General Description of the Programme
GOAL has a 14 year presence in Sierra Leone with activities in Western Area, Kenema, Bombali, Bo, Port Loko, Kono, Bonthe and Kambia Districts. The GOAL Sierra Leone health program contributes to poverty and vulnerability reduction through the implementation of complementary initiatives focusing on health systems strengthening, water, sanitation & hygiene (WASH), nutrition, reproductive health, and community health and behavior change.
The Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) has put considerable strain on already fragmented and poor households, undermining service delivery and safety nets, especially in all areas of child protection and destroying livelihoods for survivors.
General Description of the Role
The LLH Coordinator reports directly to the Deputy Programme Director and works closely with the CEP Coordinator, M&E and support staff to ensure optimal integration of programme activities and support where appropriate.
GOAL is looking for an enthusiastic and dynamic Livelihoods Coordinator with experience of leading the development and implementation of Food Security & Livelihood strategies and programmes in fragile environments. The FSL Coordinator as a member of programme management team, will lead on or contribute to project proposals and donor reports for the sector, and will represent GOAL in the FSL working group meetings. S/he will be responsible for developing GOAL’s LLH programming capacity including building the capacity of and supervising the Small Business and LLH staff in the field. The LLH Co will be responsible for the Roll out of Livelihoods Support to Survivors and Alternative Care/Families of EVD Affected Children programme. The programme will focus on four main activities for the provision of support to EVD affected children and survivors:
- Discharge packages are provided to survivors to meet the initial basic needs upon discharge and Reunification kits are provided to EVD affected children upon reunification, to help sustain the placement.
- Livelihoods via small business planning and small grants will be provided for survivors and affected families to be able to start informal businesses or livelihoods activities (likely similar to a business held prior to the EVD infection) or to support their agricultural livelihood. Livelihoods Officers will assist affected families and survivors in the business plan development, and businesses may focus on agricultural activities especially in the rural areas. In order to ensure suitability for receipt of a grant, a discussion will take place between the Livelihoods Officer and the family to develop the livelihoods concept, followed by a profit analysis. The start-up grant will be provided based upon the simple business plan. The grant should be used for whatever inputs the plan highlights as most effective towards improving the profitability/ sustainability of the livelihood.
- Survivors/ caregivers/alternative care families of EVD affected children, and affected families where loss of head of household/breadwinner is impacting the survival of the children will also be connected to microfinance opportunities (such as microloan agencies) or savings groups (locally) through which they will have access to resources to support already functioning businesses. The savings groups will operate using an approach similar to the locally known ‘osusu’ groups. Groups will be composed of maximum 12 members, with loans rotating to their members. The microfinance institution ‘A Call to Business’, working in five provinces, will provide the loan options (of up to SLL400,000 = €66) to persons who are eligible for loans according to the assessment .
- Survivors in Port Loko and Kenema will be linked to employment opportunities as part of the response. GOAL will work in collaboration with Partners in Health, who maintain a database of the survivors and their skill sets in each district, using this information to link survivors to jobs. GOAL will provide ‘entry to employment’ training as part of a pilot project in Port Loko and Kenema for 200 survivors who are identified to join the response. GOAL will conduct follow up to assess the successes and challenges of the programme and provide support where needed.
Key duties:
* Overall responsibility for the strategic direction, planning, implementation and monitoring of the livelihoods programme of GOAL SL
* Strengthen and maintain a project monitoring system, including an effective field reporting system that will enable measurement of progress at output and outcome levels.
* Manage the project budget through reviewing field monthly funds requests, approving expenditures in accordance with GOAL policies and reviewing monthly budget versus actual reports.
* Liaise with finance/administration, procurement and human resource departments at field and head office levels to ensure adequate support for all project activities.
* Actively participate in the annual planning process and support the LLH Programme Manager to draft activity budgets which are in line with programme strategy. Ensure that the views, needs and priorities of beneficiaries are incorporated into planning.
