Project Manager - Mogadishu, Somalia

Job Title

Project Manager (Somalia)

Location

Mogadishu, with regular travel to Kismau and Baidoa as well as other locations as may be required

 Reporting to

Somalia country director

Management responsibility (if applicable)

N/A

Key relationships

-          Somalia Programme staff: Finance Manager, HR and operation manager, MEL Coordinator, Gender Advisor, Security Coordinator

-          Programme Support and Learning: Senior Gender Advisor and MEL Advisor.

Type of position

National

Grade and Salary

A competitive INGO salary will be offered

Contract terms and hours

Fixed term contract until August 2023 with the possibility of extension dependent on funding. The standard working week is 37.5 hours.

Job purpose:   

The Project Manager will be responsible for our UNPBF-funded Making Space for Peacebuilding: Strengthening Participation and Safety of Women Activists project. They will have a key role in setting up and supporting the development of the project which seeks to challenge barriers for women activists’ peacebuilding participation including the immediate safety and security concerns they face in doing their work, as well as the systemic social and gender norms that embed their exclusion from participation and decision-making, and supporting women’s coalition building.

The project manager will work closely with existing and new partners to ensure delivery of key project deliverables, establish and maintain good working relations with women’s rights organisations and activists; link with other teams and related projects across Saferworld to share best practices and lessons learnt; and contribute to the overall development of Saferworld Somalia’s gender-transformative peacebuilding programme. The post-holder will also establish contacts and engage with national and local authorities, whilst managing project budgets and leading on in-country advocacy, and maintaining internal and external communications on women’s safe participation in peacebuilding processes. The role will also require engagement and coordination with UN Women and other agencies implementing relevant programmes as well as the UN Coordinators Office, Somalia.

This position is based in Mogadishu and will require spending substantial amount of time travelling in and around the project areas, as well as representing the project at regional and national level.

Roles and responsibilities:

1.     Strategy and programme development

·         Assist in developing Saferworld’s country strategy, focusing on how work on preventing and addressing GBV, and gender, peace and security can help us achieve our peacebuilding objectives and how this can be reflected in sound gendered conflict analysis.

·         Support Saferworld’s organisational objectives on partnership and solidarity by aligning with partners and women’s rights organisations priorities, responding to their identified needs, and supporting equitable financial and operational ways of working together.

·         Contribute to the development of Saferworld’s position in support of more gender-transformative and effective international and national responses to conflict, and prevention of GBV in Somalia.

·         Help develop Saferworld’s existing programme of work and identify related areas (thematically and geographically) for new programme development, particularly on gender-transformative peacebuilding and women, peace and security.

·         Contribute to lesson-learning within the Somalia programme and across the organisation.

2.     Programme implementation

·         Ensure that all managed projects are delivered on-time, within scope and within approved budgets.

·         Manage all project components in accordance with the project proposals and approved workplans, including:

o    supporting the development of ‘violence observatories’ to support data collection on GBV against women activists

o    organising trainings, workshops, and other activities between women activists, and between women activists and government representatives, civil society and international organisations;

o    collecting and analysing data in collaboration with Saferworld colleagues and/or local partners and drafting research reports and policy and thematic briefings when required;

o    supporting women-led community and media initiatives aimed at challenging barriers to women’s peacebuilding participation including GBV, and gender and social norms;

o    coordinating engagement with formal and informal authorities to promote gender-responsive security policies and practice, and address women’s safe participation in decision-making processes;

·         Increase the awareness of donors and governmental actors regarding the development and implementation of gender-responsive policies and programming;

·         Actively assist and contribute to monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) processes, including outcome harvesting, and ensure lessons feed into further project planning and adaptation.

3.     Partnership development

·  Work closely with existing partners and establish good working relations with new ones.

·     Contribute to identification of the capacity gaps and requirements of women rights organisations, relevant state agencies and government departments in relation to the prevention of GBV and promotion of women’s participation in peacebuilding and decision-making processes

·     Contribute to the development of relations with Saferworld’s partners and enhance the capacity of civil society and partner organisations through:

o    Assistance in the design and delivery of training and other support activities at civil society and community levels;

o   Support partner organisations to contribute to project implementation, MEL and the production of narrative reports for donors.

4.     Communications and advocacy

·         Working with the Somalia Advocacy and Communications Manager, support women’s coalition building and gender-focused advocacy efforts at sub-national, national, regional and international levels

·         Build organisational contacts with national, regional, and international actors, participate in networks in support of the gender, peace, and security strategy in Somalia, and advocate on these issues.

