Programme Officer – Schools, WASH and Solar

This in-country post is based in our Schools, WASH and Solar Programme, and will support the management and development of solar light libraries based in schools for springboarding electrification in isolated, rural communities.

This is a superb opportunity for a passionate development professional with one to three years of experience in grant writing, programme delivery and an interest in solar and education projects, who would like to make the step into a management position.

The successful candidate will work alongside national and international staff, communities, partners and a Solar consortium in Madagascar, supporting the grant writing, reporting, evaluation and continual development of our Solar and Schools programmes.

It is essential that the post holder has grant writing experience and is able to work in English and French to a high standard. Candidates who do not meet these criteria will not be considered.

About the organisation

SEED Madagascar is a British Charity working in partnership with communities in the southeast of Madagascar. We integrate high-quality community health, sustainable livelihoods, education infrastructure and conservation programmes to support long term, sustainable change while adding to International best practice through research and publication.

More information on the work of SEED can be found at www.madagascar.co.uk

Location: Fort Dauphin, Anosy Region, Madagascar

Timeframe: two years, extendable (probationary period 3 months)

Terms and conditions: Local salary, contribution to a return flight to post of £1,200 and insurance of £650

Reporting to: Programme Manager (Schools, WASH and Solar)

Duties and responsibilities:

Provide advice and support in the development of projects including: preparation and editing of funding proposals; preparation and editing of reports for external stakeholders; monitoring and evaluation of current projects; developing and updating guidelines and templates for external-facing materials; liaison with the London project development team and local staff; and support and mentoring of interns and junior officers.

Core Duties

• Compile funding proposals based on past evaluation, team discussion and international best practice in an engaging and professional manner;
• Write project reports that clearly demonstrate the successes and challenges of the projects, learning from the project and providing clear budgetary information;
• Support with first-stage editing of proposals and reports across the department to a high standard and providing detailed, constructive feedback to Junior officers;
• Lead on budget management and development alongside the Programme Manager and Head of Department;
• Lead on donor compliance and consortium engagement, working with the Programme Manager and the implementation team to ensure that project milestones are met;
• Work alongside the Programme Manager in problem-solving and providing additional support in line with emerging issues from project implementation;
• Manage pieces of long-term project work that require a higher level of expertise and experience across the department;
• Support in the recruitment of new staff and provide support, management, review and professional development to any Junior Officers;
• Foster essential cross-cultural collaboration, providing support to both the national and international teams to bridge gaps in understanding and priorities for project development and implementation;
• Provide pastoral care, guidance and act as a role model, both professionally and personally, for a team of early career professionals living in country;
• Develop and update resources to support project development processes, including proposal and budget templates and style guidelines;
• Assist in developing MEL tools and analysing data, including the writing of MEL reports when needed;
• Support the growth of project development procedures, guidelines, and trainings, and provide project-specific information to inform policy development across the organisation;
• Ensure that statistics, research, funding trackers, photo database and handovers relating to the projects are accurate;
• Oversee the project-specific website and social media content;
• Work with the national team and external partners in increasing their skills and capacity, providing mentoring or training where appropriate;
• Take an active role in project management meetings, leading discussions and standing in for the Programme Manager where appropriate;
• Ensure all of SEED’s policies and procedures are evident throughout the work of the department, including those for safeguarding, whistleblowing and anticorruption, and undertake continual training to ensure these are promoted at all times;
• Liaise closely with the UK team in London ensuring clear communication at all times;
• Complete any other tasks required by the Programme Manager or Director of Programmes and Operations.

Person specification

• Degree-level qualification or equivalent experience in international development, solar provision or have equivalent experience;
• Minimum of 1-2 years’ professional experience of securing funding, project management, donor compliance and donor reporting;
• Familiarity with the use of project management tools including Logical Frameworks, Theory of Change models, Budgets, Activity Plans and Monitoring & Evaluation frameworks;
• Fluency in written and spoken English and French with excellent written communication skills and the ability to edit English documents to a very high standard;
• Excellent proposal and report writing and editing skills, with previous experience compiling project proposals and reports and the ability to tailor written information to various audiences;
• Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to SEED’s ethos and approach and be a good ambassador for the organisation at all times;
• Have passion, curiosity and motivation for the job and the ability to enthuse others;
• Experience of living and working in a developing country with the ability and desire to work with teams from different economic and cultural backgrounds and across multiple language barriers;
• Demonstrate proven ability to recognise and appropriately deal with challenging situations and problem solve;
• Demonstrate an awareness of and comfort with increased social and professional responsibility, working at all times with cultural sensitivity and respect;
• Demonstrate the ability, social skills and confidence to give clear guidance and support to other members of the team in respect of the philosophy and procedures of SEED in order to protect both their safety and the reputation of the NGO;
• Be able to work to and advocate for all of SEED’s policies and procedures, safeguarding those that SEED works with and reporting any concerns appropriately;
• Be punctual and be able to work to tight deadlines in an organised manner and to a high standard;
• Be able to work both independently and as part of a team;
• Excellent listening and verbal communication skills and a flexible and patient attitude;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint.