Project Officer at Search for Common Ground (Search)

Duration: One year

Position Summary

• Search for Common Ground, with support from the Department of States of the United States government is implementing the Election Violence Prevention Project to contribute to peaceful off-season gubernatorial elections in Bayelsa state. Towards a successful implementation, Search seeks experienced and highly motivated individuals to serve as 2 Project Officers to support implementation of the project strategy in local government areas and communities in the state to contribute to the realization of Search’s program mandate towards peaceful elections in Bayelsa state and the Niger Delta region.
• The Project Officers will lead in project implementation roles in line with technical focus of the project in the state through delivery of technical activities such as training workshops - conflict transformation and election violence prevention and Common Ground Journalism Training. The candidate will specifically support mapping of participants; provide logistics support to facilitators of proposed workshops; implementation of action plans; support implementation of CSO component and partnership activities; coordinate, implement and monitor media activities as well as manage relevant budget and be responsible for activity reports and budgeting.
• Under the supervision of the project coordinator, the project officers will oversee other project activities in respective project LGAs in Bayelsa state to effectively advocate for a peaceful electioneering process at community and LGA levels.

About the Project

• With prolonged history of election violence in the Niger Delta, concerns over conduct of peaceful elections in the region remain high every election season. In the build up towards the 2019 general elections, the region recorded huge fatalities in the states which were linked to elections, just as violence also affected smooth conduct of elections in parts of Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta.
• In this light, the Bayelsa Election Violence Prevention Project seeks to mobilize stakeholders including Women And Youths (WAY Ambassadors) in a locally-led model comprising community led events, media activities and trainings, formation of Peace Architecture Dialogues, Community Security Architecture platforms etc; to promote wide acceptance of peaceful participation in the Bayelsa gubernatorial elections in November 2019.
• The project capitalizes on its existing conflict prevention programming in Bayelsa State, to elevate women and youth as leaders of peace and security in their communities. They will be supported with the capacity, platforms, and key relationships to lead early warning and early response processes in collaboration with other stakeholders; facilitate peace and dialogue activities to sensitize communities for peaceful elections and to build community resilience to violence
• Additionally, the project seeks to build stakeholders’ consensus for peaceful post-election activities to reduce violence and improve participation in the governance process in the state.

Key Responsibilities
Program planning:

• In collaboration with the state coordinator, 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
• In collaboration with key stakeholders, facilitate the development and roll out of detailed implementation plans in communities and LGAs Review the project schedule with State Coordinator and all other staff that will be affected by the project activities; revise and regularly review the schedule as required.

Program Management:

• Document project activities and ensure that all project data is appropriately secured;
• Monitor the progress of the project implementation and make adjustments as necessary to ensure the project remains on track and is successfully implemented;
• Establish a communication schedule to update stakeholders including appropriate staff in the organization on the progress of the project;
• Develop, coordinate and implement all community level activities including trainings for WAY, CSAD, EWER activities and be part of the situation room efforts in the state

Program Monitoring & Evaluation:

• In collaboration with M&E officer, assist with the implementation and development of Monitoring and Evaluation tools;
• Financial management:
• S/He will ensure successful management of the budget for community/LGA level activities:
• Financial request for community/LGA level activities
• Retirement and financial report

Documentation and Reporting:

• Produce activity and monthly reports
• Any other duties as may be assigned by the line manager.
• As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key duties.
  

Qualifications
Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Social Science, Arts, Development Studies or related field;

Required Experience:

• At least 2 years of professional experience in project cycle management, coordinating project activities, outreach, and/or advocacy;
• Experience working in election and/or peacebuilding projects will be an added advantage;
• Past working experience in the project state with CSOs and relevant state actors
• Previous experience with Search will be an added advantage.
• A demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards and a diverse workplace; and
• Ability to prioritize, plan and organize workflow, handle multiple tasks, and be flexible with changing priorities.

Skills Required

• Excellent working knowledge in English with excellent written and oral communication skills
• Knowledge of any of the local languages such as Ijaw and pidgin English is an added advantage.
• Attitude for team work and good leadership skill
• Collaboration: The ability to work effectively with others in order to achieve shared goal
• 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)
• Demonstrate character and readiness to be part of a dynamic and highly evolving team working to promote peace in conflict prone environments in Nigeria, contributing to conflict stabilization, peace and security of human lives in Nigeria