Job Description
| Organization | COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale |
| ROLE | Area Coordinator and Project Manager |
| COUNTRY | Sudan |
| DUTY STATION | El Fasher (North Darfur) |
| DURATION | 6 months (possible extension depending on funds) |
| REQUESTED EXPERIENCE | min. 5 years |
| POSTED ON | 15/10/2021 |
| DEADLINE | 01/11/2021 |
COOPI is looking for a Area Coordinator and Project Manager in Sudan
About COOPI
In recent years, COOPI has undergone significant organizational change, which sees the decentralization approved in 2019 as a key step.
Now COOPI has a Regional Coordination for each area of intervention (West Africa, Central Africa, East and Southern Africa, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean), whose purpose is to bring decision-making closer to the area of intervention, as well as to give COOPI local accreditation and to better involve the beneficiaries in the choices.
The headquarters in Milan is reconfirmed in its role of general direction, support and control of the overall work. Today it is divided into two units: the “General Activities” and the “International Activities” ones.
The “General Activities” staff includes the functions of General Secretariat, Administration and Finance, Institutional Representation, Institutional Communication, Human Resources, Monitoring and Evaluation, Security Advisor and Fundraising.
The “International Activities” Unit includes two areas: 1) “Knowledge”, whose objectives are the nurturing and enhancement of COOPI’s know-how; 2) “Management”, whose tasks relate to the qualitative monitoring of projects, the maintenance of control systems and the administrative compliance of projects to be submitted.
The HQs staffs, in this logic, become on the one hand centers of competence and monitoring in support of the operational areas and on the other hand centers of high control, to guarantee the international donors and their processes.
COOPI has been present in Sudan since 2004 initially contributing to addressing the humanitarian needs in the Darfur region that for a long time has been the scene of armed clashes and hard hit by prolonged periods of severe drought. However, since 2017, COOPI’s programme focus shifted to building the long-term resilience of local communities still with targeted humanitarian interventions. As of September 2020, COOPI’s programme portfolio include WaSH, Food Security and Livelihoods implemented in North Darfur, Kassala and Khartoum States of Sudan. And in order to strengthen its resilience programme in North Darfur, COOPI is now looking for experienced, motivated and aligned Project Manager for Resilience and Livelihoods.
Purpose of the role
The Area Coordinator is responsible for overall management and strategic direction of COOPI programmes in North Darfur. The programmes cover but are not limited to FSL, WASH, Shelther. The Area Coordinator will represent COOPI with the local and regional government bodies, especially government agencies, partners, beneficiaries and other (I)NGO’s as part of regular and quality communications to maintain good relations.
The post holder will need to clearly understand and ensure fair, accountable and transparent management of programme, finance and human resources and promote a learning environment for staff and the organisation. The Area Coordinator will also be responsible for compliance to Standard Operating Procedures for safety, security and general operations. Moreover, the Area Coordinator will be responsible of the direct implementation of the projects assigned.
We encourage international staff already in the country to apply.
Responsibilities
Programme Management
- Overall responsibility for the design, implementation and effective monitoring of agreed projects and activities;
- Ensure effective monitoring, evaluation and documentation of all activities and processes;
- Ensure the analysis of data collected (at various levels) to inform activity changes to improve programme quality;
- Ensure the development and implementation of all activities in line with Common Humanitarian Standards (CHS) and COOPI programme policies;
- Proactively seeking funding opportunities to scale up and/or expand activities working closely with the Country Director and Head of Programs. This includes identifying and undertaking assessments and writing concepts and proposals;
- To oversee Noth Darfur programming with field visits and ensure quality of programme delivery;
- To be engaged strategically with all technical sectors as need and provide management and strategic input/oversight;
- To oversee and provide strategic support to program teams.
Coordination of field operations
- Participate directly in work of those supervised to provide hands-on training and support, inclusive of assistance in handling difficult situations;
- Provide support to Project Managers to solve programs’ implementation problems related to logistics, procurement and security;
- Ensure the compliancy with COOPI procedures (logistic, finance, security);
- Ensure that the procurement, logistic and administration departments are efficiently managed;
- Prepare internal and donors reports and other periodical reports as required.
Staff management
- Act as human resources focal point person for program and support staff, including expatriates based in North Darfur, assuring, in coordination with the Administrator, a sound implementation of COOPI staff policy;
- Supervise, monitor and evaluate staff in performance of their duties;
- Assess staff skills needs and organize relevant staff training and upgrading session.
Security
- Manage the security implementation plan in program areas in all its aspects, including supervision of security guidelines implementation by COOPI staff in charge and emergency and evacuation procedures;
- Assure that equipment related to security is properly functioning, which includes supervision of check up and maintenance procedures and timely replacement of equipment when necessary;
- Coordinate regular collection of information from areas of intervention;
- Prepare security reports and timely inform the Country Director on security matters;
- Participate to ad hoc security coordination meetings in Kassala;
- Consult with aid agencies and other relevant stakeholders on the ongoing security situation as well as their security procedures;
- Assure that COOPI Sudan in Kassala is actively part of the ongoing security network;
- In coordination with the Country Director, regularly revise and update COOPI Sudan – North Darfur internal security procedures.
Liaison and networking
- Coordination of liaison activities with the Government of Sudan bodies in Noth Darfur, which includes registration procedures, preparation of agreements, preparation of documentation for permits;
- In coordination with the Country Director, represent the organization with donors and with international and local agencies;
- Regularly participate to coordination meetings in North Darfur concerning implementation, operational and security matters. Assure that feedback of information is channeled internally.
Requirements
Essential
- University degree in social sciences, business or technical sciences;
- A minimum of five years of relevant working experience is required;
- At least three years of demonstrated successful experience in international relief and development in a similar position is required;
- Experience in liaising with governmental/local authorities, IOs and NGOs;
- English mandatory (excellent level written and spoken);
- Demonstrated effective verbal and written communication, negotiation skills, multi-tasking and organizational skills;
- Demonstrated ability to work in stressful environments and under pressure;
- Proven capacity to work in a team.
Desired
- Experience in logistics, procurement and security matters;
- Experience in managing staff;
- Experience in working in conflict-prone environments;
- Arabic knowledge.
We reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the application closing date, once a sufficient number of applications have been received.
Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) is an Italian humanitarian non-governmental organization founded in Milan in 1965. For more than 50 years of long-term support and constant presence in the field, COOPI has been engaged in breaking the cycle of poverty and responding to specific emergencies in numerous sectors, including Food Security, Humanitarian Aid, Health, Socio-Economical Services, Water and Sanitation, Human Rights, Education and Training, Migrations and Sustainable Energy.
