Project Officer – Economic Empowerment At CARE

Project Officer – Economic Empowerment / CARE international in Jordan

CARE International seeks a world of hope, tolerance and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and all people live with dignity and security. In Jordan, CARE will be recognized for its commitment to the humanitarian protection and empowerment of communities especially women and girls, where rights are secured, and human potential fulfilled for all.

CARE in Jordan leads humanitarian protection, economic empowerment, and civic engagement interventions for women and girls from poor and vulnerable communities in the fight to overcome poverty, gender based violence, and social injustice. We nurture accountability, leadership and political will internally and among our partners to achieve this mission.

CARE values equality, integrity, transformation, excellence, diversity, and respect for the dignity and worth of every human being, where we affirm the dignity, potential, and contribution of all; communities we work with, partners, donors, and staff.

CARE International established a presence in Jordan in 1948, created in the wake of the Palestinian refugee crisis. Over 70 years later, CARE has served the needs of the Palestinian, Iraqi, Somali, Sudanese, and now Syrian refugee communities.

CARE’s scope of work has evolved from emergency response to long-term development programming, now encompassing an Urban Refugee Protection Program, the Azraq Camp Program, and the Sustainable Development Program.

CARE International in Jordan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or disability.

CARE is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those that are suitable to work within our values are recruited to work for us

CARE International in Jordan has a vacancy for the post of Project Officer – Economic Empowerment:

• JOB SUMMARY:

The Project Officer – Economic Empowerment position will assist the Project Manager in the overall programmatic initiatives in terms of coordination and implementation, provision of support to the monitoring and evaluation of the economic empowerment initiatives. She/he will lead the trainings and capacity development initiatives youth and women’s economic rights and strategies, in collaboration with other team members of the project. He/ she will also establish and maintain good relations with partners such as, project participants, communities, community leaders, and other organizations. The incumbent will closely work with the Programs Quality, Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) to conduct monitoring activities and contribute to the development of reports, letters and knowledge products on economic empowerment.

CARE Jordan will support young refugees and vulnerable Jordanians while also striving to improve the surrounding environment to enable the success of refugee and host community youth, particularly females. By getting both financial and technical support, the project provides a comprehensive package that will build the capacity of young refugees to start-up and run their own micro, small or home-based business, thus creating a livelihood for themselves and help create jobs for others in the community. Also, the project will link vulnerable families and refugees to local market through work preparedness’ and applying to work permits from MoL.

The project Officer works within CARE offices or from CARE’s partners as well as conducting field work (e.g., linking CARE participants to local markets). He/ she will document all cases seen in a precise and appropriate way that allows accurate follow up of cases and up to date statistics.

• RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS:

20% of Time

Job Responsibility #1 Planning, monitoring and reporting:

• Provide thorough and timely follow up on the implementation and delivery of activities and outcomes
• Support in the development of the project’s work plans and the correspondent budget
• Collect (and analyze) on a regular basis relevant data and information, new development, existing regulations, guidelines, government strategies relevant to the activities of the project
• Monitor and follow-up the progress of the different project activities (directly implemted by CARE Jordan or contracted Service Provider / Consultant) and submit on a regular basis reports on the progress, accomplishments, difficulties, lessons learnt etc.; to ensure timely provision of inputs and achievement of outputs and deliverable
• Reviews and revises the project workplan each month with the project manager
• Ensures compliance with all CARE Jordan and donor requirements and regulations
• Maintains all relevant project documents in electronic and paper files (reports, data records, participant information, documentation, contracts, agreements, correspondence, meeting notes, training materials and so on)

20% of Time

Responsibility #2: Monitoring and supervise partners’ staff:

• Collect and update information on services available to participants, especially economic development resources such as linkages to funding, markets and employment, through networking with CARE colleagues and other organizations;
• Coordinate with implementing partners and monitor closely their implementation, and ensure the timely delivery of the activities
• Ensures (with input from CARE’s line manager) that work procedures and if relevant standard operating procedures (SOPs) are in place, understood and being carried out
• Ensures project components are recorded by the team e.g., participants recorded on database if required
• Working with CARE staff, ensure that there is due diligence work undertaken to assess partners and potential partners
• Report back regularly to the Project Manager and on trends in participants’ circumstances, needs, concerns and questions

25% of Time

Job Responsibility #3: Project Implementation

• Meet, register, assist, and advise project participants according to scheduled sessions; including phone sessions as necessary and appropriate through CARE centers, or CARE’s partners and stakeholders (local and national)
• Advise cases of help and services available to them especially resources and linkages to economic development
• Liaise with Azraq camp for the training related to the construction and implementation of agriculture hydroponic system
• Conduct field visits as and when needed to monitor the implementation of community trainings and other initiatives and provide guidance and technical assistance to partners
• Conduct community outreach in order to reach out and mobilization activities to target groups and identify the appropriate livelihoods, economic empowerment and civic engagement activities and implementation modality; in particular, engage with women and youth groups
• Provide thorough and timely follow up on the implementation and delivery of activities and outcomes
• Follow-up of grants provided for MSMEs
• Facilitate women’s and youth leadership and participation in community decision making
• Support community committees’ participation in protection and social cohesion initiatives
• Supervise and report on technical capacity trainings to be provided to project participants
• Provide support for organizing visits, meeting, events, trainings and workshops

10% of Time

Job Responsibility #4: Liaison &Coordination

• Liaises with other stakeholders and partners (UN agencies, government other NGOs, Private Sector and agencies) to ensure coordination, presents CARE’s work and ensure coherence of the project with other similar activities
• Identify potential partners in communities, including female and male youth activists, CBOs amongst others and understand the needs and capacities as a basis to understand and inform the selection of interventions
• Helps facilitate and participate in project visits e.g. by donors
• Ensures communication and joint working with other CARE projects and teams (e.g. to refer participants or to ensure other colleagues are informed about project progress)
• Analyze feedback from participants (questions and inquiries) and report back regularly

5% of Time

Responsibility #5: Emergency Response / Staff Security

• Take a lead role in facilitating timely, quality administrative support function delivery in the time of emergency response
• Guides and supports management on staff security concerns
• Ensure security operational guidelines well established for the CO and field offices following CARE USA Security Guidelines, and all staff are aware (in coordination with the CD)

10% of Time

Job Responsibility # 6 Ensuring community participation, promoting women’s empowerment, applying CARE standards:

• Makes sure that project activities are performed in line with CARE standards including key humanitarian standards as set out in the SPHERE and IASC guidelines
• Ensures that gender considerations are taken into account at all stages of the project cycle from design through implementation to evaluation
• Ensures the participation of the community and partners in all stages of the project cycle

5% of Time

Job Responsibility # 7 Coordination, liaison and outreach with project partners and other interested organization

• Maintains contacts and effective communication with key partners involved in the project including drafting correspondence and documentation for signature by the project manager and transmission to partners or donors
• Ensures that summaries of meetings, seminars or workshops attended is written, well documented and shared with others
• Report on all meetings and develop ways to involve lessons learned or disseminate information to CBO partners
• Participates and if necessary organizes coordination between different donors, agencies and organizations to enhance the impact of CARE’s work through good coordination

5% of Time

Job Responsibility #8: Other duties as assigned by the Area of project manager.

• Other requested duties
• QUALIFICATIONS – (must be specific, realistic and related to job responsibilities)
• Education / Training

Required:

• BA/BSc Degree in Community Development, business administration, economics, or equivalent combination of education and work experience

Desired:

• MA degree in Community Development, business administration, economics or equivalent combination of education and work experience

Bachelor Degree in Economics, Business Administration, Management, Public Administration, Organizational Development or related field, with minimum of 5 years’ relevant professional work experience in the areas of projects management, projects coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation with focus on women’s economic empowerment. A master’s degree is a plus.

1. Experience

Required:

• Three to five years of working experience in the field of development, socio-economic, gender and relevant areas.
• Experience in community engagement in the area of livelihoods/employment, community development, promoting gender in governance and administration, entrepreneurship, youth and women empowerment.
• Experience in planning, budgeting, work plans development, participating in program development and proposal writing, projects implementation, monitoring, reporting, evaluation and program coordination;
• Clear understanding of the effect/impact of women’s economic participation on development and the ways to address those issues to enhance women’s participation in these processes
• Good understanding and experience on women’s economic empowerment, enterprise development, livelihood or employment creation for women and promoting gender in governance and administration
• Experience in social cohesion and de-radicalization is an asset.
• Previous experience with a multilateral or international organization including NGOs.

Desired:

• Effective follow up and planning skills.
• Actual grassroots experience, working with communities and CSOs
• Good knowledge in administration, HR and procurement policies and procedures.
• Technical skills
• Excellent communication, presentation and facilitation skills
• Excellent computer proficiency (MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook)
• A proven ability to provide financial and progress reports in accordance with reporting schedules
• Understanding of gender issues
• Project planning and budgeting and staff planning
• Good reports writing skills in English
• Familiarity in participatory extension approach
• Firm belief in teamwork, gender equality, conceptual understanding of participatory approach and sustainable development
• Human relations skills

Consists of active practicing skills in the area of human relationships. In the work context Human Relations Skills include all capabilities that are needed to interact on a direct person-to-person basis, and through varied approaches build understanding of, acceptance of, or commitment to, courses of action that are important for the organization. These skills may be applied in relation to peers, subordinates or peers within the organization, or to people outside the organization. (See Guidelines for definitions).

The Human Relations Skills for this position are designated as basic

1. Competencies
2. Respect – Behaving in a manner that reflects a true belief in and appreciation for the dignity and potential of all human beings. Gaining other people’s confidence and setting an environment of trust and openness.
3. Integrity – Maintaining social, ethical, and organizational norms; firmly adhering to codes of conduct and ethical principles inherent to CARE.
4. Commitment to Service – this competency is woven throughout all aspects of the employee’s performance.
5. Excellence – Setting high standards of performance for self and/or others; assuming responsibility and accountability for successfully completing assignments or tasks; self-imposing standards of excellence rather than having standards imposed; ensuring interactions and transactions are ethical and convey integrity.
6. Diversity – Promoting, valuing, respecting and fully benefiting from each individual’s unique qualities, background, race, culture, age, gender, disability, values, lifestyle, perspectives or interests; creating and maintaining a work environment that promotes diversity.

