Afghanaid Project Manager (Women Economic Empowerment Project -Badakhshan)

The Organisation: Afghanaid is an international NGO (www.afghanaid.org.uk), registered in the UK, specializing in Afghanistan since 1981. Afghanaid has been assisting and facilitating people-driven processes of emergency assistance, recovery and development to address rights, entitlements and fundamental needs of Afghans in some of the most remote areas of the country for nearly three decades. The Head Office is located in Kabul. Afghanaid works in four provinces, namely Badakhshan (north-eastern region), Samangan (northern region), Ghor (western region) and Nuristan (eastern region). 18 district offices and 4 provincial offices serve these provinces, which are well resourced with experienced and skilled Afghan women and men staff, with management support and technical guidance provided by a roving team of senior national and international sectoral specialists and managers based in Kabul.

• Job profile: Under the overall steer of the Managing Director of Afghanaid the incumbent will provide overall leadership and management and ensure the timely implementation of the Women Economic Empowerment Project funded by DFID through the Global Poverty Action Fund. • Responsibilities

1. Planning and Implementation 1.1 Prepare monthly work plans and spend forecast linked to the project document and LFA 1.2 Develop project operational manual and ensure staff are informed of their responsibilities 1.3 Establish and support Project Advisory Committee to ensure local level ownership and pro-active involvement of local actors in the project
   1.4 Take lead in recruitment of project staff with support of Human Resources 1.5 Set in place a monthly progress review and planning mechanism for the projects team
2. Financial and Logistics Management 2.1 Oversee financial management, ensure transparency in the utilization of financial resources 2.2 Ensure that financial spending/expenses approved and incurrent are in line with budget 2.3 Monitor budget utilization and prepare monthly spending plan in line with work plan 2.4 Prepare monthly budget variance reports and submit to the head office 2.5 Prepare procurement plan and ensure timely procurement of good and material following Afghanaid as well as donors procurement and logistics rules and regulation
3. Strategic Leadership & Technical Oversight 3.1 Provide strategic direction and technical support to the project staff in relation to the strategic outcomes/results of the project e.g. a) Development of Management Information System and Result Based M&E b) consolidation of interventions and handing over to beneficiaries organizations c) Integration of community based disaster management initiatives with local disaster management capacity and systems 3.2 Plan and implement interventions relating to governance, gender, agro and non-agro livelihood programming, and building disaster resilient communities
   3.3 Determine the needs for hiring consultant/s for technical input, draft terms of reference and commission consultancies on needs basis
4. Monitoring & Evaluation 4.1 Work closely with MEL Specialist and M&E team in the Head Office for putting in place a monitoring framework and MIS to track results of the intervention of the projects at different stages. 4.2 Support the M&E team and ensure collection, compilation and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data to measure progress and outcomes of the project
   4.3 Support M&E Specialist to ensure that capacity of relevant staff is built in M&E 4.4 Work closely with Programme Development and Knowledge Management Team in the head office to ensure outsourcing of baselines, midterm review, end of the project evaluations and any studies and research on best practices and lessons learned
5. Human Resource Management 5.1 Responsible to ensure all response projects staff are recruited and well inducted 5.2 Ensure all staff have clarity of roles & responsibilities 5.3 Senior project staff have performance objectives and 1:1 regular meetings 5.4 Provide technical guidance and capacity development of the project team 5.5 Build the capacity of staff through coaching, mentoring and exploring learning opportunities
6. Reporting and Communications 6.1 Responsible to prepare and submit monthly and quarter internal progress reports (both narrative and financial) to the Head of Programme or Managing Director at the head office 6.2 Prepare draft bi-annual, annual or any other report that may be asked by the donor and submit to the head office 6.3 Coordinate with Programme Development & Knowledge Management Team to develop project specific brochures, information for Afghanaid official website, case studies, and a portfolio of projects photos of before / after situation as visual evidence of outputs and impact 6.4 With support of Programme Development and Knowledge Management Team, take active role in organizing dissemination workshops
7. Networking, Coordination and Representation 7.1 Represent Afghanaid in relevant coordination for a at provincial / regional level 7.2 Induct all key stakeholders in the salient elements of the project 7.3 Facilitate visit of donor mission to the project areas, and ensure that they are briefed properly 7.4 Develop an active network for mutual learning and exchange of experiences with other partners working in the province and at regional level
8. Security Management 8.1 In close coordination with the Provincial Programme Manager in the province, and the Line Manager, be responsible to manage security of the project staff and assets 8.2 To perform any other related duties as and when assigned by the MD and/or Directorate.

• Key Skills, Experience and Competencies Essential a) Masters degree in project management, international development, management science, social science or other relevant area or equivalent professional experience b) Minimum 5-7 years experience of implementing large projects relating to livelihood, governance and disaster risk management c) Experience or familiarity with DFID funded projects will be preferred
d) Ability to guarantee effective and timely outputs
e) Highly developed reporting and budget monitoring and management skills f) Excellent knowledge of community development and social mobilisation g) Proven management ability and inter-personal skills – team player h) Problem solving and leadership skills i) Proficiency in most common computer software including word processing, spreadsheets j) Ability to deal with difficult, often frustrating work situations k) A willingness to live, travel and work in isolated and possibly dangerous locations

Gender sensitivity a) Sensitivity to Islamic and traditional culture b) Commitment to support/develop capacity of the national staff and of rural communities c) Personal integrity and sense of humor d) Knowledge of personal strengths and weaknesses e) Ability to manage conflicting priorities in personal workload f) Knowledge of exit strategies and sustainability issues

Desirable a) Experience in the implementation of DFID funded projects b) Previous work experience in Afghanistan c) Working in a conflict area d) Proficiency with databases e) Working knowledge of local language (Dari or Pashto)

How to apply:

Please note that this position is contingent upon availability of funding. Only applications that address the stipulated duties and meet the required qualifications will be considered. Applicants are requested to submit their CVs along with a cover letter explaining suitability for the position at vacancies@afghanaid.org.uk. Closing date of applications February 23rd, 2013