Project Manager

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict and disaster and the host communities that support them, as well as with those who remain within their homes and communities. At-work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. IRC leads the way from harm to home. Began work in Ethiopia, 1999 in response to severe drought that happened in Ethiopia’s Somali region. Currently, providing assistance in ten different regions implementing emergency and development programs in health, water and sanitation, economic recovery and development (ERD), women’s protection and empowerment, education, child protection, and multi-sectoral emergency response.

The IRC has a focus on narrowing the gender gap in humanitarian aid and ensuring that we contribute to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in both our programs and operations by working to establish a context where our clients (including those from minority groups) enjoy the same rights and opportunities as well as an equal access to services. The IRC also has a strong commitment to creating an equitable and inclusive culture, where safeguarding is upheld in our workplace and programs. We are determined to protect our clients and staff from safeguarding violations through prevention and, where misconduct is alleged, to address it without fear or favor.

Job Overview/Summary: 

Scope of the Position: The Project Manager will be accountable for ensuring that the project delivers integrated and sustainable results across resilient livelihoods and food security, climate adaptation, natural resource management, economic empowerment, financial inclusion, market systems, anticipatory action, peacebuilding, conflict prevention, social cohesion and community empowerment. The position requires the ability to manage a complex operating environment and effectively connect humanitarian, development, climate resilience and peacebuilding approaches while maintaining strong accountability to affected communities and project stakeholders.

1.    Job Purpose

·         IRC is planning to implement Irish Aid funded BRIDGE Project-to Building Resilience, Inclusion, and Durable Growth for Empowerment of Women, Youth, and Other Shock-Affected Communities in East Hararghe (Chinaksen and Gursum) and Gambella (Itang and Lare) woreda, Ethiopia. The primary Goal of the project is to Improve food security and resilience of vulnerable population against shocks and stress (Resilient Livelihoods and Food Security) in the intervention areas.

·         The Project Manager will provide overall strategic, technical, operational and managerial leadership for the implementation of a multi-sectoral resilience, livelihoods, food security, climate adaptation, peacebuilding and social cohesion project in East Hararghe and Gambella.

·         The position will be responsible for ensuring that project interventions are delivered on time, within budget and in accordance with approved plans, donor requirements, organizational policies and relevant government standards. The Project Manager will coordinate technical teams, implementing partners, government stakeholders, community structures and other relevant actors to achieve project outcomes and sustainable results.

·         The Project Manager will provide leadership in strengthening climate-resilient livelihoods and food systems, sustainable land and water management, market and financial inclusion, anticipatory action and crisis response, community-based peacebuilding, conflict prevention, participatory learning and action, and equitable access to productive assets and livelihood opportunities.

·         The role will also ensure that gender equality, women's and youth empowerment, conflict sensitivity, social inclusion, environmental sustainability, climate resilience and accountability to affected populations are integrated throughout project implementation.

2.     Key Responsibilities

Overall Project Management and Leadership

·         Provide overall leadership and strategic direction for project implementation across East Hararghe and Gambella.

·         Develop and regularly update detailed project implementation plans, work plans, activity schedules and delivery milestones.

·         Coordinate implementation of activities across all project components and ensure effective linkages between livelihoods, resilience, climate adaptation, peacebuilding and social cohesion interventions.

·         Ensure project activities are implemented in accordance with approved project design, logical framework, budget, donor requirements and organizational procedures.

·         Establish clear roles, responsibilities and coordination mechanisms among project staff, partners and stakeholders.

·         Monitor progress against project outputs, outcomes, indicators, targets, timelines and budgets and take corrective action where required.

·         Lead regular project review meetings and ensure timely follow-up of agreed actions.

·         Identify implementation bottlenecks and develop practical solutions to maintain project performance.

·         Ensure effective coordination between field offices, technical teams, support departments and project partners.

·         Promote adaptive management and ensure project implementation responds to changing climatic, conflict, market and socio-economic conditions.

