PROGRAMME COMMUNITY COORDINATOR At ActionAid

Role Overview:

This position is responsible for coordination of AAIK’s mission delivery at the community level through partnerships and collaborations at county level with a bias to strengthened leadership responsibilities in advancing for greater accountability at LRP, strengthening social movements to lead in transformational agenda and enhancing AAIK influence capacity and visibility. In addition, the position leads in coordinating strengthening of capacities of partners for delivery of mission priorities.

Key Accountabilities / Responsibilities:

Values Practice & Strategy Change Priorities

· Leading Innovation and Change – Establish a culture of excellence in respective to a team that values experimentation and continuous improvement

· Feminist Leadership – Championing feminist leadership principles and values including commitment to diversity and inclusion (race, gender, power)

· Child protection and safeguarding –Embed AAIK and sector’s approach to child protection and Safeguarding is embedded in all initiatives holistically

· AAIK Values Practice – Ensure a personal and team culture that demonstrates all of AAI’s Values including: Mutual Respect, Equity and Justice, Integrity, Solidarity with people Living in Poverty and Exclusion, Courage of Conviction, Independence and Humility

Organisational and Corporate Development

· Contribute to the development and achievement of the AAI’s strategic objectives including Country Strategy development.

· Keep the other members of the AAIK informed on LRP and Partner programme implementation

· Ensure compliance & stay current with international, regional, and local legal requirements in the programme respective areas

Programme Quality and Management

· Manage and Coordinate programs / Projects at community level through programme implementation, monitoring and provision of timely, relevant, accurate input on technical aspects of programming to partners, communities and their institutions

· Advice, support and train partners, communities and their institutions on high quality programming and promote timely delivery through regular visits and meetings.

· Develop and roll out tools for partners to improve the quality of programming at LRP level (assessment tools, programme quality tools, etc.).

· Monitor and evaluate projects, support the recruitment and work with contracted consultants as per the recruitment guidelines for LRP and partner programming.

· Identify and communicate program quality issues to partners, communities and their institutions to ensure prompt resolution.

· Lead LRP and partner programme designing, planning and support implementation process

· Develop and review LRP strategic plans and thematic multi-year partner plans as part of country annual plans

· Bring together learnings from LRP and partners programme delivery, good practices and donor interests and create innovative programmes

· Implement the technical approach for partnership model and LRP Coordination in accordance with the country strategy, standards and internal policies; as well as all the Model Projects used in the Programs and Projects of AAIK.

· Work with partners, communities and heir institutions to execute innovation and alternative initiatives that promote pro-poor policies at LRP and partner levels

· Disseminate donor technical approaches and strategies to LRP and partner to influence their engagement strategies

· Supports and demonstrate AAIK’s theory of change and good practice in localization, women leadership, feminist principles, social mobilization, coordination, HRBA and aligns with AAIK’s Programme Quality Framework.

· Implement programmes at LRP and partner level in line with Country Strategy and Annual Plans and review partners’ reports to ensure compliance to required formats and timelines

Partnership Development and capacity building and financial management

· Build strong relationship with partners, Communities and their institutions and lead county and community appraisal, phase in and phase – out processes at LRP and county level

· Develop & review the due diligence guidance, contractual agreements such as MoUs, programme memorandum for counties, partners, communities and their institutions in compliance with relevant policies and bare minimum standards

· Develop & update appropriate information management systems and update data base for AAIK partners in collaboration with IT and Senior Communications Officer and upload partner information in a timely manner

· Champion social inclusivity in all LRP programming especially for all sponsored children and their families in the beneficiary targeting process

· Build capacity of partners as identified through Partnership Assessment Monitoring for implementation of AAIK methodologies at the community and county levels

· Nurture local structures and empower communities and their institutions to demand accountability from duty bearers and link community movements o other relevant forums

· Collaborate with other LRP and Partnership Coordinators to host an annual partnership forum for learning and sharing of experiences

· Strengthen partner organizations’ systems and mentor partner organizations’ leadership

· Set up community structures to ensure value for money of physical projects in communities through strengthening of relevant community management structures for sustainability

· Develop LRP and Partners’ periodic/ annual plans and budgets

· Monitor and support partners to ensure compliance to financial and accountability systems

· Collaborate with finance staff to review, process and monitor partner organizations’ grants for timely disbursement, utilization and liquidation

· Facilitate financial processes for service providers engaged by the LRP and partners in close liaison with finance and operations team

Policy Analysis, Representation and Advocacy

· Collect and document evidence from LRPs and partners for policy research and advocacy strategy, policy briefs and position papers and generate content development of policy briefs for inclusion in county/ national policy briefs

· Facilitate rollout of AAIK advocacy plan (with timeline and key outcomes) at LRP level and implementation at county level

· Prepare and participate in relevant coordination meetings at county level and create field visibility through attendance of technical meetings at county and ward level.

