Project Officer - Economic Empowerment Livelihood Ocnita

All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organization’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity and accountability. These attitudes and believes shall guide our actions and relationships. 

1.      Role and responsibilities

NRC livelihood unit works to support the refugees from Ukraine and vulnerable groups in fulfilling their nutrition needs, acquiring market-oriented skills, job linkages, entrepreneurship, and other activities that contribute to the resilience and self-reliance of the targeted community. The post holder will be part of the NRC Moldova Area Office team, under the management of the Livelihoods Project Manager. The post holder will be responsible for implementing and supervising the assigned tasks related to the field activities. NRC is looking for a suitable candidate with strong behavior and English competencies with a desire to improve the economic situation of the populations we are targeting. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Generic responsibilities

1.      Adherence to all NRC policies, guidance, tools, handbooks, and procedures, specifically the NRC Global Livelihoods and Food Security (LFS) Strategy and programme policy

2.       Support and collaborate with NRC’s local livelihoods partners in the area (if relevant)

3.       Research, monitor and analyse the livelihoods and economic recovery context in Moldova

4.    Identify opportunities to collaborate or work in partnership with other Livelihoods actors to best support the livelihoods needs of the population in Moldova

5.       Ensure strong engagement and accountability to all communities that NRC is working with

6.       Engage with and support the development of Livelihoods strategies and projects

7.     Work closely with the Monitoring and Evaluation team to develop tools, facilitate activities, collect useful data and learn and adapt Livelihoods interventions based on findings

8.     Ensure that NRC’s related activities are implemented within NRC’s Protection mainstreaming guidelines and report any breaches/concerns to the line manager and/or focal point for proper action.

Specific responsibilities

1.       Maintain accurate documentation of project activities in compliance with NRC and donor requirements.

2.      Carry out / supervise economic vulnerability assessments with the support of the project manager, service mappings and market assessments and give necessary recommendations to the Project Manager.

3.      Take the lead in the community mobilization and targeting and monitor movement and distribution of in-kind assistance and grants maintaining a complete paper trail for all registrations, verifications, and distributions for all livelihoods and cash-related activities.

4.      Conduct regular field visits to project sites and update the Project Manager on the progress of project activities in the field.

5.       Responsible for site planning, date and location of the distribution, and crowd control.

6.       Establish strong working relationships with targeted communities, local authorities, and local partners.

7.    Supervise and provide technical support to contractors/trainers/local partners to implement business-focused training programmes.

8.       Provide mentoring and coaching to all businesses supported with grants.

9.       Implement/support the implementation of the NRC Community Engagement Approach activities.

10.   Diagnose and report any programmatic or operational challenges.

11.   Contribute to the preparation of relevant documents, including contracts, MoUs, communication materials, reports, presentations, etc.

12.   Participate when requested in the recruitment of Project Assistants and incentive staff.

13.   Develop weekly work plans as per the overall implementation plans.

14.   Vehicle movement planning for the team according to weekly work plans.

15.   Prepare and raise procurement requests as per procurement and spending plans.

16.   Lead on the preparation for payments including stipends, cash grants etc.

17.   Working closely and coordinating the activities with monitoring and evaluation unit for monitoring the activities, carrying out post-distribution monitoring, and share the information with other staff.

18.   Support with internal and external referrals.

19.   Support the LFS PM/PDM in occasional translation support between Romanian/Ukrainian and English.

20.   Any other duties assigned by line manager as and when required.

Critical interfaces

By interfaces, NRC means processes and projects that are interlinked with other departments/units or persons. Relevant interfaces for this position are:

·       Livelihood unit team

·       Livelihood unit partners

·       Local communities

·       Other NRC units and support functions

·       Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) department

2.      Competencies

Competencies are important in order for the employee and the organisation to deliver desired results. They are relevant for all staff and are divided into the following two categories:

 1. Professional competencies

Generic professional competencies for this position:

·       2-3 years of relevant experience, preferably in implementing food security and livelihoods projects within the humanitarian sector

·       Bachelor's degree preferably in Economics, Agriculture, Business, Social Sciences, or other related fields

·      Preferred to have knowledge of the humanitarian or development sector in Moldova along with experience and knowledge of food security in Moldova, the agri-food sector and interventions which can support people’s food needs

·       Demonstrated experience in conducting assessments

·       Strong data management and data analysis skills

·       Fluency in English, Russian, and Romanian essential, both written and verbal

Context related skills, knowledge and experience:

·       Knowledge of the context in Moldova

·       Knowledge and experience in working with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures

·       Experience in starting up new programmes and working in partnership is a plus.

2. Behavioural competencies

·       Planning and delivering results

·       Working with people

·       Communicating with impact and respect

·       Analysing

·       Handling insecure environments