Trócaire

Human Rights Project Manager: Trócaire

Ngo & Social Services Jobs
Salary
TBA

Job Description

The Zimbabwe Country Office falls within Trócaire’s programme portfolio of countries where human rights and democratic space are contested. This is one of three thematic/country classifications that encompass Trocaire’s global programme

The Zimbabwe country programme addresses the following themes:

(i) Defending Human Rights and Promoting Access to Justice

(ii) Climate and Environmental Justice

(iii) Supporting Women and Girls’ Protection, Voice, and Leadership, and,

(iv) Saving Lives and Protecting Human Dignity.

Trocaire’s rights-based approach, partnership model, commitment to localisation, accountability, and the triple nexus, underpin each programme area.

The Zimbabwe programme team consists of 5 staff members with different but complementary responsibilities. The team is led by the Programme Manager.

Background to the role

As part of its’ work in defending human rights and democracy, Trócaire seeks a full time Human Rights Project Manager to manage a donor-funded project focused on ‘Enhancing the Promotion of Civil and Political Rights in Zimbabwe. Trócaire leads a consortium of 11 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) implementing the project.

Working with a small project team and collaborating with advisors and finance staff, this role will provide overall strategic direction and management of the project, and lead and engage effectively with the consortium partners, donors, and other stakeholders. Additionally, the post holder will be responsible for effective grant management, ensuring compliance with donor contractual requirements, and similarly between Trocaire and the implementing partners.

Reporting to: Country Director, Zimbabwe

Managing (individuals/team): Two project staff

Contract type: Fixed term

Contract duration: Two years (renewable)

Grade: Zimbabwe Local Staff Salary Grade

Location: Harare, with frequent travel to the project areas.

Scope of the role:

Trocaire and its’ local partners have a history of significant human rights programming in recent years. This project is specifically designed to continue to defend human rights and civil society space in Zimbabwe, in the context of a challenging and potentially deteriorating and volatile environment, inimical to human rights defence and promotion.

A consortium of 11 leading CSOs led by Trócaire seeks to contribute to effective civic action to claim and defend human rights as set out in the 2013 Constitution by supporting citizens and organised citizen groups to exercise their rights, and, where necessary, challenge duty-bearers to respect and protect human rights. Importantly, this includes reducing barriers to gender equality, and equipping CSOs to sustain their work in the longer-term. The project will give priority to advancing gender equality by integrating Trócaire’s women’s empowerment approach across all project activities and partnership approaches. The post holder will be responsible for managing the human rights project team and administering grants and procurement processes with the consortium partners. The role includes finalising and managing grants to partners and ensuring the partners are compliant with both Trocaire and donor policies and procedures. In addition, this role will work with Trocaire Zimbabwe’s Human Rights Advisor, MEL Advisor, Regional Business and Grants Manager (RBD&GM), and the Finance and Admin, Team, to provide oversight and partner support during project implementation, reviews, evaluations, and closeout. The Project Manager, in collaboration with the Country Management Team (CMT), will advise staff on contractual and grant issues, donor compliance, and implementation of polices related to partnership and risk management/mitigation for the project.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Duties & Responsibilities

Overarching:
Manage and support the human rights project team to deliver the project, complying with donor contract and management requirements.
Strengthen the capacity of Trócaire’s human rights project staff and partners to manage individual grants.
Coordinate and support the consortium partners and project management structures for effective project delivery and learning.
Prepare for and participate in consortium governance and management meetings.
Participate in individual and joint meetings with donors.