Climate-Resilient Livelihoods and Food Security

·         Provide oversight to assessments of gender-sensitive barriers and opportunities in crop and livestock production using a climate-smart approach.

·         Ensure effective selection, training and follow-up of food-insecure households on climate-smart agriculture through lead farmer approaches.

·         Oversee strengthening of farmer training centres and community-based agricultural extension mechanisms.

·         Support promotion of keyhole gardening and other household-level food production approaches, with particular attention to women, displaced populations and host communities.

·         Coordinate interventions aimed at improving access to climate-smart agricultural inputs, quality seeds and sustainable seed supply systems.

·         Oversee support to women smallholder farmers, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists to engage in sustainable livestock production and management businesses.

·         Ensure agricultural and livelihood interventions are environmentally sustainable, gender-responsive and adapted to local climate and livelihood conditions.

Land, Water Management and Climate Risk Reduction

·         Lead implementation of sustainable land and water management interventions, including tree planting and community-based natural resource management.

·         Oversee training of lead farmers and community members on sustainable land and water management practices.

·         Ensure target households have access to appropriate and affordable climate-resilient micro-irrigation technologies, after-sales services and spare parts.

·         Support establishment and strengthening of Irrigation Water Users Organisations (IWUOs).

·         Ensure interventions address location-specific climate risks, including drought in East Hararghe and flooding in Gambella.

·         Coordinate flood-adaptive production and productive asset protection measures in Lare and Itang.

·         Promote integration of disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation and resilience measures across project activities.

Women and Youth Economic Empowerment and Off-Farm Livelihoods

·         Lead implementation of climate-aware and gender-transformative microenterprise opportunity assessments.

·         Oversee selection and training of women and youth in life skills, green business skills and vocational skills.

·         Support capacity strengthening of employment service providers.

·         Facilitate development and implementation of circular, green and gender-transformative enterprise models.

·         Ensure appropriate provision of productive assets, capital and business development services to selected beneficiaries.

·         Promote decent work, entrepreneurship, income diversification and sustainable employment opportunities for women and youth.

Financial Inclusion and Savings

·         Oversee establishment and strengthening of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs).

·         Support interventions that expand access to appropriate, affordable and inclusive financial services and products.

·         Strengthen linkages between informal savings mechanisms and formal financial institutions.

·         Promote financial literacy and responsible financial practices among women, youth, SMEs and other target groups.

·         Ensure financial inclusion activities contribute to diversified and resilient household livelihoods.

Market Systems and Private Sector Engagement

·         Provide strategic oversight to interventions supporting smallholder farmers, agro-pastoralists, SMEs and fisher communities to participate in better-functioning markets.

·         Lead efforts to strengthen cooperatives and producer organisations.

·         Facilitate market linkages, value-chain relationships and private-sector engagement.

·         Identify opportunities for sustainable market-based solutions that improve income security and livelihood resilience.

·         Promote commercially viable and environmentally sustainable livelihood models.

Anticipatory Action and Crisis Response

·         Oversee establishment or strengthening of woreda-level forecast-based financing mechanisms.

·         Support revitalisation of local early warning and early action systems.

·         Ensure climate and conflict risk information informs project planning and timely anticipatory action.

·         Coordinate with government, humanitarian, development and community actors to strengthen preparedness and response mechanisms.

·         Ensure recurrently shock-affected households are linked to appropriate livelihood recovery and social protection pathways.

Peacebuilding, Conflict Prevention and Social Cohesion

·         Provide overall management oversight for peacebuilding interventions in target kebeles of Chinaksen, Itang and Lare.

·         Support establishment and strengthening of inclusive community peace committees.

·         Oversee community dialogue forums involving host, refugee, IDP and returnee populations.

·         Promote meaningful participation of women and youth in peacebuilding and decision-making processes.

·         Support community peace messaging and social cohesion campaigns.

·         Strengthen traditional and community-based conflict resolution mechanisms.

·         Oversee establishment and strengthening of community-based conflict early warning and response systems.

