Application Deadline: June 05, 2022

PlE has secured a two years project fund from ECHO-HIP to implement an Education and Child Protection in emergencies integrated project to be implemented in Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions. The position holder will therefore be responsible to lead and manage for effective implementation of the project in the three regions. The position holder will be responsible in ensuring that the project is implemented in accordance with INEE and Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPMS) and Plan International’s education and Child Protection in Emergency policies, procedures and existing operational guidelines in all the targeted locations within the given budget and timeline as agreed with the donor.

MANAGEMENT SCOPE, REPORTING LINES, KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to: Head of Disaster Preparedness Response and Resilience and functionally to Thematic Sector Leads of EiE and CPiE. 

Key Relationships 

Internal: The job holder will have close working functional relationships with Education in Emergency and Child Protection in Emergency team at CO. In additions, he/she is expected to work in collaboration with respective regional PAM, ERMs and EiE & CPiE project coordinators. The job holder will have also close working relationship internally with the following departments and/or functions: 

• Program Quality: Day to day line management relationship to ensure program quality;

• Business Development: For project/ programme designs and related processes;

• Program Operations: For project/programme implementation and performance; networking and coordination, and for ensuring strong collaboration with project leads and managers;

• Humanitarian department: For project/programme design and to ensure programme quality; Project designs, thematic discussions, project and budget performance, sharing learning and lessons

• Influencing & Communications Department: designing campaigns, advocacy, organizing international and national events, documentation of lessons and best practices pertinent to the project;

• Project Managers: provide capacity building and strategic guidance and ensure quality and timely delivery of the project.  

• EiE and CPiE networks at Plan’s regional and global level: Learning and sharing and overall coordination and joint influencing 

• Others: work internally in collaboration with other units including HR, Supply Chain, Finance and crosscutting sections such as MEAL and Communications

External: The job holder has a close working relationship externally with the following departments and/or functions:

• Partners: Working in partnership with staff of other humanitarian organization to ensure that EiE and CPiE projects are implemented in full understanding and engagement of key stakeholders

• Stakeholders: Creates and maintains regular contact and collaborative work with government offices at Federal, regional/zonal, and woreda levels particularly to the offices of Education, Women and Social Affairs, finance and economic development, etc. 

• National alliances, technical working groups and networks on EiE and CPiE and related themes: Coordination, leadership and sharing of experiences and capacity building among government partners and NGOs at national and regional level. 

• National CSOs: Engagement in the development and delivery of standards and guides on EiE and CPiE, joint assessments, etc

• Funding agency: share EiE and CPiE programming and approaches with relevant funding organizations including UN agencies, multi-national corporations and others 

LEVEL OF CONTACT WITH CHILDREN

• Moderate contact: Low frequency of interaction with children

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

• The position is typical office environment with about 40% travel in PIE’s programming areas.

ACCOUNTABILITIES AND MAIN WORK ACTIVITIES

Strategic Leadership (35%)

• Manage and lead the project related strategic liaison with donor, national offices (NOs), and government stakeholders; 

• Demonstrate leadership and accountability in relation to Plan International policies and practices with respect to EiE and CPiE, overall technical leadership, programming, policy influencing & advocacy, capacity building, people development, partnership, representation, studies and evaluations of the two sectors. 

• Provide leadership and oversight in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all the EiE and CPiE project activities; assess the outputs, outcomes and impact of program interventions and activities.  

• Act as resource person in the organisation for EiE and CPiE and keep oneself up-to- date with developments happening in this field both nationally and internationally.

• Play leadership role in formulating country specific policies, strategies and objectives on youth employment and entrepreneurship for quality programming.

• Regularly develop and submit progress reports, status updates and briefs on emerging

 issues to relevant team members. 

• Takes accountability for the quality implementation and closure of the project to improve Plan International’s work and impact.

Strategic Partnership, Networking & Collaboration (25%)

• Represent the organization in relevant national and regional forums and platforms at international level concerning EiE and CPiE. 

• Develop strategic partnerships with key constituencies to elicit support for and maximize impact of Plan’s work

• Develop and implement policy advocacy action plan related to EiE and CPiE using all relevant tools and techniques and in close collaboration with the Influencing and communication’s team. This will include, but not be limited to, developing policy briefs, advocacy messages, organizing conferences and seminars, etc.  

• Proactive engagement in internal and external environment, networks, collations and alliances (Plan international regional forums, EiE, CPiE and related technical working groups)

• Actively build and maintain collaborative relationships with colleagues and partners, facilitating and negotiating to reach practical solutions for all parties, often without using positional power.

Resource Mobilization (15%)

• Lead and deliver quality project/programme development in line with PIE’s country strategy to compete in funding opportunities (scanning the situations, come up with innovation and also consider sustainability and also impact of the projects and programmes).  

• Present and share lessons, best practices, approaches and tested models for donors, government and other stakeholders, partners and alliances to further scaling up and reach wider beneficiaries as well as influencing and attracting more resources.

Technical support (25%)

• Monitor regularly and review the projects performance on a monthly basis, identifying and agreeing on action points and mitigation plans with key project stakeholders and Plan International NOs to ensure that performance is on track; 

• Ensure the development and application of common standard project management tools and practices for project planning, implementation, monitoring, learning and reporting across all the project locations;

• Provide review of identified key risks, triggers and contingency plans related to the project and support PA/ERA Offices to ensure that risks are being effectively managed; 

• Work with Plan International’s National Offices, MEAL Team, and other technical specialists such as knowledge management, innovation and communications to establish effective monitoring systems are in place and the project receives the required support from respective specialists and thereby quality is improved; 

• Review work plans, procurement approaches and key project elements, including through a value for money lens, contributing to effective programming and accountability to the donor;

• Work closely with colleagues at the various locations and departments to maintain an accurate and timely budget analysis of the grants, maintain detailed understanding of budget flows, and the impact of this on budget forecasting;

• Hold regular communication and discussion with regional project coordinators to review project implementation progress; discuss financial performances; lead discussions on necessary and timely budget realignments, and provide oversight of budget revisions with NOs, Area Offices, Grant Finance Coordinators and BDD. 

