Position: Project Officer - School Feeding and Social Protection

Salary: ETB 555,000 – ETB 634,872 per annum (gross salary

Deadline: October, 18/2023

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the United Nations in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Due to COVID19, conflict in Ukraine and climate change, malnutrition and hunger have worsened significantly since 2019, reversing a decade of progress. There is growing recognition that our food systems need to change if we are to reverse these trends.

GAIN’s Strategy aims to transform food systems to make healthier diets from sustainable food systems accessible to all people and especially those who are most vulnerable to shocks. By 2027, we aim to improve the access of 1.5 billion people to nutritionally enhanced staple foods, improve the access of 25 million people to healthier diets, and support positive food system change in 10 countries. This is bold and complex, and the only way to achieve this is to work together with partners including governments, businesses, and civil society at the country and global level. These goals, and the ways of achieving them, build on our twenty-year legacy of transforming people’s lives with improved nutrition through concerted action and effective policy change.

DESCRIPTION

Overall purpose

The Project Officer will work with the project manager, project coordinator and operations teams to support the coordination of the School Feeding and Social Protection activities of BDFA (Better Dairy For All) in line with an agreed plan with the donor and the government.

You will be involved in core project activities and provide a range of support services, including preparation of reports and briefs, coordinating resources, maintaining project documentation and implementing and monitoring project plans. The postholder will ensure project outcomes are achieved on time, on budget, meet quality standards and within the agreed scope, in line with GAIN Project Management Guidelines.

The project officer will also undertake various administrative tasks including organizing, coordinating, scheduling and attending meetings with team members, stakeholders, clients and suppliers. You will be functionally reported to the Project Manager and collaborate with the Social Protection team, BDFA project team, operation team, and GAIN Global School Feeding team, there will also be close collaboration with GAIN Ethiopia country teams.

Tasks and responsibilities

Under the School Feeding and Social protection activities for the BDFA project, the Project Officer will support with the following tasks:

Project Management Support and Coordination

• Manage assigned activities in the plan and support the tracking of progress and deliverables from project partners.

• Under the guidance of the project manager, coordinate and schedule project review meetings at regular cycles and prepare documentation of findings and recommendations in PRISM.

• Liaise with the project manager on issues of course correction and change requests, escalate and contribute to resolving any project issues.

• Contribute to the drafting of project documentation during the design, planning and end-to-end implementation of the project as per the GAIN Project Management Guidelines (PMG) i.e. results framework, work plans, etc.

• Understand relevant environment, gender and safeguarding themes and their presence and relevance in project activities.

• Facilitate implementation of project activities in compliance with the policies and best practice standards of GAIN, working closely with consultants, colleagues and the project manager

• Support with the facilitation and coordination of the workshops for the BDFA project.

Project documentation and reporting

• Be responsible for the regular updating of PRISM to ensure accurate documentation of project/activity progress for project review meetings.

• Source, collate and compile data and information to identify emerging issues; track and report on project progress against established milestones and deliverables,

• Prepare and maintain project documentation and PRISM for reporting, monitoring and evaluation purposes to ensure accessibility of quality information and contribute to the achievement of project outcomes.

Relationship Management

• Under the supervision of the project manager, conduct regular field monitoring visits of the activities conducted under the project by partners. Collect data and follow up with contracted partners to ensure timely submission of reports and prepare timely monitoring reports with findings and recommendations.

• Support the project manager by working closely with government, implementing partners, external suppliers and professional services to coordinate and facilitate effective delivery of the project including areas such as dissemination of lessons learned, relevant approvals and discussions around school feeding and social protection interventions.

• Maintain strong partnerships with civil society, INGOs, government entities, the private sector and other organisations as well as the school community, parents, dairy product suppliers and others involved in the school feeding project.

• Contribute to a culture of mutually accountable partnership with other teams within GAIN that supports programmes and projects.

• Identify potential project partners and propose to the project manager.

Procurement, Payments and Financial Reporting

• Oversee all administrative aspects of the procurement process for the BDFA project including budgeting, procurement supporting with the drafting of agreements and terms of reference with consultants, coordination of the procurement plan and contracts and logistical arrangements within ethical and procurement standards and guidelines.

• Support the project manager or project coordinator in preparing donors’ reports in collaboration with project teams, technical teams, funding teams and support teams.

• Work closely with the project accountant, monitor the receipt of deliverables and payments to partners, as well as ensure all project-related expenses are properly coded to ensure the accuracy of financial reporting.

• Contribute to accurate project budgeting and forecasting processes.

• Process timely payments to consultants and other service providers, ensuring compliance with GAIN procurement policy.

• Perform other duties as assigned by management.

Key organizational relationships

• Works closely with the following teams:

  • Social Protection team

  • Dutch 3.0 team

  • GAIN communication and monitoring team

  • GAIN Ethiopia Operation team

Competencies (skills and attributes):

• Clear and systematic proactive thinking that demonstrates good judgment, effective problem-solving, and creativity.

• Demonstrate flexibility and openness to change whilst maintaining the ethos and objectives of the work at all times.

• Good interpersonal, communication and influencing skills.

• Excellent writing skills, with analytical capacity and ability to synthesize project outputs and relevant findings for the preparation of quality project reports.

• Some understanding of the gender and protection dynamics of humanitarian and development work, and ability to capture this in the analysis and design of interventions.

• Strong ability to work with diverse groups/individuals, ranging from local partners, local authorities, local community groups, civil society and the private sector.

• Computer literacy with good Excel, MS Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint skills and advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling web-based management systems

• Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, child safety and staff health and wellbeing principles

• Knowledge of School Feeding and Social Protection programs and intervention work.

• Deep understanding and passion on issues related to nutritious food consumption in Ethiopia

• Good understanding/knowledge of School Feeding and Social Protection policies, strategies, and platforms in Ethiopia.

• Good coordination, data collection and monitoring skills.

Experience

• Experience in project management

• Previous professional experience working in social protection and/or school feeding programmes in Ethiopia

• Experience in data monitoring and reporting.

• Previous experience with business and project administration systems, including financial administration.

• Proven ability to execute administrative tasks in a timely manner.

• (Desirable) Experience in delivering a wide range of project management and support services, within tight deadlines, and limited resources, while managing competing priorities.

• Experience working in a multicultural or international environment is desirable.

• Experience working in dairy value chain work will be an added advantage.

Education

• Degree or equivalent recognized international accreditation in project management and/or Bachelor’s Degree in sociology, public health, Nutrition, social work, supply chain management, business management, international relations, sustainable development, economics, development studies, peace and conflict studies or related field. A Postgraduate qualification in a relevant discipline will be a strong advantage

Other requirements

• Willingness and ability to travel frequently to the field.

• Fluency in English and Amharic, written and verbal.

WHAT GAIN OFFERS

• A competitive remuneration package

• Flexible working hours through hybrid working opportunities.

• Friendly working environment

• Professional development opportunities

• The chance to make a lasting contribution to reducing global malnutrition

How to apply:

Register using the following link CLICK HERE