Project Coordinator, Food Security and Livelihoods 128 views0 applications

Background

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with 192 member National Societies. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, our work is guided by seven fundamental principles; humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.

Organizational Context

The Secretariat’s headquarters is organized into four main Business Groups in Geneva, and five Business Groups in the field, namely; Americas (Panama City); Africa (Nairobi); Asia/Pacific (Kuala Lumpur); Europe (Budapest); Middle East and North Africa (Beirut). The Africa Regional Office is organized in Country Cluster Support Teams (CCST) covering the National Societies in Eastern Africa, Indian Ocean Islands and Djibouti, Southern Africa, West Coast, Sahel and Central Africa as well as Country Offices in Sudan, Republic of South Sudan, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Niger and Central Africa. The Southern Africa Country Cluster office supports 9 South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Mozambique was hit by two category 4 tropical cyclones (Idai and Kenneth) in one season. Mozambique National Disaster Management Institute (INGC) indicated that 1.5 million people were affected, including more than 140,000 people displaced – many sheltered across 139 evacuation centres, spontaneous settings and makeshift shelters at peak emergency moment. Some 603 people have been confirmed dead as a result of the cyclone, according to the most recent reports issued by INGC. At the same time, more than 1,600 people were injured, and more than 230,000 houses were damaged and destroyed. The cyclone caused damage to these areas, resulting in significant damage and destruction of shelter, health, water and sanitation facilities, as well as large swathes of crops. The areas most impacted are mainly rural, where over 90% of people depend on agriculture and fishing. The loss of productive assets and the destruction of agricultural and fisheries infrastructure is weakening the restoration of livelihoods. Therefore, throughout the recovery phase, food supply must be associated with an investment in restoring resilient livelihoods. The whole southern Africa region has suffered from sustained drought in recent years. Nearly one month later, cyclone Kenneth has hit Northern Mozambique’s coastal province of Cabo Delgado. The cyclone Kenneth has left destructions of houses, standing crops and key installations. The assessment report indicates that over 37,000 houses either have been damaged or destroyed. IFRC has revised Emergency Appeal to assist households affected by cyclone Kenneth. IFRC has launched an Emergency Appeal on 19 March for CHF 31 million which was revised on 06 May for CHF 32 million to assist 172,500 people affected by cyclones Idain and Kenneth for 24 months. The Emergency Appeal operation focuses on shelter, livelihoods and basic needs, health, WATSAN, protection, gender and Inclusion and Disaster Risk Reduction and national society capacity strengthening in emergency.

Job Purpose

Under the technical supervision and guidance of Food security and Livelihoods (FSL) Delegate and in collaboration with Cruz Vermelha de Moçambique (CVM), the Project Coordinator will be responsible for the technical implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the food security and livelihoods intervention in Sofala and Tete Provinces, to achieve programme objectives with the targeted communities affected by Cyclone Idai. The job aims to respond to immediate needs of identified communities and contribute to increase their self-reliance through a variety of activities ranging from covering the basic needs to supporting food security, replacement of productive assets, identification and support of income generating activities, loan and saving groups and community projects aiming to protect and support livelihoods. In the urban context, the activities will aim to improve the income sources through vocational training, employability, and support to IGA’s while connecting with the social protection system to protect livelihoods and cover basic needs.

In agreement with line manager, the job holder will plan and supervise the project, ensuring activities are implemented to a high standard in a timely and professional manner. She/he will also provide technical guidance to staff and volunteers reporting to him/her.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

The job holder will be responsible for the following duties:

