Towards an Empowering Future Project Officers
The Organization
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.
We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.
Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.
We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.
Please see https://plan-international.org/organisation/strategy for Plan international strategy
Plan started working in Egypt in 1981 and has a presence in ten of the 27 governorates in which the country is divided: two urban (Cairo and Alexandria) and eight rural (Giza, Beheira, Kalyoubia, Damietta, Qena, Assuit, Sohag and Aswan). Plan Egypt’s work focuses on child rights, implementing programmes designed to enable communities to improve the lives of the most marginalised children and their families. Plan Egypt’s Country Strategy focuses on five strategic objectives listed below:
- Improve the quality of early childhood care & education;
- Promote economic empowerment of vulnerable young men & women;
- Facilitate girls in realising their full potential in an enabling and gender responsive environment that protects them from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence;
- Support adolescents and young people, particularly girls to become active drivers of change and lead the way towards more equitable and inclusive societies;
- Promote adolescents and young people, particularly girls to be empowered to take informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health and live free from gender-based violence
About the Project
“Girls and Young Women in Egypt: Towards an Empowering Future”, is a project that takes a holistic approach to development in a gender-transformative manner. It targets all family members and their communities to ensure sustainable change in attitudes and better living conditions for girls and young women in Upper Egypt, namely in the governorates of Qena and Aswan, which are the most marginalized and conservative locations in terms of promoting and protecting girl’s and women’s rights in Egypt. The project aims to empower girls and young women in Upper Egypt by equipping them with economic skills and resources, along with social skills, to eliminate violence against them including harmful practices such as FGM/C (female genital mutilation and cutting), early marriage as well as to create opportunities for them to participate in decisions affecting their lives. Through community awareness, community mobilization and girl-led activities, the project will engage parents, family members and community and religious leaders to change their perception of gender roles, challenge culturally rooted beliefs and attitudes, and support young women’s involvement in income-generating opportunities. It further encourages and equips youth to take leadership roles by being directly involved in project activities and gradually act as agents of change within their communities and families, and it equips them with practical tools and resources for economic empowerment through entrepreneurship. The project also promotes the ownership of the local civil society organizations and groups, accountability of the local government on the governorate level as well as relevant government bodies to play a more responsive role in combating gender based violence, challenging deeply rooted gender stereotypes and power dynamics that hinder girls and women from exercising their agency. This includes capacitating them in gender related issues to engage in a more gender transformative and inclusive environment.
Purpose:
This position will Report to the project Manger , the Field Officer (FO) is entitled to facilitate and monitor the implementation of Plan’s programs in tandem with the approved annual plan of the project. Through working together with the PU’s leadership team, the FO retains final accountability for timely and quality delivery of and monitoring of the implementation of the project’s activities ensuring that they are significantly contributing to lasting and positive changes in the lives of disadvantaged children and communities.
Dimensions of the Rule:
- This role acts as the front-line in working directly with communities through different community partners.
- This role has no direct reporters.
- This role requires budget monitoring skills as well as familiarity with other monitoring mechanisms.
- This role requires close relationship and coordination with other PU team members.
- This role will support in handling logistics part for the field work in the project.
Accountabilities:
Leadership role in the PU
- Work together with the project Manger in developing the project outlines.
- Team up with the PU leadership team in developing the annual plan for the PU.
- Work together with the project manger, local partners in developing the capacity building plans as set out in the approved POs .
Program Implementation
- Facilitate the implementation of the relevant project activities within the communities ,ensuring that they contribute to improving the lives of targeted groups and communities.
- Facilitate, guide and monitor the implementing partners and provide continuous feedback to the line manager.
- Collaborate with the PM in developing detailed action plans aligned with the approved log-frames ensuring 100% active participation of project identified target.
- Develop the required community friendly tools enabling the marginalized children and families to actively engage in all phases of the project cycle.
- Facilitate the development of community-led sustainability plans ensuring that local communities and partners are capable of leading their own development plans .
- Facilitate the active engagement of children and local communities in participatory advocacy initiatives to demand positive and lasting changes in their lives.
- Provide supervision, technical support and guidance to the project partners.
- Develop the required reports and support PM in responding to the donor’s queries to inform quality programming.
- Develop a detailed plan of action at the community level and in tandem with the program strategy set out at the geographical area.
- Perform his/her duties and responsibilities in accordance to the project proposal and in addition to the programmatic, administrative and financial policies/ regulations of Plan International.
Networking and Advocacy
- Provide support to the local communities including youth groups to organize themselves and engage in collective actions to demand sustainable and positive changes in their lives.
