Senior Project Officer - Disaster Risk Reduction at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

About DRIVE

The Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery in Vulnerable Environments (DRIVE) project is a two-year integrated multi-sectoral intervention funded under USAID/BHA starting in October 2024. Building on the experience and achievements of the Transitioning Households to Recovery from Vulnerability (THRIVE) project, DRIVE will provide a coordinated package of life-sustaining and life-building early recovery interventions to vulnerable but productive households in targeted communities of MMC/Jere. Working in partnership with  the Justice, Development and Peace Commission( JDPC), DRIVE will target 22,000 households, both settled internally displaced people (IDP) and host community members. DRIVE will coordinate with and build the capacity of the Borno State Government ( BSG) to operationalize integrated early recovery interventions and strengthen community leadership in DRR, recovery and social cohesion. 

Job Summary

Under the direction of the PMI DRR, you will  support the implementation of DRR activities and provide technical capacity building  and supervision  to the JDPC DRR team.  You will work collaboratively as a team member with the other DRIVE sector leads, especially the SPOs Social Cohesion and Government Liaison  to  equip communities with skills to prepare  for and manage disasters in their communities.  You will   guide  the  JDPC  DRR team to support communities to self-organize and  identify hazards. Using a participatory process,  you will   support JDPC to facilitate community managed disaster plans (CMDP) for each target community  that prioritize actions for risk reduction.  In collaboration with the Social Cohesion team, you will  engage targeted participants in social cohesion capacity building. Under the leadership of the PM I DRR,  will work with the JDPC team to  plan, sequence, and layer all sector interventions to achieve optimal integration and impact for the poor and vulnerable.  In collaboration with the  SPO Governance you  will facilitate JDPC DRR team to orient, engage   and collaborate with state government stakeholders in  BOSEPA, LEMA, SEMA  to support DRIVE’s  community DRR planning and implementation. You will also   provide support to JDPC on  planning, coordination, implementation, monitoring, program quality and reporting for DRR  activities  on DRIVE. Your management and facilitation  skills and knowledge will ensure that DRIVE delivers high-quality, cost effective and locally appropriate programming, and continuously works towards improving the impact of its interventions. 

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Support  JDPC in the implementation of all DRR  activities from  project design, start-up, implementation and close-out. These activities  include mobilizing  and orienting community stakeholders on  DRR  planning, supporting community based recreational activities, facilitating  participatory community engagement on CMDPs,  engaging and providing capacity building to BOSEPA, LEMA and SEMA; 
• Mentor and support the JDPC DRR  team in the correct use of the appropriate CRS program planning, implementation and reporting tools;
• Coordinate  DRR interventions with DRIVE activities  in ERMS and Livelihoods sectors;
• Facilitate and support JDPC’s engagement with key BSG ministries for technical support  to DRIVE sector implementation and monitoring, including  BOESPA, LEMA and SEMA;  
• Support the JDPC team in the planning and implementation of all market-based  input activities, including participant identification, validation, training, mobilization, distribution, follow up and utilization; 
• Support learning with project staff and partner teams. Analyze and evaluate project performance data following MEAL policy. Proactively identify issues and concerns and use participatory processes to overcome implementation obstacles. 
• Support project design and proposal development in respective programming area, gap-filling and taking on growth responsibilities, as needed.
• Support in the identification of staff capacity and technical assistance needs of the  JDPC DRR team   provide capacity strengthening and required interventions to support quality project implementation. 
• Help identify, assess, and strengthen partnerships relevant to DRR; 

Required Languages – English and Hausa are essential. Knowledge of one or more of the languages spoken in Maiduguri, such as Kanuri or Shuwa Arabic is an advantage 

Travel - The post is based in Maiduguri and includes 40% travel to field locations in MMC/Jere. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Project  design, planning and management experience in  DRR is essential;
• Strong critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills with ability to make sound judgment.
• Demonstrable capacities in team working and   cross-sectoral planning and implementation.
•  Strong relationship management skills and the ability to work effectively with culturally diverse groups 
• Experience in managing relationships and performance in a consortium with local partners; 
• Strong representational capacities and skills in collaborating with  government stakeholders.
• Strong facilitation and communication skills; 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with ability to write reports and make presentations.
• Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented.
• Strong capacities in MEAL and reporting, including capturing learning and adapting interventions based on  implementation and feedback;
•  Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience contributing to the development of technical proposals.
•  Experience using CommCare and Power BI is an advantage.
• Experience of using market-based mechanisms and CVA modalities, including the RedRose platform, for provision of agriculture and livelihood inputs to project participants is desirable

Supervisory Responsibilities: None

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: PM IDRR,  SPO MEALr,  SPO Government Liaison, SPO Social cohesion,  other DRIVE sector leads, Senior Admin  and Security Officer staff in Maiduguri  

External – Sector coordination forums, JDPC  DRR team, BOSEPA, SEME, LEMA. 

Basic Qualifications

• BSc  in  agriculture or  a related   science based subject  Additional experience may substitute for some education;
• Two years’ experience in Northeast Nigeria in the implementation of similar projects;
• One year’s experience supporting DRR interventions in peri-urban locations with settled IDPs, host communities and returnees.