African CoE Project Manager – Dallaire Initiative

About the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security

The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative (Dallaire Initiative) was established in 2007 by retired Lieutenant-General the Honourable Roméo Dallaire, former Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). Our mission is to develop new strategies and tactics to progressively end the recruitment and use of children as soldiers worldwide. As of April 2020, the Dallaire Initiative has now become the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security.

To achieve this important objective, the Dallaire Institute conducts activities on four fronts:

• World-class, interdisciplinary research to build and share knowledge, which in turn leads to new solutions;
• High-level advocacy activities to create and promote the political will to end the use of children in violence as central to the achievement of global peace and security;
• Education and programming to sustain the efforts to make the recruitment and use of children as soldiers unthinkable by inspiring leaders, educators, and policy makers to implement new approaches, conduct research, and actively share their knowledge on the prioritization of the children’s rights upfront approach.
• Comprehensive, prevention-oriented training to security sector actors, in the service of broader security sector reform, as well as collaboration with civil society to create and implement tools that protect children from the dangers associated with recruitment.

Purpose of the Position

The Project Manager (PM) supports and reports to the organization’s Director of the African Centre of Excellence to ensure the smooth implementation of international projects, as well as supports new business development for the organization. They will work across multiple teams to ensure the effective delivery of projects on schedules and on budget as part of the overall strategic aims of the organization. They will also support the Institute’s fund development team with the drafting of projects proposals. The PM will coordinate a diverse team of colleagues across multiple African locations.

The role will have four main areas of responsibility:

Reporting

· Works with Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Manager at HQ and Rwanda M&E reporting officer to meet the quarterly internal reporting requirements.

· Works with the Project Officers/Liaison Officers in other African locations to fulfil reporting needs.

· Communicates regularly to donors and partners on narrative and financial reports, plans and adjustments.

Fund Development

· Supports business development including identifying and engaging with donors, coordinating input into proposals, and writing or editing proposals.

· Develops estimates for proposals for review by the Headquarter Director of Operations.

· Assists the Dallaire Institute Headquarters on project design input for proposals through coordination with the Director of Instructional Design & Capacity Building and the Fund Development Manager.

Financial Budgeting

· Performs monthly expenditures reconciliation and project forecasting to meet rigorous donor reporting requirements.

· Leads the quarterly financial reporting to donors with support from the Finance Manager at Dallaire Institute HQ.

Activity and Work-planning

· Leads on liaising across teams and convening relevant staff on overall project schedules and activity reporting commitments, updating, and modifying as required, and ensuring they remain in line with the Dallaire Institute’s core values and Strategic Plan.

· Ensures work-planning processes to match activity calendars and deliverables are met for each project.

· Leads regular, weekly and monthly ACOE projects meetings.

· Coordinates with the Headquarter’s operations team on project specific legal, financial and procurement matters.

· Ensures that the ACOE-based projects are delivered on time, to agreed budgets and to the highest standards.

Other Responsibilities

· To proactively participate in planning and performance processes as outlined in the Employee Handbook including annual appraisals, regular meetings, and ensuring that annual reviews are an integral component of workplans and priorities.

· Promote a safe and secure work environment in line with the organization’s core values; and foster strong communication between teams within the organization.

· Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to child protection and commitment to the Protection from Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse (PSHEA).

· Comply with Dallaire Institute’s financial and operational requirements and uphold high standards of honesty and integrity in personal conduct.

Skills and Qualifications

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*Required**

· Master’s Degree or demonstrable experience in a relevant field including Business Administration, International Development, Commerce, Public Administration, or other relevant field.

· Experience in successful project delivery and coordination in complex or fragile environments (minimum 10 years), including delivering and closing projects and communicating with donors and partners.

· Proven experience (minimum 10 years) in managing budgets and multiple administrative and finance tasks in fast-paced environments.

· Demonstrated experience working with large donor contracts ($1M USD Annual budgets), within the philanthropic sector, government, multilateral organizations, or multinational corporations.

· Advanced skills in Microsoft Word, Excel and Project, and comfortable using the MS Office 365 suite including Outlook, SharePoint and Microsoft Teams is required.

· Strong written and verbal communication skills in English (French will be an asset).

· Ability to take initiative to organize time effectively within a range of often conflicting deadlines and competing priorities.

· Excellent attention to detail.

· Excellent ability to forge relationships at all levels and work across multiple project teams.

· Enthusiasm, creativity and flexibility with excellent interpersonal skills and team spirit.

Highly Desired

· Experience working in Africa.

· Strong familiarity and positive working relationship with security sector professionals in the African context.

· Experience of successfully supporting projects remotely or from headquarters level.

· Familiarity with Earned Value Management.

Further Information

· The position will be based in Kigali, Rwanda.

· The PM is expected to travel across the African continent frequently and to develop strong familiarity with the Dallaire Institute staff across the continent as well as their operational requirements.

· The PM may represent the Dallaire Institute as directed by the ACOE Director.

· The PM is expected to work regularly and closely with the Dallaire Institute’s Halifax based Project Management team.