Project Officer – (Budget Planning / Strategic Direction / Management / Rural Communities – Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Southern Africa

Posted 6 months ago

Reference Number: JATT003

Background:

The Foundation is the philanthropic arm of a safari tourism brand, working in the communities that immediately neighbour the  lodges. Our focus as an organisation is on generating educational and economic outcomes for children and families who have been unsupported by available social services. Through academic, social, physical, and cognitive support, we work with traditionally under-valued children – such as girls and those with special needs – to enter, remain and progress in formal schools. In conjunction with the tourism brand, we aim to enhance the quality of life for local communities that live in and adjacent to national parks, mirroring the direct economic investment from the lodges with educational interventions that yield high social returns. In 2022, brand was approached by Oak Foundation with the request to assist in capacity building for non-profits in Zimbabwe with similar social mandates and grassroots models. Since then, the brand launched the Organisational Mentorship Programme and has been working with organisations in Zimbabwe to enhance their capacity. The programme outlines six stages of engagement to identify areas of growth for the beneficiary organisations and to tailor a mentorship programme to each beneficiary that would ultimately better position them to understand and articulate their strategic focus, develop mechanisms to track progress towards desired goals and establish a more diversified, sustainable resource base.

Job Description: 

The Victoria Falls Project Officer will play a pivotal role in Zimbabwe, serving as the primary point of contact and overseeing the direct management of the mentorship plan for beneficiaries in country. This responsibility entails regular and consistent communication with the various beneficiary organisations to ensure the mentorship goals are being met and to provide support in overcoming any obstacles or challenges that may arise. In addition to this, the Project Officer will work closely with beneficiaries to develop and assist with weekly plans, ensuring they remain focused on their objectives and progress toward their mentorship programme goals. Regular document reviews will be a critical part of their duties, alongside evaluating Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks and tracking indicators to ensure targets are not only achievable but also effectively demonstrate the impact of the organisations’ activities. The Project Officer, alongside other members of the Organisational Mentorship Team, will be required to lead intensive capacity building and strategic planning workshops with each of the beneficiaries, including administration required in running these workshops and managing the follow up actions that arise. The Project Officer will also be responsible for reporting to the Project Lead and wider team in Zambia, ensuring that regular reviews on the mentorship programme are maintained. This will help in keeping all stakeholders informed and aligned with the programme’s progress and outcomes.

Qualifications:

• Fluency in English (other languages a plus – especially Ndebele/Shona)
• Master’s degree in international development or similar discipline
• Minimum 3 years’ experience working in programmes management
• Minimum 3 years’ active involvement with monitoring and evaluation
• Minimum 3 years’ experience managing and reporting on project budgets exceeding $300,000 USD
• Familiarity, interest and patience working with grassroots organisation with major resource constraints in sub-Saharan Africa

Experience:

• Excellent leadership and management skills with ability to map, develop and manage diverse employee and stakeholder relationships
• Extremely comfortable and enthusiastic with field-based community projects
• Strong monitoring + evaluation skills as well as analytics
• Ability to develop theories of change and lead visioning workshops/introspection
• Experience in strategic planning
• Experience leading training and capacity building sessions
• Proficiency with thinking through and actioning multiple plans for different organisations
• Proficiency with Microsoft (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)
• Excellent financial management skills (experience with Quickbooks and/or Xero an advantage)
• Excellent English writing/grammar skills, with ability to deliver efficiently and eloquently on report writing and communication tasks
• Extremely organised, efficient and ability to remain focused and self-managed in completing tasks
• Ability to work independently and meet strict deadlines
• Demonstrated experience working remotely and with teams in different time-zones and locations
• Ability to work with and learn from people of greatly diverse backgrounds (lifestyle, religion, sexuality, gender identity, socio-economic status, educational levels, ethnicity, and nationality)
• Experience working with multicultural and multi-linguistic teams and environments
• Strong interest, passion and enthusiasm in building capacity and mentoring

This will be a full-time position based in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and with frequent travel to different areas of Zimbabwe and to the headquarters in Zambia. Compensation will be based on candidate’s academic and professional experience. The candidate is requested to be flexible with the role and be prepared to adapt daily to overarching priorities as and when required. Relocation to Victoria Falls is required. A minimum commitment of 1 year is required.

If you wish to apply for the position, please send your CV to jadams@caglobalint.com .

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