Zimbabwe: Humanitarian Project Officer

Humanitarian Project Officer, Zimbabwe

Trócaire is the overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland. Established in 1973, the organisation has been supporting programmes in Zimbabwe from pre independence.. Trócaire now has an office in Zimbabwe which was opened in 2010 and operates under the auspices of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC).

Trócaire Zimbabwe works through local partners who implement programmes in the three thematic areas stated above. Trócaire has been monitoring the developments in the humanitarian sector through partners, attending meetings and keeping up with the documentation on the humanitarian situation unfolding in Zimbabwe. In light of the increasing vulnerability of large numbers of people to hunger, Trócaire has decided to engage in a humanitarian response.

Previously Trócaire worked on humanitarian interventions as a standalone thematic area and transitioned into livelihoods in 2013 when the humanitarian situation in the country improved. The partners from the humanitarian intervention are now working in livelihoods work. They will implement the humanitarian intervention and still continue to work on the livelihoods programme. Trócaire is therefore seeking the services of a Humanitarian project officer who will work directly with the Livelihoods Programme Officer as well as collaborate with the rest of the programme team.

The purpose of this role is to ensure effective support in the development and management of Trócaire Zimbabwe’s humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery plans. The project is integrated within the Livelihoods Programme and will work closely with the HIV and Civil Society Support thematic areas. The Livelihoods thematic area currently supports interventions on water for livelihoods; crop production and diversification; Income and Climate Change policy formulation.

Integrated humanitarian preparedness and response is a key cornerstone of the new strategy, aiming to save lives and protect assets of targeted communities. This position requires a high profile in:

· Supporting the development and rollout of capacity strengthening plans for partners to prepare for a humanitarian response.

· Supporting the implementation of an integrated quality and accountable humanitarian response. .

Since Trócaire works through a partnership approach, this role will involve building strong relationships with, and providing accompaniment to, local partner organizations as well as strengthening relationships with other relevant stakeholders, including with other humanitarian agencies, humanitarian networks and local government authorities in the areas of operation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Project Leadership and Management:

· In collaboration with the Livelihoods Programme Officer facilitate the design and implementation of humanitarian preparedness and response activities through partner organisations.

· Coordinate and monitor field project activities on an ongoing basis and ensure compliance with project deadlines.

· Assist partners to conduct rapid assessments

· Oversee financial management, logistics and administrative tasks at the project level for all partners.

· Work with the Livelihoods Programme officer, Finance staff and the partner teams to monitor expenditure against the budget and ensure that any necessary corrective actions are taken in a timely manner.

· Ensure that Trócaire’s and respective donor financial guidelines and administrative procedures are adhered to and that grant finances are kept in track, jointly with the Livelihoods Programme Officer and finance teams.

Programme Quality

· With the support of the Livelihoods Programme Officer, Programme Accountant and in coordination with partners, ensure that consolidated project narrative and financial reports are compiled in time for review and submission to the respective donors.

· In liaison with the Livelihoods Programme Officer and M+E Officer, ensure that effective monitoring, evaluation and learning (M&EL) systems are in place and rolled out for the humanitarian component

· Conduct ongoing monitoring of activities to draw lessons learned and propose corrective measures where necessary.

· Conduct field visits and on-site inspections to ensure that the project is implemented in accordance with the agreed proposals and in-line with Trócaire and respective donor standards and requirements and international humanitarian principles and standards.

· Participate in ongoing capacity building and technical support to implementing partners to promote adherence to minimum standards, particularly in relation to the Core Humanitarian Standards, protection mainstreaming, accountability, emergency preparedness and programme cycle management.

· Develop funding proposals in collaboration with the Regional Institutional Funding Officer and Livelihoods PO.

· Coordinate with other Trócaire team members as well as with partner staff on the evaluation of project activities, documenting lessons learned through case studies, review workshops etc.

Project Coordination, Communications and Partner Management

· Organize and facilitate project coordination meetings and workshops

· Facilitate timely project field visits and reports as necessary.

· Ensure close coordination and communication with the Livelihoods Programme Officer on project progress, compliance issues and key challenges for timely action.

· Support the Livelihoods Programme Officer to consolidate and strengthen project relationships with key project stakeholders, including local partner organizations, other international organisations and government authorities.

Other Duties

Fulfil other duties and responsibilities as they arise

Qualifications and Experience

· Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, humanitarian assistance, or any other related area

· At least 5 years’ experience in the humanitarian sector in a programmatic role, including designing and implementation of preparedness and response programmes

· Experience of supporting the development and rollout of emergency preparedness, contingency plans and response

· Experience of working with, and a demonstrated understanding of, humanitarian standards and principles of good practice

· Experience of working with multi-stakeholders in the humanitarian sector

· Experience in programme cycle management and capacity building of partners

· Experience of developing programme documentation for a range of donors

· Experience with market based humanitarian response initiatives such as – Cash, vouchers,

e-transfers, Food for Assets etc.

· Experience with coordinating and linking with the UN and other cluster systems in Zimbabwe

· Experience in working with local partners

How to apply:

Closing date is 19 February 2016

Please send CV and cover letter to: sandisiwe.dube@trocaire.org and cc donna.nyadete@trocaire.org including Humanitarian Project Officer in the subject line.

Unfortunately due to the large number of applications that we receive, we are not able to respond to each individual applicant. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

How to apply:

Closing date is 19 February 2016

Please send CV and cover letter to: sandisiwe.dube@trocaire.org and cc donna.nyadete@trocaire.org including Humanitarian Project Officer in the subject line.

Unfortunately due to the large number of applications that we receive, we are not able to respond to each individual applicant. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.