Position Title: Technical Officer, Food Security and Livelihood
Location: Maiduguri
Supervisor: Consortium Coordinator
Project Description:
Northeast Nigeria is currently facing a growing humanitarian crisis with a vast number of Internally Displaced Persons in need of emergency assistance. These IDPs are living among host communities, lacking access to livelihoods and resources, ultimately leading to unprecedented levels of malnutrition and food insecurity. FHI 360 has been working in Nigeria for over 30 years and is now expanding activities in Borno state to respond to the IDP crisis.
FHI 360 is expanding its expertise by responding to this humanitarian crisis through multi-sectoral interventions.
Basic Function:
Under the overall supervision of the Consortium Coordinator, S/he will take a leadership role, providing oversight and guidance to the design and implementation of activity interventions in the Consortium. The Technical Officer, Food Security and Livelihoods will work with consortium partners to manage staff in programs and technical units, to ensure the successful implementation and adaptive management of the program. S/He will play a significant role in coordination with consortium partners and other stakeholders, including program participants, local partners, and the private sector. S/He would possess substantial experience in livelihoods as well as managing complex, multi-year USAID/BHA or other international donor-funded programs.
The Technical Officer, Food Security and Livelihood supports the Consortium partners to enable them to respond more effectively to the needs of the affected population by ensuring a coordinated approach across sites and organizations, facilitating consortium activities and contributing to the development and maintenance of a strategic vision and operational response plan. S/He ensures coordination on inter-sector activities and cross-cutting issues.
Duties & Responsibilities:
- Ensure partners develop comprehensive and evidence-based approach to strengthening livelihoods and increase incomes that ensures vulnerable households are able to meet basic food and nutrition needs in addition to becoming more economically secure.
- Ensure partners design innovative, market-based approaches that engage both the public and private sector in addressing critical barriers to consistently profitable livelihoods. These approaches should build the food and income generating capacity of populations, limit or eliminate subsidies, and increase the likelihood of sustained outcomes. Interventions should address on-farm, off-farm, and/or non-farm livelihoods, specifically prioritizing vulnerable groups.
- Ensure partners manage and mitigate risk through monitoring national and local issues that may impact programming, in close coordination with program staff.
- Ensure partners Manage key functions of the project to meet donor expectations in terms of timely and quality results and budget, ensuring coordination between consortium partners
- Promote, uphold and model a commitment to the efficient use of agency and donor resources. Help ensure compliance with donor grants, including financial tracking and oversight of partner budgets, finance, administration and reporting to the donor.
- Coordinate with partners to Integrate data analysis, reflection, interpretation and use with ongoing project activities, as needed and in coordination with the M&E Lead and SLA.
- Provide regular consortium progress reports to Consortium Manager
- Work closely with the Consortium Coordinator, Sector lead and Consortium partners to ensure technical and administrative implementation of high impact, proven interventions, while ensuring that the project meets stated goals and reporting requirements.
- Maintain relationships with key staff of consortium partner in related areas of responsibility. Coordinate with key staff and consortium partners to carry out activities in accordance with the work plan and timelines for deliverables.
- Manage partnerships with Consortium partners and foster a positive and collaborative working environment inclusive of both local and international, public and private staff and stakeholders working towards program objectives.
- Collaborate with senior management team to achieve activity objectives, while evaluating program effectiveness and determining corrective actions needed to achieve objectives.
- Work with consortium partners to Coach and mentor staff to plan and implement food security activities, including budgeting allocations, procurement, and coordination with relevant stakeholders.
- Create and maintain a staff environment that promotes learning, sharing ideas, solutions, and challenges. Promote staff capacity to detect, analyze and respond quickly to deficiencies. Identify performance gaps and training opportunities for FHI 360 and consortia staff members, recommending trainings and technical assistance needed.
- Perform such other duties as may be assigned by Supervisor.
Knowledge, skills and abilities:
- Demonstrated experience effectively leading large-scale agriculture and livelihood programming intended to improve food, nutrition, and economic security through agricultural production and household resilience.
- Technical familiarity with the Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) sub-purpose themes, including savings and capita, income-generating activities, and agricultural production. The candidate must be considered a technical expert in at least two thematic areas, one of which must be agriculture.
- Demonstrated experience creating effective private sector linkages.