·         Facilitate joint reconciliation, trust-building and social cohesion activities.

·         Promote joint natural resource management initiatives as mechanisms for conflict prevention and climate resilience.

·         Strengthen the capacity of local peace actors, institutions and community structures.

·         Establish and facilitate peacebuilding coordination platforms among relevant stakeholders.

·         Support communities to develop and implement peace and development action plans.

·         Promote and document community-led peacebuilding and social cohesion initiatives.

Conflict Analysis, Technical Quality and Partner Capacity

·         Coordinate initial and periodic conflict, social cohesion and institutional capacity assessments.

·         Ensure conflict sensitivity and Do-No-Harm principles are integrated into project design and implementation.

·         Lead development and application of common technical packages, guidelines, tools and approaches for partner-led peacebuilding activities.

·         Provide technical oversight and quality assurance to implementing partners.

·         Strengthen partner capacity in project planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting and technical delivery.

·         Facilitate learning, reflection and documentation of effective community-led peacebuilding approaches.

·         Ensure lessons learned are incorporated into adaptive project management and future programming.

Participatory Learning, Advocacy and Community Empowerment

·         Oversee establishment and facilitation of community-led Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) groups.

·         Ensure PLA approaches are used to promote power analysis, collective action, inclusion and community ownership.

·         Oversee adaptation of PLA manuals and capacity building of PLA facilitators.

·         Promote meaningful participation of women, youth, displaced persons, refugees and other marginalised groups.

·         Support advocacy initiatives aimed at improving equitable access to productive assets, livelihood opportunities and rights.

·         Facilitate community engagement in decision-making processes at local level.

·         Ensure community-led approaches remain inclusive, accountable and responsive to local priorities.

Human Resource Management

·         Making sure that IRC staff personnel policy, the IRC WAY (professional code of conduct) and all other organizational policies are respected and practiced properly by project team and make sure that sound decision is made on breaches and appropriate measures are taken in timely manner.

·         In coordination with Addis Ababa sector lead, manage the project staff and ensure that staff performance management process/PMP (objectives setting, midterm evaluation and final evaluation) are done timely following the right PMP guideline procedures.

·         Make sure that staff and clients are responsive and reporting mechanisms for any concerns and complaints are established and are addressed in proper manner.

·         Conduct a regular one-to-one meeting with project officers and discuss priorities, challenges and share the discussion minutes with the ERD and technical supervisors based in Addis and make sure the one-to-one discussion is conducted between the supervisor and direct report in the department.

Programme Quality, MEAL and Learning

·         Work closely with Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) teams to establish effective monitoring systems.

·         Ensure project indicators, baselines, targets and milestones are clearly defined and regularly monitored.

·         Review project performance data and use evidence to inform management decisions.

·         Ensure beneficiary feedback and community accountability mechanisms are functional and acted upon.

·         Lead periodic project performance reviews and support outcome-level learning.

·         Document best practices, lessons learned, success stories and evidence of change.

·         Promote knowledge sharing among project teams, partners, government institutions and other stakeholders.

Financial and Resource Management

·         Ensure effective management of the project budget in accordance with approved budgets and organisational financial procedures.

·         Monitor expenditure against budgets and forecasts and take timely corrective action.

·         Work closely with finance and procurement teams to ensure timely procurement and utilisation of project resources.

·         Ensure project assets, supplies and equipment are properly managed and accounted for.

·         Review and approve project expenditures within delegated authority.

·         Ensure value for money, cost-effectiveness and financial accountability across project implementation.

Reporting and Donor Compliance

·         Prepare and/or oversee preparation of high-quality donor and internal project reports.

·         Ensure timely submission of narrative, financial and technical reports in accordance with donor requirements.

·         Track donor commitments, project milestones, deliverables and reporting deadlines.

·         Maintain accurate project documentation and evidence of implementation.

·         Coordinate donor and stakeholder visits, reviews, assessments and meetings.

·         Ensure compliance with donor agreements, organisational policies and relevant government regulations.

