Senior Project Officer

About ARDD

Founded in 2008 in Amman-Jordan, Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) is a Civil Society Organization seeking to reinitiate a new Nahda (Arab Renaissance) project to contribute to addressing the challenges faced by the Arab World, building on the achievements and ideas of the Arab Nahda and aiming to open the doors for future participation in formulating concrete actions to achieve the desired change and development. ARDD supports marginalized individuals and communities—including refugees and migrants— in acquiring and enjoying their social, political, and economic rights, through legal aid, psychosocial support, media and grassroots mobilization, and research and advocacy to raise stakeholders’ awareness locally, regionally and internationally about the challenges that vulnerable persons face in Jordan and the Arab Region. ARDD’s operations adhere to a holistic approach and cover nine main thematic areas; Gender Justice, Youth Enablement and Education, Social Peace and Cohesion, Governance, Legal Aid and Justice Sector Development, Right to Information and Freedom of Speech, Forced Migration Refugees and Shataat, Human and Economic Development, Relief and Recovery. Thus, ARDD’s programs do not function in a vacuum and undertake complementary approach throughout the organization’s functions.

Every employee of the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) is committed to carrying out the organization’s Mission and Guiding Principles.

JOB PURPOSE

ARDD is seeking a dynamic Senior Project Officer (SPO) who is a vital member of the Program Management Team to effectively manage its interdepartmental projects. The primary focus of the SPO’s portfolio will be on Gender Justice, Social Peace and Cohesion, and Youth Enablement and Education.

JOB SUMMARY

ARDD’s work on gender justice since 2011 has positioned it as one of the leading local organizations in this field. The organization has been a long-standing partner of UN Women, UNDP, OCHA, the Government of Netherlands, and PRM and is among the few organizations that work on gender related advocacy and policy. The Jordan National Action Plan (JONAP) and the implementation of resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325) are a pivotal focus of ARDD’s program on gender justice. As for its youth enablement and education program, ARDD believes that the youth participation is essential for securing and developing peaceful and prosperous future. Therefore, ARDD is providing youth with skills, knowledge, educational opportunities, and space to strengthening their capacity and voice their views and opinions regard to politics, economy, and society. ARDD believes that the right to education can only be materialized if safe spaces exist for learning within a positive enabling environment, both at home and within the wider community. Therefore, it addresses education in all its forms: formal education and non-formal education.

In this role, the ARDD (SPO) is a dynamic member of the Program Management Team and reports to the Program Manager. The (SPO)’s main focus will be on ARDD’s Gender Justice, Social Peace and Cohesion, and Youth Enablement and Education Programs. The (SPO) ensures that all project related information under the specific programmatic areas is aligned with ARDD’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and in line with respective donor requirements. The (SPO) will be responsible for the day-to-day management of assigned projects and under strategic guidance of the Program Manager oversees project activities including workplan design and implementation, administration tasks, monitoring the progress of the project, visibility of the project with national counterparts & national authorities, donor/s, reporting and internal and external communication, financial follow up, information sharing, and reporting projects’ progress at the highest standard. S/He will be responsible to administer relevant processes and input pertaining to projects from their inception to completion phase. The (SPO) works in a close collaboration with ARDD related departments and assure compliance of the project to ARDD rules and regulations. S/he will work in a fast changing and dynamic environment with multiple priorities and pressing demands and will contribute to execution and assurance of project success.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

In this role the (SPO) will be responsible for implementation and execution of project strategies by:

• Support the further development and implementation of the gender equality agenda.
• Assuring the successful implementation of the project at highest standards.
• Monitoring projects performance to meet projects objectives and outcomes.
• Building partnerships to support successful execution of the projects.

Given the cross-cutting nature of the gender justice and youth enablement and education programs, the SPO is expected to be working across programs and projects with anchor the operationalization of the Gender Justice, Social Peace and Cohesion. In particular, the (SPO) will undertake the following tasks:

• Acquire a strong understanding of the project and develop ability to clearly and simply articulate project aims, goals and results to variety of stakeholders.
• Support the Program Manager in planning and designing project workplans that ensure project activities are in line with the agreed upon activity schedule, objectives, outcomes, and budget.
• Manage the different phases of the projects that include but not limited to stakeholder mapping, risk assessment, beneficiary selection criteria, project profiles, etc. as required and in close coordination with the respective Program Manager.
• Support the Program Manager in budgeting, administration, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of the projects’ activities under the three mentioned programmatic areas.
• Monitor the track of the project financial and operational performance and ensure project activities are within assigned budgets, identify problems and suggests corrective actions.
• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learnt from the projects.
• Support the review process of M&E framework in collaboration of M&E team. This includes monitoring the progress of each project in liaison with the M&E Officer in substantiating results
• Support in building strong and lasting partnership with the donors, national and international stakeholders.
• Coordinate the work between ARDD’s different departments concerning new and ongoing projects, with CSOs and partners.
• Manage the projects portfolio data base, contracts, and payments.
• Ensure that all project supporting documentation and financial records are always available and accessible when and as needed.
• Conduct regular field visits to ongoing projects and meet with project beneficiaries.
• Respond to and address partner’s queries, in close coordination with the Programs Manager.
• Engage with the target audience and beneficiaries of projects and programs with the aim to achieve high levels of ownership.
• Contribute substantially to creation of project publications.

Coordination and provision of support

• Guide field staff from ARDD’s different offices in relation to communication and reaching out to project beneficiaries as needed.
• Supervise the consultants’ assignments in the implementation of specific project related activities, such as trainings, surveys, assessment as well as others
• Facilitate and coordinate the logistics for all projects, training courses, seminars, panel discussions, and workshops.
• Attend relevant meetings and activities internally and externally (government, donors, partners, NGO, networks, etc.)

Reporting

• Draft regular technical reports as per donors’ requirements in accordance with the project reporting requirements.
• Supervise the implementing partners and sub-contractors in report submission.
• Draft minutes of meetings, internal technical reports, and updates.
• Contribute to the development of project activities concept notes and agenda.
• Gather and analyse and synthesize data and information.

QUALIFICATIONS

• A Bachelor’s degree in business administration, social science, management, or related field.
• At least 5 to 7 years proven work experience in implementing humanitarian and development projects, with a national or international organization.
• Experience in managing donor-funded multi-Gender projects and programs.
• Basic understanding of women rights agenda, international relations and gender issues in middle east and government policies.
• Knowledge of gender transformative approaches by engaging men and women together as agents of change.
• Possess mitigation, communication, presentation, and facilitation skills for handling conflicts and diffusing situations, and for contributing to workshops, training, and meetings.

FUNCTIONAL SKILLS

• Proven experience in project management including technical and financial aspects.
• Ability to maintain the ownership of the effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of long-term projects.
• Fluent in Arabic and English.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in both Arabic and English.
• Computer literacy.
• Ability to work with people from various cultural and social backgrounds.
• Cultural sensitivity.