PROJECT MANAGER – RIPA – CARE Ethiopia

Development and Project Management

CARE Ethiopia

CARE Ethiopia

CARE started working in Ethiopia in 1984 in response to severe drought and famine that devastated the population and claimed the lives of nearly one million people. Since then, the organization’s activities have expanded to address the root causes of poverty and vulnerability.

In 2008, CARE Ethiopia’s office moved from a project-based approach to a more focused and strategic program-based approach. Over the eight years since that transition, CARE Ethiopia has implemented a series of programs with successful outcomes, while simultaneously impacting the policies and practices of government, serving as a thought leader amongst NGOs, and bringing transformative change to rural communities. These broader and deeper impacts go beyond the direct impacts of its programs and are a result of CARE Ethiopia’s overall country strategy, which enables CARE to design for scale.

CARE Ethiopia works in various sectors but has particularly targeted the following:

·         Food Security and Resilience

·         WASH         

·         Nutrition

·         Sexual and Reproductive Health and

·         Emergency Response as cross-cutting (focusing on the above sectors).

I.     JOB SUMMARY:

The purpose of the Project Manager (PM) position is to provide leadership and coordination for ensuring the implementation and accomplishment of the objectives of the CARE RIPA-North project with the special focus on Afar Field Office teams for USAID FtF RIPA activities in line with CARE’s vision, goals, and program principles, standards, approaches, and long-range Strategic Plan. The PM will have joint responsibility for the project and will manage and support the day-to-day implementation of the project activities in Afar Region. S/He will be responsible for leading the planning of all project field activities, leading the field team in implementation, ensuring all reports (financial and narrative) are prepared on time, among other functions. In consultation with the RIPA-North Component 1 DRM-NRM Lead and in collaboration with other technical Advisors, she/he develops annual implementation plans and budget, allocates appropriate resources to accomplish the plan, secures qualified staff and ensures that an appropriate monitoring system are in place to track progress and deviations of program implementation. To promote the highest level of staff performance the PM provide coaching and counseling to staffs under her/ his direct supervision.  She/he establishes and maintains effective working relationships with key regional government and local implementing partners working with RIPA-North in the same geographic areas. She/ he will provide the required support to the Mercy Corps field team and ensure the day-to-day operation, joint field action planning and regular joint reviews of project progress and status.

II. RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS

Job Responsibility #1: Program Planning (20% of time)

• Provide general management and technical oversight to the RIPA-North program, including CARE, Mercy Corps, and local implementing partner staffs, in areas of operation.
• Lead the development of field-level work plans, reflecting the larger work plan and approaches for strengthening facilitation of RIPA-North activities.
• With the program team analyzes past experiences and incorporate lessons learned in the area of RIPA-North development into the planning process; and based on past achievements adjusts program targets, strategies, and resources.
• Involve in program design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.  
• Develops draft annual and quarterly work plans with the RIPA-North program management team, field staff and partners involved in the implementation.
• Ensure that all program staff have appropriate individual operational plans linked to program priorities.
• Submits / shares all annual and quarterly plans as per established schedules to all program stakeholders.

Responsibility #2: Program Implementation (20% of time)

• Ensure program implementation is in compliance with the approach and agreements that CARE entered into with its partners, donor and government;
• Support the development of and ensure adherence to the strategies, approaches and work plans established by RIPA-North technical leadership team.
• Systematically seek support and coordinates with the technical staffs in the field, to ensure strong working relationships and sound technical implementation of all program activities;
• Organizes the implementation process of all set targets planned for each RIPA-North component with the respective Advisors, Specialist and Officers.
• Ensures that all staff have updated monthly and quarterly implementation plans;
• Periodically visits field activities and provide formal and informal feedback to the program staff;
• Maintains ongoing communications with Regional program stakeholders regarding program progress and challenges;
• Continuously assesses RIPA-North program’s context, assumptions and changes in the working environment to ensure that the program’s focus, strategies and activities remain relevant and propose adaption and adjustments when needed.

Responsibility # 3: Program Budget Management (10% of time)

• In collaboration with the C.1. DRM/NRM Lead Advisor, Program Manager, Technical Advisors, and finance staff prepares annual budgets based on the program proposal;
• Ensures compliance with donor requirements in all financial transactions;
• Ensures appropriate utilization of CARE fund codes for charging budget expenditures;
• Working with the C.1. DRM/NRM Lead Advisor – Monitors monthly/ quarterly/ annual budget burn rates and recommends/makes adaptations and adjustment when needed.

