About Self Help Africa
 
Established in 1984, Self Help Africa is an international development organisation that works through agriculture and agri-enterprise development to address hunger, poverty, social inequality and the impacts of climate change. We believe that equitable economic development is key to lifting communities out of long-term poverty, empowering them to take control of their futures and improving their quality of life.
 
Our current five-year organisation strategy, defines our mission as the alleviation of 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.

Job Purpose:

The Regional Liaison Officer will play an important role in the implementation of a project co-implemented with WFP under a project title – “Provide an integrated package of climate-adaptive livelihood support, anticipatory action and climate services for at-risk communities, particularly small-scale producers, other value chain actors, women and young people in Amhara region”. Working closely with Area Project Coordinator, Team Lead and country teams, the post-holder will support the overall activities related to management, coordination and implementation of project’s intervention in the project woredas and kebeles. The Regional Liaison Officer particularly will be responsible to manage project officers and Community Development Facilitators who will be recruited for Libo Kemkem woreda and any additional project woredas that may be included as operational area in South Gonder Zone or East Gojam Zone.

The post-holder will be responsible for liaising with regional partners on project matters, and tasks given by the country office, assisting the project team in performing project management at regional level and supporting project based activities to contribute to the realization of projects and organizational objectives. The post-holder will contribute for planning, design, implementation, and reporting of project activities, particularly in East Gojam and South Gonder. The ideal candidate will combine technical expertise in agriculture (crop production, Livestock husbandry, irrigation agronomy), and livelihood development with practical problem-solving skills. The Regional Liaison Officer will play a key role in promoting networking at regional level in consultation with Area Project Coordinator, ensuring effective long-term partnership and communication with WFP sub office at Bahir Dar and Dessie and all signatory regional bureaus and stakeholders. The Regional Liaison Officer will also be responsible for conducting routine supervision and providing technical support for Project Officers and Community Development Facilitators.

Key Responsibilities:

Proposal development

• Contribute to current and new funding opportunities related to agriculture (crop production, Livestock husbandry, irrigation agronomy), and livelihood development
• Contribute to project proposal development; write and edit proposal content; ensure timely submission of contribution during proposal development and follow up with donors for feedback related agriculture (crop production, Livestock husbandry, irrigation agronomy), and livelihood development
• Facilitate regional level consultation meetings, prepare summary presentations and develop meeting notes.
• Work closely with colleagues in the country office, who led project design, to contribute to the assessment, research and design of projects for specific donor funding opportunities.
• Work closely with country office colleagues and project area office to facilitate effective communication and partnership with institutional donors during appraisal of project proposal.

