Livelihoods Officer at Save the Children

Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Save the Children is working in Nigeria because one in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday. About 40% of children miss out on school and have to work to survive while nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Livelihoods Officer

Job Identification: 10160
Locations: Akure, Ondo & Cross River
Job type: Fixed Term
Duration: 1 year 
Grade: 4
Team: Programme Operations - Future For Every child project (FuFEC)
Reports to: Project Manager /Project Coordinator

Job Summary

• The responsibilities of this post may require the post holder to have regular contact with children and young people. 
• As part of these responsibilities the post holder will support the establishment of child safeguarding systems, promote a culture of keeping children safe, and ensure that potential harm to children (by our own staff and/or as a result of how we do our work) is identified and addressed on an ongoing basis.  
• The post holder should report and respond to interventions as determined by position related responsibilities identified in the Child Safeguarding Policy.

Role Purpose

• Save the Children International (SCI) is a leading independent international organization creating lasting change for children in need around the world.
• SCI works in over 120 countries globally, including Nigeria, helping children to survive, learn, and be protected.
• We are working with the government to improve children’s education, health, nutrition, protection and economic opportunities, and in times of acute crisis, mobilizing rapid life-saving assistance to help the children to recover from the effects of war, conflict and natural disasters.
• Save the Children, in partnership with Hershey, is playing a pivotal role in tackling child labor in cocoa-producing communities across Cross River and Ondo States, Nigeria.
• Through the Future for Every Child (FuFEC) project, this collaboration will focus on enhancing child protection by reducing child labor and increasing accountability within these cocoa-growing regions.
• The project will implement a Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS) combined with a Child Protection System approach, addressing both immediate concerns such as child labor, child work, gender equality, and safeguarding, while also tackling the underlying root causes of child labor.
• Save the Children’s intervention aims to take a comprehensive approach to supporting children and their families in cocoa-producing communities, with the ultimate goal of reducing hazardous child labor in Nigeria.
• Children will be screened using a standardized assessment tool.
• To ensure that proven strategies are applied to the real challenges faced by cocoa-growing communities, Save the Children will want the post holder to have experience of the proposes of conducting several assessments early in the project.
• These assessments will guide the implementation of economic empowerment interventions in the later stages. Specifically,  Labor Market Assessment (LMA) and Income-Generating Activities (IGA) assessment  focusing on the local cocoa production economy and ecosystem, from which participants will be selected.
• Additionally, the project will provide vocational training, entrepreneurship support for young adults, and promote Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs).

Key Areas of Accountability
Programme Support:

• Oversee livelihoods activities and team administration in field locations.
• Develop work plans and manage day-to-day activity implementation.
• Ensure responsive program implementation that meets targets and best practices.
• Target beneficiaries effectively based on vulnerability criteria.
• Establish and maintain reporting, monitoring, and evaluation systems.
• Integrate community approaches, protection mainstreaming, gender sensitivity, and capacity building.
• Submit monthly program updates and success stories to supervisors.
• Identify emerging livelihood program issues and recommend solutions.
• Collaborate with Livelihoods Advisor, Project Manager, and Coordinator on donor reporting.
• Identify program supply needs and coordinate procurement with logistics.
• Enforce accountability and incorporate feedback from children and families in project design.
• Collaborate with partners to ensure timely and quality project implementation.
• Ensure humanitarian standards are met according to the Sphere Charter and Red Cross Code of Conduct.
• Maintain a program filing system in line with internal and donor regulations.
• Coordinate with the MEAL team for participant mapping, identification, and registration.
• Lead beneficiary selection and registration with MEAL team support.
• Ensure safeguarding support for beneficiaries during project activities.
• Facilitate financial literacy, bookkeeping, and smart saving practices training.
• Lead market assessments to identify profitable skills in intervention areas.
• Coordinate post-distribution monitoring with the MEAL team.
• Engage the community to create ownership and enabling environments.

Capacity Building:

• Supervise, hire, and orient team members as needed.
• Foster a work environment of mutual respect, promoting excellence.
• Contribute to team-building efforts and integrate team members into decision-making processes.
• Identify team capacity needs and incorporate training into program planning.
• Promote accountability and provide constructive feedback through performance reviews.
• Equip team members with the necessary tools, information, and resources.

Representation, Advocacy & Organisational Learning:

• Coordinate Save the Children’s work with government and other agencies.
• Support interagency coordination forums and advocate for children’s needs.
• Contribute to communications and media work by sharing data and information.

Safeguarding:

• Ensure project compliance with Save the Children’s safeguarding standards.
• Work with safeguarding officers to implement risk assessments and mitigation measures.
• Ensure safe programming in planning, implementation, monitoring, and teacher training.
• Adhere to the Do No Harm principles throughout the Programme Management Cycle.

General:

• Comply with Save the Children policies, including child protection, code of conduct, health and safety, and equal opportunities.

Behaviours (Values in Practice):

• Accountability: Take responsibility for decisions, manage resources efficiently, and uphold Save the Children’s values.
• Creativity: Develop innovative solutions and take disciplined risks.
• Integrity: Promote openness, honesty, and transparency with the highest levels of integrity.
• Ambition: Set and pursue ambitious goals for self and team, encourage personal development, and share vision widely.
• Collaboration: Build effective relationships, value diversity, and be approachable and a good listener.

Qualifications

• 3 years of relevant experience in livelihoods, including report writing.
• Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Economics, or related fields.
• Previous experience in project management and implementation of livelihoods components in humanitarian or development projects.

Experience and Skills:
Essential:

• 3 years of relevant experience in livelihoods programming, including report writing.
• Academic qualifications in Agriculture, Economics, or related fields.
• Project management and implementation experience in livelihoods or humanitarian projects.
• Commitment to community participation and accountability systems.
• Monitoring and evaluation knowledge and skills.
• Experience in training and staff capacity building.
• Some experience in representation and ability to effectively represent Save the Children (SC) in external forums.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Willingness and flexibility to adapt in challenging and insecure working conditions.
• Commitment to the aims and principles of Save the Children, with a focus on child protection and advocacy.
• Familiarity with institutional donors and experience in developing proposals.
• Strong ability to write clear and well-argued assessment and project reports.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills.
• Political and cultural sensitivity, with patience, tact, and diplomacy.

Desirable:

• Fluency in local languages relevant to the working environment.
• Experience with intersectoral project integration.
• Knowledge and experience in gender mainstreaming and social protection programming.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply

Application Deadline 11th November, 2024.