Concern Worldwide is an Irish-based non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.
Job Title:
Food, Income and Markets (FIM) Coordinator Reports to: The Assistant Country Director – Programmes Job Location:
The Coordinator’s base will be Lilongwe with frequent travel to Dowa and Nkhotakota districts Contract Details: Start date: 1st January 2012 Status: Accompanied Contract: 2 year contract Grade: B Job Purpose: To provide overall strategic, technical and management leadership to the FIM sector in Concern Malawi, ensuring that the highest standards of programme implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting are attained.
To substantially grow the FIM programme sector portfolio in Malawi through an innovative approach to learning and programme design within the FIM programme. Main duties & Responsibilities: Programme Management: •Manage the planning, coordination and quality of FIM programme implementation in accordance with project proposals, Concern procedures and donor contract obligations. •Lead the development of FIM sector annual programme plans and budgets in line with Concern procedures and donor obligations. •Undertake regular and detailed reviews of implementation progress against plans and budgets. Where necessary revise plans and budgets to maintain programme quality and progress. •In line with programme plans and budgets coordinate and consolidate procurement requests to ensure timely delivery of supplies and inputs to FIM programmes. •Ensure FIM budget utilisation and asset management are in full compliance with Concern’s administrative and financial policies and procedures.
•Develop a FIM partnership strategy that improves the overall efficiency and effectiveness of programme delivery. This entails: assess the capacity and appropriateness of existing and new FIM implementation partner organisations; and, negotiating, maintaining and reviewing FIM sector partnership agreements. •Review staff structures and job description roles and responsibilities to ensure optimal human resourcing of the FIM sector programmes. This entails, initiating the timely recruitment of appropriately qualified and experienced FIM programme staff. •Implement Concern’s performance management systems to monitor and maintain and improve FIM staff and team performance. •Facilitate the capacity building of Concern and partner FIM staff to maintain our ability to deliver of high quality and innovative FIM programmes. •Build motivated and highly functional implementation teams through regularly support, coaching and mentoring of FIM staff and partners organisations. •Devise and maintain results based systems of M&E to better demonstrate FIM programme outcomes and impacts. •Ensure that lessons learned and best practices improve programme quality (design and implementation). •Support effective learning and the transfer of knowledge within Malawi and elsewhere. •Lead the development and delivery of high quality and innovative FIM strategies for information and communication management. •Consolidate and submit high quality monthly, quarterly and annual internal and external reports on time. •Lead annual planning and reporting of the Regional Accenture Conservation Agriculture programme (covering Malawi and Zambia). •Develop and coordinate the implementation of a FIM advocacy strategy in support of “poor and vulnerable households achieving adequate and sustainable access to and control over resources to attain their livelihood rights”. •At a national level maintain strong working relationships with key FIM actors and decision making bodies to advance Concern’s FIM advocacy agenda. •Strengthen Concern’s FIM sector innovation and learning by forging and strengthening partnership relations with appropriate international, regional and national research institutes, e.g., ICRAF. •In collaboration with the H&N Coordinator, strengthening the programme linkages and synergies between the FIM programme and the Health and Nutrition Programme. •Maintain close working relations with appropriate members of Concern’s technical advisory and advocacy units in Dublin, especially the Social and Economic Development Unit. •Source and manage local and external technical consultants in support of FIM programme implementation. •To actively participate in the Country Office Senior Management Team (SMT). •To support the development and implementation of a Country Office strategic plan
Programme Development: •Continuously grow the FIM sector programme portfolio. •Lead project design and proposal development processes in response to donor funding opportunities. •Follow up with in-country donors, UN and international NGO partners on the status and progress of FIM proposal applications. •Maintain strong working relations with donor FIM sector technical advisor in Malawi, especially with Irish Aid, DFID, the EU and USAID. •Maintain strong working relationships with other international NGOs active in the FIM sector in order to maximise opportunities to enter into consortium based proposal submissions to donors. •Source and manage local and external technical consultants in support of project design and proposal development. Person specification: Qualification Essential: •A third level degree in an agriculture or rural livelihoods related discipline
Qualification Desirable: •Post graduate training in agricultural marketing and/ or conservation agriculture.
Experience Essential: •A minimum of five years experience in managing and coordinating complex and diverse agricultural and livelihood development programmes in developing countries, especially in Africa. •Strong technical background and experience in agricultural production and marketing. •A proven track record in FIM project design and proposal development. •Experience in building relations with donors and securing external donor funding. •Experience of high level organisational representation, especially maintaining technical relationships with international donors, the UN, International Research Institutes and International NGOs and Government representatives •Experience of developing and managing programme monitoring and evaluation systems. •Experienced in management of financial resources •Advocacy experience at a national level. •Excellent English communication skills (verbal and written) •Empathy with Concern’s Vision, Mission, Goals + Objectives
Desirable Experience: •Field experience of Conservation Agriculture •Good knowledge and experience of incorporating rights based, equality and advocacy approaches across development programmes •Dynamic and willing to take initiatives to complete assigned tasks. •Strong leadership skills and ability to manage change effectively •Excellent communication and presentation skills, including fluency in written and spoken English •Delegation, time management and prioritizing skills and coping with broad range of demands •Strong Analytical and problem solving abilities •Training and facilitation skills. •Experience in influencing government policy. •Experience of sourcing and managing local and external technical consultants
All applications should be submitted through our website at www.concern.net/jobs
By closing date 13th November 2011
All candidates who are short-listed for a first round interview will be notified via email after the application deadline.
Concern has a Staff Code of Conduct and a Programme Participant Protection Policy which have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organization, and the standards of behaviour expected of them. In this context staff have a responsibility to the organization to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Programme Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Programme Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct candidates acknowledge that they have understood the contents of both the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and the Programme Participant Protection Policy and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these two documents
Concern receives a substantial amount of funding from external donors each year. Increasingly donors are introducing requirements whereby future funding is conditional on Concern ensuring that the names of any new employee or volunteer do not appear on terrorism lists generated by the European Union (List of person, groups and entities to which Regulation (EC No. 2580/2001 applies), the US Government (Office of Foreign Assets Control list of specially designated Nationals and Blocked Persons) and the United Nations (Consolidated List).
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Concern Worldwide is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community
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