dropbox, Slack and Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Power Point, etc.).
• Fluency in written and spoken English, Hausa and Kanuri is highly desired
• Ability to write high-quality narrative and qualitative reports to describe recent activities and provided analysis of results and relevant current events.
• Demonstrated experience networking with donors, government officials and the private sector.
• Strong personal network in Nigeria strongly desired.
• Demonstrated strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop collaborative relationships, especially in a multi-component project.
• Superior analytic, communication and interpersonal skills, including training and facilitation skills and demonstrated experience working with multicultural teams.
• High level of integrity in dealing with co-workers and with programs.
• Must currently be able to work in Nigeria legally.
• Travel: Up to 30%-40% required