Education/Livelihoods Officer at Plan International

Grade    C2
Department & Location    Programme  team, Maiduguri/Mubi Office  
Reports tUNICEF Project Manager

Purpose:      This position is responsible for Livelihood and Education activities in close collaboration with child protection team implementing the UNICEF Child Protection funded project and will support the implementation of the Education and Livelihoods activities in the field in accordance with Plan International’s Child Protection in Emergencies response in North East Nigeria.The Livelihood and Education Officer be supervised directly by the UNICEF Project manager with technical support and supervision from the Livelihoods specialist and the Education Specialist.

Dimensions of Role
Communicates within Plan International Nigeria and with partners and related government institutions. The post holder will ensure, closely with Project Manager and the CPiE Specialist and other Emergency Response Team members, all Livelihood and Education activities in projects sites. S/He liaise with the Child Protection Officer, the Community Engage Officer and community volunteers to ensure the good implementation of Livelihood and Education activities planned. S/He will participate in field level coordination and liaise with education/early recovery authorities at reverent sector levels.

Key End Results and typical Responsibilities
Programme development & Quality Management   

• In collaboration with the Field Team, Project Manager and CPiE Specialist, the Community Engagement Officer will be:
• Support the project manager in planning for implementation of Education and livelihood project activities and monitoring in line with project design;
• Working under supervision of the Project Manager with technical support from the Livelihood Specialist  and Education Specialist to maintain good relationships with stakeholders and provide feedback on Education, food security and early recovery cluster and related contextual issues;
• Coordinates implementation of Education and livelihood project activities in the project intervention location including addressing complaints from beneficiaries;
• Liaise with the Community Engagement Officer to introducing project, creating awareness and sensitization in target communities on project objectives and approaches as well as beneficiary selection criteria related to the Education and livelihood component;
• Support the Project Manager to prioritize intervention communities and beneficiaries based on set criteria;
• Provide weekly and monthly update reports of Education and livelihood component of project activities;
• Facilitate the selection, registration and verification of beneficiaries’ families, and collection of baseline data on samples of the beneficiaries and selection of  Education and livelihood activities at the project location;
• Liaise with the M&E Officer, Community Engagement Officer  to organize participatory monitoring with beneficiaries of the implementation process, effectiveness, identified risks, and effects (positive and negative) on beneficiaries and markets;
• Prepare training reports for all the technical trainings carried out;

Human Resource Development
Supports the orientation, on-going development/training and builds capacity of local partner staff when required.

Learning and knowledge management
Shares relevant information within the team establishing and supporting the proper documentation of activities
iParticipates in national/regional projects/networks as requested.

Resource Mobilization
Support resource mobilization efforts by participating in rapid assessments, project reviews and related tasks that will ensure adequate information for proposal development

Dealing with Problems

• Ability to manage competing priorities and expectations from internal and external stakeholders and remain calm and resilient in the face of pressure.
• Manage multiple and work with distant colleagues to form a virtual efficient administration team;
• Use Plan procedures to settle conflicts among colleagues;
• Resolve problems that are not covered by established process.
• Analyse possible causes of problems and suggest solutions to get them resolved.
• Refer, whenever necessary, the case to the Child Protection in Emergencies Specialist for consideration.

Communications and Working Relationships:

• Working contacts inside and outside the organization; include the purpose and level (high, medium, low) of the contact
• Contribute in the reporting of Child Protection, Livelihood and Education activities as per donor and programme requirements, particularly in the UNICEF Project implementation. Provide regular updates to Project Manager on activities implementation.
• iRepresent Plan International in Livelihood and Education Sub- Working group coordination meeting mechanisms the LGA level.
• iiSupport the preparation of reports for domestic and international consumption.
• Provide timely responses concerning queries linked with relevant projects or programmes.
• Report to the Project Manager;
• vProvide support to Plan International Nigeria’s programme delivery and resource mobilization.
• Work with other members of the programme units to ensure effective and efficient programme delivery. 

Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours Required to Achieve Role’s Objectives:
Knowledge:
Qualifications and Experience

• University degree or equivalent in Education, Agriculture, Social Science, Social Work, Psychology, or related fields
• Minimum of 3 years relevant working experience in Education or livelihoods programming, humanitarian affairs or human rights.
• Experience working in emergency settings
• Experience working in CAAFAG reintegration programs
• Experience working with refugees and other vulnerable populations (ideal)
• Experience in Community Based programming
• Previous experience directly providing services to children at risk and victims of abuse, exploitation and violence and developing/implementing referral pathways and case management systems.

Skills & Knowledge

• Strong skills in monitoring, evaluation, research and conducting participatory, community-led assessments. Experience working with case files and databases and providing regular documentation.
• Excellent community mobilization skills
• Ability to work individually and within a team with limited supervision. A self-starter.
• Good analytical, problem solving and project planning skills
• Able to communicate clearly and strategically with internal and external stakeholders as a representative of Plan. This includes effective negotiation and representation skills.
• Strong capacity building/training/coaching/mentoring skills with communities and internal and external staff
• Computer knowledge - Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook
• Strong command of both written and spoken English and knowledge of local language (Hausa, Kanuri) strongly desired

Behaviours:

• Holds self and others to account to deliver on agreed goals and standards of behaviour
• Demonstrates a high degree of professionalism/integrity
• Provides good and adequate administrative and logistical support to enable programmes to meet meets it’s agreed financial and program outcomes.
• Actively seeks for support in addressing difficulties in execution of duties.
• Strategic thinking and effective contribution to own work and Organisational development.
• Sound judgement and decision-making in complex situations
• Strong emotional intelligence including self-awareness.
• Leads by example to motivate high performance of others
• Very strong commitment to continuous learning

Physical Environment and Demands
Based in Maiduguri or Mubi, Borno of Adamawa States with field visits to implement and supervise programme activities. Plan International operates in volatile environment and candidate must be willing to travel to and spend long time in paces like Gwoza, Pulka, Mafa Central, AskiraUba, Madagali and Michika.

Level of Contact with Children:
High contact- the job responsibilities of this position require the post holder to have very frequent contact with children. It is expected that children shall be protected at all times.