Program Officer, Community Liaison Officer at Shekinah Girls’ Empowerment and Protection Initiative

The Shekinah Girls’ Empowerment and Protection Initiative is a women-led, girl-child and youth-focused foundation that works to sustainably improve the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) standard of adolescents and women living in urban slums and underserved communities. SGEPI has the mandate to empower, promote, and protect the interests of youths, adolescent girls and boys, women, men, and people living with disabilities.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Program Officer, Community Liaison Officer (SKILL-A-GIRL Project)

Location: Borno
Employment Type: Full-time, Regular
Supervisory Responsibility: None
Reports Directly To: SKILL-A-GIRL Program Manager
Works Directly With: SKILL-A-GIRL Technical Team

Program / Department Summary

• SKILL-A-GIRL is a one-year, self-sponsored program that combines Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and Adolescent and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health (AYRSH).
• The program seeks to improve the well-being of adolescent girls, boys, and young people affected by the crisis in Borno State by increasing their access to skills and knowledge, health resources, comprehensive sexuality education in formal and non-formal educational settings, and economic opportunities.
• SKILL-A-GIRL also fosters an enabling environment by working with communities to transform unhealthy social norms and create opportunities for adolescent girls, boys, and young people to access education and economic opportunity through an integrated approach to programming.
• Key to SKILL-A-GIRL is a robust learning and research agenda that reaches across three focal LGAs to contribute to the evidence-based on what works to secure access to opportunities for adolescent girls, boys, and young people within the most marginalized urban and semi-urban communities and to better understand their contribution to household resilience.
• This evidence and learning will be shared to elevate Shekinah Girls’ Empowerment and Protection Initiative’s (SGEPI) influence in the program participant’s space and to bolster fundraising efforts to scale the model.
• In coordination with other local partner organizations in Borno State, the SKILL-A-GIRL Program Officer and Community Liaison Officer will support the SKILL-A-GIRL Program Manager in the routine implementation of the SKILL-A-GIRL program activities.

General Position Summary

• Under the direct supervision of the SKILL-A-GIRL Program Manager, the SKILL-A-GIRL Program Officer will support the Community Liaison Officer in conjunction with community leaders, safe space mentors, and community structures to ensure that eligible adolescent girls, boys, and young people are attending weekly safe space sessions where literacy, numeracy, life skills, and financial literacy modules.
• The SKILL-A-GIRL Program Officer will build and maintain essential relationships with a local implementing partner, state actors in both public and private sectors, relevant community stakeholders, and program participants.
• The SKILL-A-GIRL Program Officer in conjunction with the Community Liaison Officer will work directly with Safe Space and Other Mentors, strengthen their capacities to ensure quality and timely implementation of SKILL-A-GIRL activities.

Essential Job Responsibilities
Program Implementation:

• Provide leadership and daily oversight for planning and implementation of SKILL-A-GIRL activities including mentorship to the community volunteers in Maiduguri.
• Support the SKILL-A-GIRL Program Manager in the development of activity plans and reporting format for activity implementation and ensure that every activity reported is supported with evidence.
• Supervise the activities and performance of community volunteers; conduct routine team meetings, adhere to performance reviews timelines, troubleshoot challenges, and standardize implementation approaches.
• Identify and document best practices and lessons in the SKILL-A-GIRL program and provide timely feedback to the Program Manager.
• Work with the Finance team and local partners to ensure that activity budgets are prepared, and payments processed promptly.
• Ensure timely and consistent submission of program reports, success stories, and other relevant data to the MEL Officer and the Program Manager (weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports).
• Support the SKILL-A-GIRL Program Manager in advocacy and maintenance of effective partnerships with the relevant departments of the state and local Government to elevate SKILL-A-GIRL objectives.
• Support the SKILL-A-GIRL Program Manager in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the program activities.
• Contribute to the development of training manuals, safe space guide, program tools, and Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials; facilitate SKILL-A-GIRL related training for safe space trainers.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Provide ongoing mentorship to the local implementing partner team on quality data collection processes for completeness, accuracy, and timely submission.
• Work with MEL officer to ensure accurate data collection including Sex and Age Disaggregated Data (SADD), data validation, assuring quality control measures, and timely data submission.
• Through the community volunteers, the Program Officer will support and mentor community group leaders as partners and structures on data collection and use.
• Oversee the governance structures filling system in the SKILL-A-GIRL program implementation wards, districts, and communities, and ensure that information is organized according to the reporting and auditing needs of the program.

