Program Associate – West Africa

The Organization

Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is an international non-profit organization that promotes peaceful resolution of conflict. With headquarters in Washington, DC and a European office in Brussels, Belgium, SFCG’s mission is to transform how individuals, organizations, and governments deal with conflict - away from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions. SFCG seeks to help conflicting parties understand their differences and act on their commonalities. With a total of approximately 600 staff worldwide, SFCG implements projects from 56 offices in 35 countries, including in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. The organization is an exciting and rewarding place to work, with dedicated and enthusiastic staff who love their work. You will be joining a highly motivated staff with a good team spirit and there will be opportunities to grow in the role.

Summary of Position

In West Africa, SFCG has ten country programs: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic and Angola. Some of these programs began as early as 1997 (Liberia), while programs in Central African Republic and Chad have grown within the last two years. Each national program generates its own contextualized strategy, responding to national conflict dynamics in line with the organizational mission. There are several regional programs, and country programs collaborate and learn from each other as they interact. The largest program in revenue terms Nigeria, while our most limited operation is in Burkina Faso where we work as part of a Sahel-wide consortium

The Program Associate is a member of the support team for the Africa programs and is the primary contact in Washington supporting a portfolio of approximately ten country programs. The Program Associate works with the country teams to produce proposals, reports, program literature, and other materials. In this function, the Program Associate supports program design, administration and monitoring, providing input and feedback to the country teams to better target proposals and capture results. The position is involved in representation of the Africa programs in the DC community. The position is also responsible for supervising the DC-based interns and liaising with the international interns in the field, as needed. The position holder will work closely with the field-based Africa team, field offices; and Washington based divisions within Search for Common Ground. The position reports to the Africa Senior Program Manager.   

Responsibilities

• Work with project coordinators and Country Directors to produce donor reports, ensuring results-oriented focus and quality reporting;
• Develop project proposals, based on programmatic ideas of the country programs and the Africa program;
• Recruit and manage intern staff as required;
• Manage preparation of terms of reference and contracts for international technical assistance and consultants, and manage payments in coordination with country teams;
• Support the coordination between the Africa programs and other Headquarters-based support units, including the Institutional Learning Team, Communications, Finance, and Operations departments;
• Update and maintain content for Africa programs on the SFCG website;
• Lead the production of quarterly newsletters and other program literature on Africa program activities and events for public distribution;
• Provide general logistical support as required including support for trainings, special events and hospitality for international guests and staff;
• Research, identify, and compile updates of trainings, awards, and fellowship opportunities for Sub-Saharan Africa programs and staff in order to provide capacity building and recognition opportunities;
• Represent SFCG at events and meetings;
• Maintain relationships with contacts from major donor and partners based in Washington, DC;
• Be engaged in the continuing development of the organisation, its mission and its staff; and
• Implement special projects as assigned.

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.

Minimum Qualifications

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree in one of the social sciences, African studies, conflict resolution, international development, or a related field
• Minimum of three (3) years of work experience in related field
• Knowledge and/or experience in Africa, especially countries in conflict
• Proficiency in written and spoken French and English, with excellent writing skills in both languages
• Experience in proposal writing and development
• Ability to prepare budgets and experience with Microsoft Excel
• Ability to represent projects professionally to a variety of audiences
• Strong organisational skills
• Ability to work well under pressure with strong attention to detail
• Ability to travel overseas on short notice
• Flexibility and a sense of humour

Desirable

• Knowledge of Portuguese or other relevant languages

Salary:  Commensurate with education and experience, with excellent benefits

To Apply

Please submit a cover letter and resume at: https://sfcg.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=128. Please include a writing sample in French and in English. 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.The deadline for applications is October 10.