• Oversee implementation of education and child protection in emergency project activities ensuring that services are delivered on time, on budget and in compliance with donor regulations;

• Work with Coordinators and ensure education and child protection program is implemented in ways responsive to communities, stakeholders, and children in line with Plan International principles, values, procedures and strategic plan;

• Supervise CPiE and EiE staff on their day-to-day work and provide them with hands-on technical support and guidance;

• Monitor project progress against both programmatic and budgetary targets, adjusting as deemed necessary to project implementation as necessary in consultation with the CO EiE and CPiE Technical team;

• Prepare timely and high-quality project and donor reports on project activities in compliance with internal Plan International requirements and any relevant external donor requirements;

• Undertake ongoing needs assessments, capacity assessments of local stakeholders and identify needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency;  

• Build the capacity of Plan Ethiopia staff, and strategic partners to promote EiE and CPiE with specific emphasis on building adolescent girls’ and young women’s life- and business skills and link them to employment and/or entrepreneurship opportunities; while also working closely with the private sector to respond to market demands; support government initiatives; engage with training and finance providers; and also mobilize the support from parents and communities. 

• Ensure the application of a range of evidence-based strategies and approaches at Plan Ethiopia to inform quality programming and policy engagement in EiE and CPiE 

• Applying strategies to strengthen the resilience and preparedness for EiE and CPiE services and information, ensuring continuity during humanitarian crises of different sorts. 

• Develop tools and relevant guiding documents and manuals to systematically strengthen Plan Ethiopia’s EiE and CPiE programming and policy influencing work 

• Provide demand driven technical support to key departments and units within PIE (Program Quality & Operations, Humanitarian Department. Influencing and Communications; Business Development; Program Areas) and ensure high quality programme (design & implementation) and influencing work. This will include designing, conducting and coordinating training programmes, technical field visits, development and dissemination of guidance material, etc.

• Support and coach colleagues, partners, children and young people to develop their capability and take more responsibility.

• Document, share and storage of best practices and lessons learned as deemed necessary.

Budget management:

• Serve as overall budget holder for the ECHO-HIP funded project at CO level; 

• Prepare and compile annual plans, budgets, quarterly and annual reports for the project based on donors, government other stakeholder’s requirements;

• Make periodic program and budget revisions as required in consultation with donors, NO focal persons, BDD and Grant and Finance Coordinators;

• Ensure effective and efficient utilization of project budget and other resources for the intended purpose;

• Ensure that finance planning and reports are in line with the project agreement and requirements from donors and governments as needed. 

Monitoring, evaluation and quality assurance: 

• In coordination with MEAL Team, supports the Field and Area Offices to design results-based monitoring and evaluation process for the project;  

• Regularly follow-up and monitor the project to ensure proper and efficient implementation;

• Plan and facilitate regularly scheduled reviews of projects with both internal and external stakeholders;

• Coordinate and facilitate assessments and evaluation exercises on regular basis; 

• Capture, knowledge and experiences from the learning process and replicate good practices;

• Ensure the proper utilization and use of monitoring and evaluation systems;

• Prepare and compile quarterly, annual and other interim reports for the project based on donors and stakeholders’ requirements;

External representation, coordination and capacity building:  

• Work closely with government stakeholders, UN agencies and affected communities including children throughout the course of project including planning, implementation and M&E exercises; 

• Ensure that partnerships are maintained and functioning properly as per signed contract agreement;

• Maintain regular communication and interaction with stakeholders to facilitate and promote learning and information sharing;

• Provide technical support to stakeholders in the course of project implementation;

• Take advantage of opportunities for different kinds of partnership to ensure enhanced quality program implementation;

• Continuously identify and document education and child protection issues in the project area, and ensure that relevant stakeholder and duty bearers are informed; 

• Identify and develop case studies for the purpose of reporting, advocacy and influencing efforts.

Job Requirements

Qualifications/ experience essential:

• Master’s Degree in Psychology, Education planning and Management, Sociology, Social Work, and other related fields. 

• A minimum of eight years of relevant experience working in INGOs, NGO, bilateral and multilateral organization as well as for the government; of which, 5 years in managerial/leadership positions. A combination of experiences working for both GO and NGO at managerial level will be an added value. 

• Demonstrable experience of managing integrated EiE and CPiE projects is highly desirable. 

• Comprehensive understanding of relevant governments policies, strategies, programs and priorities related to EiE and CPiE.

• Proactive engagement and networking on EiE and CPiE sectors in Ethiopia  

• Experience in designing & facilitating training for staff and partners using participatory methodologies

• Knowledge and experience in rights based and gender transformative programming and influencing

• Knowledge of the child protection in emergencies sector including protection risks and response interventions.

• In-depth knowledge of project cycle management and child centred community development programming. 

• Knowledge of development and humanitarian issues, trends, challenges and opportunities and implications to child protection.

• Knowledge of child protection in emergencies and education in emergencies standards, principles and procedures.

How to Apply

Qualified candidates should submit their application using THIS LINK

Note: This position is only open to Ethiopian Nationals, who must be eligible to live and work in Ethiopia. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Female applicants are highly encouraged to apply.

Please note that: 

• Applications and CVs written in English will be accepted and
• Please note that we are not accepting CVs that are not sent through the indicated link.
• Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.