Latest Job Openings at COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale

Location: Potiskum, Yobe

Background

• COOPI started its operations in North-East Nigeria in July 2014 to carry out a rapid evaluation of the most relevant constraints suffered by the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) displaced by the food crisis and the Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin.
• COOPI’s aim is to support the most basic and pressing needs of communities affected by the conflict. COOPI is providing a multi-sectoral emergency response to the IDPs, returnees and host population focused on food security, nutrition, protection and education. COOPI main area of intervention is Yobe State but we are also present in Borno.

Scope of the Vacancy

• The Project Manager is responsible for the overall activities’ planning, execution and reporting of his/her projects. He/she is directly assigned to, and responsible of the supervision of all logistics, HR, financial and overall functioning aspects for his projects.

Main Duties/Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision of the Head of base and in link with the Program Coordinator, he/she:

• Designs the detailed work plan in line with the project guidelines and description, guaranteeing the smooth implementation of all the activities on-time, on-quality and on-budget;
• In cooperation and synergy with the project staff, plans and monitors the activities’ progress, in compliance with the contract signed with the donor, with donor’s and COOPI’s procedures, and with the specific Project Structure and Reporting Lines definition, making use of the financial instruments provided by the organization;
• In collaboration with the Administrative and the Logistics team, plans and monitors the expenditures in line with the project’s implementation needs;
• In cooperation with the Program Coordinator, finalizes the data provided by the Child Protection Officer, supports the preparation, in compliance with the deadlines, of the narrative reports expected by the donors and by the partners;
• Coordinates the overall project: supervises the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the staff; monitors the accuracy and efficiency of the case management activities; in collaboration with the Child Protection Officer, deals with possible cases which cannot be addressed by the available and ongoing referral network;
• Contributes in consolidating the case management referral network by establishing proficient collaboration with the partners working in the targeted areas and actively suggesting gaps and recommendations to the supervisors;
• Contributes and approves the line of training designed by the Child Protection Officer;
• Represents COOPI with the local / State authorities and partners (SEMA, MSWSD, MYASD, NGOs and UN agencies at local level Protection Working Group meetings);
• In collaboration with the Program Coordinator and head of base, prepares all the formal communication and contract modification requests (ex. budget modification) of the project;
• Manages the goods purchased for the project; for all goods purchased by the project, support updates of the inventory and guarantee the respect of the policies and guidelines, in cooperation with the Logistics Office;
• In collaboration with the Program Coordinator and in synergy with the specific reporting lines of the projects, promotes and manages relations with the local government institutions, NGOs, and other local partners available in the area;
• Executes any other task necessary to good and timely completion of the projects, identified in mutual agreement.
• In coordination with the Administrative team, supports in hiring of new staff directly related to the project and conducts staff appraisals Upholds COOPI’s mission and Charter of Values;
• Follows and enforces all COOPI codes of conduct and policies (globally and in-country);
• Performs any other duties as requested by the supervisor.

Minimum Requirements

• Master’s Degree in Education, Legal Studies, Sociology, Political Science and /or Humanities or any related field.
• At least 3 years of working experience in/with INGO on Protection area
• Proven interest & commitment to humanitarian and development principles and a demonstrable understanding of conflict/post conflict development contexts
• Experience in data collection, analysis, and report writing
• Excellent in English (oral and written)
• Experience in designing and conducting training in INEE and Child Protection issues especially in the areas of human rights, gender, capacity building, added advantage, SGBV
• Ability to plan, organize work, communicate and reports effectively (both in writing and verbally)
• Proven ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines
• team player, effective communicator, successful negotiator, creative and analytical thinker, active learner, able to work in a multicultural environment
• Excellent communication skills, calm, with a good sense of humour
• Proven commitment to accountability practices
• Ability to function effectively under stressful conditions such as heavy workloads, and deadlines.
• Excellent Microsoft Office applications skills (Excel, Word, Power point, Emails, Skype, Web researchers)
• Knowledge of and adherence to COOPI Code of Conduct, understands other international development guidelines.

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Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Type of contract: Fixed Term Contract
Duration: 12 months renewable
Starting Date: ASAP

Context and Background

• Since the declaration of state of emergency in the Nigerian federal States of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa, the escalation of the Boko Haram insurgency has led to multiple displacement crises, with communities fleeing their area of origin to take refuge in camps or host communities.
• In 2014 there was a substantial increase in violence related to Boko Haram and the counter insurgency operations, consequently creating acute and largely unmet humanitarian needs, as IDPs are cut off from their homes and livelihoods, basic services, kinship and social ties.
• In September 2014, COOPI began operating in north eastern Nigeria in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the insurgency, established its operation in Bauchi State and later expanded to Yobe State considering the heightened presence of IDPs in the LGAs of Fika, Damaturu, Potiskum, Geidam and Yunusari.
• Recently, COOPI initiated a Food Security and Nutrition intervention in Kaga LGA (Borno State) and establishes a presence in Maiduguri to launch an Education and Protection projects.
• COOPI is currently operating in 5 LGAs in Yobe State, reaching about 25,000 individuals among IDPs and host communities with a multi-sectoral intervention covering nutrition, food security and child protection.
• COOPI has recently developed a cash & voucher based response system in Nigeria to address the food insecure communities while integrating this approach with a nutrition component – community outreach, referral system, IYCF campaign and appropriate therapeutic services addressed to malnourished children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.
• Given the unfolding large scale emergency in the north eastern Nigeria, COOPI plans to scale up its current operations in Yobe state and reach newly accessible areas, in addition to areas receiving Nigerian returnees from Niger, with its multi-sectoral services including food security, cash transfer programming, nutrition and protection.

