Position Overview:
Based in the coastal town of Fort Dauphin in the south east of Madagascar this internship will provide support to the school building and English language projects run through the NGO. The successful candidate will work within a combined Malagasy and International team to assist in developing projects and writing proposals relating to our work in English language capacity building and Schools infrastructure to secure funding, supporting with the implementation of projects and evaluating their success. The role is predominantly office-based, and the diversity of activities undertaken will provide a wide ranging experience for a development professional who can effectively and efficiently deal with a comprehensive range of tasks related to the complex world of overseas development work.
Initially an internship for the first three months before moving on to a Project Officer position, this post is voluntary and unsalaried for the full 12 months. It would therefore be ideal for someone with some experience or a passion to learn, and would be essential in-country experience for anyone wishing to begin a career in international development.
Title: Project Development Intern for initial 3 months, change of title and responsibilities to Project Development Officer subject to passing probationary review.
Location: Fort Dauphin, Anosy Region, Madagascar
Timeframe: 12 months extendable
Probationary period: 3 months.
Contract: Voluntary, unsalaried, 12 months.
Reporting to: Head of Project Development (Environment, Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods)
Primary responsibilities:
Development of new projects (including funding searches); preparation and editing of proposals and reports; information formatting; monitoring and evaluation of current projects; researching International best practice; liaison with the London project development team and local staff.
Core duties:
- Compile funding proposals based on past evaluation, team discussion and International best practice in an engaging and professional manner. Compile funding proposals to a high standard of English based on past evaluation, team discussion and International best practice in an engaging and professional manner
- Support development of projects that fulfil local need and sit within the aims of SEED for poverty reduction and environmental conservation in the aforementioned sectors, taking into account research findings, local needs and constraints, government objectives and SEED’s previous experience
- Write project reports to a high standard of English that clearly demonstrate the successes and challenges of the conservation projects, learning from the project and give clear budgetary information
- Conduct internet searches for potential donors to fund the programme and relating projects
- Conduct research into International best practice with regard to environment, conservation and sustainable livelihoods programmes and take the lead in discussing these with the team.
- Take a leading role in ensuring that all of the statistics relating to the projects are accurate
- Take an active role in project management meetings, leading these where appropriate
- Work with the Malagasy team in increasing their skills and capacity, providing mentoring or training where appropriate
- Assist in developing monitoring and evaluation tools for projects and to work with the team in the field on implementing these
- Analyse data and be able to clearly and concisely present to the team, with demonstrable ability in gathering and assimilating information from various sources, compiling documents (reports and proposals), and identifying lessons learnt and best practice
- Work alongside the Head of Project Development and Head of Finance in developing and managing the budgets relating to projects
- Take the lead in writing social media for the environment, conservation and sustainable livelihoods projects
- Form part of the team representing projects or SEED when required
- Liaise with the UK team in London ensuring clear communication at all times
- Maintain a database of projects and funders alongside the UK team in London and maintain the database of photographs for projects
- Take an active part in international team meetings and the support to other members of the team
- Complete other ad-hoc tasks as required by the Conservation Programme Co-ordinator, Head of Project Development or Director of Operations and Heads of Departments to further the aims and work of the organisation
Person specification:
- Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to SEED’s ethos and approach and be a good ambassador for SEED at all times
- Have passion, curiosity and motivation for the job and the ability to enthuse others
- Have the ability and desire to work with teams from different economic and cultural backgrounds and across multiple language barriers
- Have the ability and desire to build capacity and share skills across cultures
- Demonstrate proven ability to recognise and appropriately deal with challenging situations
- Demonstrate an awareness of and comfort with increased social and professional responsibility, working at all times with cultural sensitivity and respect
- Demonstrate the ability, social skills and confidence to give clear guidance and support to other members of the team in respect of the philosophy and procedures of SEED in order to protect both their safety and the reputation of the NGO
- Be punctual and be able to work to tight deadlines in an organised manner and to a high standard
- Have a flexible and patient attitude
- Have excellent problem-solving skills
- Be able to work both independently and as part of a team
Practicalities:
The successful candidate will:
- Be able to financially support themself for the duration of their internship (advice on individual fundraising available)
- Need to bring their own laptop computer (non-tablet kind)
Country and organisation background:
Madagascar is one of the most impoverished and least developed countries in the world, ranking 151/187 on the UNDP 2013 Human Development Index. Within the remote Anosy region in the southeast of the country, the effects of chronic poverty are seen at their most extreme. More than four fifths of the local population earn less than the global poverty line of $1.25/day (UNDP, 2013), half of school-aged children have never been to school and, of those who do attend, more than a third do not complete primary education (UNESCO, 2012). Additionally, 45% of children and young people are involved in income-generating activities (INSTAT, 2010), which keep them from attending formal education. As a result, while the illiteracy rate in Madagascar as a whole is 36% (UNESCO, 2009), in the Anosy region the illiteracy rate is 65%, rising as high as 73% in rural areas (INSTAT, 2010). The Anosy region is separated into three districts (Fort Dauphin, Aboasary and Betroky) and while the Fort Dauphin district has a population of over a quarter of a million people (District Tolagnaro, 2013), fewer than 200 students pass their Baccalaureate through public schools each year (CISCO, 2014).
Prior to 2009, Madagascar was making slow but definite progress towards the Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education, through a number of initiatives including a recruitment drive for FRAM teachers, subsidised school fees for parents, and a variety of grants and financial support mechanisms targeted towards rural schools. However, political instability since the coup in 2009 has led to an 82% fall in national investment in education (World Bank, 2011), significantly impacting on the quality of education available to the island’s children and young people, who constitute some 43% of the population (UN DESA, 2010). It is hoped that increased political stability following recent elections will eventually halt or reverse this decline, but for the moment schools in the Anosy region are over-capacity and classes are delivered by poorly trained and under-motivated teachers on unsustainably low salaries. With population growth of 3% per year (World Bank, 2013), demand for infrastructure, training, resources and staff is immediate and urgent.
SEED is a British registered charity partnered with a Malagasy NGO which has been operating in the impoverished Anosy region of south east Madagascar for over 15 years. SEED works with and in support of urban and rural communities in southeast Madagascar, aiming to tackle the immediate effects of extreme poverty, support long-term development and protect the environment. Its central mission is to build the capacity of individuals and organisations to lead and support sustainable conservation and development initiatives in south east Madagascar, with the objective of securing local community access to quality health, education and livelihoods assets, and increasing local capacity to conserve and manage natural resources including unique but greatly endangered forest environments. SEED’s education projects are predominantly focused on the construction of primary, middle and secondary schools, however it has become apparent that public primary schools in the Anosy region are having difficulties recruiting, paying and training teachers, a situation exacerbated by the effects of the 2009 political crisis, and one that is particularly notable in remote rural villages.
How to apply:
Interested applicants should send a CV and covering letter outlining how their skills and experience match the requirements in the role description criteria to [email protected]. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Long-listed applicants will be contacted for an initial informal chat with Madagascar based staff and short-listed applicants will then be offered a face-to-face interview with the London team in-person.
More Information
- Job City Fort Dauphin