Somalia Responding to Violent Extremism Project Officer 73 views0 applications

The European Institute of Peace is looking for exceptional individuals who share our vision for a world where people live in safety and peace because conflicts and grievances are resolved through inclusive dialogue and lasting political agreements.

We provide practical experience, technical expertise, and policy advice on conflict resolution. We use a variety of tools to help us do this, including analysis, mapping and design of peace processes and agreements, facilitating policy discussions, and proposing practical engagement, for example through inclusive dialogue and mediation support.

Based in Brussels and active in over a dozen countries, the European Institute of Peace is an independent organisation working collaboratively with European decision-makers, the parties to the conflict, and those who represent people suffering from insecurity or at risk of violence, as well as the conflict prevention, resolution and mediation community.

Our innovative approach to peace enables us to be agile, creative, and effective in everything we do, and these are key qualities we look for in our team members. See www.eip.org for more information.

We are looking for a Project Officer to support the Peace Practice and Innovation for 45 months from 1 January 2021.

Terms of References

Full-time based in Somalia, the Project Officer will be a locally employed staff member of a four-year initiative to enhance partnership and a joint approach between the government and communities to address factors causing violent extremism. The focus of the initiative is the reduction in recruitment, operations, relative size and strength of extremist groups in Somalia. Supporting the Somali government at both the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and Federal Member State (FMS) level and community efforts to effectively address the factors causing violent extremism will be instrumental in doing so.

The Project Officer will work 30% on the research output (Result 1) and 70% on the capacity building output (Result 2). They will provide support, arrange logistics, organise events, provide political analysis, and undertake local project management duties. The project officer is responsible for day-to-day programme implementation and delivery, support on relationship management, coordination with stakeholders, analytical support, reporting. They will be based in Mogadishu.

Duties and responsibilities

Reporting to the Somali RVE Programme Coordinator, the Project Officer will lead support the implementation of the Somalia preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE) action.

In this context, the Project Officer will:

− Develop and maintain effective liaison, strong relations and engagement with implementing partners and relevant stakeholders to facilitate the timely implementation of project activities, and ensure strict compliance with donor rules and regulations, and delivery and monitoring of programme outputs and expenditure within defined deadlines;

− Ensure sound financial management of the programme including monitoring and forecasting expenditure, overseeing financial reporting (preparation and submission of annual activity-based project budgets as well as monthly and quarterly financial reports and preparation and sending of new funding requests), and ensuring compliance with internal and donor finance procedures;

− Support the Programme Coordinator in meeting the current and emerging needs of the partners, civil society and government counterparts:

· Conduct meetings with relevant counterparts, in particular Office of the Prime Minister, ministers and managers, to help individual focal points and initiatives improve coordination; prioritise tasks and develop coherent work plans; and design and implement activities that further the wider strategic priorities FGS;

· Manage and monitor programmatic and administrative reporting of local partners;

· Coordinate with the Institute’s headquarters in Brussels.

− Assist in consolidating the Institute’s relations with key Somali stakeholders; develop and maintain a network of contacts across the FGS, FMS, and civil society;

− Provide logistics, finance, administration, and security support related to the Institute’s presence in Somalia. Ensure oversight of all Somalia-based expenditure;

− Provide support for visits of the Institute’s experts and Brussels-based personnel to Somalia.

− Monitor relevant developments related to Somalia’s PCVE approach and report back to Brussels regularly;

− Liaise with Somalia-based stakeholders and provide input to proposal development and narrative reporting to the Institute’s donors and board, as requested;

− Other tasks at the request of the RVE Programme Manager or Somali Programme Coordinator.

Profile

· Advanced university degree in political science, international relations or a related field;

· Minimum three years of experience in project management and at least one year of experience with NGOs and/or International Institutions;

· Ability to work in Somalia and national and international mobility (ability to travel within and outside Somalia);

· Willingness to live in Mogadishu and to conduct national travel within Somalia and internationally as required;

· Ability to work well under deadlines;

· Ability to work independently, with meticulous attention to detail in a small team;

· Perfect command of English and Somali. Any other EU language is also an asset;

· Commitment to humanitarian principles and values;

· Understanding of, and commitment to promoting gender equality, protection and human rights.

Essential Skills and Experience

· Experience in grants management, including report writing and grant monitoring;

· Demonstrable understanding of project planning and management cycles;

· Experience of supporting on finance, logistics and security;

· Experience working and operating in Somalia and the region;

· Ability to work well under unstable security, administrative, and programmatic pressures;

· Excellent communication and writing skills with the ability to analyses complex problems and identify and convey clear, rapid solutions;

· Very good technical skills in MS (excel and word).

Desirable

· Experience supporting assessments, programme design, intra-governmental coordination, project management and oversight;

· Experience working with vulnerable groups in a highly complex conflict area, particularly in areas related to preventing and countering violent extremism, human rights, or peacekeeping;

· Project experience related to two or more of the following themes: community stabilization, government capacity building, reintegration and reconciliation programming, Women, Peace and Security, Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) and conflict mitigation;

· Security management skills and experience in challenging and volatile security environments;

· Effective resource management skills;

· Knowledge of the Somali socioeconomic and political context;

· Knowledge of EU, UN, and bilateral donor programming.

Key Working Relationships:

· The Project Officer reports to and is supervised by Somalia RVE Programme Coordinator;

· Other Internal and/or external contacts:

1. Internal: Local Project Officer, Peace Practice and Innovation Director, RVE Unit Manager, Grant management Officer, MEAL Officer, Communications Officer;
2. External: consortium partners, EU donors, FGS and FMS.

The Institute offers

· Consultancy contract (45 months)