- Create opportunities for community based informal groups to form networks/ coalitions with the overall purpose of advocating for their rights.
Budget management and asset management
- Team up with the PM in developing the budget for the POs within the geographical areas.
- Develop a detailed action plan including the burn rate of the planned activities.
- Ensure that Plan’s assets donated\ transferred to the local partners are well-utilized.
- Monitor the implementation of the global assurance’s admin recommendations at the community level ensuring that the necessary strategies are in place to mitigate the identified risks.
Safeguarding Children and Young People (Safeguarding) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI)
- Understands and puts into practice the responsibilities under Safeguarding and GEI policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), ensuring that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.
- Ensures that all staff in the unit/function/department are properly inducted on and understands their role in upholding Plan International’s safeguarding and GEI policies;
- Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in day to day work.
- Ensures that Plan Ethiopia contributes to Plan International’s global efforts to ensure safeguarding and GEI, including making sure that relevant reporting and data are submitted
Leadership and Business Management Competencies
LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES
- Set and communicate ambitious but realistic work goals and priorities, explaining how these contribute to Plan International’s purpose.
- Set high standards for self and others’ behavior, inside and outside work. Championing our values and commitment to rights, gender equality and safeguarding. Supporting the health, well-being and both physical and psychological safety of our staff, including their safety to speak out.
- Hold self and others to account for what we have agreed, dealing with poor performance quickly, firmly and constructively.
- Create a positive team spirit, helping people work well together, to reflect and continuously improve the efficiency and quality of what we do.
- Collaborate with team members, colleagues and partners in finding creative solutions to problems by sharing information, experience and ideas and actively seeking their input.
- Motivate and developing others by taking an interest, giving constructive feedback and praise, ensuring they are properly trained and helping them develop their potential.
- Accept change and support others in adjusting to it, helping them understand.
- Perform any other related duties as assigned by immediate supervisor
Business Management Competencies
- Understand relevant sectoral context including how the sector operates in terms of funding and governance and awareness of Plan’s purpose, values, and global strategy
- Manage legal and reputational risk including risk assessment, communication, risk management and reporting in full compliance with risk-related standards, including in areas such as Child and Youth Safeguarding and Protection, Gender equality and inclusion, Counter Fraud, Safety and Security
- Manage activities and resources including skills in strategic thinking, planning and organising, financial planning and monitoring, negotiation and programme and project management
- Manage people and information including skills in assessment and coaching, evidence-based management, communication skills, both speaking and writing, and digital working, including personal digital skills
Dealing with Problems
- Demonstrated capacity and commitment to solve day to day program issues.
- Effective community facilitation skills.
- High level of capacity to manage stress and solve problems.
Key Relationships:
Internal:
- Program Manger (High Contact).
- PULT members to consult on major decisions related to PU operations implementation (High Contact).
- Finance/operations team (High Contact).
External:
- Local partners to assess progress and agree on the appropriated mitigation strategies (High contact).
- Local respective stakeholders to ensure their engagement in the project as appropriate.
Technical Expertise, Skills and Knowledge
Essential
- University degree in related field
- 2–3 years of experience working in INGO environment
- A degree in Social Sciences, Development Studies or related discipline
- Experience in the basics of protection mechanisms and structures.
- Facilitation skills.
- Report writing skills.
- Good communication, presentation and problem solving skills.
- Understanding of community development principles and strategies including rights based programming.
- Knowledge of project management cycle.
Desirable
- Good level of English language.
- Willingness to learn and ability to work under stress.
- Positive attitude and strong belief in empowering communities.
- Strong commitment to children’s poverty and gender equality.
- Positive attitudes, self- assertiveness and capacity to inspire others.
- Decision making skills.
- Influence and communication and able to communicate concerns to managers and teams
Plan International’s Values in Practice
We are open and accountable
- Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
- Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
- Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
- Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
- Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people
We strive for lasting impact
- Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
- Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
- Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
- Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.
We work well together
- Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
- Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
- Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
- Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.
We are inclusive and empowering
- We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential
- We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge equality in our programs and our workplace
- We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives.
Physical Environment
- Typically, office environment with at least 70% travel to other project locations to attend scheduled meetings with frequent visits to the field.
Level of Contact with Children:
High level: Frequent interaction with children
Type of Role: One-year fixed term contract.
Location: 2 Field Officers are needed, one FO in Qena and another one in Aswan.
Reports to: Towards an Empowering Future Project Manager
Closing Date: 22nd of June 2022.
Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.
We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.
We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.
Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.
A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International’s Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.
Please note that Plan International will never send unsolicited emails requesting payment from candidates.
More Information
- Job City Qena, Aswan
