United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: South Sudan: Communicating with Communities (CWC) Project Manager

Job Title : South Sudan: Communicating with Communities (CWC) Project Manager

Duty Station : Juba

Reports To : Internews Humanitarian Director (dotted line reporting to the CDAC DEPP Programme Manager)

Duration : Fixed term until September 2017

Start Date : May 2016

Context and purpose

From 2015, in partnership with World Vision and on behalf of the global Communication with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC) Network, Internews South Sudan is hosting a project under DFID’s Disasters and Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP).

This ambitious and exciting senior role supports and develops the South Sudan Communication with Communities (CWC) in Emergencies Working Group, managing the design and delivery of DEPP programme activities and ensuring that relationships with NGOs, government agencies and other partners are developed, coordinated and maintained.

The post holder will be a strong, adaptable manager with the ability to drive work forward while maintaining active collaboration and engagement with project partners. The ideal candidate will have considerable experience of managing high-profile, multi-stakeholder projects; be familiar with the humanitarian architecture in South Sudan; have a background in and understanding of CwC; and excellent writing and numeracy skills.

Due to the challenging and complex nature of the CDAC Network DEPP project, the post holder will be expected to maintain close working relations with the CDAC DEPP Programme Manager, based in the UK.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Convene and support the South Sudan Communication with Communities in Emergencies Working Group (CwC WG), enabling the group to develop and agree collaborative workplans for the DEPP project.


• Support the CwC WG to diversify interest and participation in the aims and work of the group.


• Oversee delivery of the DEPP programme of activities in South Sudan, ensuring that deliverables are on track, on time and to the required quality standard.


• Work with the group to ensure it evolves beyond the DEPP, to become a self-sustaining WG with wider activities and impact beyond DEPP deliverables.


• Act as a hub for strategic and operational relationships with and between I/NGO, UN, government, private sector and other partners, ensuring that lines of communication are clear, partnerships are of mutual benefit and issues of concern are appropriately flagged.


• Line manage the project officer, and any other future roles as agreed, including recruitment, induction, task management and professional development.


• Work with CwC WG members, the Internews Humanitarian Director and the CDAC DEPP Programme Manager to establish and monitor an effective and efficient in-country flexible resourcing mechanism that promotes multi stakeholder context specific interventions to strengthen preparedness capacity for information sharing and two-way communication.


• Through needs analysis and adaptation to the local context support the CwC WG to implement a range of core CDAC Network DEPP activities, e.g., contextualisation and translation of the South Sudan infoisaid message library, up-dating of the South Sudan media landscape guide, utilizing CDAC Network training courses and simulation tools to promote CwC preparedness within the WG and beyond.


• Collaborate with the Thomson Reuters Foundation (a CDAC-N DEPP Project partner) on the development of on-line platforms for the media landscape guide (MLG) and the message library (ML).


• Support the CwC WG and the CDAC Network DEPP project to better engage and influence the humanitarian policy environment in South Sudan, regionally and internationally.


• With support from the Internews MERL Department and the CDAC DEPP Programme Manager develop a robust monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) framework for the DEPP project in South Sudan, ensuring that information and learning is used effectively for adaptive management by the CwC WG and that it feeds into the broader CDAC Network and DEPP programme MEL and communications.


• Support the CDAC DEPP Programme Manager to communicate and share ideas, experiences and learning from the South Sudan DEPP project with the Bangladesh CwC WG, the CDAC Network and other DEPP stakeholders, e.g., the START Network (this will involve occasional international travel).


• Work with the Internews Humanitarian Director to manage the DEPP project budget (including oversight of those areas delivered by partner organisations), exercising a degree of judgment to ensure that financial targets are met and taking delegated responsibility for management of relevant budget lines.


• With input from finance colleagues and working group members, collate and provide timely and accurate forecasting and reporting information for DEPP spend, activities and deliverables to the Internews Humanitarian Director and the CDAC DEPP Programme Manager.


