Program Officer At BRAC

Career with BRAC International

BRAC International is a leading non-profit organisation with a mission to empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease, and social injustice. Founded in 1972, by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, BRAC is the largest non-governmental development organisation in the world, and is present in 15 countries across Asia and Africa today. BRAC designs proven, scalable solutions that equip people with the support and confidence they need to achieve their potential. BRAC’s institutional expertise on various programmes, including health, agriculture, microfinance, education, and youth empowerment, is touching the lives of over 100 million people in the Global South.

BRAC International is a leading nonprofit organization with a mission to empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease, and social injustice. Our approach is grounded in the conviction that people living in vulnerable situations can be agents of change if they are empowered with the tools, skills, and hope they need to change their lives. We design proven, scalable solutions that equip people with the support and confidence they need to achieve their potential. BRAC’s institutional expertise on successfully implemented programmes is applied across 10 countries, touching the lives of over 130 million people, where our models are adapted according to the country’s context.

In 2022, the Mastercard Foundation in partnership with BRAC International (BI) announcing an initiative that will create positive and measurable impact for 1.2 million adolescent girls and young women and 9.5 million people across seven countries in East and West Africa, including Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda.

There is mounting urgency to support adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) living in poverty, which has been further amplified by the global pandemic. Through this partnership, scalable economic development approaches will be delivered in communities to foster the agency and voice of AGYW. They will have the opportunity to fulfill their aspirations, achieve sustainable livelihoods, and engage in advocacy issues.

BRAC International will implement an integrated and holistic model to address the various life cycles of a young woman living in poverty, ensuring she is able to transition safely from adolescence to adulthood. She will be equipped with the appropriate skills, tools, and access to finance to effectively exercise her agency and build a fulfilling and productive livelihood.

In preparation for the launch of the program, BRAC International is seeking applications from competent, dynamic and self-motivated individuals to fill the following position in Rwanda.

Position: Program Officer

Job Location: Nyanza/Huye

Number of positions: 6

Contract nature: Two years renewable depending on the performance

Job Summary

The Program Officer ( Social Empowerment, Development and Livelihoods) will be responsible for enhancing targeted households with improved social-economic capabilities through social empowerment, and the establishment of Self-Help Groups focusing on Adolescent girls and boys, youths, young women and men and People Living with Disability to nature access to resilient livelihood opportunities by initiating agricultural based income generating activities, financial Inclusion and entrepreneurial skills within the communities of Huye and Nyanza. Specifically, S/he will be supporting the operation of Early Child Development, Youth Development Centres, asset transfers, Monitoring and evaluation, conducting rapid market assessments and increasing sustained access to incomes through Climate smart Agriculture and Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs). S/He will play a pivotal role in providing technical and management support to project activities on facilitating sustainable livelihoods interventions as well as ensuring coordination with local government structures at the community level.

Key Duties/Responsibilities: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

• Assist in developing and updating the project plan and support the project team in the implementation of social empowerment, social development and economic development activities including project identification, assessment and registration.
• Facilitate the development of project progress documentation including not limit to weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reporting.
• Lead and facilitate capacity building activities and skills development of adolescent girls and boys, youth, young women and men and persons with disabilities and any related activities.
• Support the development of MEAL systems for collecting, tracking, analysing, and reporting the progress of project activities against targets and expected outcomes.
• Day-to-day management of direct project participant database activities including participant tracking tools, contracts, timesheets, relevant equipment and coordination with the related stakeholders.
• Coordinate the design and implementation of learning studies.
• Ensure implementation of quality and timeliness of project participant activities through effective planning, monitoring, and reporting of progress against targets and indicators.
• Participate and coordinate with MEAL department to conduct needs assessment process and provide support in participant identification and data collection.
• Work closely with the Project Coordinator to ensure risks are appropriately managed, including financial, safety and security, programmatic, and reputational risks.
• Ensure that policies and guidelines as laid down in BRAC International operational manuals and policies are adhered to at all times.
• Ensure adherence to BRAC International Code of Conduct and Child Protection Policy and standards of integrity.
• Facilitate community participation in project planning, implementation, and monitoring in coordination with the Area Manager, MEAL Officer and other project related staff.
• Enhance positive relationships with community leaders and other stakeholders, ensuring that project activities are well-received and effectively communicated.
• Contribute in maintaining a safe and positive working environment for all project staff and project participants.
• Report immediately all project’s security challenges and incident reports and assist the Area Manager in the preparation of project reports including daily updates and weekly reports.
• Support the Area Manager and field teams in all aspects of program implementation to ensure timely, Accurate, and thoughtful completion of deliverables.

Any other duties as assigned

• Safeguarding Responsibilities
  • Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment and exploitation to achieve the programme’s goals on safeguarding implementation
  • Act as a key source of support, guidance and expertise on safeguarding for establishing a safe working environment
  • Practice, promote and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action
  • Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place and encourage others to do the same

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in any of the following or related fields: Social Sciences, Sociology, Psychology, International development, Agriculture, Education, Business related degrees
• 2+ years relevant experience in implementing results-based social empowerment and social economic development activities
• Demonstrated relevant technical skills in analyzing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data.
• Experience and knowledge of reporting procedures, program accountability best practices, guidelines, and tools for monitoring, evaluation and learning.
• Ability to work well in a team and with various partner organizations
• Ability to use a computer with proficiency in Microsoft Office programs, i.e., Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Kinyarwanda.
• Ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks;
• Willing to be able to travel within the working areas of Huye, Nyanza and other areas as required.
• High degree of professionalism and ability to deal sensitively with confidential material;
• Strong interpersonal (verbal and written) communication skills.

Success Factors

• The successful Program Officer will combine exceptional technical skills and experience in maintaining community and government relationships. S/he will have previous experience in working in multi sectoral youth, education, livelihoods, and social development projects.
• S/he will have an outstanding ability to design and provide technical oversight of innovative programs within the current and future program structure of BRAC International.
• S/he will also have proven experience with cross-cultural team and capacity building, individual staff development and strong mentoring skills. The successful candidate will be able to provide oversight across the country portfolio.

S/he should be willing to travel to remote project locations, have a strong initiative to work in communities and vulnerable adolescent boys and girls, young women and men, support coordination with community leaders, and ensure high quality implementation