• Contribute to increase the food security of targeted households and the self-reliance of communities through the improvement of productivity, income generating activities and market and financial access.
• Be responsible for the technical implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the overall livelihoods components of the programme.
• Work with the management team to plan and effectively deliver all the Food security and livelihoods (FSL) project intervention in a timely manner according to the agreed IFRC’s food security and livelihoods action plan, to best practices and to all internal policies and SOPs to recover and strengthen livelihoods.
• Ensure efficient and transparent use of resources in accordance with internal standards and controls.
• Participate in context analysis and assessments required to assess needs, rank vulnerability, measure food insecurity, carry on market assessments and design gender-sensitive and market-based responses to meet them considering the special needs of women and the vulnerable groups.
• Identify, select and register individuals and households taking into consideration the priority to support vulnerable households affected by the disaster.
• Contribute to the development of new tools and ToR and ensure that all tools and guidelines designed for project activities are in place and used properly.
• Manage/Lead the food security and livelihoods teams, including volunteers by designing detailed project work plans with clear division of responsibilities amongst team members, establishing clear objectives and monitoring progress and performance.
• Provide technical advice, backstopping and training to field officers, field supervisors and volunteers on the implementation of sound technical packages that strengthen the capacities and self-reliance of farmers, fisherfolks, vulnerable groups and rural, urban and peri urban communities.
• Plan and ensure monitoring visits including baselines surveys and Post-distribution Monitoring systems.
• Ensure quality data collection and management for project targeting and monitoring and follow up on indicator progress and achievements.
• Develop and maintain appropriate databases and records for monitoring and evaluating the success of project interventions.
• Analyse the needs in capacity building within the team and propose relevant
• Maintain and develop collaborative relationships with different internal departments (procurement, fleet, logistics, finance, etc) and stakeholders at provincial, district and local level (Direçao Provincial de Agricultura, Servicio distrital de Actividades Economicas, Provincial/District Government, NGOs and other partners operating in the Province and in the District) with active listening skills and problem-solving attitude.
• Work in collaboration with the CVM Provincial, district and local branches staff and volunteers.
• Represent the IFRC/CVM in meetings of Food Security and Livelihoods Sector and other meetings in which it is entrusted by her/his superiors.
• Ensure that cross-cutting protection concerns are considered for all planned interventions.
• Ensure participation of the community in the implementation of programme and that complaint mechanisms are in place and used efficiently.
• Provide a response in Food Security and Livelihoods component in case of emergencies in the areas of intervention (Floods, Cyclones, droughts, etc.).
• Identify areas where improvements can be made to increase impact, identifying and incorporating lessons learned in programme design.
• Assist other activities related to FSL as needed.

Education

• University degree or higher in Project management, International Cooperation, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries, Environment, Business management or related areas (required)
• Relevant educational and/or professional background in livelihoods projects (farming, fisheries, agro-business, vocational training, IGA’s, creation/ support to cooperatives/associations) (required)
• Livelihoods or/and Livelihood Sustainable Framework training (preferred)
• Cash transfer programming training (preferred)

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in the implementation of food security or livelihoods programmes in rural and/or urban context (preferred)
• Experience in emergency response, recovery and resilience building with a humanitarian or development organisation (preferred)
• Experience in creation and capacity development of farming/ fishing communities and/or CBO’s in good agronomic/ fishing practices, farming field schools, cooperatives/ farming associations, vocational training, employability, IGA’s, business development, market based interventions
• Experience in project management including project planning and monitoring, tracking project progress and achievements, developing monitoring tools
• Experience in identifying, selecting, and targeting vulnerable groups
• Experience with budget planning and expenditures monitoring
• Experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analyses
• Proven experience in supervising, managing and supporting staff
• Experience in gender-sensitive livelihoods programming
• Experience in CTP (cash transfer programmes) and in integration with the social protection system (preferred)
• Experience in markets assessments and market-based interventions
• Ability and proven experience in transferring knowledge and skills through formal and informal training of staff and volunteers
• Experience of working and coordinating with other stakeholders, local governmental authorities, partners, food suppliers, traders, …
• Experience of working for the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement (preferred)

Knowledge, skills and languages

• Strong planning and coordination skills in an autonomous way
• Good understanding of project cycle management, including M&E, reporting and budget management
• Problem solving and decision making in the area of responsibility
• Knowledge of Food security and nutrition national policies, HEA / IPC assessment approaches, vulnerability analysis (preferred)
• Knowledge of rural and peri urban context in Sofala and/or Tete Province(preferred)
• Knowledge of climate-smart agricultural practices / Disaster Risk Reduction(preferred)
• Advanced computer skills ( Outlook, Internet, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Knowledge of open source data collection tools (KoBo, ODK…) (preferred)
• Strong communication and facilitation skills
• Strong commitment to team work and ability to work with teams of volunteers
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task and work under pressure
• Willingness and ability to cope with frequent travels to the field locations
• Fluently spoken and written Portuguese
• Working level in spoken and written English
• Knowledge of languages spoken in Sofala /Tete Province (preferred)

Competencies and values

• Accountability, Courage, Diversity, Integrity, Professionalism, Collaboration, Building Trust, Empowering, Mentorship
• Others: National Society and National (Local) Authorities Relations, Teamwork, Communication

Comments

The Federation is an equal opportunity employer.