Other desired Competencies:

• Adaptability: effectively managing changing environments in the organization, global, economic, and political matters, maintaining effectiveness when dealing with multiple and conflicting priorities across different cultural settings, or during emergency and crisis situations.
• Planning & Organizing: Establishing courses of action for self and others to ensure that work is completed efficiently and effectively in accordance with CARE’s core values.
• Proactive Problem Solving: Makes routine decisions in the course of work. Understands the issues, compares data from different sources to draw conclusions, and chooses a course of action that is consistent with authority delegated to the position.
• Political Acumen: Understanding the socio-cultural, historical, political, and economic context within which CARE operates; integrating understanding of the organization’s global approach with awareness of global trends.
• Communicating with Impact: Clearly conveying information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the audience and helps them understand and retain their message.
• Building partnerships.
• Stress tolerance,
• Building commitment
• Interpersonal skills
• Operational decision-making
• Planning and organizing
• Information monitoring
• Respect
• Integrity
• Diversity
• Excellence
• building partnership,
• stress tolerance,
• problem solving,
• managing performance for success,
• communicating with impact,
• innovation,
• Planning and monitoring.

COMPETENCIES

CARE Core Competencies:

• Respect – Behaving in a manner that reflects a true belief in and appreciation for the dignity and potential of all human beings. Gaining other people’s confidence and setting an environment of trust and openness.
• Integrity – Maintaining social, ethical, and organizational norms; firmly adhering to codes of conduct and ethical principles inherent to CARE.
• Commitment to Service – this competency is woven throughout all aspects of the employee’s performance.
• Excellence – Setting high standards of performance for self and/or others; assuming responsibility and accountability for successfully completing assignments or tasks; self-imposing standards of excellence rather than having standards imposed; ensuring interactions and transactions are ethical and convey integrity.
• Diversity – Promoting, valuing, respecting and fully benefiting from each individual’s unique qualities, background, race, culture, age, gender, disability, values, lifestyle, perspectives or interests; creating and maintaining a work environment that promotes diversity.

Other desired Competencies:

• Respect
• Integrity
• Diversity
• Excellence
• building partnership,
• stress tolerance,
• problem solving,
• managing performance for success,
• communicating with impact,
• innovation,
• Planning and monitoring.
• PROBLEM SOLVING

Is comprised of the Thinking Challenge and Thinking Environment

Thinking Environment considers the rules, instructions, practices, precedents, standards, principles, policies, goals, and objectives that create the context in which a job is authorized to deal with unusual situations. It describes the degree of freedom permitted to the job to initiate the thinking process as a result of external conditions, as well as internal conditions of the organization. Choose one of the following: Strict Routine; Routine; Semi-Routine; Standardized; Clearly Defined; Broadly Defined; Generally Defined; Abstractly Defined.

• This position is defined as Clearly Defined

Thinking Challenge describes the situational and nature and degree of difficulty of mental effort required to come to conclusions, make decisions, provide answers, or discover new things. Choose one of the following: Repetitive; Patterned; Interpolative; Adaptive; or Uncharted.

• This position is defined as Patterned.
• ACCOUNTABILITY

Is the any workability for actions and for their consequences’. It is the measured effect of the job or position on end results. It has three dimensions in the following order of importance: Freedom to Act; Impact on End Results; and Magnitude**.**

A) Freedom to Act is the degree to which personal or procedural control and guidance for work (or lack thereof) exists. This is a function of the organizational framework, the personnel and policy direction, and the flows, processes, and systems that are established in the organization. Choose one of the following: Limited; Prescribed; Controlled; Standardized; Regulated; Clearly Directed; Generally Directed; Guided; or Strategically Guided. (See Guidelines for definitions).

• This position would be designated as Standardized

B) *Impact on End Results* considers the principal nature of the job’s influence on end results, which ranges from very direct control to very indirect support. Choose the Impact category that reflects the basic purpose of the job most clearly. Ancillary; Contributory; Shared; Primary

• This position would be Contributory

C) *Magnitude*: Financial: What parts of CARE’s revenue and/or expenses are impacted by the job’s primary goals? Use current fiscal year amounts. e.g. project budget, fundraising or contract goal, budget managed or monitored, donations processed, purchases made, contracts negotiated/signed, benefits costs.

1. CONTACTS/KEY RELATIONSHIPS:

Key Internal Contacts

Program Managers, Field Staff, Support Team

Key External Contacts

CBO’s, Private Sector, Local Partner focal points/Managers

1. WORKING CONDITIONS:
2. Travel: This position will be based in Amman and may require travelling to CAREs’ Offices or Suppliers when there is a need.
3. Safety and Security: CARE’s Safety and Security Officer is available for advice and guidance.