Tajikistan: Project Development Volunteer – Dushanbe At ACTED

Internship | 6 months | ASAP

ACTED

Created in 1993, ACTED is an international non-governmental organization pursuing a dual mandate of emergency response and development interventions in 40 of some of the world’s most vulnerable countries affected by conflicts, disasters or socio-economic hardship. With a team of 7,000 national staff and 400 international staff, ACTED implements 500 projects a year to support more than 20 million beneficiaries, notably in hard-to-reach areas.

ACTED goes to the last mile through programs and approaches that look beyond the immediate emergency towards opportunities for longer term livelihood reconstruction and sustainable development. Guided by the motto “Think Local, Act Global” and its 3Zero –Zero Exclusion, Zero Carbon, and Zero Poverty – strategy, ACTED puts local territories at the centre and provides a tailored support to local needs.

ACTED Tajikistan

ACTED Tajikistan is committed to supporting sustainable and inclusive development in the country for over 25 years, working with the most vulnerable communities including women, disadvantaged youth and rural populations. With a coordination office in the capital Dushanbe and operational offices in Khujand, Murgab and Bokhtar, the NGO works to prevent natural disasters and support local civil society, and also contributes to the promotion of culture and heritage through the Bactria Cultural Centre.

In 2015, the international community made key commitments for the future of our planet, first, with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), then with the climate agreement at COP21. Building on these commitments and its historic programming in line with these goals, ACTED developed its 3Zero vision (Zero Carbon, Zero poverty, Zero Exclusion) to promote new approaches to contemporary challenges, which aims to radically reshape the way individuals, businesses and communities live, work and interact.

The 3Zero House in Dushanbe is a unique collaborative space that aims to foster social entrepreneurship and support diverse interventions based on synergies with other organisations, while multiplying and accelerating innovations and solutions by local actors. The 3Zero House Dushanbe was created in order to better address the challenges and issues of modern-day Tajikistan, led by ACTED Tajikistan together with its sister organization Bactria Cultural Centre and such partners as PEAK Business Innovation Centre, Tajik Community Based Tourism Association, Public organization Korvoni Umed and its brand Chatr Cafe, Oxus Micro Finance Organization.

Bactria Cultural Centre (BCC) was created in December 2001 by ACTED to address the lack of access to culture, information and vocational training in Tajikistan. Since then, it has become a focal point in the cultural life of Dushanbe. Cooperating with several embassies and donor organizations functioning in Tajikistan, BCC supports a wide variety of cultural activities and educational activities (including French and English language courses).

You will be in charge of

The Project Development Volunteer (PDV) ensures proper grant management by developing qualitative project progress reports in compliance with donors’ rules. The PDV facilitates smooth internal communication and coordination with relevant departments and contributes to ACTED external communication strategy. The PDV contributes to fundraising efforts by participating in the development of project proposals in line with ACTED’s global and in-country programme strategy. The PDV focuses on supporting Bactria Cultural Center and 3Zero House Dushanbe.

1. Grant Management

1.1 Contract follow-up

a) Communicate contractual obligations in particular with regards to reporting deadlines to Programme, MEAL and FLATS team;

b) When any issue is identified in meeting deliverables in the given timeframe and budget, inform relevant staff in country and seek ACTED HQ Program Department advice on potential solutions that would meet donor rules.

1.2. Reporting

a) Participate in and take minutes of kick-off and close out meetings for each project

b) Write quality narrative reports, reflecting the progress and status of projects in a transparent, timely and professional manner, in liaison with ACTED HQ GMU and finance, which will contribute ultimately to steady cash inflow;

c) Work in close relation with MEAL to incorporate MEAL data (incl. data on input, process, output, outcome and impact indicators, lessons learnt and best practices) in reports and review M&E reports from MEAL;

d) Liaise with FLATS teams when preparing reports, especially with finance to ensure greater coherence between financial and narrative reports by crosschecking the matching of data in the narrative and financial reports;

e) Contribute to the monthly update of the Reporting Follow Up (RFU) and ensure smooth and regular communication with ACTED HQ GMU.

f) Address ad hoc requests from donors in liaison with the CD, Programme and support teams.

1.3 Partner Follow-up

a) Ensure partners report to ACTED in a timely and qualitative manner as per the requirements of the grant agreement.

2. Internal Coordination

2.1. Internal Coordination and Communication

a) Facilitate interdepartmental communication and information sharing from the Base to the Area, Capital, and even up to the regional and HQ offices by taking minutes of the various ACTED coordination meetings

b) Send meeting minutes in a timely manner to HQ;

c) Inform ACTED HQ GMU and finance of latest developments, opportunities and challenges so that GMU can best advice on the way forward.

2.2. Filing

a) File properly contractual project documents both in hard and soft copies;

b) Update regularly the Resource Centre at the office with appropriate and relevant external and internal resources.

3. External Communication

a) Contribute to Bactria and 3Zero House external communication strategy by sharing regularly with ACTED Communication Department informal updates on projects, a flash news, pictures, articles on projects progress and/or specific events for ACTED communication tools, including, but not limited to, ACTED Newsletter, websites and ACTED Annual Report.

4. Fundraising

4.1 External relations

a) Engage actively with partners of the 3Zero ecosystem, explore potential collaboration options and joint partnerships;

b) In coordination with Bactria Director and 3Zero House Coordinator, lead on the communication between Bactria, 3Zero House and partners

c) Update regularly a directory of donors, international and local NGOs, other partners and stakeholders;

d) Contribute when required to the reporting to national and local authorities as required by ACTED registration/legal status in country;

f) In the absence of Technical Coordinators, participate in key clusters and/or working group meetings;

4.2 Contribution to proposal development

a) Contribute when required to the development of fundraising documents (Expression of Interests/concept notes/proposals) in line with ACTED country strategy and donor requirements and in close collaboration with ACTED HQ GMU (Grant Management Unit) and finance;

b) Liaise with Bactria Director and 3Zero House Coordinator to ensure that proposals are relevant and technically sound;

c) Incorporate learning from previous interventions (e.g. lessons learnt and best practices) into new proposals;

4.3 Contracting

a) Contribute to addressing in a timely manner all comments by donors on proposals in liaison with relevant staff in country and ACTED HQ GMU and finance.

Expected skills and qualifications

• Master Level education in a relevant field such as International Relations, Development or Political Science;
• Previous related work experience, with knowledge of proposal writing and reporting;
• Familiarity with the project cycle;
• Excellent writing and communication skills;
• Ability to work efficiently under pressure and to manage multiple tasks;
• Good team spirit and ability to work with diverse profiles.
• Written and spoken fluency in English, Russian will be considered as significant advantage;

Conditions

Status: volunteer

• 300 USD per month living allowance
• Coverage of all accommodation, guesthouse, food, and travel costs, a luggage allowance of 50 kg
• The provision of medical, repatriation, and life insurance.
• One week pre-departure training in ACTED HQ, including a 4-days in situ security training
• Psychological assistance