· Disseminate programme findings and lessons learned to key stakeholders at county and LRP level by producing and sharing quality lessons learnt documents.

Resource Mobilisation and communication

· Collate technical knowledge from LRPs’ and partners’ content on current/previous programming to develop proposals for funding and support for new programmes.

· Host donor visits so as to support fundraising team in maintaining contacts with potential donors, partners, and key technical agencies

· Build partner capacity for effective programme quality at LRP and partner level in new partnerships and collect data from the fields that reflects community priorities and government policies for new programming opportunities.

· Lead in communication management between partner organizations and units within AAIK

· Work closely with the Senior Communications Officer to manage effective communication from community to AAIK, other partners or other relevant stakeholders

· Support partner organizations in Child Message Collection process and ensure adherence to agreed reporting period in liaison with Fundraising Coordinator -CS & LVF

· Ensure adequate and effective documentation of all reports at LRP and partner level

Monitoring and Evaluation

· Work with MEAL team to design, monitor and evaluate LRP and partners’ technical program in accordance with AAIK strategy and internal standards (including monthly, semi-annual and an annual report).

· Contribute on improving programme implementation at LRP and partner level for the benefit of communities living in poverty and exclusion by sharing lessons learnt

· Work with the MEAL team to develop tools for diagnosis, impact analysis and Monitoring & Evaluation which promote and stimulate LRP and partner level

· Rollout innovative approaches for monitoring, evaluating and learning from and for the communities and their institutions as well as partners and carry out regular monitoring and supervision in the field in order to strengthen the capacities of the LRP and Partner staff to sustain achievements

· Aggregate all LRP and partner data and interventions to assess the level of achievement of the outcome of AAIK at local level

· List the achievements of the outcomes on AAIK’s programme interventions in the communities to document what has already been done; and how to strengthen them further.

· Provide monthly narrative reports, and field visit reports for monitoring and supervision of work at LRP and partner level and work with the LRP Coordination and Partnership Manager to document processes

People Management, Mentoring and Development

· Support recruitment of partner staff (where need be) and ensure availability of and provide appropriate professional development opportunities.

· Organize capacity development programmes for partner staff

· Establish measurable objectives, ongoing feedback, periodic reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations; coaching, mentoring and other development opportunities; recognition and rewarding for outstanding performance; documentation of performance that is less than satisfactory, with appropriate performance improvement plans.

Other Duties

· Participate actively in Programmes and Strategy meetings, planning and review activities regarding LRP and partner programming.

· Actively participate in key relevant internal meetings such as programme review meetings or LRP Area meetings as required. Participate in any donor visit to project(s) within AAIK, as required.

· Perform other functions that will be assigned by the Line Manager or Executive Director from time to time.

Person Specification

Education & Certifications

· A bachelor’s degree in social sciences, policy development or its equivalent from a recognized University

Experience

Appointment to the position will be made from persons who have:

• Five (5) years minimum working experience is essential
• At least 3 years’ experience in project management is essential
• Experience in community mobilization and engagement with government at State and local levels is essential
• Experience in social mobilization and campaign is essential
• Experience working with women groups and persons with disabilities is desirable

Essential knowledge and skills

• Excellent negotiation and communication skills, including demonstrated ability to handle sensitive negotiations on matters affecting AAIK staff, partners and communities.
• Ability to maintain donor relationship and accountability in line with funding policies and standards.
• Strong leadership and management skills
• Excellent planning and prioritization skills
• Excellent Skills in Programme Information Management.
• Strong analytical/problem solving, and management of crisis, conflict, and risk
• A strong commitment to embedding feminist leadership, resilience building and AAIK’s humanitarian signature.
• A good understanding of human rights, women’s rights, social mobilization, socio-economic justice
• A strong commitment to adhering to and promoting AAIK’s approach to Sexual Harassment, Exploitation, and Abuse and other Safeguarding concerns (including child abuse and abuse of adults at-risk).

Desirable Knowledge and Experience

· Programme implementation and project management is preferred