Influence and Representation:

• Support and coordinate field learning visits in the state, in collaboration with SKILL-A-GIRL Program Manager.
• Support the SKILL-A-GIRL Program Manager in coordination and communication of field activities with other non-governmental organizations, state, and local government partners for effective synergy, thereby avoiding service duplication, but enhancing support for an enabling environment for SKILL-A-GIRL program interventions.
• Establish and maintain a productive working relationship with the SKILL-A-GIRL Program Manager, community volunteers, stakeholders, and work in unison to develop complementary joint monitoring, evaluation, and adaptive management structures where possible.

Ethics and Integrity:

• All SGEPI staff are expected to behave ethically and demonstrate the highest integrity in their professional and personal life.
• SGEPI has zero tolerance for any form of fraud, corruption, abuse, harassment, or exploitation.
• Any breach of our policies or misconduct will lead to disciplinary action or may lead to termination.

Security:

• Ensure data protection policies are adhered to, establishing security controls for software, hardware, and archive beneficiary databases.

Organization Learning:

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient, and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit SGEPI as well as themselves.

Accountability to Program Participants:

• Shekinah Girls’ Empowerment and Protection Initiative team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging participants' communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of our field activities.

Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience

• A Bachelor's Degree in Social Sciences, Public Health or in a related field
• 3-5 years of related professional experience in adolescent girls programming, youth, women empowerment, or livelihoods.
• Willingness to consider new perspectives, promote gender equality and engage in gender training.
• Proven knowledge and capacity in using computer basic applications MS Word, Excel, and internet
• In-depth knowledge of the social, cultural, and economic context of Maiduguri is a plus
• Experience in capacity building of sub grantees.
• Fluency in the local language (Kanuri and Hausa) is highly desired.
• Demonstrated skills in data collection, verification, and documentation.
• Proven skills in networking, team building, community consultations, and organizational development.
• Excellent reporting, communication, and representation skills

Success Factors:

• The successful candidate will have an excellent team and interpersonal relationship skills, with demonstrated ability to work effectively in complex environments.
• S/he must have the confidence and humility to work effectively with a diverse group of people – as well as be sensitive to political and cultural nuance.
• S/he must be able to consistently apply excellent judgment to a variety of demanding and fast-changing situations while working as part of a team and coordinate with program personnel and utilizing data to inform activity implementation and program learning.
• S/he will combine strong communication skills, creativity, initiative, participatory leadership, and tactful decisiveness to assist in program implementation. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem-solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential.

 Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions:

• This position is based in Maiduguri with significant travel to field locations within MMC, Konduga and Jere
• Shekinah Girls’ Empowerment and Protection Initiative team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed. Team members are expected to conduct themselves professionally and respect local laws, customs, and Shekinah Girls’ Empowerment and Protection Initiative policies, procedures, and values always and in all in-country venues. Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Shekinah Girls’ Empowerment and Protection Initiative’s vision.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:

• Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together.
• Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges.
• We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
• We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening, and evolving to become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

• Shekinah Girls’ Empowerment and Protection Initiative is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have a sustained global impact.
• We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all.
• We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination based on race, colour, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics:

• Shekinah Girls’ Empowerment and Protection Initiative is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants, or others, are treated with respect and dignity.
• We are committed to the core principles regarding the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary-General and IASC.
• We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and always adhere to Shekinah Girls’ Empowerment and Protection Initiative Code of Conduct Policies and values.
• Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-Learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Applications by mailing your CV and Cover Letter with Copies of their Academic qualification to: [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the email.

Applications should be addressed to:
The Head of Office,
Shekinah Girls' Empowerment and Protection Initiative,
Flat 178, Block 30, Umar Mustapha Gardens,
Legacy Estate, Maiduguri,
Borno State.

Note: That applications will be reviewed on rolling-basis until the right candidate is identified

Application Deadline 12th May, 2022.