Role Purpose

• He/she is responsible for the project’s execution, in technical, economic/financial terms, and in terms of resources management on field, in compliance with COOPI and the donor’s procedures.

Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with financial and other requirements set by the Donors (USAid - OFDA - Food for Peace) and COOPI internal financial and administrative procedures.
• Monitor cash flows and supervise petty cash handling.
• Ensure proper administration for outstanding debtors and creditors, follow-up overdue and signal potential problems in timely manner.
• Produce monthly cash and bank reconciliation statements.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly and yearly projects’ financial reports
• Control and assure compliance of program expenditures with program budgets.
• Prepare payment vouchers and verify supporting documents for project and administrative expenditure. Ensure classification of all financial information and documents in accordance with the projects and respective budget lines.
• Ensure appropriate filing system of financial documentation is in place, accurate and updated.
• Provide timely and systematic monitoring of program expenditures as well as timely budget program forecasts.
• Prepare, on a monthly basis, financial reports and/or requests to be sent to COOPI Milan HQs.
• Supervise and manage program staff: supervise preparation of contracts for personnel staff. Manage contracts of local and international staff and supervise administration staff.
• Application of mechanisms relative to any on the job training of personnel working on the project.
• Coordinate and supervise overall policy implementation for the human resources of Salima base, included Labour Law application, recruitment and that staff salaries are effectively paid to eligible staff and an audit trail of records is maintained.
• Supervise preparation of lease contracts, contracts with suppliers and any other contract issued by the program. Ensure that contractual commitments are accurately tracked.
• Supervise appropriateness and updating of all procurement documentation at the various steps of the procurement process. Ensure budget availability of expenditures and that appropriate authorizations are in place
• Ensure that taxes are timely remitted to relevant authorities.
• Bring-up date the stock inventory.

Requirements

• University Degree in Social Sciences, Business or Technical Sciences.
• A minimum of five years of relevant working experience.
• Experience in emergency context or in a similar position and in managing USAid funded projects.
• Experience in logistics, procurement and security matters is a strong advantage.
• Previous work experience in the region is a plus.
• Demonstrated effective verbal and written communication, negotiation skills, multi-tasking and organizational skills.
• Proven capacity to work in a team is essential. Experience in managing staff is an advantage.
• Experience in liaising with governmental/local authorities, IOs and NGOs.
• Demonstrated ability to work in stressful environments and under pressure.
• Experience in working in conflict-prone environments a plus.
• Fluency in English language.
• Computer literate.

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Responsibilities
Country Logistics Coordination:

• He/she coordinates the country logistics function, both at Country Coordination level and at field office level. He/she ensures that the logistics works correctly in qualitative and quantitative terms, at all different levels and in compliance with the procedures.

Purchases’ Management:

• He/she ensures the correct application of the procedures – COOPI and the donors’ – related to goods and services’ purchases (including planning and necessary documents); he/she follows the suppliers performance in compliance with COOPI’s standards. He/she ensures that the selection process for goods and services and the contracts assignment (calls for tenders) occur in a transparent and coherent way.

Vehicles and Machines Management:

• In collaboration with the supervised staff, he/she ensures the machines/vehicles’ utilization planning. He/she ensures that vehicles’ maintenance and repair are carried out and that all monitoring reports and regular checks are correctly performed. He/she ensures that, relatively to the use of vehicles and machines, the organization’s procedures and the country’s rules are followed.

Goods and Stock Management:

• He/she ensures that all goods are included in the inventory, and controlled when entering and exiting the storage space. He/she ensures the stock monitoring and the use of instruments for report writing; He/she monitors the correct goods’ use and conservation. He/she ensures that the correct maintenance of the immovable goods is performed and that the country is provided with rules for correctly making use of these goods.

Staff Management:

• He/she coordinates, supervises and evaluates the logistical staff work. He/she ensures the training of the country’s logistical staff.

Logistics Reports:

• He/she ensures that all logistic-related reports are produced according to what is stated by the COOPI’s procedures and the Country Regulation (vehicles and goods’ management, supplies, purchases, storage space, staff reports etc.)

Institutional Relations:

• Upon delegation by the Head of Mission, he/she represents the organization at all logistical clusters and at security coordination meetings

Security:

• He/she is responsible for the application, the update and the dissemination of the country security regulation at central and field level.
• He/she is responsible for conducting security and risk assessment in COOPI areas of intervention, participating to security meeting at central level.
• He/she is responsible for all goods and organization’s properties security; he/she cooperates and supports the Head of Mission/Area Coordinator about the expatriate and local staff security.

Requirements/Profile

• A Degree in Logistics, Engineering, Business, or related field
• Minimum 3 years experience in the humanitarian field as logistics coordinator or in a similar position. Demonstrated experience in procurement, distribution, stock management, fleet management, communications, and security.
• Experience of working within an insecure environment with responsibility for security planning, monitoring and management.
• Strong analytical and practical problem-solving skills;
• Strong supervisory abilities, and demonstrated capacity of teamwork and of coordination with the relevant actors;
• Very good inter-personal and writing communication skills;
• Ability to organize work efficiently and deliver assignments in a timely manner often under time constraints;
• Proficiency in written and spoken English;
• Computer literacy, with high proficiency in the use of standard office software applications (e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint);
• Valid driving license.