Coordination and Stakeholder Engagement

·         Maintain effective working relationships with relevant government offices at regional, zonal and woreda levels.

·         Coordinate with humanitarian, development, peacebuilding, private-sector and civil-society actors.

·         Represent the project in relevant coordination forums, technical working groups and stakeholder meetings.

·         Strengthen collaboration with local authorities, community leaders, cooperatives, financial institutions, service providers and private-sector actors.

·         Facilitate coordination between implementing partners to maximise complementarity and avoid duplication.

·         Maintain strong relationships with community representatives and ensure their participation in project decision-making.

Capacity Building and Coaching

·         Provide capacity building training and coaching services to cash programming officers and MEAL officers on establishing targeting and compliant committees, clients targeting and verification processes.

·         Provide capacity building training to community- based targeting committee, compliance response mechanisms committee members and government stakeholders on project implementation guidelines and procedures.

·         Capacitate project staff, government stakeholders and financial service providers on humanitarian and development based implementation principles and modalities to ensure effective and efficient implementation of cash intervention.

·         Capacity build project team on IRC cash toolkits application and use for client’s registration and verification. 

Safeguarding, Gender, Inclusion and Accountability

·         Ensure gender equality and women's empowerment are systematically integrated across all project components.

·         Promote meaningful participation and leadership of women and youth.

·         Ensure interventions are inclusive of displaced persons, refugees, returnees, host communities and other vulnerable groups.

·         Ensure safeguarding, protection, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) and accountability principles are incorporated into project implementation.

·         Promote conflict-sensitive and Do-No-Harm programming.

·         Ensure environmental sustainability and climate resilience are incorporated into project decisions.

·         Maintain zero tolerance for fraud, exploitation, discrimination, harassment and abuse.

Safeguarding Responsibilities:

·         Promote and actively participate in initiatives and efforts to build team engagement, inclusion and cohesion in IRC [team/office]

·         Foster ongoing learning, honest dialogue and reflection to strengthen safeguarding and to promote IRC values and adherence to IRC policies

Requirements:

Educational Requirements:

·         Master’s/ bachelor’s degreer in project management, Development Studies, Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Natural Resource Management, Rural Development, Economics, Social Sciences, Peace and Conflict Studies, International Development or a related field.

·         Professional certification in project management such as PMP, PRINCE2 or equivalent is an advantage

Preferred Experience and Skills:

·         4 years of relevant experience with the first Degree, 3 years of relevant experience plus post graduate degree in project/ programmee management, preferably within development, resilience, livelihoods, food security, climate adaptation, peacebuilding or related programmes.

·         Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-sectoral projects involving multiple locations and stakeholders.

·         Experience managing donor-funded projects and coordinating donor reporting and compliance.

·         Proven experience in climate-smart agriculture, resilient livelihoods, market systems, financial inclusion and/or natural resource management.

·         Experience in peacebuilding, conflict prevention, social cohesion and community-based conflict resolution is highly desirable.

·         Demonstrated experience working with government institutions, local communities, NGOs, private-sector actors and implementing partners.

·         Experience working in drought-, flood- and/or conflict-affected contexts is an advantage.

·         Experience managing multidisciplinary teams and implementing partners.

Technical Skills and Competencies

·         Strong project cycle management skills.

·         Excellent planning, coordination and organizational skills.

·         Strong understanding of climate resilience and climate-smart agriculture.

·         Knowledge of food security, livelihoods and market systems development.

·         Understanding of peacebuilding, conflict sensitivity and social cohesion programming.

·         Strong financial and budget management skills.

·         Strong monitoring, evaluation, learning and reporting skills.

·         Partnership and stakeholder management skills.

·         Risk management and problem-solving skills.

·         Strong facilitation and negotiation skills.

·         Knowledge of participatory approaches, including PLA.

·         Strong understanding of gender-transformative programming and social inclusion.

·         Excellent report writing and presentation skills.

·         Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office applications and project management/reporting systems.

Language Skills:

Strong oral and written communications skills in English, and Amharic

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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