Project Manager

Christian Aid Sierra Leone will work with women groups and local partners on this project to address power imbalances and structural barriers and achieve peaceful coexistence of the communities and enhance their social cohesion. The project aims to strengthen women’s leadership in addressing cultural and legal gender discrimination, particularly in land-related violence  and enhancing the linkage between Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) act and the new land laws. Some of the activities include training women leaders in peacebuilding, land laws, and advocacy, supporting women’s networks in natural resource management processes, and creating safe engagement structures with authorities. This project covers communities in the following districts; Port Loko, Tonkolili, Kailahun and Kono.

Catalysing women’s leadership, this project funded by UNPBF engages marginalised women, their organisations (CSOs, CBOs) and power holders in Kono, Kailahun Port Loko and Tonkolili districts of Sierra Leone (SL) to drive peaceful, gender transformative natural resource management (NRM) of land. Consistent with UNSCR1325 and associated WPS resolutions, the project addresses systemic barriers and discrimination that expose women to conflict and undermines women’s leadership and active participation in NRM, by using an inclusive, participatory and gender transformative approach. Aligned with legislative land and GEWE reforms (2022), the project tackles the direct and structural violence facing women, to drive gender equality in land ownership in law, policy and in practice, promoting inclusive processes that support women’s land rights and sustainable peace.

Role purpose

The Project Manager will lead the coordination and implementation of the Women’s Land for Peace: Women Lead Transformative Pathways to Peace through Natural Resources Management project activities in five districts (Kailahun, Kono, Portloko, Tonkolili,) in Sierra Leone. The post holder will be based in Freetown with frequent travels to the districts to monitor and support partners’ work in target communities. 

The role will be responsible for planning and guiding implementation and completing quarterly plans and reports. This role will also manage the compliance with safeguarding and accountability requirements and providing technical backstopping to partners across the four districts and advocacy at national level. The role will also require interface with donors and other key stakeholders at national and district levels. The Project Manager will have overall responsibility for project implementation and promoting effective collaboration between the partner organizations.

The role requires a self-motivated, dynamic, and innovative person with extensive knowledge in natural resources management, women peace and security, civic engagement, local governance and accountability, gender and civil society capacity building. 

Key outcomes

• Project Management and Delivery

1. Ensure the effective planning and implementation of the project to achieve the desired outcomes of the project
2. Coordinate the implementation of the project with partners and key stakeholders.  
3. Ensure effective engagement and support with partners to deliver according to their plans.  
4. Review partner plans and budget forecasts to ensure accuracy timely and quality implementation.  
5. Liaise with the Project Board, national counterparts, donors, Christian Aid, and partners to ensure the Project results are achieved and resources are managed.
6. Prepare and present work-plans, periodic narrative progress reports and expenditures status reports to the donor.

• Guide coordination with national partners and other stakeholders 

1. Coordinate relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the project, raise potential problems and provide solutions.
2. Provide guidance to partners on establishment of performance indicators, and monitoring achievement of results.
3. Identify capacity building needs and support partners through technical assistance, mentoring, training, cross-partner learning, and capacity development initiatives.
4. Ensure that key national and district stakeholders are involved in project planning and delivery at all stages and are providing the required support for success. 
5. Monitor and support partners in their planning and implementation. 
6. Attend/participate in relevant coordination meetings at national and district levels. 

1. Manage financial resources and supervise staff

1. Supervise and manage a team of project staff, review performance – mentor/ coach staff.
2. Coordinate development and preparation of financial resources of the project including budgeting and budget revisions, and expenditure tracking and reporting.
3. Review partner plans and budget forecasts to ensure accuracy timely and quality implementation.  
4. Oversee and monitor the allocation and disbursement of funds to participating partners.

• Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning

1. Work with the MEL Specialist to finalize the MEL Plan for the project and ensure implementation all through the project.
2. Support the MEL Specialist to coordinate learning and review sessions with partners and stakeholders as stated in the project plan.
3. Support learning events involving project participants and stakeholders.
4. Facilitate outcome harvesting, using the excel-based tool, to ensure that project outputs and impact are captured and recorded on an ongoing basis. 
5. Lead on annual review/learning sessions to review impact, strategies and approaches for sustained project impact. 
6. Consolidate and share quarterly reports with output/impact case studies and annual reports to the Head of Programme & Policy for review and onward submission to the donor.

