Project Officer

PROJECT OFFICER – Ninawa

Core Details

Iraq Context

Oxfam’s programme has been established in 2014 in response to the ISIS conflict in Iraq. Oxfam implemented activities during the past few years was built around the delivery of 3 main areas: A) Lifesaving humanitarian assistance b) Recovery assistance, and C) Promotion of Women Rights.

• Lifesaving humanitarian assistance: to newly displaced populations residing in camps or host communities. The bulk of this work was done around the Mosul Operation with activities implemented in the governorates of Erbil, Salah Al Din, Anbar, Diyala and Ninewa. Activities included: Establishment/rehabilitation of safe water (boreholes, repair of infrastructure); Emergency water supply (distribution of water through trucking and bottled water); Setting up water tanks and networks in camps; Distribution of hygiene items; construction of latrines; Multi-purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA), Cash for Work opportunities inside the camps to allow construction work and solid waste management; and Distribution of emergency winterisation kits.

• Recovery assistance: to returnees, local host communities and IDPs to recover from the post-conflict and to cope with protracted displacement. The main activities implemented under these areas of work include: Rehabilitation of water infrastructure; Supporting local authorities to rehabilitate essential public services (schools and hospitals); Grants to returnees to recover damaged businesses; Provision of livestock to support farmers; Cash for Work opportunities contributing to income for vulnerable families and supporting rehabilitation of infrastructure of public interest (irrigation canals, main roads).

• Promotion of Women Rights: through contributing to the implementation of the National Plan for 1325 UN Resolution, and economic empowerment of women through provision of training and grants to establish/rehabilitate businesses.

In order to serve these three objectives, Oxfam work aimed to integrate the following key sectors together for every intervention in a given location:

• Water Sanitation and Hygiene
• Food Security and Vulnerable Livelihoods
• Non-food-Items and Shelter
• Protection of lives and rights of civilians
• Gender Justice
• Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning
• Advocacy and Media work

JOB PURPOSE

Project Officer position is responsible for implementation, technical assessments, coordination and reporting of the GIZ funded project in Ninawa and Anbar titled ‘Strengthening Inclusive Local Governance for Climate Resilient Service Delivery”. Under the supervision of Senior Project Officer, Project Officer will draft weekly, monthly implementation plan/reports and ensure team is well equipped with all the information and resources to implement the plan. This position requires a good understanding of climate change issues, policy, and governance frameworks in Iraq, as well as the ability to implement solutions in the field, coordinating closely with project stakeholders in the governorate of Ninawa and Anbar.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Project Delivery and Coordination

• Assist in developing and refining the project plan, including timelines, budgets, and resource allocation.
• Coordinate project activities with various stakeholders, including government officials, community groups, and technical experts.
• Organize and facilitate meetings, workshops, and training sessions.
• Track project progress, identify and manage risks, and propose corrective actions.
• Maintain and update project documentation, including reports and presentations.
• Facilitate dialogue and collaboration between different stakeholders involved in the project.
• Build capacity of local government officials and community members on climate change adaptation, inclusive governance, and service delivery.
• Organize awareness-raising campaigns and knowledge sharing initiatives.
• Prepare regular reports on project performance.
• Collaborate with relevant government departments to plan and implement awareness campaigns.
• Design campaign content for media and social media channels.
• Deliver a capacity-building package for community committees and government actors.
• Provide training on citizen participation, conflict sensitivity, and climate change topics.
• Facilitate exchange learning networking among climate change actors.
• Oversee the implementation of selected mitigation measures from the action plans.
• Collaborate with government, private sector, and civil society for successful pilot initiatives.

General Responsibilities:

• Implement climate change and its implications for Ninawa and Anbar districts as a basis to develop adaptation and mitigation measures.
• Under the supervision of Senior Project Officer, draft weekly, monthly implementation plan/reports and ensure team is well equipped with all the information and resources to implement the plan.
• Supervise the overall process of beneficiary registration and selection process and ensure the right people are selected for inclusion in the program as per agreed and approved selection criteria and methodology.
• Ensure gender mainstreaming for all project activities with inclusion of women in all program support and facilitate the women group at different stages of program implementation.
• Work with youth groups and women groups to identify and address special needs of both for inclusion and support in to shape citizen participation processes and to support the resilience of their communities against the impacts of climate change.
• As delegated by Senior Project Officer to supervise the implementation of the climate change interventions for the programme ensuring achievement of the set objectives and milestones.
• Participate in assessments, collation, and analysis of other primary and secondary information sources of relevance to contribute to contribute to agreed advocacy initiatives.
• Work closely with relevant government departments, especially Ba`aj, Sinjar, and Hamdanya Districts of Ninawa Governorate and support the staff in Anbar , in overall implementation of project activities.
• Maintain good working relationships with relevant government departments, academia, and other key project stakeholders and ensure Oxfam interest is presented at all levels.
• Ensure project deliverables are achieved as stipulated in project design maintaining the Oxfam’s program quality standards and expectation of relevant stakeholders.
• Develop overall project documents including detailed implementation plans, budget and spending plans, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) plans, procurement plans and ensure the implementation of these plans.
• Keep tracking of project progress against approved implementation plan and update management about progress, bottlenecks causing delays in delivery, challenges encountered and suggested solutions.
• Work with MEAL team for monitoring and evaluating the project regularly, ensuring community participation as appropriate, as well as accountability towards communities.
• Follow up on MEAL activities and findings ensuring that learning from monitoring and evaluation is included and strategies and program implementation are adapted accordingly.

Reporting

• Develop project progress reports for the donor in collaboration with project staff, technical Leads, funding coordinator and support teams. Ensure narrative reporting and financial accounting meet Oxfam and donor’s requirements.
• Ensure that budgets are drawn up for all activities, and that activities costs are kept within budgets.
• Prepare monthly situation reports (financial and narrative) to update management on program progress achieved, program plans, changes in direction and challenges encountered.
• Ensure that program staff provide an appropriate level of accurate progress reports and conduct detailed revision to ensure accuracy before sending it for sign-off of management.
• Support and assist project staff and technical leads in development and implementation of appropriate monitoring systems and procedures for measuring both progress and impact.

Other

• Required to adhere to Oxfam’s principles and values as well as the promotion of gender justice and women’s rights.
• Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, child safety and staff health and wellbeing principles.

SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE

Essential

• A minimum bachelor’s university degree in business management, sustainable

development, economics, development studies, peace and conflict studies or related field;

• 2-3 years of experience in project management, including experience working with implementing partners in the field of climate change and sustainable development.
• Good Knowledge of the issues, challenges and opportunities around climate change adaptation and policy dialogue and citizen engagement for climate advocacy.
• Experience and skills in playing a supportive role, demonstrating ability to support field teams’ members to deliver results for operational work.
• A good understanding of the Iraqi context and local cultures.
• Strong ability to be flexible and adaptable in times of unexpected challenges and provide creative solutions, whilst always maintaining the ethos and objectives of the work.
• Strong ability to work with diverse groups/individuals –ranging from local partners, local authorities, local community groups, the humanitarian community and the Academia.
• Proficiency in English and Arabic language (written and spoken) is required.
• Ability to travel and to work in difficult circumstances.
• MS Office operating skills (Word, Excel, Power point)

Desirable

• Experience in building the capacity of the team internally and of external stakeholders.
• Experience in working and jointly implementing projects involving local authorities and/or organizations as implementing partners.

Key Attributes

1. Good interpersonal, influencing and communication skills.
2. Sensitivity to cultural differences, and the ability to work in a wide variety of cultural contexts.
3. Commitment to humanitarian principles and action.