Programme Officer (Peacebuilding, Conflict Prevention)

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

ORGANISATION:                     Austrian Development Agency (ADA)

PROJECT TITLE:                      IGAD Promoting Peace & Stability
                                               in the Horn of Africa Region (IPPSHAR)^[1]

POSITION:                              Programme Officer (Peacebuilding, Conflict Prevention)

TYPE OF CONTRACT:               full time

STARTING DATE:                    February 2022, or as soon as possible

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: Master´s degree, 5 years of relevant professional experience

LANUGAGES:                          English, French is an asset

[1] The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is one of eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs) under the framework of the African Union. IGAD member states currently comprise Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda.

The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) is the operational unit of the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) and is responsible for implementing all bilateral programmes and projects in ADC's partner countries on behalf of the Austrian government. For more information on ADA please refer to https://www.entwicklung.at/en/.

ADA has been delegated to manage the funding allocated by the European Union for the support of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) under the EU Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), Horn of Africa window, for a project titled “IGAD Promoting Peace and Stability in the Horn of Africa Region (IPPSHAR)” via the model of “delegated cooperation”.

The overall objective of this project is to support IGAD and its Member States in the implementation of the Regional Peace and Security Strategy 2016-2020, which defines peace, security and stability as prerequisites for the attainment of economic integration and development of the IGAD region. This will be achieved by enhancing the IGAD Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN) systems, supporting IGAD and national governments in the region to predict, prevent, and address transnational security threats and by strengthening their capacity on preventive diplomacy, mediation and civilian peace building. In addition, the project also aims to strengthen the implementation effectiveness of IGAD's Peace and Security Division (PSD) and units through enhancing their internal coordination and by establishing and expanding partnerships with international, regional, national and local organisations.

The IPPSHAR project budget envelope comprises around EUR 28.40 million. IGAD and ADA have entered into a Project Implementation Partnership Agreement (PIPA) for the implementation of IPPSHAR. The implementation period of the project started in March 2018 and is planned to end in September 2023.

SPECIFIC DUTIES

• You have to provide, under the overall leadership of the IPPSHAR Team Leader, technical assistance to quality assurance of partner programmes. This includes the support of ADA/IPPSHAR sub-grant implementation and other activities of the PSD as the project implementation partner, as well as experience in producing high-quality programme documents (proposals, planning documents, reports…). Therefore, you have to have proven experience in project cycle management, results-based approaches, and application of logical frameworks of at least 3-5 years.
• Support, if needed, the completion of reports, thus you should have experience in reporting and analysis. Also, the research, analysis and presentation of information gathered from various sources on assigned programme issues will be part of the job, thus you need to be familiar with this area of work.
• You will support the quality review of various programme units’ deliverables.
• You must bring understanding of managing programme finances and be able to read and interpret financial reports, planning and budgets.
• Proven experience in the implementation of EU funded activities is an added value, hence you should be confident in communicating with donor representatives (EU, Austria, Netherlands, Sweden).
• You will have to communicate and collaborate closely with the partner (IPPSHAR Peace and Security Division and its units and specialized institutions) and have to be confident in communication.
• In working with the partner, you are required to integrate and represent central values of the Austrian Development Agency, such as gender equality & women empowerment, non-discrimination, partner orientation etc. and support the integration of respective approaches in to the programme according to the Description of the Action of this project. Therefore, experience in the field of gender equality programming is highly desirable.
• You have sound experience in the Horn of Africa region, are familiar with the political and security related issues and players, and therefore able to maintain awareness of current peace and security situations in the HoA region. Alternatively, respective experience in other conflict-prone regions can be accepted.
• High analytical capacity and understanding of complex structures as well as the capacity to structure and organise areas of work independently.
• Being a team player is a must, as are intercultural competence, openness and an attitude focused on problem solving.
• You have good IT knowledge (familiar with usual office applications).
• Good knowledge of the functioning of administrations of international actors is desirable.
• You have decent understanding of the implementation of visibility plans and their function, as support to this plan is part of this job.
• You are familiar to work with tight deadlines.
• You will perform any other duties as required by the Team Leader.

The Programme Officer will work with the ADA team and IGAD staff based in the PSD and its units in Addis Ababa.  She/he will work closely with the Sr. Grants Expert and IGAD PSD Unit Program Officers and reports to the ADA Team Leader (TL). We are looking for a candidate who brings along passion for his/her work and values that are a good fit for ADA as a development organization as well as for IGAD as a regional organization promoting peace and economic integration in the Horn of Africa.

REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• An advanced university degree is required (Master’s degree or equivalent), preferably in the fields of Political Science, Social Science or Humanities, International Studies, Public Administration.
• Minimum three to five years of relevant experience in the fields of development programmes, or the management of peace and security actions or a related area.
• Fluency (spoken and written) in English is required. Knowledge of French and / or Arabic is desirable.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION

Please submit your application electronically to addis.application@ada.gv.at no later than 09.01.2022.

Please write your “Surname, First Name – PO IPPSHAR” in the subject line, with the following documents in MS-Word (or equivalent open source programme) and/or PDF format (JPG/JPEG might be accepted for copies of certificates):

• Letter of motivation (in English)
• Curriculum vitae (in English)
• Names, contact details and work relationship (colleague, supervisor, peer) of three professional references (at least one reference should have been your direct supervisor)
• Copies of academic certificates and testimonials

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence and no application fees or information with respect to bank account details are required by ADA for our recruitment process. Please note that in the event of an invitation for an interview, ADA is unable to reimburse costs incurred. Candidates must expect that references from previous employers will be requested by ADA. Candidates from the IGAD region are preferred. 

Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Please carefully follow the instructions above, INCOMPLETE OR INCORRECT APPLICATIONS CANNOT BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.