• Write regular reports (monthly and quarterly) and other documents needed to meet the deliverable and reporting commitments of the project.


• Produce a monthly CwC Working Group on line newsletter


• Represent the CDAC Network DEPP project within appropriate fora in South Sudan, regionally and internationally, as required.


• Support the Internews Humanitarian Director to ensure that all outputs meet the highest editorial standards; comply with Internews policies and procedures; and are financially and legally compliant.


• Contribute to the vision and strategy for future communication-related disaster preparedness and response work, both in South Sudan and globally, supporting the Internews Humanitarian Director, Chief of Party, the CwC WG and the wider CDAC Network in strategic planning.


• Take proactive responsibility for staying informed about developments and good practice in disaster preparedness and response (particularly in the field of communications) in South Sudan and globally.


• Undertake any other tasks or responsibilities as requested by the Internews Humanitarian Director.

Key working relationships

Internews:

• Humanitarian Director regarding overall project strategy and direction in South Sudan, planning and reporting, budget management and editorial compliance.


• MERL Department in South Sudan regarding formative and evaluative research strategy, methodology, quality and delivery.


• Chief of Party, Operations Director, Finance Director and Country Risk Manager regarding procurement, financial management, safety and security, HR and resourcing.


• Humanitarian team in Juba to ensure that the project is complimentary to other communication-based preparedness and response initiatives being undertaken by Internews in South Sudan.

CDAC Network DEPP Project:

· The CDAC DEPP Programme Manager regarding the overall direction and progress on the CDAC DEPP project, specific CwC WG multi-year plans, progress and reporting against activities and outputs, outcomes and learning generated from project MEL

· The CDAC DEPP Grants Compliance Officer regarding budget management, quarterly narrative and financial reporting and the establishment and running of the in-country flexible resourcing mechanism.

· The CDAC DEPP Communications Advisor regarding project advocacy and wider CDAC Network and DEPP communications learning and publicity activities.

· The CDAC Network Humanitarian Training Coordinator regarding DEPP capacity building and simulation.

· The Thomson Reuters Foundation Chief Technical Officer regarding the development of a monthly online newsletter, the development of an on-line platform for the MLG and the ML

The START Network DEPP in South Sudan:

There is one START DEPP funded project in South Sudan – Protection in Practice (global lead Oxfam, in-country South Sudan lead World Vision) that the CDAC Network DEPP project and the DEPP Project Manager will need to broker relations and collaborate with.

Skills, knowledge and experience requirements:

Criteria – Essential (E) / Desirable (D)

Substantial experience of collaborative working, with the confidence and proven ability to deal with a wide range of stakeholders and partners. E

A thorough understanding of the work of humanitarian and development agencies, including working within the UN cluster system. E

Understanding and experience of working in the area of communicating with disaster affected communities D

Demonstrable ability to effectively plan, monitor and report on a programme of activities. E

Well developed understanding of disaster preparedness and response in the particular context of South Sudan E

Demonstrated knowledge and competence of complex monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) management and reporting E

Highly numerate, with the ability to manage large budgets and understand financial reports. E

Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to form and maintain effective working relationships at all levels. E

Excellent written and spoken English E

Excellent organisational and time management skills, with the proven ability to prioritise, work independently and maintain attention to detail. E

Excellent IT skills, particularly Microsoft Excel. E

Experience and knowledge of training, group-work facilitation and participatory and collaborative approaches D

Commitment to equal opportunities and health & safety. E

Willingness to work occasional weekends / evenings where required. E

Willingness to travel nationally, sub regionally and internationally E

Relevant university degree in media, communication, international development, or humanitarian sector. D

Proven ability to develop and monitor work plans and training plans. E

Experience living and working in Africa and/or conflict/post-conflict environments. E

Ability to adjust to shifting political circumstances and create programming accordingly. E

Sensitivity to cross-cultural dynamics in the work place and experience supervising staff. E

Must be self-reliant, resourceful, good problem-solver, good humored, and flexible. E