Sahel Team Leader

The Sahel Team Leader will be responsible for managing a new consortia project led by International Relief and Development (IRD) in four countries of the Sahel namely Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Chad and Niger.  In its second phase, this project contributes to the US governments effort to combat violent extremism in the region through increasing community resilience and reducing the risk of instability.  With a country specific, context sensitive and regionally integrated approach, this partnership programme, will see SFCG’s work integrated with two other partners namely Equal Access (media work), Salem Institute (conflict resolution training) and a host of local partners in each of the four countries.  The project’s strategic objectives are more empowered youth, moderate voices are increased, civil society capacity is increased and local government is strengthened.

The project has a holistic approach focusing on weaving together youth, media, civil society and governance to accomplish integrated, mutually reinforcing results.  SFCG will focus on bolstering youth CSO and association capacity and participation, create positive social networks through an integrated strategy incorporating radio programming (done by partner), participatory theater, and community development. 
Working from Niamey, Niger, (the IRD led is based in Ghana and thus there will be many meetings in Ghana), the Sahel Team Leader will report to the Africa Director and work under the rubric of the West Africa strategy.  S/he will be responsible for the timely implementation of the activities in the new project in line with the budget, building an action team of partners and staff and measuring the impact of the results of the project.

The main responsibilities of the Sahel Team Leader will be to ensure that SFCG undertakes its obligations within the project in time and within budget. 

Organizational Development and Implementation

• Establish an office in Niamey to serve for the operational base of the project and serve as SFCG’s representative in the Sahel
• Establish an action team for implementation of the project – building partnerships with key partners in the project consortium and staff members
• Ensure the workplanning with the action team,  implementation and  reporting of the activities in respect of the project to support the project strategic objectives
• Manage the various partnerships which are central to the project
• Build an appropriate strategy for the rollout of the project
• Establish good working relations with relevant stakeholders for the effective implementation of the project including government and non governmental level
• Develop and maintain proactive, positive, and professional relationships with partner organizations, other NGOS, donors, clients, politicians, key government officials, civil society groups, working on similar or complementary issues in the region
• Manage, with the support of a project coordinator, the administrative and financial systems for the execution of the project with effective delegation and supervision to country coordinators
• Maintain regular written and oral reporting to the Africa Director on key country, regional, program, security and staff issues
• Maintain responsible media coverage of program events and issues in the Sahel related to SFCG mission and the project

Administration

• Establishing and managing an operational office in Niamey from which the project is implemented ensuring compliance with local laws and organizational policies and procedures, including the management and evaluation of a diverse staff across the four countries
• Ensure the implementation of Sahel project on-time and within budget
• Ensure compliance with SFCG Operations Manual policies and procedures
• Establish and maintain updated security and evacuation plans
• Oversee the management of the project funds, timely reporting and compliance with contract and donor guidelines
• Establishing and monitoring a system of checks and balances to ensure the program is meeting its targets and delivering the requirements as well as capturing the learning locally at each stage.
• Be the focal point in the Sahel with regard to organization-wide institutional learning and design, monitoring and evaluation policies

The Sahel Team Leader will work with the Africa Director to establish wider strategic priorities for the West Africa regional strategy and inform the present themes including defining program priorities, plans and long-term strategy within the overall Africa Program vision and goals. With these priorities, collaboration will be expected to:

• Identify and assess current and existing conflict management and prevention initiatives in West Africa and identify  relevant actors and key stakeholders
• Establish SFCG’s vision in the Sahel to add to the West Africa strategy including identifying tools and methodologies that are appropriate to the environment
• Be directly engaged in the continuing development of the organization, its mission and its staff, through the sharing of experience and knowledge, particularly contributing to its Institutional Learning efforts

As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key duties.

• Post graduate degree in social sciences or related field
• At least ten (10) years of experience in peace-building, development and/or related fields, including democracy and governance issues such as civil society strengthening
• Proven ability to negotiate multiple relationships with various partners
• Demonstrated people and process management skills
• Dynamic leader with creative problem-solving skills, particularly in challenging situations
• Knowledge of major donor rules and regulations, and the ability to manage multi-donor funding
• Excellent interpersonal and networking skills, as well as the ability to build and conduct effective professional working relationships at all levels, both internally and externally
• Spoken and written fluency in English and French
• Strong oral and written communications skills
• Cultural sensitivity and adaptability
• Experience living and working in various west African locales
• Entrepreneurial spirit
• Experience with creative conflict resolution practice

Please send a cover letter and resume to employment@sfcg.org  or fax to +1 (202) 232-6718 with the subject heading:  Sahel Team Leader. Please be sure to include minimum salary requirements (in currency figures) or current salary, projected start date, and to mention where you found this posting. No phone calls please. Only applicants invited for an interview will be contacted. Please see our web site www.sfcg.org for full details of our work.