SLCRP Senior Officer- Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment

• All project team members and partners in district, but especially the other SLCRP Senior Officer; other project teams in Port Loko. Relevant counterparts in SLCRP in Kambia implemented by a national partner.

• Area Coordinator; District & Freetown finance, system and HR staff; So-WASH Engineering Manager; Freetown PDQ Coordinator, MEAL Coordinator, Equality and Gender Advisor, Advocacy and Communications Manager, Accountability Supervisor and Partnership Manager, Livelihoods Programme Coordinator and Sector Programme Coordinators.

• Relevant Community, Chiefdom and District stakeholders from Ministries and District Council as well as Private sector actors.

• Relevant head office advisors

Project specific: 

• Overall the role of the Senior Officer- Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment is to implement SLCRP activities and provide strong management and leadership of project offices and matric support partners to ensure successful delivery of the SLCRP aiming to ‘reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities to climate change impacts’ in Port Loko and Kambia Districts. S/He will receive technical support from the SLCRP Manager on programming. 

Coastal communities and institutions have governance structures, plans, knowledge, skills and solutions in place to undertake local adaptation to climate change  

• Take a lead role in strengthening community structures, coastal governance platforms and developing Community Adaptation Plans (CAPs). 

• Take a lead in integration of Community Adaptation Plans into Local/District Development Plans and strengthened capacity of national and sub-national government for implementing adaptation initiatives 

• Liaise with the Freetown WASH team to ensure Small-scale WASH infrastructure (rainwater harvesting, filtration and solar hot water systems) are installed and climate-resilient WASH and nutrition practices are used by communities, especially women and children 

• Liaise with Freetown WASH Team and Education Coordinator to ensure small-scale infrastructure (incl. rainwater harvesting and solar power), climate change education and disaster risk reduction measures are implemented for schools 

Coastal communities have climate-resilient farming, fishing and alternative livelihoods and businesses 

• Support with the provision of appropriate technologies, equipment, inputs, plans and practices for climate-resilient farming, fishing and alternative livelihoods 

Mangroves are conserved and restored for coastal resilience and communities have increased capacity to co-manage mangroves with government institutions. 

• Ensure strengthened capacity of communities and government for climate-resilient mangrove management and alternative technologies and fuel sources that reduce mangrove wood use 

• Ensure mangroves conserved and restored via assessments, management plans, planting and monitoring 

Other: 

• Support project assessments in area of expertise (Baseline, Market assessments, annual surveys e.t.c) 

• Provide technical support to WASH interventions related to ensuring they are climate smart and adaptive. 

Responsibilities:

Programme design and planning  

• Collaborate closely with the SLCRP Manager in developing annual, monthly and weekly activity plans for the SLCRP;  

• Develop monthly and weekly work plans with their team (which are harmonized with partner plans where needed) based on the overall project work plan and timeframe, and monitor progress against these plans recommending actions to rearrange plans where necessary; 

• In coordination with the Project Officers, ensure that field level activities are accurately planned and implementation plans are realistic; 

• Participate in field assessments and needs identification surveys that may be requested for the development of new project proposals.   

Programme implementation  

• Oversee, manage and ensure quality implementation of activities and achievement of SLCRP outcomes. Coordinating with counterparts in project partners to harmonise approaches and promote sharing and learning; 

• Participate in project community entry meetings and identification of vulnerable households using PRA tools; 

• Submit weekly work plans aligned with the overall programme implementation plan and monthly reports to SLCRP Manager; 

• Develop and design effective community mobilisation strategies in engaging with community structures in promoting climate smart and environmentally friendly initiatives in target communities; 

• Work closely with the So-WASH Engineer to conduct field level assessment for the construction of climate smart irrigation or WASH facilities in target communities; 

• Ensure all expenditure is authorized and spent in accordance with Concern’s internal procedures and in line with project budget; 

• Contribute to the designing and delivery of training models, learning processes, resources, materials and workshops in your technical area of expertise; 

• Participate as active participant in relevant project training of trainers.  

MEAL 

• Ensure involvement of communities in the planning, monitoring and implementation of climate smart and environmental friendly initiatives at various levels; 

• Support the SLCRP Manager and sector coordinators to organise and implement the project baseline study and needs assessment – highlight areas of the adaptation of District context. 