- Demonstrated experience and in-depth understanding of all components of livelihoods sector technical expertise, including selection, planning and management of small business; livelihood resilience and diversification strategies; market linkages; and private sector engagement.
- Experience in agriculture (crop and livestock) including seed systems, market systems, and environmental and cultural constraints to agriculture.
- Demonstrated experience implementing interventions for the development and enhancement of sustainable livelihood interventions including on-farm, off-farm, and/or non-farm livelihoods, from self-employment to small business creation, and demonstrate capacity to lead the collection, analysis, and utilization of information from a broad range of sources.
- Demonstrated experience providing technical guidance and support to the development of livelihood strategies/approaches and developing modules and programming on livelihood creation and expansion.
- Excellent leadership, program, organizational management, and oral and written communication skills.
- Ability to work well within a team, and to complete multiple tasks effectively and efficiently.
- Demonstrated ability to network and engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including program participants, project staff, donors, partners, and the private sector.
- Flexible and adaptable approach to working in a changing environment.
- Experience working on USAID/BHA or other donor-funded programs.
- Deep knowledge of the political, social, and economic context of Northeast Nigeria required.
- Experience working in conflict-affected or insecure areas, with Northeast Nigeria experience preferred. This includes experience implementing programs for fragile contexts and experience working with humanitarian coordination mechanisms.
- Operational familiarity with international humanitarian architecture and core coordination processes for large-scale emergencies.
- Promote Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) standards
- May work in insecure locations with minimal infrastructure or amenities.
Qualifications and requirements:
- MA/MS degree in a relevant academic areaโincluding agrobusiness, agronomy, food security, development studies, etc with 3-5 years of relevant experience with increasing technical responsibility leading to senior level expertise are required.
- BA/BS degree in a related field such as Agricultural, Social Sciences etc with relevant work experience and with increasing technical responsibility leading to senior level expertise are required with Management, or related field with 5 โ 7 years relevant experience.
- Experience in implementation of Food Assistance, Agriculture, Economic recovery and financial market is an added advantage.
- Prior work experience in a non-governmental organization (NGO)
Typical Physical Demands:
- Typical office environment. Ability to sit and stand for extended periods of time; ability to lift 5-50 lbs.
Technology to be Used:
- Personal Computer, Microsoft Office (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), e-mail, telephone, printer, calculator, copier, cell phones, PDAs and other hand held devices.
Travel Requirements:
- Less than 25 %
Safeguarding:
FHI 360 is committed to providing a safe environment for all employees, beneficiaries and anyone contracted by FHI 360. This Includes taking measures to protect vulnerable people from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) by either FHI 360 employees or associated personnel. FHI 360 abides by child safeguarding principles. FHI 360โs Safeguarding Policies apply and flow out to all FHI 360 staff, board members, volunteers, and partner staff (subcontractors, consultants, vendors, and subrecipients), regardless of the funding mechanism or amount of contract, agreement, or purchase order.
This job posting summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. This document should not be construed in any way to represent a contract of employment. Management reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.
FHI 360 is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer whereby we do not engage in practices that discriminate against any person employed or seeking employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.
Our values and commitments to safeguarding: FHI 360 is committed to preventing any type of abuse, exploitation and harassment in our work environments and programs, including sexual abuse, exploitation and harassment. FHI 360 takes steps to safeguard the welfare of everyone who engages with our organization and programs and requires that all personnel, including staff members and volunteers, share this commitment and sign our code of conduct. All offers of employment will be subject to appropriate screening checks, including reference, criminal record and terrorism finance checks. FHI 360 also participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), facilitated by the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response. In line with the MDS, we will request information from job applicantsโ previous employers about any substantiated findings of sexual abuse, exploitation and/or harassment during the applicantโs tenure with previous employers. By applying, job applicants confirm their understanding of these recruitment procedures and consent to these screening checks.
FHI 360 will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws.
FHI 360 fosters the strength and health of its workforce through a competitive benefits package, professional development and policies and programs that support a healthy work/life balance. Join our global workforce to make a positive difference for others โ and yourself.Please click here to continue searching FHI 360's Career Portal.
- Less than 25 %
- Personal Computer, Microsoft Office (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), e-mail, telephone, printer, calculator, copier, cell phones, PDAs and other hand held devices.
- Typical office environment. Ability to sit and stand for extended periods of time; ability to lift 5-50 lbs.
- Prior work experience in a non-governmental organization (NGO)