Officer, Program Development, Africa

Description de l'offre

Officer, Program Development, Africa (based in a Search West Africa office; Senegal or Benin preferred).

• Reports to: Manager, Program Development, Africa, with a dotted line to the Senior Regional Program Manager, West Africa
• Department: Global Affairs and Partnerships
• Team: Program Development, West Africa Regional Team
• Location: Any location in West Africa, with a preference for Dakar, Senegal or Cotonou, Benin
• Contract start date: As soon as possible

Search for Common Ground

In a world often divided, Search for Common Ground stands for the power of bringing diverse people together to find solutions. By meeting this moment with Search, you join a powerful global peace movement that believes in the profound impact of courageous multipartiality – that all voices should be heard and respected in shaping a better, more connected world and collaborative vision is essential for lasting peace.

Search for Common Ground takes a dynamic approach by building solutions that are based on the needs of communities. We engage with leaders and elected officials to advance dialogue and collaboration. We are community leaders. We are youth activists. We are women. We are Peacebuilders. We have been doing this work for over 40 years, we have developed our understanding of what peace looks like, being able to quantify our impact and design more effective programming. Peace moves at the speed of trust, so we invest for the long haul. When we’re no longer needed, we leave, leaving behind people and institutions with the ability to manage future conflicts.

Position

Search is seeking a motivated candidate to join its Africa Program Development Hub within the West Africa region, a high-performing and dynamic team which leads business development efforts for a diverse portfolio that covers over fifteen countries across five conflict geographies: the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin, the Great Lakes, the Horn of Africa and the Sudans.

The Officer will lead the development of program ideas into competitive proposals to secure funding for the region. The Officer will work closely with regional teams, in-country staff and other Search departments to develop programming that directly responds to the most pressing conflicts and peacebuilding needs. The Officer will have a focus on one particular geography, but will support other geographies in the Africa portfolio as required.

This position can be based in any country in West Africa, with a preference for candidates based in Dakar, Senegal or Cotonou, Benin.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the pursuit of specific funding opportunities.
• Facilitate proposal design processes in close coordination with the country team and other relevant stakeholders.
• Manage capture planning efforts in coordination with country teams, including supporting the Program
• Development Specialist on large bids.
• Develop actions plan to engage non-traditional donors, including the private sector, for longer terms and large awards.
• Facilitate the transition from contract signature to project start up.

Contributions

• Strategy development: Prepares analysis and provides substantive inputs into strategy processes.
• Business intelligence: Provides high-quality inputs into internal knowledge management systems.
• Positioning and donor relations: In coordination with country teams, builds partnerships and donor relations in line with the strategy. Represents the organization in relevant forums.
• Partnerships: Prepares analysis for partnership decision making. Stewards peer relationships with prospective partners.
• Go/No-go decisions: Prepares and presents analysis for go/no-go decisions.
• Capture planning: Oversees capture planning efforts, with support.
• Program design: Facilitates design processes in collaboration with country teams.
• Proposal development: Leads proposal and concept note writing.
• Proposal reviews: Ensures reviews take place and incorporates reviewers’ feedback as appropriate.
• Contracting process: Leads donor communications and follow-up, with support.
• After action reviews: Leads after action reviews for individual proposals and adapts future processes.
• Recruitment: Supports onboarding and orientation of junior staff.
• Other duties that are broadly in line with the above key contributions as assigned.

Qualifications

• Minimum Bachelor degree or a Master degree in peace and conflict studies, international relations, African studies, international development, or a related field.
• At least 6 years of experience (or 4 years if holding a Master degree), preferably in international or cross-cultural environments.
• Excellent writing, editing, and communication skills both in French and English are required.
• Knowledge of any West African languages is an asset.
• Knowledge of and interest in the field of peacebuilding and conflict transformation.
• Familiarity with the Africa region.
• Practical experience with program design, program and business development.
• Ability to maintain professionalism, creativity, and enthusiasm while working in a fast-paced, multicultural environment with minimal supervision.
• High level of analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Self starter, able to work independently, and willing to take on tasks small and large.
• Well organized, resourceful with time management and technology to prioritize tasks
• Type and nature of contacts
• Interacts with the country office and regional staff.
• Routinely coordinates with colleagues and consultants on-site and in the field and resolves problems with tact.
• Represents Search vis-a-vis other organizations, including donors, international and local partners, and vendors

Working conditions and physical requirements

• Remote work, unless based in an office (usual office environment conditions); ability to travel internationally at least 20%.
• Supervisory and budget responsibility
  May supervise one or more employees, including interns. No budget responsibility.

Applications are received until September 18, 2024 .

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 responsibilities.