• Communications, knowledge building and management

1. Ensure documentation of the project implementation process and products produced are in accordance with the project guidelines.
2. Contribute to the exchange of information and knowledge products internally and externally of the project.
3. Organize major advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops, and knowledge productions.
4. Build relationships with partners and ensure effective communication on project implementation and learning. 
5. Share information with key stakeholders as would be necessary to ensure that project is fully engaging with all relevant stakeholders. 
6. Seek opportunities for collaboration/partnerships to expand or scale key impactful interventions of the project based on results and learning. 

• Reporting

1. Produce timely and quality quarterly reports with case studies (photos and short videos) to the Head of Programme & Policy for review and subsequent submission to the donor
2. Produce timely and quality annual reports to the Head of Programme & Policy for review and subsequent submission to the donor and to contribute to the annual country report.
3. Produce quality reports from review and learning sessions with clear recommendations or action points for improvement. 

• Safeguarding and Accountability

1. Ensure in collaboration with CASL safeguarding focal person that partners carry out community accountability assessment (CAA) in all target communities across the five districts and submit report to CASL Head of Programme & Policy
2. Ensure in collaboration with CASL safeguarding focal person that communities are aware about safeguarding and how they can report concerns on project implementation. 
3. Ensure in collaboration with CASL safeguarding focal person that complaints and feedback mechanisms are in place in all 20 communities and project participants are aware of their rights and entitlements. 
4. Ensure in collaboration with CASL safeguarding focal person that project participants are protected against abuse and exploitation as a result of their participation in the project.   

Role agility

Surge capacity for emergency responses –  No

In order to respond to ever changing demands within the environment, Christian Aid operates within an agile framework (both in workforce and operational) that requires from all employees, a high level of responsiveness and adaptiveness to processes and structures, making flexibility and a project based working approach the norm. To sustain this system, managers may/will agree further details of specific tasks and duties as part of the performance agreement. Any reasonable duty may be assigned that is consistent with the nature of the job and its level of responsibility, and employees may be required to change the focus of their role and to support emerging areas of work from time to time.

External: Alongside the MEL Coordinator, Head of Programme & Policy and Finance Manager, the role has a critical and ongoing engagement with partners and other relevant stake holders at regional/district level. 

Internal:  The role sits within the Programme team, and will demand frequent and ongoing engagement with other Programme staff in the Sierra Leone Country Programme and wider organisation.

Budgetary/savings responsibility  No

Ability to analyze and scan the operating context and collaborate with colleagues and partners to design interventions that respond to and fit with the context, and which will maximize CA’s impact. Ability to analyze stakeholders, power holders and the partnership portfolio and then make programming recommendations. Ability to develop succinct reports and communications materials for sharing with stakeholders.

Ability to regularly create space for learning in the team through planning of team and partner reviews. Investment in 1-2-1s and performance management. Ability to inspire team members to strive for excellence, providing programming and self-development advice and support.

Police/Child protection clearance Standard  Counter terrorism screening Required

Essential

• • Strong experience managing UN projects particularly PBF/MPTF grant management mechanism.
  • A Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Development Studies, Project Management, gender equality, Peace and Development, human rights, public administration, social sciences or other relate areas is required
  • At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in managing complex and multi-component programme interventions with national partners. 
• Hands-on experience in designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating development programmes and projects

• Significant experience of working with groups and local partners, and of providing partner support and capacity building 
• Strong relationships/networks within the civil society/local governance community in Sierra Leone, especially within the NGO sector. 
• Understanding of gender and inclusion-sensitive programming
• Considerable understanding and experience of safeguarding policy and procedures
• Excellent report writing, communication (written and verbal) skills

Desirable

• Knowledge of and experience in working with partnerships, including civic space, local governance and accountability
• Excellent analytical skills
• Knowledge of and experience of UN PBF/MPTF project management regulations
• Ability to network effectively, with the ability to develop a wide range of relevant contacts  
• Comfortable working within a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural team