Project Officer at SOS Children’s Villages Rwanda (Deadline: 17 December 2023 )

Vacancy announcement

Position Title: Project Officer  

Vacant positions: 1 person

Type of contract: Full Time

Working location: Kigali

Supervisor: Head of projects

Deadline: 17^th December 2023

SOS Children’s Villages in Rwanda located to recruit Project officer who will oversee and supervise the operations of the European Union Funded project focusing at promotion of rights and inclusion of children and youth with disabilities through strengthening social and economic living conditions. The 4-year project will be implemented in 4 districts in Rwanda and will enhance the capacity of CBOs to responding to the needs of children and Youth with disabilities (CYWDs) 

Context of the position: 

SOS Children’s Villages Rwanda is an independent, non-governmental social development & child-focused organization. The Organization supports vulnerable children and young people in four locations of Kigali, Gicumbi, Kayonza and Nyamagabe. Through a continuum of approaches, SOS Children’s Villages in Rwanda implements various programs aimed at prevention of family separation and support to children who have lost parental care. As such, SOS will partner with Association Générale des Handicapés du Rwanda (AGHR) and local districts of Nyagatare, Kayonza, Musanza and Rubavu to enhance responsible child care for CYWDs.  The project Officer will oversee the implementation of the project and as well provide technical support to the entire project team. The Project officer will provide leadership and oversight on implementation of the actions that promote realization of the rights of children and youth with disabilities and ensures the delivery of all aspects of project including budgeting, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, reporting and collaboration with project stakeholders.

He/she will be responsible of ensuring that the project is responding to the needs of the identified/ project targeted most vulnerable children and youth with disabilities (CYWDs)

Programme Development

The position holder will therefore be responsible for the following tasks:

• Arranges, provides and coordinates the delivery of services to children and youth with disabilities in strong partnership with other service providers in the districts of Kayonza, Nyagatare, Musanze and Rubavu districts.
• Liaise with the project field team and local authorities to ensure effective implementation of the project
• Maintaining and updating files for programme participants.
• Identify and engage local partners, community leaders and government structures for effective programme planning, implementation and monitoring.
• Work in collaboration with community volunteers and local partners in the identification and enrolment of programme participants.
• Facilitate and support the timely programme plans from the approved annual plans
• Ensure quality of implementation and provide managerial support to the effective running of the project activities
• Support the development of effective M&E frameworks in close collaboration with the M&E Manager and feed this into overall institutional reporting.
• Ensure co-ordination and adequate recording of lessons learning among partners of the project, counterpart organisations/institutions
• Oversee all monitoring and evaluation for project activities, checking progress against expected outcomes and against the project’s theory of change
• Lead the design, planning, organization, and execution of project activities
• Articulating lessons learned from the project and adapting the project based on these lessons learned throughout implementation
• Produce and disseminate project success stories as well as related ‘impact’ films or other outputs
• Provide supervision and technical support to project staff
• Provide narrative progress reports and financial reports as per donor requirements.
• Conduct budget tracking and Program Monitoring.
• Conduct performance appraisals for staff on the project as well as quarterly check-in on staff goals.
• Building communities’ economic capacity to deal with issues around children and Youth with disabilities
• Keeps regular contacts with Children and Youth with Disabilities (CYWDs) during the implementation of the project through phone calls, home visits and meetings in programme premises.
• Participates in annual planning process and as well project reviews

Monitoring and Evaluation.

• Enters data regularly in Programme Database module (PDB), ensures quality of data and uses regularly the reports and data stored in the database to track individual progress of children and families.
• Collects regularly information about different indicators as defined in the M&E plan of the programme unit and reports to M&E
• Facilitate participatory monitoring and evaluation of the programme interventions.
• Facilitate regular data collection through appropriate monitoring tools on programme interventions.
• Facilitate the regular counting of key programme participants.
• Organize and facilitate regular project reviews
• Carry out regular home visits to families on the programme and write home visit reports.
• Carry out regular visits to CBOs, family support groups and other partners in the respective community for timely and relevant programme support.
• Facilitate joint planning and review meetings with community stakeholders and participants.
• Capture data into the appropriate databases for the program

Partnership building and advocacy

• Keeps regular contacts with service providers to ensure that services are provided according to objectives and actions of the project
• Advocates for the children and youth with disabilities to have access to their rights
• Liaise with the local authorities of the districts of Nyagatare, Kayonza, Musanze and Rubavu where the project operates.
• Experienced in working in collaboration with local leaders and community structures

Knowledge Management

• Oversees the track of latest developments in social work area as well as changes in national legislation, policies and practises related to children and youth with disabilities as the target group.
• Facilitates the training of School Management Committees- (head teachers, Parent representative) and caregivers on CYWDs rights
• Works closely with partner in charge of gender to train male caregivers on positive masculinities to increase male involvement (Men-Engage approach) to care for CYWD
• Ensure training of para-social workers and youth volunteers on VSLA management skills, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.
• Support community engagement officers train social workforce CSOs and FBOs on Convention of the rights of children (UNCRC) and Convection on the rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD).
• Train caregivers of children with disabilities on positive parenting, nutrition, and hygiene

Technical Qualifications and personal skills:

• A degree qualification in social work/sciences, education, project management, development studies
• At least 3 years’ work experience in the project coordination, community development field, and child protection
• Experience in project cycle management
• Positive and professional approach. Ability to work independently, self-organise, use initiative, fulfil commitments and meet deadlines.
• Good written and verbal communication skills, including written and spoken English; French would be an added value
• Well-developed facilitation, group leadership and presentation skills.
• Ability to develop guidelines and tools, and oversee their implementation.
• Computer literacy (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access).
• A team player who is culturally astute, respectful and tolerant.
• Experience in using applied social research skills (quantitative and qualitative).

How to apply

Interested candidates in this offer should send their applications to sos.recruitment@sos-rwanda.org and properly fill a form found via this LINK not later than December 17^th, 2023 at 5:00 pm local time.

The application dossier should contain:

• Application letter, 
• CV
• Copies of education qualification, and 

A mandatory employment application form well filled in, Available on this link:  LINK

Please indicate in the subject line “Project Officer EU funded Project”.

NB:

• Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted
• Late applications will not be accepted.

“SOS Children’s Villages Rwanda/ International holds strict child safeguarding principles and a zero-tolerance policy for conducts of sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse in the workplace and other places where the organization’s activities are rendered. Parallel to technical competence, recruitment, selection and hiring decisions will give due emphasize to assessing candidates value congruence and thorough background checks, police clearance reference check processes”.

Done in Kigali on December 7^th, 2023.

KWIZERA Jean Bosco

National Director