Field officer (2) – UNICOOPAGI

Job Description

Organization: UNICOOPAGI

Job Title: Field Officer

Number of positions: 2

Location: Based in Nyamagabe district with frequent travel to Nyaruguru district

Description of the organization:

UNICOOPAGI is a farmers’ cooperative Union created in 1991 and working in the Southern Province of Rwanda in Nyamagabe, Nyaruguru and Huye Districts with the main Office in Nyamagabe. Today, UNICOOPAGI has 2,558 members (1,112 men and 1,446 women) from 34 Cooperatives engaged in Agricultural activities.

UNICOOPAGI the most focused areas are Food security through Agriculture inputs distribution, Agriculture value chain development, Agroforestry, Climate change adaptations, and mitigation practices, livestock restocking, microfinance, and natural resources use, and management with a focus on water and land.

Background to the Role:

A Field Officer role have arisen to lead the implementation of a 4-year biodiversity conservation project.

UNICOOPAGI will support rural, poor communities living around the Nyungwe National Park in Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru districts, to become empowered to assess, plan, and sustainably manage their land and common natural resources leading to more environmentally and economically sustainable and resilient communities. The project will do this through a unique partnership approach in which livelihood, biodiversity, and agroecology expertise is being combined with knowledge of- and acceptance by- the communities where the project will work.

The project will be implemented by 3 implementing partners and coordinated by Trócaire Rwanda.

Reporting to:

UNICOOPAGI Coordinator / Programme Manager

Managing: (Individuals/Team)

N/A

Contract Type:

Fixed-term

Contract Duration:

2 years with a possibility for extension and with a probation period of 3 months.  Probation may be extended to 6 months in line with the labor law in Rwanda.

Grade and Scale:

Field Officer Scale

Location of Position

Based in Nyamagabe, with frequent travel to the targeted villages and sectors in Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru districts plus Kigali and other potential areas as required and/or identified for learning and project coordination.

Scope of the Role:

This post will lead to the implementation of activities for the 4-year project to ensure that rural, poor communities living around the Nyungwe National Park are empowered to assess, plan, and sustainably manage their land and common natural resources leading to more environmentally and economically sustainable and resilient communities.

Apart from day to day activity implementation, the role will be responsible for the implementation of donor-specific requirements such as reporting, adhering to visibility, and procurement requirements.

Commitment to Safeguarding Programme Participants from Exploitation and Abuse

UNICOOPAGI is committed to Safeguarding people within our programmes from Exploitation and Abuse and has specific policies on this commitment (including a Code of Conduct) which outlines the expected behavior and responsibility of all staff, consultants and other organizational representatives.

Any candidate offered a job with UNICOOPAGI will be expected to sign UNICOOPAGI Safeguarding Policies and the Code of Conduct within a month of joining UNICOOPAGI as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents.

UNICOOPAGI is very sensitive to fraud and any allegation will be taken seriously. Candidates will be encouraged also to use the complaints handling mechanisms in place and to ensure the data protection for the organization and for the project beneficiaries is fully respected.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

Project Implementation:

• Take leadership on the implementation of all activities in line with the approved work plan and budget
• Actively collaborate and participate in project activities planning, shaping strategies, and thinking in areas such as baseline development, activities implementation, monitoring, documentation, research, peer learning, and evaluation.
• Participate in monthly technical meetings with other project staff and partners to discuss project implementation, progress and work plans
• Ensure that the project activities are implemented in accordance with internal UNICOOPAGI policy and guidelines as well as donor guidelines and regulations
• Coordinate, plan, implement and monitor activities under the project in line with the established work plan, targets, and available budget;
• Act as a focal person for the project coordination and implementation and liaise with the project coordinator that is based with Trócaire Rwanda in Kigali for further technical support;
• Development of subsequent work plans and budgets in collaboration with UNICOOPAGI  management ;
• Support the targeted communities to implement their activities in line with the project deliverables;
• Collaborate with the local structures to ensure collaboration and support.

Reporting and Communication:

• Preparing consolidated and timely and quality reports;
• Ensure visibility strategy is respected and applied as appropriate;
• Provide regular updates including case studies and learning materials

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Participate and roll out M&E activities under the project such as surveys, mid-term evaluations, and end line evaluations;
• Carry out weekly field visits to all project sites and participate in joint field visits with other project partners and stakeholders
• Work with the Project Coordinator to ensure recommendations from evaluations are timely implemented;

Stakeholder engagement and Representation:

• Support the UNICOOPAGI management to build and maintain professional relations with relevant organizations at field level including Rwanda Development Board (RDB) office in Kitabi and local authorities;
• Collaborate with ICRAF toward the delivery of the project objectives;
• Participate in coordination meetings at field level including JADF when necessary and other stakeholders meetings and provide timely feedback to the UNICOOPAGI management and to Trocaire through the project coordinator on outputs and decisions reached in such meetings.
• Accompany visitors to project sites and carry out promotional or media work including stories of change and stories of need as required.

Administration, Financial Management & Reporting

• Work closely with UNICOOPAGI management  respect financial and logistical procedures; to monitor budget spending and to ensure activities are implemented in line with budgets, MoU and work plan

Teamwork & Collaboration

• Work collaboratively with colleagues in the project from the different partner organizations

Person Specification – Essential Requirements (E)

(E) Qualification

• At least a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Resources Management, Environment protection, Biodiversity conservation, Conservation Agriculture, agroforestry, or related fields.

(E) Experience

• Natural Resources Management & Working with local communities (3 years minimum); Climate change adaptation and DRR approaches;
• Income sources strengthening approaches;
• Community-based planning processes and facilitation;
• Biodiversity management practices
• Working experience with Civil society organizations;
• Experience of a partnership approach and Capacity Building.
• Fieldwork by Motorbike (To have a Driving License Cat. A is a must)

(E) Skills

• Public speaking skills;
• Project management skills;
• Report writing skills;
• Basic skills in Budget tracking;
• Knowledge of Gender and disability mainstreaming approaches;
• Knowledge of participatory methodologies and techniques (e.g. Participatory Rural Appraisal –PRA or Community Monitoring and Advocacy (CMA)
• Good IT skills, especially word processing, spreadsheets, and PowerPoint
• Good communication skills using a variety of media
• Fluent in English/French and Kinyarwanda both spoken & written.

(E) Qualities

• Commitment to UNICOOPAGI Vision, Mission and Values and an understanding of the partnership approach to development;
• Able to work to deadlines;
• Flexible and adaptable;
• Accuracy and attention to detail;
• Able to learn from experience and apply to future work;
• Commitment to support the teamwork.

(E) Knowledge

Good knowledge of Rwanda Natural Resource Management, Biodiversity conservation, and Agriculture context, and the Impact of Climate Change and Variability.

 How to apply

Motivation letter, Curriculum Vitae with three reference persons, Degree Copy, ID Copy, Driving license copy, Relevant Certificates certifying your experience will be sent by e-mail: unicoopagi@yahoo.fr  not later than 10^th June 2020 15h00 PM. For more information or concern you can contact  Coordinator of UNICOOPAGI on 0788467349.