Programme Development Officer

Job Group: Country Programme Support

Duty Station: Juba

Line Manager: Programme Development Manager

ABOUT US:

Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) is a dynamic, international non-governmental organisation. We work to reduce violence and protect civilians in countries affected by violent conflict and its aftermath. NP implements programming through the deployment of civilian protection teams to the field. NP is continuing to scale up to meet the growing needs in the communities we serve. In South Sudan, NP has a mobile protection response team and 11 field teams providing emergency protection programme for communities affected by violent conflict. Programming is founded on unarmed civilian protection and is thematically focused on protection in displacement, child protection, gender-based violence protection and inter-communal violence reduction.

JOB PURPOSE:

The Programme Development Officer, hereafter referred to as (PDO), is a key member of the programme development team, which is responsible for maintaining support and growing the programme in South Sudan. More specifically, the PDO works with the programme development team to: establish and maintain donor relationships, participate in programme development, write proposals, manage grants, monitor and evaluate projects and report to donors as per contractual agreements.

ABOUT YOU:

We are seeking an enthusiastic and dynamic Programme Development Officer to join our South Sudan team. The Programme Development Officer works with the Programme Development team to establish and maintain donor relationships, write proposals, monitor and evaluate project implementation, report to donors and manage grants.

The successful candidate has as at least two years of experience in a similar position. S/he combines creativity and innovation with a keen eye for detail and accuracy. S/he has excellent oral and written communication skills, a demonstrable interest in civilian protection/violence reduction, and a track record of cultivating donor relationships and writing successful proposals. S/he thrives in a multicultural environment, is a collaborative team player, and is comfortable living and working in highly fluid and insecure environment.

This post is based in Juba, South Sudan with regular travel to field locations.

KEY OBJECTIVES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Support the South Sudan country team in defining program development strategy, preparing proposals for donors, and negotiating contracts.

• Contribute substantively to developing and adapting the organization’s fundraising strategy
• Work with the Senior Programme Development Manager to establish and maintain positive relationships with donors and potential donors
• Develop proposals, log frames and proposal budgets. This includes soliciting ideas from field teams and program staff, contributing creative ideas, coordinating with the programme management team, and packaging proposals to meet the specific needs of different donors
• Proactively follow-up with the donors following proposal submission to monitor progress, answer questions and amend submission as necessary
• Conduct and assist in the negotiations of donor contracts – within parameters agreed with the Head of Mission, Finance Manager and programme managers, and ensuring that costs including overheads are recovered, that NP systems are capable of generating the compliance information required by the contract, and that NP’s best interests are represented
• Help programme colleagues ensure that all project costs are included in budgets- where necessary by submitting proposals to more than one donor
• Pursue funding opportunities other than direct grants from donors, e.g. as a sub grantee or consortium member.

Grants Management

• Maintain orderly files, and involve all internal stakeholders in communications on fundraising issues
• Prepare handover files for programmes and finance staff following the successful negotiation of donor contracts, ensuring that salient information regarding grant management is clearly flagged and communicated, and that all relevant paperwork is made available.
• Convert donor budgets into internal budget formats, using budget lines which allow the NP accounting system to be used to generate donor finance.
• Assist programmes in interpreting the terms of, and in re-negotiating ongoing donor contracts when requested.

Reporting

• Write/edit narrative donor reports.
• Liaise with the finance department in regards to financial reporting to ensure that financial reports are submitted on time, in adherence with financial reporting requirements, and that they correspond to the narrative reports
• Prepare internal monthly fundraising reports and disbursement projections to be submitted to HQ
• Contribute to team-wide communications and knowledge management, and participate in organisation-wide events and discussions on related topics/projects

Monitoring & Evaluation

• Assist in the process of rolling out M&E tools to the field, and provide field teams with technical support to implement them. This may include conducting workshops for field staff on monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
• Monitor project outputs, track progress towards indicators and measure impact of projects
• Design and implement data management system for routine programme monitoring

Other

• Travel to field sites in order to enhance understanding of the context and programming for the purposes of developing proposals and reporting to/liaising with donors. This includes trips to remote field sites with challenging physical conditions.
• Undertake other tasks reasonably expected of her/him

QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES:

Education, Knowledge and Experience

• University Degree in Project Management
• A minimum of 4 years experience with managing USAID project
• Excellent English oral and written communication skills, including ability to analyse and present a cogent argument both in writing and orally
• Significant experience establishing and maintain donor relationships
• Track record of developing successful proposal packages, including narrative, logframes and budgets.
• Significant experience developing narrative donor reports under minimal supervision
• Experience tracking donor trends and opportunities.
• Experience developing, implementing and utilizing M&E tools.
• Experience negotiating contracts with donors and managing grants.
• Experience of managing and prioritizing a high workload with a flexible approach to changing environments.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel

Preferred:

• Experience implementing programmes in the field, ideally in humanitarian emergencies
• Knowledge or demonstrable interest in civilian protection, human security, violence reduction and/or peacebuilding
• A university degree in a relevant field

Skills:

• Ability to set priorities, solve problems and analyse data
• Ability to work and meet strict deadlines
• Ability to manage information with discretion
• Attention to detail
• Ability to be creative and innovative in generating new ideas and undertaking research
• Ability to work effectively and diplomatically in a multi-cultural environment
• Ability to be a collaborative team player, willing to proactively help colleagues
• Flexibilty and adaptability
• Comfortable living and working in a highly fluid and insecure environment- live in tents, and during field visits there is limited access to electricity or running water. Many of the field visits will require driving through rough terrain or walking long distances.
• This field site is a complex security environment where conditions change rapidly – experience in insecure environments is essential to success in this position.