ERD Cash Officer at International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Requisition ID: req22948
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Sector: Economic Recovery & Livelihood
Employment Category: Regular
Employment Type: Full-Time
Open to Expatriates: No

Job Overview / Summary

• The ERD Officer will support the technical implementation of a project focused on Climate Risk Mitigation for small holder farmers, within IRC operational areas in Adamawa, Nigeria.
• He/She will support activities to increase access to climate risk information, risk reduction and mitigation training, skills and knowledge, and cash-based assistance to support improved resiliency to climate change stresses and shocks.
• The ERD officer will oversee cash transfer payments to smallholder farmers within a specified time frame to help reduce vulnerability to climate shocks.

Major Responsibilities
Cash Transfer Programming:

• Coordinate with cash actors in the area of implementation for harmonized MEB’s and transfer values
• Organize and supervise the distribution of cash to the targeted smallholder farmers.
• Responsible for the selection and verification of smallholder farmer in coordination with community committee and authorities and the use of selection criteria
• Actively engage and support in community sensitization activities on selection criteria, cash redemption process and feedback mechanism.
• Develop distribution plans for Cash and share for final approval.
• Maintain clear communication with cash transfer agents and beneficiaries in accordance with IRC policies and procedures.
• Coordinate with cash transfer agents on the schedule of distributions to make sure they are ready with cash to smoothly distribute cash to beneficiaries.
• Organize cash distributions considering safety and dignity of beneficiaries
• Conduct field visits to project sites and meet with community leaders to select specific vulnerable locations for targeting and ensure a conducive community mobilization system.

Livelihoods Programming:

• Within the context of a longer-term strategy to support livelihoods and vulnerability reduction for agricultural communities, support the facilitation of Climate Risk Mitigation inception assessments focused on household and community level climate risks and mitigation practices, stakeholder mapping, and climate risk information systems in collaboration with the ERD Manager, M&E team and IRC HQ Technical staff.
• Participate in the identification of technical information and materials that will ensure effective implementation of climate risk reduction activities.
• Provide close supervision and monitoring to the implementation of the Climate Risk Management project related activities in the field
• Coordinate with other partners and relevant project stakeholders in the implementation area for project success.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Research:

• Conduct post distribution monitoring
• Support in conducting market assessments or cash feasibility assessment in the targeted communities  
• Under the supervision of Program Manager & Research Coordinator conduct Climate Risk Management project research and assessments.

Key Working Relationships

• Position Reports to: ERD Program Manager  
• Position directly supervises:  Livelihood Assistants, Casual/incentive workers, local vendors and financial service providers
• Other Internal and/or external contacts: Project research partners and institutions.

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture/Agricultural Economics, Disaster and Risk Management, Development Studies, Climate Studies/Natural Resource Management, Food Security studies, Livelihood studies, Rural Development or related discipline or related field
• Minimum of 3 years relevant work experience in the relevant field.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Proven practical experience in cash and rural livelihoods programming. Past experience in working on early recovery projects as an FSL/ERD Officer is also an advantage.
• Coordination experience with different partners and stakeholders.

Language Skills: 

• Good written and spoken English. Ability to communicate in local languages (Hausa and indigenous Languages in Adamawa will be an added advantage).