·         Represent Saferworld in relevant networks and working groups on GPS at national and regional level.

5.     Funding, budgets and administration

·     Support the identification of funding opportunities and establishment/maintenance of relevant donor relations.

·  Prepare quality project donor and other reports as necessary.

·  As the project budget-holder, monitor project expenditure and manage project budgets

·  Prepare budget forecasts for ongoing projects and funding proposals.

·  Support fundraising by contributing to proposal development.

·     Together with the Country Director, monitor and mitigate project risks to Saferworld and partner project staff safety and security and contribute to the development and implementation of safety and security policies and procedures.

Key working relationships

·         Saferworld Somalia programme team – coordinating and working with staff in Nairobi, Mogadishu and Hargeisa to ensure projects implement gender transformative peacebuilding programming

·         Colleagues in the finance team both in country and at HQ – working collaboratively on budgeting, compliance and financial reporting

·         Partner organisations and communities – working with partners to review and contextualise gender transformative approaches, tools and resources, and provide training and dedicated support and accompaniment as required on gender, peace and security

·         Somalia Gender Advisor and Senior Gender Adviser in Programme Support and Learning team – regularly engaging with for advice and support

·         External stakeholders – regularly attending relevant working group meetings on gender, peace and security, identify common goals and work together on collective influencing (i.e. with relevant national and sub-national NGO networks and women-led civil society organisations and with the international donor community). Develop good working relationships with national and regional government departments and agencies as relevant.

·         Regional colleagues and relevant London-based staff – contributing to the development of a learning strategy which captures the outcomes of Saferworld’s work;

Scope and accountability

Decision making and limits of authority

The project manager is responsible for leading and motivating the programme team in collaboration with the Country Director. They lead on project design and implementation and ensures continuing relevance to Saferworld’s strategic priorities.

Financial resources

Fully accountable for a programme budget – ultimate responsibility lies with the Country Director.

Other resources

Responsible for cross-regional and organisational information sharing and lesson learning resources on gender, peace and security

People management

N/A; potentially some consultancies as agreed with line manager

Legal, regulatory and compliance responsibility

Ensure compliance with national legislation. Where there is contradiction, seek guidance. Ensure compliance with Saferworld’s and donor financial processes and procedures.

Knowledge, qualifications and experience

·         A graduate degree in social science, conflict/peace studies, gender studies or a similar discipline, or equivalent professional experience

·         Proven experience of gender, GBV prevention and/or women’s rights programming at a community level – preferably in contexts of conflict prevention, security and justice and/or peacebuilding.

·         Good knowledge and understanding of the local context and sensitivities, including the gender and social norms that are barriers to women’s participation

·         Demonstrable experience of supporting and/or coordinating women’s networks and/or coalition building

·         Knowledge and understanding of current debates in Somalia regarding women, peace and security

·         Proven experience of working in partnership and solidarity with women’s rights organisations and civil society networks in a way that reflects the principles of power-sharing and accompaniment

·         Demonstrated experience of conducting trainings and workshops, ideally focused on gender, peace and security

·         Experience in supporting women’s right organisations and in undertaking participatory research on gender based violence and ways to address them collaboratively, and in partnership with communities and local authorities

Skills and abilities

·         Excellent written and oral communications skills in Somali and English

·         Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate with people from all walks of life

·         Ability to explain complex ideas in easily accessible ways tailored to different audiences

·         Ability to translate technical knowledge and analysis into programmatic and community-level interventions, work plans, activities, reporting, etc.

·         Skilled trainer and facilitator

·         Strong analytical skills

Personal qualities

·         Ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society organisations, government bodies and officials, and international donors

·         Commitment to and compliance with Saferworld’s safeguarding principles

·         Commitment to respect and value equality and diversity, and understanding of how this applies to own area of work

·         Commitment to own continuing personal and professional development

·         Commitment to the vision, mission and values of Saferworld

Other requirements

·         Ability to travel frequently to Mogadishu, and Southwest and Jubaland states, and other areas as may be required.

·         Potential occasional travel in the region and internationally

 Download and complete an application form at http://www.saferworld.org.uk/jobs/jobs and send to HR Team at [email protected]  (Ref: Project Manager- Mogadishu)

Deadline for applications:  March 20th, 2022