Build Africa Vacancy Job Title: Project Management Officer Location
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Build Africa Vacancy Job title: Project Management Officer Location: Tunbridge Wells with regular overseas travel Contract: Full-time, permanent Reporting to: Director of Programme Quality Liaises with: Programme staff in Kenya and Uganda (in particular the Project Development Manager in Uganda and Head of Programmes in both Kenya and Uganda), the Programme Officer Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, and the Project Development Officer in the UK, and Fundraising staff in the UK and Kenya. Child protection level: Enhanced This role may include some occasional out-of-hours work, with time off in lieu awarded. Appointment is conditional on a DBS check to conform to Build Africa’s Child Protection Policy Organisation and context Build Africa is an international development charity with offices in the UK and partner organisations in Kenya and Uganda dedicated to finding long term solutions to poverty. For the rural communities we work with, education and livelihoods are key priorities, and we therefore aim to improve the quality of education enjoyed by children and increasing the ability of families to secure a sustainable livelihood. In 2014, a new organisational strategy was adopted, committing Build Africa to seven key approaches contributing to the education and livelihoods goals. (www.build- africa.org/sites/default/files/BA_Strategy-Outline_2014_0.pdf) Our strategy also outlines that Build Africa is made up of people who share a set of core values, which shape the way that we work. These are: Putting the wellbeing of children first, in everything we do Reflecting, learning and sharing to develop highly effective ways of working Pushing the boundaries of development Empowering our people Inspiring people to work for us In order to achieve our ambitious new strategy we will expand our work to new geographical locations, including new countries; strengthen our consultations with and accountability to communities; identify and test innovative ways of working to improve our effectiveness; proactively share with others what we have learnt; strengthen our external relationships where appropriate; and place child safeguarding and protection at the centre of our work. The Programmes team in Build Africa UK are looking for a new Project Management Officer who will be central to Build Africa’s achievement of these goals. Role context Build Africa has changed considerably over the last few years. The number of donor funded multi-year projects has increased hugely as a result of our strategy and improvements in the quality of concepts and funding applications. These changes have resulted in a growing percentage of Build Africa’s overall turnover coming from projects funded by DFID, Comic Relief and Big Lottery Fund amongst others. This new role has been created not only to maintain the high quality of project management and implementation that exists for all our projects, but also to improve the systems, processes and tools used to ensure successful project management. Overall purpose The purpose of the post of Project Management Officer is to ensure that Build Africa manages its projects to a high standard, resulting in a strong reputation amongst key stakeholders (donors, partners, beneficiaries, staff) of the organisation’s ability to deliver high quality projects across the themes of education and livelihoods. Main duties and responsibilities Setting up new projects Lead on the initial set-up of all new Build Africa projects, including managing a start-up workshop for each new project, which appropriately engages all relevant stakeholders; Work closely with the Project Development Officer to ensure smooth transition from project development to implementation and jointly create processes to make this happen; Develop strong relationships with key contact points at each partner organisation for new projects; Evaluate and communicate critical pathways and respective responsibilities within project set-up, ensuring that projects begin implementation in a timely fashion. Managing existing projects Responsible for managing a wide portfolio of projects; Provide guidance and leadership in all aspects of project management, such as work planning, activity tracking, quality assurance, risk register management, quarterly monitoring, etc; Where appropriate, review existing and develop new tools, approaches or resources to support the implementation and management of projects; Work closely with staff from Build Africa Kenya, Build Africa Uganda and partner organisations to ensure projects are managed meeting our high standards; Provide guidance and support, both remotely and during regular visits, to Build Africa Kenya and Build Africa Uganda Programmes staff, and occasionally to partner organisation staff, on all aspects of project management; Work closely with the Programme Officer Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning to ensure projects are reviewed and learning from Build Africa’s work is used to improve project development and management; Work collaboratively with the fundraising team to ensure good quality and timely narrative reports for donors; Work closely with finance staff in UK and East Africa to ensure financial and narrative monitoring and reporting are aligned; Contribute to the continuous development, review and dissemination of BA’s project cycle management guidelines; Engage in relevant external networks for learning and sharing of best practice; Where appropriate, recruit and support consultants providing targeted technical assistance in project management; Ensure that appropriate plans are developed and delivered against cross-cutting areas of the projects, such as capacity-building, communications, monitoring, evaluation and learning. Contributing to Build Africa’s Programme Strategy Develop innovative approaches to addressing some of the challenges identified in the strategy; Together with the other members of the Programmes team, agree annual priorities for programmes work in support of the strategy, and develop and monitor annual workplans; Work closely with colleagues responsible for project development in ensuring key lessons learnt from project implementation are fed into project design; Provide support to the expansion of Build Africa’s work to new regions and countries; Support the Senior Management Team in evaluating progress made on milestones agreed within our strategy. Person specification Knowledge and experience Educated to a relevant degree level or equivalent experience preferably related to project management; Experience and knowledge of International Development gained through working in a developing country, preferably gained in Sub-Saharan Africa; Extensive practical experience of managing international development projects, preferably with a focus on Education and/or Livelihoods outcomes; Experience in planning, budgeting and financial management; Experience of working with partner organisations and managing partnership relationships; Experience in producing narrative reports for donors and internal stakeholders; Solid knowledge of and experience in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning; Good understanding of the importance of child protection and safeguarding in East Africa. Skills and competencies Ability to influence and mobilise colleagues to undertake tasks without the leverage of line management responsibility; Ability to develop good working relationships with a range of stakeholders from diverse backgrounds; Fluent in spoken and written English, and excellent computer skills. Attitude and approach Ability to take the initiative, lead and be led by others, and critically challenge a status quo; Understanding of the cultural sensitivities of working in multiple countries and able to engage and motivate Build Africa and partner staff in the UK and Africa; Strong people skills, flexible and responsive to the needs of the Programmes team as well as the wider organisation; Ability to reflect on how to use time most effectively and to manage a complex workload; Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines; Keen interest in developing own skills and knowledge. Application procedure To apply, please submit an application letter of no more than 2 pages and a copy of your current CV explaining how you meet the person specification and why you are interested in working for us to [email protected] by Sunday 15th February 2015. Interviews will take place on Tuesday 24th February 2015. Please note that you must have all the necessary documents in place to prove your eligibility to work in the UK before applying for this role. Under the Asylum & Immigration Act, Build Africa has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to work in the UK. Consequently before you can commence work you will be expected to provide evidence of your eligibility to work in the UK. This may be your birth certificate, passport, work permit or other document, copies will not be accepted, confirming your right to work in the UK. If you would like an informal conversation about this position in advance of your application, please contact Daan Gerretsen, Director of Programme Quality at Build Africa on 01892 519619. .