Senior Project Officer

TITLE OF POSITION: Senior Project Officer

REPORTING TO: Project Lead

PURPOSE OF JOB: The Project Officer's primary responsibilities are aimed at leading on country level project management (technical, operational and financial), as well as strategic and partnership management. In addition, they will be involved in the delivery of capacity strengthening activities.

DIRECT REPORTS: multiple Project Coordinators.

Background

The Graça Machel l Trust is implementing Women Creating Wealth - Intergenerational Edition (WCW-l) in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation Through this 3-year project, supported by the Mastercard Foundation, we will reach 3,500 women across Kenya, Senegal, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, and South Africa, and create work opportunities for thousands of young Africans. In addition, we will support the creation of a more enabling environment for women-entrepreneurs to thrive.

Our impact goal is to transform Africa’s economies through a gender-responsive enterprise development system centred around women businesses to accelerate and sustain improvements in quality of life for women and youth. Under WCW - I we posit that: if women entrepreneurs receive personal, leadership and entrepreneurship capacity-strengthening; have access to a community of support, finance, and markets; and exist in an enabling environment, their enterprises will grow and transform from income generation to wealth creation. As their enterprises grow, more meaningful work will be created for the youth.

Our focus on women as catalysts for Africa’s transformation is backed by comprehensive research which shows that money in the hands of women goes a long way to addressing poverty and inequality as women typically invest more in their families and communities. As women create wealth, they are therefore more likely to contribute to the realisation of at least 6 Sustainable Development goals - zero poverty; zero hunger; good health and wellbeing; gender equality; decent work and economic growth.

Duties and responsibilities

**Project Management**
- Responsible for translating overall project objectives and milestones into country level objectives and activities.
- Responsible for delivery of results at the country level, within set timelines.
- Drives quality control at the country level to ensure that project execution meets the Trust's project quality standards.
- Troubleshoots on implementation challenges, escalating to the Project Lead level as required and recommending course correction strategies.
- Develops country level technical and operational plans, including annual and quarterly work plans.
- Together with the Project’s MERL Specialist, ensures the timely collection of M&E data and facilitates related processes.
- Leads on project administration, operations, implementation, and fiscal management at the country level to ensure technical and financial activity aligns with scope and budget allocations, internal policies, and donor regulations.
- Provides day to day management of the project’s country consortium, including ensuring effective communication with all project partners, proactively identifying, and resolving partnership issues and ensuring cohesion throughout project implementation.
- Continuously and proactively manages risk at the country level.
- Adopts a youth lens in their project management approaches.

**Capacity Building**
- Working closely with the Project Lead, and Learning and Skills Lead, ensures that capacity strengthening activities across Project pillars are relevant, targeted and impactful.
- Provides oversight to Country Project Coordinators, experts, and partners in the capacity building activities, and strengthen their deliverables.
- Ensures effective implementation and uptake of the Project’s mentorship component.
- Adopts a youth lens in their capacity building work.

**Programme Partnership Building**
- Representsthe organisation with country level partners and key stakeholders - including private and public actors.
- At the country level, ensures the effective engagement of key stakeholders.
- Grows a network of local experts, mentors, service providers and partners to support the project.
- Adopts a youth lens in their partnership building efforts.

**Budgeting, Finance and Administration**

At the country level:

- Tracks financial activity against forecasted expenditure.
- Quality assures financial management, operational and administrative processes to ensure compliance with the Trust's policies, and donors' requirements.
- Ensures country level team and partners compliance with Safeguarding policies.

**Reporting** **and Visibility**
- Responsible for country level reporting inputs into internal/ donor technical reports, including financial reports.
- Working closely with the Communications Specialist, ensures that the Project is visible at the country level, among targeted audiences

**Team Management**
- Builds a high performing, inclusive team at the country