* Provide input on the LLH programme for donor reports and proposal development, in consultation with the Em. Co/ACDP, Area Coordinator and Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator.
* Monitor market developments and work with M&E to conduct market analyses as relevant Supervision of project staff:
* Support the LLH Programme team to prepare periodic programmatic work plans and project budgets.
* Review JD’s for all LLH staff and support the CDAU PM to draft JDs for any new LLH positions.
* Work to ensure that all project job vacancies are filled in a timely fashion through coordination with the HR Manager throughout the recruitment process.
* Ensure work plans are in place for all project staff to reflect mutually agreed expectations and objectives.
* Ensure that mid-term reviews and annual appraisals are completed for the LLH Programme Manager and support them to conduct effective appraisals for their teams.
* Frequently travel to all project areas to monitor staff performance and achievements against work plans and provide on-the-job feedback and instigate corrective measures to ensure the optimal productivity and efficiency of staff.
* Foster a stable and participatory working environment by promoting experience sharing and lessons learnt.
Ensure that appropriate technical assistance and capacity building is incorporated into relevant project activities:
* Prioritize and recommend technical and management training needs for the LLH field teams.
* Monitor the effectiveness of training provided by the project to its staff and beneficiaries through frequent communication with organizers and field observations and ensure any necessary adjustments in training programmes are carried out.
* Identify and pursue opportunities for the human resource development of project staff and promote cross visits to improve familiarization with new technical strategies.
* Assist as necessary in the establishment and analysis of market survey tools, and other assessment and survey tools for FSL programming. Lead in the identification and development of additional food security/livelihoods programming initiatives:
* Identify new opportunities for GOAL food security/livelihoods programming through problem identification with field programme staff, needs assessments, and liaising with other actors in the FSL sector for example USAID Food for peace, GIZ, IA-PF.
* Lead the development of the GOAL SL Food Security/Livelihoods Sector Strategy, including the collection of local information, development of associated interventions and review of draft documents.
* Represent the LLH Department in meetings with potential donors in the food security, LLH and natural resource management sectors as required. Environmental mainstreaming
* Technical Focal Person supporting the mainstreaming officers to encourage mainstreaming the environment into all aspects of programme planning and implementation Represent the GOAL LLH programme:
* In consultation with the with the CD and Emergency Co, develop and maintain cordial working relationships with relevant local, regional and international research institutions to facilitate the receipt of up-to-date technical information for the project. Ensure information is circulated to the field teams appropriately.
* Establish and strengthen working relationships with governmental, NGO, local and international organizations e.g. GIZ, Food for Peace, FAO, WHH.
* Perform all other duties as requested by the Em. Co.
Requirements:
* Bachelors level degree in small business development, community development, natural resource management or closely related discipline.
* At least three years practical experience with an international development organisation, managing livelihoods projects in fragile operating environments similar to Sierra Leone.
* Demonstrate high level of experience in strategy development, proposal writing, budget management and people management skills.
* Good understanding of the household livelihood security framework.
* Strong analytical and writing skills (English). Experience of proposal writing, log frame development and donor reporting.
* Excellent IT skills, including strong knowledge of MS Office applications
* Excellent communication, interpersonal and training/capacity development skills and a track record of building/developing cohesive teams.
* Willingness to take responsibility for personal security and adhere to GOAL’s security guidelines.
* Knowledge of value chains methodology and market-based approaches to working with poor populations.
* Experience in managing institutional donor grants, especially USAID, IA-PF and GIZ
Location:Freetown with regular travel to other Area teams
Reporting to:Deputy Programme Director
Duration: 12 months
Any published closing dates are estimated. Due to the nature of GOAL’s work we aim to fill vacancies as quickly as possible. This means that we will close adverts as soon as we have found the right candidate and this may be before the published closing date. We would therefore advise interested applicants to submit an application as early as possible.
HOW TO APPLY:
