Project Coordinator

Company Description

SNV is a global development partner, deeply rooted in the countries where we operate. We are driven by a vision of a better world: A world where across every society all people live with dignity and have equitable opportunities to thrive sustainably. To make this vision a reality, we need transformations in vital agri-food, energy, and water systems. SNV contributes by strengthening capacities and catalysing partnerships in these sectors. We help strengthen institutions and effective governance, reduce gender inequalities and barriers to social inclusion, and enable adaptation and mitigation to the climate and biodiversity crises.

Building on 60 years of experience we support our partners with our technical and process expertise and methodological rigour. We do this in more than 20 countries in Africa and Asia with a team of approximately 1,600 colleagues. By being adaptable and tailoring our approaches to these different contexts, we can contribute to impact at scale, resulting in more equitable lives for all.

For more information on our operations in Zambia visit our website: www.snv.org/zambia.

About OYE II:

SNV is implementing the second phase of the Scaling Up Youth Employment in Agriculture Initiative Opportunities for Youth Employment (OYE)+ project in Zambia The four-year OYE+ Phase II project builds off successes, lessons learned and evaluations to date from the Phase I project in Zimbabwe and Zambia, other SNV youth employment projects and the OYE program in the Africa region. The OYE+ Phase II program aims at fostering a strengthened approach to youth employment programming by addressing structural barriers, offering tailored support, and promoting collaboration among community, private sector, and government stakeholders to create dignified livelihoods for young people.

The key objectives of the project are to:

• Increase market and trading opportunities for young people, also in climate resilient in high value agri-food value-chains
• Increase young people access to decent (self) employment
• Improve policy support and market decisions for increased gender equality and youth inclusion

The project employs the Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship (YEE) Pull-Match-Pull-Enable framework approach that brings together partners from the private sector, service providers, and government to focus on employability, entrepreneurship, and business access for youth.

SNV Zambia is seeking a Project Coordinator (PC), the PC plays a critical role in delivery of the four-year youth empowerment and entrepreneurship project, driving day to day technical guidance and support on youth skills development and private sector engagement in the context of the project. The Project Coordinator will provide essential support to the Project Manager and project team to ensure quality implementation, the incumbent will engage with both SNV personnel directly involved in project and those providing indirect support, engage with TEVET institutions, private sector companies, financial institutions as well as working closely with project local implementing partners

The Project Coordinator will manage and facilitate project operations together with the project team and relevant stakeholders to create an enabling environment (by sharing knowledge, understanding and engagement of relevant stakeholders) for the implementation of a project, for the project to meet its objectives

Job Description

Project management and technical quality assurance:

• Primary delivery responsibility for achieving outcomes 1, 2 and 3, leading design and execution of value chain interventions and activities in response to the project objectives and adapting to the evolving needs.
• Coordinate and quality control the development and review of annual work plans, budgets, and progress reporting for all value chain work, ensuring synergies between different workstreams across the project as well as coherence with the work plans of implementing partners.
• Provide strategic oversight to value chain interventions, ensuring the project’s knowledge-base and strategy is appropriate and benchmarked against best practice.
• Ensure cost-effectiveness, proper control and management of financial resources for value chain activities.
• Ensure the quality of project deliverables and provide technical input to meet the required standards.
• Develop mitigation plans to reduce risks and take timely, corrective actions to remedy any deviation from the work plans.
• Team management:
• Provide team leadership and line manage project interns and field officers, including effective performance management and ensuring the provision of support as required to ensure a highly engaged team.
• Build and maintain effective ‘one team’ matrix ways of working (planning, delivery, learning, etc.) across value chains and geographies, and support the effective engagement of cross-cutting roles and advisors responsible for skills development, private sector engagement, MEL and communications.
• Deputise for the Project Manager during absence.

Stakeholder relationship management:

• Lead project interface with senior technical levels of Zambia government (at central and local government levels for youth development, Small and Medium Enterprises, Community Development, Agriculture sectors), and provide strategic advisory to the Project Manager on political economy and policy coherence.
• Collaborate effectively with TEVET institutions, and private sector companies to foster partnerships, facilitate project activities and ensure sustainability. Act as a liaison between the project and these stakeholders to ensure effective communication and collaboration.
• Manage the contractual partnership with two Local Service Provider leading on village and household-level activities across outcomes 1, 2 and 3.
• Develop and maintain an effective network and relationships with key public and private stakeholders for project delivery especially in relation to outcomes 1 and 2.
• Present results and represent the project as required in national, regional, and international forums.

Monitoring, learning and knowledge management:

• Together with PM responsible for monitoring performance against outcomes 1, 2 and 3, monitoring progress against activities, outputs, and outcomes for value chain work.
• Conduct routine physical monitoring visits to assess the quality of activity implementation and results.
• Oversee periodic (quarterly and annual) project reflection processes to ensure adaptation to delivery approaches in line with project outcomes and key learning questions are answered.
• Support team-wide efforts to make learning (including across geographies and value chains) a core part of the project management process so that key learning questions are answered.

Contribute to internal and external knowledge sharing by documenting project insights, attending workshops/conferences, and applying lessons learned

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a relevant field, development studies, MBA, or other related field.
• Minimum 3-5 years of relevant senior management experience with complex development programmes.
• Extensive management and technical experience working in the field of youth development, agriculture, agribusiness, sustainable livelihoods and/or rural development in Zambia
• Experience with market-based approaches and working with the private sector to achieve outcomes.
• Strong reputation and networked with government and private sector actors in agriculture and agribusiness, with extensive knowledge of political economy.
• Experience managing high performing, multi-disciplinary teams, and annual budgets above EUR 1 million.
• Solid understanding of climate, private sector engagement and gender-sensitive approaches for smallholder farmers.
• Experience in collaborative and adaptive monitoring, evaluation, and learning.

Additional Information

Desired attributes:

• Highly motivated self-starter, with strong organisational skills, who takes individual accountability seriously.
• Self-aware, possessing high levels of emotional intelligence and respect for staff, colleagues, and partners.
• Adaptive yet result-oriented with strong planning, analytic and decisive mindset.
• Excellent social and communication skills (written and oral), as well as reporting and presentation skills.
• Commitment to continuous learning and knowledge sharing.
• Strong sense of integrity and personal commitment to the goals and values of SNV
• Ability to undertake unaccompanied travel and operate in the field.
• Location: Central Province with regular field travel (50%)
• Reports to: Project Manager, OYE Project
• Contract duration: 2 years, with possibility of extension.

Closing date: 8th November 2024

Vetting

SNV carries out rigorous background and reference checks concerning possible safeguarding incidents for all candidates applying for national determined positions. As SNV participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, all reference checks include a request to past employers to fill in a questionnaire regarding Misconduct (sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, sexual harassment as well as Fraud), the “Statement of Conduct”. This Statement of Conduct adopts the definitions used in the Scheme.

We do not appreciate third-party mediation based on this advertisement. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Any form of solicitation by phone or other means will be treated as disqualification of the candidate. SNV is an equal employment provider.

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