This role will involve the following components:
Grants Management & Compliance:
Understand and keep updated with donor regulations relating to the project grants, and communicate relevant changes to staff and partners, ensuring liaison with the Trocaire HQ Global Partnership and Funding Unit (GPFU) in terms of global donor strategies and updates on regulations.
Support project staff and partners to manage grant agreements including adherence to supply chain and financial management policies and procedures, fraud, anti-bribery, and corruption, etc. Keep the RBD&GM informed about the progress of grant agreements/contracts through the project cycle.
Develop appropriate procedures, tools, and operational procedures to support partners in compliance with Trócaire and donor/contractual requirements and management standards.
In coordination with project and finance staff, monitoring and ensuring compliance of partner project activities and management standards with donor rules and requirements, including financial tracking and reporting, and agreeing amendments and course correction as may be required for all grants/contracts.
Advise and support the project team and other Trocaire staff on strengthening the capacity of partners to handle contractual compliance issues, including project audits and verification requirements.
Ensure that high quality donors reports are prepared and submitted in a timely manner. This will involve close liaison and joint working with the RBD&GM.
Take the lead and/or support project inception activities and followup action points from inception meetings, grant review meetings, and grant closeout meetings.
Ensure that all information relating to project proposals, other project documentation, and donor compliance reports are stored on Trócaire’s information management system (Salesforce). Work with the GPFU staff in Trócaire’s HQ, as well as the finance and programme staff in-country, to ensure Salesforce and Agresso budget and accounts figures reconcile.
Provide training and tools for partners signing grant agreements, including compliance with regulations on financial management, procurement, audit, reporting, visibility, and communications.
With the Finance and Admin. Manager (FAM), advise and support the project team and partners on compliance with donor-specific audit and expenditure verification requirements.
Consortium Coordination:
Create project governance and implementation structures with partners’ management and ensure these arrangements are followed for effective management and delivery of the project.
Develop and manage MOUs with consortium partners that include jointly agreed upon principles of partnership, implementation modalities, and MEL strategies.
Plan and lead consortium coordination meetings, and joint planning and review workshops.
Keep the consortium partners updated on donor regulations relating to project grants and communicate relevant changes to consortium governance and implementation structures.
Human Resource Management:
Line-manage two project team members in line with Trócaire’s performance management framework, ensuring they are clear on the purpose of the project, the changes to which they are contributing, and clarifying their roles and responsibilities.
Support, mentor, and coach the team members as part of their professional development and to help them to be highly effective in their work.
Establish a team approach to programming, ensuring that project staff work together to share learning and to exchange skills.
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning:
In collaboration with the project MEL Manager, ensure that all aspects of the M & E framework are adhered to and adapted where necessary.
In collaboration with the human rights project team, conduct a baseline for the project.
Conduct visits to partners with the MEL Manager and produce field visits reports highlighting progress, challenges, learning and safeguarding, among other issues.
Conduct partner review meetings at least twice a year or as outlined in the project monitoring and reporting schedule. with institutional donors
Review partner financial reports in collaboration with the Project Accountant.
Ensure partners submit reports on time and of the right quality.
Facilitate mid- and end-line reviews and evaluations as agreed.
Networking:
Participate in relevant thematic working groups, networks and learning forums nationally, and possibly regionally or internationally, to contribute to and improve project advocacy, learning, sharing, and reach.
Develop relationships with peers in other I/NGOs working in the human rights sector and maintain an overview of their work, identifying possible opportunities for collaboration.
Teamwork & Collaboration:
Work collaboratively with colleagues at country, cross-country and global levels, to contribute to the achievement of broader organisational human rights’ goals.
Participate in and contribute to Trócaire’s global women’s empowerment thematic meetings.
Provide material for Trócaire’s Communications, Campaigns, Fundraising and Education units as required.
Deliver on other tasks as agreed with the Country Director.
Other:
Deliver on other duties as agreed with the Country Director.

Qualifications and Experience

Requirements

Person Specification – Essential Requirements

Qualifications:
Third level qualification (preferably Masters) in Law, Human Rights, Development Studies, International Relations, Social Sciences, or another relevant field.

Experience:
Minimum of 7 years of proven experience in project/programme coordination, policy development and analysis, managing teams, donor compliance, grant management and at least 3 years of supervisory experience.
Knowledge of the civil society context and human rights situation in Zimbabwe.
Thorough understanding of and experience of engaging with government structures and institutions, and their roles and responsibilities at national, provincial, district, and ward level.
Thorough knowledge of institutional donor e grants policies, procedures, project management, and reporting requirements. Experience of managing FCDO, SIDA, or Irish Aid grants would be an advantage.
Experience of managing relationships with institutional donors.
Experience of working with relevant stakeholders from governmental and non-governmental organisations and institutions engaged with and having a responsibility for defending in civil society, democratisation, and human rights issues at the national and sub-national levels.
Demonstrated ability to form effective and productive relationships with partner organisations and stakeholder counterparts to achieve project objectives.
Experience and knowledge in development effectiveness and cooperation, and gender equality and its related issues would be an asset.
Experience of managing staff and partner safety and security; information and data security; maintaining confidentiality in respect of project activities.
Experience in delivering leadership, capacity development, advice, and guidance to individuals and teams in the relevant fields.

Skills:
Excellent project development and management skills.
Good understanding of NGO financial management systems, budget monitoring and reporting.
Ability to develop budgets and budget notes and to conduct cost/ value for money analysis to ensure costs are reasonable, allocable, and allowable.
High level report writing and presentation skills.
Able to consistently demonstrate a high degree of accuracy and a very strong attention to detail in delivering work.
Excellent facilitation skills and experience of applying them when collaborating with individual partners or groups of partners.
Excellent written, oral, and presentational communications skills (for purposes of reporting, advocacy and sharing learning).
Fluent in English and at least one of the local languages.
Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems.

Qualities:
A leader, but a team player with strong commitment to working with others to achieve mutual objectives.
Availability to travel extensively within the country and to work outside normal hours when necessary.
Strong commitment to respect of human rights, democracy, women’s empowerment, and gender equality.

Other
Empathy with the ethos of Trócaire as a Catholic organisation.

Person Specification – Desirable Requirements

Qualities:
Flexibility; Initiative; Coordination skills; Excellent organiser

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