Overview

SEED Madagascar is a British Charity working in partnership with communities in the south east of Madagascar. We integrate high quality community health, sustainable livelihoods, education infrastructure and conservation programmes to support long term, sustainable change and add to international best practice through research and publication across all of our programmatic areas.  We are now looking for entry level officers and managers to work alongside national staff and expand our team.

Position Overview:

Based in the coastal town of Fort Dauphin in the southeast of Madagascar, this post will provide support to the environment, conservation and sustainable livelihoods projects run through the NGO. The successful candidate will work within a combined Malagasy and international team to assist in providing support in developing projects, writing proposals to secure funding, supporting with the implementation of projects and evaluating their success. The role will also provide support and guidance to other PD interns and Officers in the Department and aid in the day to day support of the wider International team.  The role is predominantly office-based, and the diversity of activities undertaken will provide a wide-ranging experience for a development professional who can effectively and efficiently deal with a comprehensive range of tasks related to the complex world of overseas development work.

Title: Senior Project Development Officer

Location: Fort Dauphin, Anosy Region, Madagascar

Timeframe: 18 months extendable

Probationary period: 3 months

Contract: Local stipend covering living expenses, contribution to flight, contribution to insurance

Reporting to: Head of Project Development (Environment, Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods)

Primary Duties:

Provision of advice and support in the development of projects including: funding searches; preparation and editing of funding proposals; preparation and editing of reports for external stakeholders; monitoring and evaluation of current projects; researching international best practice; liaison with the London project development team and local staff; and support and mentoring of Interns and Officers.

Duties and Responsibilities:

  1. Managing pieces of long term project work that require a higher level of expertise and experience across the Department
  2. Working alongside the Head of PD in problem solving and providing additional support in line with emerging issues from project implementation
  3. Supporting PD Officers and Interns in compiling funding proposals based on past evaluation, team discussion and international best practice in an engaging and professional manner
  4. Supporting PD Officers and Interns in writing project reports that clearly demonstrate the successes and challenges of the projects, learning from the project and providing clear budgetary information
  5. Supporting the Head of Project Development in proofreading the written work of PD Officers and Interns where required, and providing detailed, constructive feedback  
  6. Working alongside the Head of Project Development and Head of Finance in developing and managing the budgets relating to projects
  7. Developing MEL tools, training the team and gathering and assimilating information from various sources and identifying lessons learnt
  8. Assisting in developing the planning and monitoring and evaluation tools for projects and working with the team in the field on implementing these
  9. Analysing data, presenting to the team, and taking a lead in programme development
  10. Working with the Head of PD to ensure that statistics, research, funding trackers, photo database and handovers relating to the projects are accurate
  11. Managing the writing of social media content for the environment, conservation and sustainable livelihoods projects undertaken through this role
  12. Working with the Malagasy team in increasing their skills and capacity, providing mentoring or training where appropriate
  13. Supporting the Head of Project Development in delivering orientations for new PD Officers and Interns
  14. Taking an active role in project management meetings, leading discussions and standing in for the Head of PD where appropriate
  15. Forming part of the team representing projects or SEED when required
  16. Liaising with the UK team in London ensuring clear communication at all times
  17. Taking an active part in international team meetings and the support of other members of the team
  18. Completing any other tasks required by the Head of Project Development or Director of Operations and Heads of Departments commensurate with this role.

Person Specification:

  • Degree-level qualification or equivalent experience in international development, conservation or sustainable livelihoods or have equivalent experience
  • Minimum of 2 years’ professional experience of securing funding, project management, donor compliance and donor reporting  
  • Familiarity with the use of project management tools including Logical Frameworks, Theory of Change models, Budgets Activity Plans and Monitoring & Evaluation frameworks
  • Fluency in written and spoken English with excellent written communication skills, to the level of editing English documents for publication
  • Excellent proposal and report writing and editing skills, with previous experience compiling project proposals and reports and the ability to tailor written information to various audiences
  • Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to SEED’s ethos and approach and be a good ambassador for the organisation at all times
  • Have passion, curiosity and motivation for the job and the ability to enthuse others
  • Experience of living and working in a developing country with the ability and desire to work with teams from different economic and cultural backgrounds and across multiple language barriers
  • Demonstrate proven ability to recognise and appropriately deal with challenging situations and problem solve
  • Demonstrate an awareness of and comfort with increased social and professional responsibility, working at all times with cultural sensitivity and respect
  • Demonstrate the ability, social skills and confidence to give clear guidance and support to other members of the team in respect of the philosophy and procedures of SEED in order to protect both their safety and the reputation of the NGO
  • Be able to work to and advocate for all of SEEDs policies and procedures, safeguarding those that SEED works with and reporting any concerns appropriately
  • Be punctual and be able to work to tight deadlines in an organised manner and to a high standard
  • Be able to work both independently and as part of a team
  • Excellent listening and verbal communication skills and a flexible and patient attitude
  • Ability and desire to develop and support a team of volunteers and staff and to support the Project Development internship programme
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint
  • Proficiency in written and spoken French would be an advantage

Practicalities:

The successful candidate will need to have their own laptop computer (non-tablet).

Application procedure:

Interested applicants should send a CV and covering letter outlining how their skills and experience match the requirements in the job description criteria to SEED Madagascar Director of Programmes and Operations, Lisa Bass by email on lisa@seedmadagascar.org  

Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Long-listed applicants will have an initial informal skype chat with Madagascar-based staff. Short-listed applicants will then be offered a face-to-face interview with the London team, including the Managing Director, Mark Jacobs, in person.

Country and Organisation Background:

Madagascar is one of the most impoverished and least developed countries in the world, ranking 151/187 on the UNDP 2013 Human Development Index. Compounded by inadequate government investment in the health sector, numbers only serve to highlight the devastating health outcomes caused by inadequate service provision. For example, in the remote southeast Anosy Region, less than 35% of people have access to clean water, (WHO/UNICEF, 2015), causing diarrhoea and perpetuating other significant health issues. Approximately 50% of pregnant women with untreated syphilis will transmit the infection to their unborn child, resulting in profound adverse outcomes.

SEED Madagascar is a British registered charity partnered with a Malagasy NGO which has been operating in the impoverished Anosy region of south east Madagascar for over 15 years. SEED works with and in support of urban and rural communities in southeast Madagascar, aiming to tackle the immediate effects of extreme poverty, support long-term development and protect the environment. Its central mission is to build the capacity of individuals and organisations to lead and support sustainable conservation and development initiatives in south east Madagascar, with the objective of securing local community access to quality health, education and livelihoods assets, and increasing local capacity to conserve and manage natural resources including unique but greatly endangered forest environments.

More information on the work of SEED Madagascar can be found at www.madagascar.co.uk.