JD Unique ID: 72775
Job Title: Capacity Development Officer – Youth in Work Project
Company: Self Help Africa
Location: Sokoto with field visits to Zamfara State
Contract type: Fixed term contract, full-time (local recruitment)
Period: 2 years (subject to donor contract)
Reports to: Capacity Development Coordinator
Organisation overview:
About Self Help Africa
Self Help Africa (SHA) is an international development organisation headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and dedicated to the vision of ‘Sustainable livelihoods and healthy lives for all in a changing climate’.
Founded in 1969 and working across 17 countries, 15 of which are in sub-Saharan Africa while subsidiary organisations, ‘Self Help Brazil’ and ‘Self Help Bangladesh’, have been created for our programmes in the two countries where we are working outside of Africa. SHA has been operating in Nigeria for over 25 years (formerly as United Purpose and Concern Universal).
Our wider organisation also includes social enterprise subsidiaries: Partner Africa – which provides ethical auditing and consultancy services, TruTrade – an innovative trading platform in East Africa, and CUMO – Malawi’s largest micro-finance provider.
In early 2023, we launched a new five-year organisation strategy, which outlines our mission of alleviating hunger, poverty, social inequality and the impact of climate change through community-led, market-based and enterprise-focused approaches, so that people can have access to nutritious food, clean water, decent employment and incomes, while sustaining natural resources.
Our three core values are:
▪ Impact: We are accountable, ambitious and committed to systemic change.
▪ Innovation: We are agile, creative and enterprising in an ever-changing world.
▪ Community: We are inclusive, honest and have integrity in our relationships.
To achieve our organisational mission, we work across numerous sectors, such as Agriculture, Climate & Environment, Energy, Enterprise, Nutrition, and Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH).
Project description
SHA is partnering with the World Food Programme to implement the Strengthening Food Systems project to Promote Increased Value Chain Employment Opportunities for the Youth in Nigeria-Northwest (Sokoto and Zamfara). Strengthening Food Systems project aims to strengthen food systems that promote increased value chain employment opportunities for the youth; sustaining and improving on-farm and off-farm job opportunities for 25,000 young women and young men engaged in the different nodes of sorghum, millet, soya bean, groundnut, and horticulture value chains.
The project will focus on capacity building interventions for existing enterprises, using this as an avenue to create employment opportunities for youth and women in Sokoto and Zamfara States.
Job Purpose:
SHA is looking for a dynamic Capacity Development professional with expertise to conduct capacity development (training of trainers, implementation of business model design and establishing linkages to additional business development services), foster strong, collaborative relationships with partner institutions and additional business development service providers to increase participants access to markets and income.
S/he will oversee implementation of trainings and provision of additional business development services to Medium, Small and Micro Enterprise (MSME) and ensure all project activities are planned and delivered according to donor and SHA standards.
Key Responsibilities:
Participants Profiling and Capacity Strengthening
- Support mapping, mobilisation and profiling of programme participants at inception using set criteria in clustering.
- Support strategic capacity development plan, in line with the project activity implementation Plan and SHA operational guidelines.
- Lead Business model design for enterprise development and facilitate the development of simplified/easy to use training resources.
- Implement, monitor and evaluate capacity building strategies for increased effectiveness of Enterprise Development Systems.
- Ensure quality delivery of entrepreneurship training and capacity building activities in the project, including adequacy and suitability of training modules.
- Oversee capacity development implementation (Training of Trainers) and work closely with the Capacity Development Coordinator on the overall capacity development strategy for the project.
- Support the capacity development of community level project staff including Business Facilitators, Enumerators etc. providing tailored trainings and hands-on mentorship.
Effective Collaboration, Representation and Project Quality Assurance
- Organise and foster strong, collaborative relationships with partner institutions and additional business development service providers.
- Represent organisation where needed, including at technical meetings as well as state clusters on capacity development.
- Ensure capacity development quality assurance and oversight, which includes regular field visits in Sokoto and Zamfara States.
- Develop monthly, quarterly and annual progress reports and report to the Capacity Building Coordinator according to set format on the progress of work plan objectives and activities.
Transparency, Compliance and safeguarding
- Employ the highest standards of openness, transparency and accountability to ensure good financial management in line with SHA’s zero-tolerance approach to fraud, bribery and corruption.
- Demonstrate commitment to safeguarding, protection, gender mainstreaming and inclusion of vulnerable population including people with disabilities
- Provide support to established feedback, complaints and response mechanism across implementation communities to ensure programmatic and operational decisions are informed by local perspectives and priorities, and contribute to the protection of program participants at the LGA level
Key Relationships:
Internal: Global Enterprise Advisor, Programme, Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning, Finance & Admin, Operations & Procurement and Communications teams.
External: Training and Development Providers, Partner Organisations, Professional Networks, Community Stakeholders, Consultants and Subject Matter Experts, Relevant Government Agencies, Educational Institutions.
Knowledge, Experience and Other Requirements
Education and other qualifications:
- University degree in agribusiness, Business Administration, Economics, or any other related social sciences.
- ICT operation, and proficiency in MS Office.
- Minimum of 4 years working experience in the development sector/INGO/NGO/Social Enterprise, specifically on projects focused on capacity development and/or learner-centred training methodologies and coaching.
Experience and Skills:
- Excellent coordination skills (and ability to coordinate several tasks at once and managing priorities)
- Effective communication, problem solving and decision-making
- Respect for cultural diversity and gender sensitivity
- Monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning
- Communication, networking, facilitation and mobilisation
- Organisational development
- Reporting and documentation
Language Requirements:
Excellent written and oral proficiency in English language is required and working knowledge of Hausa language is required.
Application Procedure:
The full job description can be downloaded here.
Fill and send the attached Self Help Africa application form and also send your cover letter and CV in a single document (of not more than 6 pages) to the following link.
Email title must be the same as the position you are applying for and the location of the position.
In the cover letter, please ensure to explain the following:
- Why you are applying for the position.
- How do your skills and experiences meet the job’s specification
- When will you be able to take up the position if successful.
The deadline for this application is 22nd January, 2025 at 5pm. You are advised to apply early, as applications will be treated on a rolling basis. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
All candidates offered a job with Self Help Africa will be expected to sign our Safeguarding Policies and Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents. Specific roles may require Police/DBS vetting.
Self Help Africa strives to be an equal opportunity employer.