Project Implementation

• Build effective networks, communication and relationships with regional, zonal and woreda stakeholders to facilitate the efficient delivery of project services and contribute to project management as required.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with key stakeholders to facilitate implementation of projects, planning and review activities; and ensure that all stakeholder perspectives and requirements are considered.
• Coordinate the project team’s efforts in resource mobilization and participate in building and maintaining a network of key partners and contacts in all regional sector and among the donor staff and keeping abreast of evolving trends in the region and country.
• Consult and advise all stakeholders on the delivery of projects activities to facilitate efficiency, consistency and high-quality outputs and outcomes.
• Support “Provide an integrated package of climate-adaptive livelihood support, anticipatory action and climate services for at-risk communities, particularly small-scale producers, other value chain actors, women and young people in Amhara region” Area Project Coordinator, Team leader with implementation of all project related activities, reporting, monitoring, and coordination at project area and country office level.
• In collaboration with Team Leader, Area Project Coordinator and Field staff prepare detail implementation plan including weekly, monthly and quarterly plan. Follow up, support and supervise the timely implementation of the planned activities within the planned timeframe.
• Coach and support technical team in the project area and field level Project Officers in management and implementation of all project activities and provide advice on best practice and approaches.
• Support the development, implementation and continuous improvement of Project Portfolio governance and reporting to deliver practical and robust processes, tools, and templates.
• Support the project team to raise organisational capability in all aspects of the project implementation and management; and where required, perform all project management related activities as an embedded role to ensure an effective and efficient delivery of project objectives.
• Ensure that beneficiaries are engaged and their participation is assured during development of implementation plans for all activities.
• Collaborate with field staff and woreda, zonal, and regional bureau teams to ensure effective project activity implementation in alignment with government priorities and as per the project agreement.
• The follow-up the day-to-day work priorities, workplan, and guarantee completion of activities.
• Advise on technical and social aspects of agricultural production activities in the project to promote livelihoods of farmers with improved technologies and practices.
• Lead capacity building of partners on agriculture and livelihood particularly on crop and livestock production.
• In collaboration with project team members, be responsible for offering extension services to farmers to help improvement of food access and livelihoods with a more diversified income sources and capital assets
• Manage and maintain effective working relationships with the project team to deliver high quality services to beneficiaries.
• Ensure that team members in the area of assignment are provided with tools, resources, and constructive feedback to enhance their performance and achieve program objectives.
• Develop and advise strategies to achieve project targets within project woredas and zones within the established timeframe.
• Support distribution of project inputs and ensure that distribution modalities are adhered to and input distribution management procedures are strictly followed.
• Support and proactively participate in the realization of planned early warning and anticipatory action system to detect, report, investigate and respond to disaster risks in the project implementation woredas and kebeles.
• Conduct joint supportive supervision, mentorship, and monitoring of activities in collaboration with stakeholders and community representatives to ensure quality implementation and project results.
• Identify capacity-building needs and support designing and implementation of training and mentorship programs for technical staff at field level.
• Facilitate comprehensive supportive supervision and monitoring visits with stakeholders to evaluate program progress and ensure high-quality implementation.
• Coordinate and facilitate program planning and review workshops with regional stakeholders, donors, and beneficiaries to assess performance and promote learning.
• Prepare and submit weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual project activity reports aligned with organizational and donor reporting standards. This may include preparation of appropriate and regular project report (budget and narrative reporting) are prepared weekly, monthly and quarterly and submitted to projects donor/government.
• Continuously assess beneficiary needs in target areas and adjust programmatic priorities based on findings and emerging challenges in collaboration with all stakeholders and project management at all levels.
• Commit to supporting efforts to prevent and respond to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) allegations and adhere to SHA and WFP Code of Conduct.
• Strengthen the team’s commitment to Gender Equality, Diversity, and Social Inclusion principles.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of MEL system and tools to track project progress, document learning, and assess program impact.
• Work closely with the M&E team to ensure consistent quality and accountability across all project activities.
• Contribute to the establishment of learning platform to share insights and lessons with similar projects within the region, enhancing program effectiveness.
• Collaborate with project team to undertake post implementation reviews and analysis whilst providing guidance and recommending solutions to key stakeholders. This may include Analysing, assessing and report on projects activities and outputs and provide recommendations to improve project and portfolio performance.
• Contribute to the development of visibility, communication and impact story materials. Ensure quality assurance of all activity documentation to safeguard all aspects of projects are accurately captured in high quality documents.
• Regularly contribute to review and adjustment of implementation plans to align with project goals, using insights from monitoring and evaluation findings.
• Oversee and ensure the necessary technical knowledge is provided to partners and beneficiaries.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Liaise with regional authorities and stake holders to ensure effective coordination, implementation, and monitoring of the overall project.
• Liaise and collaborate with relevant local authorities (woreda and kebele) and other key stakeholders.
• Manage and implement delegated portfolio of projects (activities, budget and project documentation) in line with proposals, strategies and donor requirements, and ensure high technical quality
• Assist in preparation of various communication materials, follow up letters/reminders/ notices for the partners, donors and contractors.
• Represent SHA and the project at regional and woreda levels.
• Responsible for the coordination, planning, and implementation of project activities.
• Coordinate and supervise activities to be undertaken in collaboration with implementing partners.
• Assist in organizing seminars or workshops on relevant contract management challenges and lessons learned.
• Prepare training materials and disseminating information on irrigation water.
• Undertake feasibility studies and preliminary investigations.
• Prepare project reporting on regular bases (weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually). Provide regular progress reports to Area Project Coordinator.
• Follow up and support Implementation of planned activities.
• Organize meetings with all project stakeholders.
• Collect and compiling data for all project activities as needed.
• Provide technical advice to line manager, project staff, partners and contractors.
• Conduct capacity building for project team and partners.
• Promote and share ideas for improvement and necessary changes in project activities.
• Ensure that projects target beneficiaries most in need of protection are supported. Explore and asses new and better ways in provision of development assistance.
• Uphold accountability to beneficiaries by aligning project activities with international development standards.
• Perform any other duties as may be requested by the project Area coordinator and Country Office

Key Relationships:

Internal

• Area Project Coordinator (Line Manager)
• Project Field Team
• Team Leader
• Country office level program advisors
• Heads of Programmes
• Country Directors

Knowledge, Experience and Other Requirements:
Technical/Functional

• Strong written and oral communication skills, effective in representation and liaison with external parties. Experience with coordination and advocacy in NGO setting. Technical skill that enables to Serve as primary focal person for liaising with local authorities and communities.
• Strong interpersonal communication and facilitation skills.
• Ability to work with minimum and remote supervision.
• Ability to coordinate community-based committees.
• Ability to effectively coordinate with local authorities and implementing NGOs and partners.
• Excellent understanding of the socio-economic challenges of the project area and knowledge of cultural set-up of the community.
• Proven knowledge and experience in undertaking activities aimed at improvement of agriculture and livelihoods. Practical experiences in design and implementation of agriculture, livelihood improvement, disaster risk redaction and anticipatory action, financial inclusion, irrigation development, and food security projects.
• Proven agriculture sector experience, or experience supporting smallholder farmers in livelihood recovery.
• Strong understanding of smallholder farming system and Amhara region farming systems.
• Familiarity with implementation of disaster risk reduction, climate smart agriculture, nutrition sensitive agriculture, post-harvest loss management, financial inclusion, modern irrigation technologies and best practices.
• Must be capable of applying skills and knowledge in a range of capacities, including direct data collection and analysis, implementation, advisory functions, training, and the transfer of technical knowledge and leadership skills to others i.e. Competence in windows-based software with focus on data analysis and presentation.
• Experience in applying geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing tools for soil and water conservation as well as watershed management.
• Verifiable skill in in project monitoring and evaluation.
• Experience/knowledge in procurement/tendering process. Experience/knowledge in project management with UN, private or public sector and the international organizations.
• Demonstrated experience in implementation of irrigation projects in Ethiopia and under challenging operational context. Work experience in more than one region of Ethiopia.
• Works well in and promotes teamwork, comfortable in a multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to translate technical expertise into simple messages that can be communicates to medium- and small-size landowners and small farmers.
• Experience in carrying out similar activities in conflict areas will be an added advantage.
• Good in quality report writing using both Excel and word. Incumbent is expected to perform under minimum supervision.
• Incumbent is expected to perform under pressure.

Essential