Job Purpose

Concern and HELVETAS will be implementing a resilience programme in North Gondar Zone with a focus on NRM, Health and Nutrition, Livelihoods and Governance. HELVETAS are the overall lead of the Project. Thus the NRM Project officer will work under the overall supervision and guidance of the HELVETAS Senior Project Manager and with the technical support of the FSL TA and PD in CWW Ethiopia. Thus the NRM Project officer will play a lead role in the following: ensuring the effective and efficient implementation of NRM activities directly related with natural resources management/Integrated Watershed Development and Management; and capacity building in the area of disaster risk reduction and building resilience to shocks. S/he will ensure that the Community facilitators, other technical officers of the project and the government counterparts at field level have the necessary knowledge, skills and tools to ensure Concern is implementing an effective Watershed Development and management programme that contributes to the local environment, livelihoods of the beneficiaries, and enhanced capacity for the governance of common property resources.

The NRM Project officer will also help setup and supervise all natural resource based assessments that will help the design and implementation of Watershed programmes; s/he will also participate in supporting gender assessments which will help identify the specific needs of women and vulnerable groups with regard to, which will take place twice yearly in each field location.

Main duties & Responsibilities:

Organisational

Under the overall supervision and guidance of the HELVETAS Senior Project Manager and with the technical support of the the FSL TA and PD in CWW Ethiopia, the NRM Project Officer will work in the development and implementation of Watershed and NRM related activities of the project. The project used Watershed Development as an entry point to Development in the SEGORP project and thus this intervention is the pivot/anchor around which every other activity is built around.  The NRM Officer is responsible to plan, coordinate, direct and monitor the work of the project NRM activities, ensures that project NRM activities are properly implemented in accordance with the basic project document, donor, and Government guidelines and standards. S/he is responsible for capacity building including coaching and mentoring of the relevant staff and partners and its plan of action and submits periodic report.

The post holder will therefore ensure that a higher level of synergy and complementarity in and outside of the project is maintained.

Technical Roles

Develop and prepare operation action plan for community –based watershed and natural resources management in collaboration with concerned bodies

Support technically the mobilization and awareness creation of the target communities on the concepts, approaches and principles of watershed management in the watershed operational areas

Support/strengthen of community-based watershed management committees in the identified NRM sites and facilitates the development of by-laws

Support in identifying appropriate biological and physical conservation measures in the identified communal and closure areas

Establish and strengthen fuel efficient and energy saving stove producer groups

Use model farmers individual tree nursery sites for training, and use the model farmers for demonstration, assist and support selected model-farmers in establishing similar NRM structures (stone-bunds, wind-brakes, soil-bunds, etc) on their own land (trial / innovation for sustainability approach of NRM activities in the project period

Assists/supports the development of communities’ action plan for its implementation of identified physical and biological measures

Provides training for kebele development committee/Food Security Task Force on different environmental and Watershed concepts, approaches & principles

Advocate stakeholders for project activities & objectives to understand the project’s contribution to wider project goals and objectives

Innovates and advocate new ideas/technologies related to NRM that will speed-up implementation process and improve quality of NRM interventions

Develop, implement and document appropriate best-practices in community-based approaches to natural resource management

Contribute to the development of Terms of Reference (TORs) for meetings, workshops, assessments/surveys and trainings, selection of resource persons for ToT trainings for project activities

Develop training material for experts, community Facilitators, extension workers, animators and target communities trainings

Assist Gender integration in program activities through collaboration, learning and adaptation (CLA) strategies

Develop working agreements / MOUs with stakeholders as per need and share with Senior project manager

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

Regularly monitor, review and evaluate the implementation of programs on NRM and watershed, take appropriate and timely action and extract lessons learned for future program development and implementation

Provide the relevant staff in in CWW Ethiopia and the Senior Project Manager in North Gondar with concise reports on NRM activity progress on a monthly basis    

Contribute to the documentation of good practice and learning.

Participate in learning reviews and evaluations and ensure that learnings are applied in the development of future NRM programming

Capacity Building

Provide training as required on best practice approaches for the implementation of NRM and Watreshed actions to all project and partner staff

Fully understand Concern’s Engaging Men and Boys Strategy and lead the programme teams in its implementation

Carry out NRM training for staff, partners staff and Provide technical support to staff following completion of the trainings

Networking

Liaise with other INGOs, LNGOs, and Government representatives and take active role in forums, task forces, core group meetings and consortia related to NRM issues for learning, experience sharing and joint action implementation.

Jointly organise and implement campaigning events to influence decisions related to NRM as needed

Emergency response Concern is committed to responding to emergencies efficiently and effectively in order to help affected people meet their basic needs, alleviate suffering and maintain their dignity. To this end, when emergencies strike and the Ethiopia Programme is to respond, all staff are required to actively participate in the response, regardless of location and contribute to the efforts aimed at achieving the humanitarian objective of the organization.

Gender Equality Demonstrate understanding of Concern Ethiopia’s Gender Equality Strategy

Contribute to ensuring that Concern Ethiopia is a place where men and women are treated equally and with dignity and respect

Demonstrate gender equality awareness and gender sensitivity and an ability to integrate a gender equality perspective into tasks and activities.

Job Requirements

• MA/MSC, BA/BSc in NRM, Climate Change Development, Environmental Disaster Risk Management, Forestry or other related field of studies from recognized universities/colleges 
• A minimum of 5 years experience working on NRM, Environment, and very related themes, preferably in an international NGO and humanitarian setting.

Competencies: 

• Knowledge of gender theories and concepts.
• Knowledge of best practice in NRM programming, including mainstreaming tools and guidelines
• Experience and skills in delivering trainings on NRM
• Facilitation skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, especially oral communication
• Dynamic and energetic
• Technical understanding of NRM and Watershed concept

What we offer A competitive salary and benefit package

Excellent medical benefits (100% cover including dependents)

20 days annual leave

26 weeks (paid) maternity leave, 18 weeks (unpaid) parental leave

How to Apply

Interested applicants should send non-returnable C.V., application letter outlining how their experience and education fit this vacancy via: ethiojobs.net  

Please note that no need to submit your supporting documents:  

Only short listed candidates will be contacted  

Safeguarding at Concern: Code of Conduct and its Associated Policies

Concern has an organizational Code of Conduct (CCoC) with three Associated Policies; the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4), the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation, and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organization, and the standards of behavior expected of them. In this context, staff have a responsibility to the organization to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and Associated Policies as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Concern Code of Conduct, candidates acknowledge that they have understood the content of both the Concern Code of Conduct and the Associated Policies and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these policies. Additionally, Concern is committed to the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable adults and children in our work. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those who are suitable to work or volunteer with vulnerable adults and children are recruited by us for such roles. Subsequently, working or volunteering with Concern is subject to a range of vetting checks, including criminal background checking.

Women applicants are highly encouraged to apply