• Work with the MEAL team in design plan and monitoring tools, to monitor activities, outputs and impact and adapt the programme as needed; 

• In collaboration with Concern’s MEAL team, identify and document lessons learnt and case/impact stories in the project; 

• Participate in project planning and review meetings with staff and stakeholders and ensure that key recommendations and learnings are incorporated into day to day project implementation;  

• Ensure that the project activities under their responsibility are accurately reflected in the integrated MEAL system, identifying activities to be monitored and data to be collected.  

People Management:  

• Line manages three Project Officers, contributing to their capacity building and career development through technical support and on-the-job training and coaching, including a thorough induction at the start of their contract; 

• Ensure that all team positions have accurate job descriptions and that each member of the team fully understands deliverables, which are expected of them, by setting SMART objectives, and that they are aware of the success criteria relating to their work; 

• Ensure that all staff are aware of and comply with all of Concern’s Policies and Procedures; 

• Monitor and review performance of your direct reports and hold them accountable for executing their job as per the agreed job description and performance objectives; give corrective feedback where required and take decisive action in the case of poor performance; conducting regular Performance Development Reviews; setting and identifying areas of staff development needs; 

• Ensure that work within the team(s) is planned and organised in a way which will meet the organisation’s needs in the most cost-effective manner possible; ensuring that team members are given appropriate workloads and are working efficiently; 

• Routinely observe and monitor the co-facilitation of field activities to ensure they are carried out to the highest quality, providing critical and constructive feedback to Project Officers. 

Other responsibilities: 

• Promote full accountability and staff, compliance with Concern’s Code of Conduct & Associated Policies, to ensure maximum protection of programme participants and the efficient and transparent use of Concern’s resources; 

• Support the fulfilment of Concerns commitments to accountability (as outlined in the Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) to which Concern is a signatory) – including in relation to the functionality and accessibility of Concern’s Complaints & Response Mechanism (CRM); 

• Under the supervision of the SLCRP Manager, ensure the mainstreaming of cross cutting themes by field officers in all activities: Gender and Equality; Environment and climate adaption, Protection, DRR and Partnership; 

• Foster partnerships with key government line ministries and other institutions working on climate change and environment issues; 

• Participate in relevant meetings at District level; 

• Complete any reasonable task requested by the Line Manager. 

• University degree in Environmental Science/Agriculture or other relevant social sciences. 

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience working in climate change and environment, or livelihoods issues with adequate experience of practical situations in Sierra Leone. 

• Experience in implementing climate smart / nutrition sensitive agriculture and/or NRM is an added advantage. 

• Minimum 4 year working with local/national/INGOs desirable   

• Field experience in community-based projects working directly with communities, partners and government officials. 

Special Skills, Aptitude or Personality Requirements: 

• Strong team leader – demonstrated experience in line management and building cohesive high performing teams. 

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including report writing. 

• Good budget and financial management skills. 

• Initiative and ability to work with minimal supervision; ability to work both as part of a team & independently. 

• Enthusiastic, energetic and motivated. 

• Ability to motivate and inspire others. 

• Strong analytical skills.  

• Excellent supervision skills. 

• Good MS Office skills (Word, Excel and PowerPoint). 

• Experience in working with district sector offices (such as welfare, gender and equality, agriculture, environment, nutrition and/or health), local/national NGOs and INGOs. 

• Strong spoken skills in Temne and Krio. 

• Valid motorbike license and ability to ride (desirable). 

• Raising awareness and being updated on HIV & AIDS issues.
• Protecting him/herself and colleagues.

Sharing information with colleagues and avoiding stigma and discrimination.

Therefore, each staff member of Concern is expected to be sensitive to equality issues in their relationships with colleagues and in their work and to participate in implementation of gender mainstreaming plans, both at the workplace and in programmes.

Concern has an organisational Code of Conduct (CCoC) with three Associated Policies; the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4), the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation, and to SME&Lrify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organisation, and the standards of behaviour expected of them. In this context, staff have a responsibility to the organisation to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and Associated Policies as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Concern Code of Conduct, candidates acknowledge that they have understood the content of both the Concern Code of Conduct and the Associated Policies and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these policies. Additionally, Concern is committed to the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable adults and children in our work. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those who are suitable to work or volunteer with vulnerable adults and children are recruited by us for such roles. Subsequently, working or volunteering with Concern is subject to a range of vetting checks, including criminal background checking.