Responsibility # 4: Staff Management (15% of time)

• Supervises, leads, guides, orients, coaches and provides ongoing support and feedback to all field level staffs under direct supervision;
• Recognizing and praising successes;
• Identifies challenges and failures that need corrective measures;
• Recommends or initiates personnel actions such as merit increases, other salary adjustments, promotions, transfers, terminations, and disciplinary actions including performance improvement plans;
• Promotes a model working style based on strict adherence to the organizational core values;
• Completes all field level performance management activities including: annual performance planning, monitoring and appraisals.

Responsibility # 5: Program Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (15% of time)

• Works closely with the RIPA-North CLA team in the CO.  
• Support the filed MEL Specialist with monitoring system to collect quarterly data for tracking program performance and decision making.
• Prepares quarterly and annual comprehensive and high-quality program progress reports and submit to signatory bureaus along with the finance report on regular basis.
• Lead the monthly Cluster Coordination Meeting (CCM) in coordination with the field team including follow-up implementation of action plans.
• Co-facilitates quarterly review meetings with the team to assess progress, adjust plans, and draw/disseminate lessons learned.
• Facilitate the coordination of any assessments, monitoring and evaluation missions for the program, delegating to technical persons as appropriate.
• Regularly visit field activities to assess progress and provide formal and informal feedback.
• Implement audit recommendations related to the RIPA-North program.

Responsibility # 6: Networking, Learning and Representation (10% of time)

• Participate or assign some of from the team to attend regular review and taskforce meetings organized at different level.
• Work in coordination with other components to bring synergies, sharing of technical resource, cross learning and mutual support.
• Establishes and maintains formal and informal communication mechanisms with other RIPA-North stakeholders.
• Participates in GO/NGO forums and shares update on RIPA-North program staff.
• Participate in regular review meetings and joint supportive supervision;
• Document the progress, lessons, good experience, & impact with the project implemented.

Responsibility # 7: Other duties assigned by Supervisor Coordinator (10% of time)

• Promote and adhere to the principles and objectives of CARE Ethiopia and its programs;
• Represent CARE professionally during and after work hours and perform any other duties assigned by supervisor.

III. QUALIFICATIONS

A) EDUCATION/TRAINING

Required:

• BSc in the field of Disaster Risk Management, Natural Resource Management, Environmental Science, Climate Change and Society, Environmental Management or equivalent combination of education and work experience.

Desired:

• Master’s Degree in Disaster Risk Management, Natural Resource Management, Environmental Science, Climate Change and Society, Environmental Management, or equivalent combination of education and work experience

B) EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 5 years proven field-based working experience in pastoral development programs, out of which 1 year in managerial position.
• Experience in pastoral area integrated development and Market System Development (MSD).
• Knowhow of opportunities and challenges of development in Ethiopia.

C)  Technical Skills & Knowledge

Required:

• Proficiency in verbal and written English and Afar-af languages;
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills in working within a multi –disciplinary team and ability to liaise with government, community leaders and other stakeholders at all levels;
• Practical skill in the areas of non-controversial community development programming;
• Understanding of consortium based project including understanding of opportunities and challenges in pastoralist context;
• Proven skill in DNH (Do-No-Harm) approaches in development.
• Operational planning, budget planning and management, monitoring and evaluation, report writing;
• Proven experience of working with pastoralist context;   
• Demonstrated leadership and managerial ability to inspire and empower others;
• Demonstrated technical and managerial ability, sound judgment, and ability to interact and work effectively with others at all levels.

Desired:

• Experience of working in Afar Region.
• Knowledge of the local Afa-af language.
• Able to work in a very challenging environment and context;
• Skills in organizing and facilitating training events;
• Expertise in one or more of the following program areas: Pastoralism, DRM, NRM, Gender and Conflict, especially with Gender & Rights Based Approach focus.

D) COMPETENCIES

Respect, integrity, diversity, excellence, adaptability, stress tolerance, innovation, building partnership, communicating with impact, coaching, facilitating change, developing teams, information monitoring, planning and organizing, leading through vision and value.

IV. FREEDOM TO ACT

A. General accountability:

The PM’s decisions are prime in terms of the daily functioning and operation of the programs in planning and implementation management, financial and administration areas; her/his decisions are contributory in terms of the FO’s long term development focus and organizational policies and procedures. The PM is a key decision maker in terms of staffing in consultation & concurrence with The DRM/NRM Component Lead and takes into account input from the HRD at the CO.

B. Financial accountability:

The PM can sign checks to a maximum of ETB 1,000.00 and co-sign checks for up to ETB 570,000.00 with other authorized check signatories at the field office level.

V. CONTACTS/KEY RELATIONSHIPS

The incumbent is expected to establish and maintain open and cordial relationship with relevant government partners, local government officials, donors and other development organizations working in the area in order to obtain the required support and collaboration for the smooth coordination and implementation of the program activities. The incumbent is also expected to maintain good working relationships with consortium partners, and staff members to promote and ensure complementary of development efforts and synergy of results.

Lien