Farm Africa Programme Support Officer (PSO), SIDA-I programme Jobs in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Farm Africa Programme Support Officer (PSO), SIDA-I programme Jobs in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Job Id: 197927

Category: Development and Project Management, Management
Location: Addis Ababa, with frequent travel to project areas of SNNPR, Oromia, Amhara, Tigray and Benishangul
Career Level: Senior Level (5+ years experience)
Salary:

Job Description

Farm Africa, founded in 1985, is an international non-governmental organization working in Ethiopia since 1988. We drive agricultural and environmental change to improve lives.

We believe Africa has the power to feed itself and are helping make this happen by establishing and spreading the best farming and forestry techniques so that poor farmers and herders have more food to feed their families and to sell.

In 2015 we reached approximately 1.8 million pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, farmers and forest dwellers in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

We help smallholders manage their natural resources sustainably so that they can withstand climate change challenges and shocks and ensure their families have enough food in the future as well as now.

Farm Africa works in partnership with communities, government, local and international organizations, and the private sector to innovate, learn and share best practices for maximum impact of our projects.

With community engagement underpinning our approach, we design and implement sustainable solution to rural poverty based on evidence and best practices.

Background

Farm Africa is implementing a large number of projects/programmes in the areas of agriculture (crop and livestock), natural resources management and market engagement across Ethiopia.

We are a specialist development NGO working with smallholder farmers, forest communities, local government and private sectors across East Africa for the last 30 years.

We are increasingly designing and implementing complex and integrated multi-sector projects, some by ourselves and others in partnership with like-minded organizations in the form of consortium.

With more than 100 staffs in Ethiopia we align our work closely with regional and local government, civil society and the private sector.

In addition to directly implementing projects within our core thematic expertise, we build local civil society organizations (CSOs) both to enhance development impact at community level and increase accountability and professional project management.

Currently Farm Africa has been implementing SIDA funded program called Growth for the Future (G4F-I): Harnessing small-holder productivity, adapting to climate change and protecting environments.

The program has four different projects implemented in 16 woredas located in five regions of the country.

Purpose of the role

The purpose of the Programme Support Officer (PSO) is to provide overall support to G4F program manager, Project coordinators and technical staffs in the day to day program/projects implementation.

The PSO is contributing to ensuring G4F programmes and projects are delivered to the highest standard of project donor contract’s requirements, are compliant with GoE regulations, and achieve maximum possible macro and meso-level impacts as well as delivering value for money.

The PSO will work closely with the Program Manager, Senior technical staff and Project Coordinators to ensure that support functions are being delivered to a high standard and efficiently.

The post holder coordinates and facilitates the delivery of support service functions to projects and ensuring that the use of these services is planned and delivered in a timely and efficient manner so that effective programme delivery can be ensured.

The post holder will have significant responsibilities in helping Programme Manager, Project Coordinators and other G4F program staff to develop annual budgets and activity plans in line with donor contracts and Farm Africa internal financial policies and procedures.

The PO will also be responsible for ensuring that donor and government progress and final reports are submitted on time, in the correct format.

He/she will assist in planning and organizing quarterly projects/programmes review meetings as well as the annual Project Progress Review (PPR).

Key responsibilities

Ensure procurement are done on time for each projects as per the quarterly procurement plan and purchase request by closely working with the procurement section of the country and field offices.

Ensure that the necessary and appropriate resources are available, on time, to meet planning and budgeting requirements, including sub-contractors and consultants

Organize and facilitate training and events such as donor and high level field visit programs, partners meetings, quarterly/annual partners review meetings,

PPR, Q reviews, and workshops.

Work with the finance team and the operational team in ensuring the preparation and submission accurate forecasting. , review BMR,

Work with the finance team and review BMR and report to the PM in budget tracking.

Support in compiling plans and reports as well as field visit reports.

Assist in drafting and reviewing ToR for new recruitment and consultancy works.

Provide hands-on support to PMs/PCs to ensure approved projects are delivered according to the contractual requirements of donors or other stakeholders.

Attend various meetings as assigned by the Program Manager.

Feed into the monitoring and evaluation process and plans to ensure these will be very effective in assessing and recording progress and results in innovative work areas

Participate in monitoring of project implementation with team members and other partners and give heads up on a regular basis to the MEL expert

Lead the team in the preparation and submission of draft periodical activity reports.

Record minutes of meetings and report to the PM and other team members as necessary.

Liaise with other partner organizations and team members to ensure the timely submission of reports, and ensure their compliance with agreed MoUs.

Assist in project data collection and management of projects data base.

Support in other tasks of the PM in the day to day program/project implementation

Perform other duties as assigned by the Supervisor.

These essential functions are not to be interpreted as a complete statement of all duties performed. Employees will be required to perform other job related duties as required.

Duration: Two years

Job Requirements

Person specification

Education, qualifications & other knowledge

Essential

BA degree or MSC in relevant discipline
Good understanding in project design, implementation, M and E and financial management

Fluent written and spoken Amharic and English

Desirable

Project management/management, Development, Economics, sociology, and related
Experience

Five years of work experience in programme management or senior technical support with donor, NGOs, or research institutions,

Understand the large donor (institutional) environment well, with extensive practical experience of dealing with this

Experience of project planning ,implementation and monitoring and evaluation

Desirable

Experience working as a technical adviser or researcher in an appropriate sector with an institutional donor or a major trust, or research institution, etc

Good knowledge and experience of major grant proposal, agreement and administration processes and major donor culture and pressures

Skills & abilities

Essential

Has a relaxed and open working style, works well individually as well as in a team; reliable at all times; proactive and imaginative

Relationship building and management
Network management and networking

Highly literate and eloquent

Teamwork skills and the ability to work in a multi partner approach

Skills in gender based analysis and approaches

Able to multitask and works well under pressure; negotiates and meets deadlines

A commitment to excellent support internally and to partner organizations and stakeholders; has a positive attitude and always looks for solutions to problems and challenges

Excellent communicator – written and spoken

Good computer skills

Desirable

Including private sectors

Effective presentations

M&E systems

Our Values

Investing in smallholder farming is the number one way to combat poverty in rural Africa. Farm Africa is a leading NGO specialising in growing agriculture, protecting the environment and developing businesses in rural Africa.

Expert. Deep expertise and insightful evidence-based solutions are at the heart of everything Farm Africa does.

Grounded. Positive change starts with Africa’s people, so our experts work closely with local communities, engaging them in every level of decision-making.

Impactful. We take a long-term view so we can deliver lasting changes for farmers and their families.

Bold. We model innovative new approaches and are not afraid to challenge strategies that are failing.

How to Apply

Those who meet the above requirements should submit their short CV (maximum of 3 pages) and a cover letter (maximum 1 page) addressing ethrecruitment@farmafrica.org with the subject Programme Support Officer for SIDA - I programme by February 17, 2019.

Documents cannot be returned and due to large number of applications, only short listed candidates will be contacted. Applications are especially welcomed from female applicants

Farm Africa Programme Support Officer (PSO), SIDA-I programme Jobs in Addis Ababa Ethiopia