ICLA Project Manager Nigeria Yola At Norwegian Refugee Council

Context

Since 2015, NRC Nigeria has been working to help displacement-affected communities meet their basic needs, improve their livelihoods, access essential services, and enhance their resilience to future shocks through our six core competencies: Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), Shelter, Education, Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA), Livelihoods and Food Security (LFS), Camp Management, and Protection. NRC provides immediate assistance during the onset of emergencies through the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM).

The crisis in Nigeria is marked by brutal violence against civilians, causing acute humanitarian needs and displacement. In the northeast, the 13-year conflict has shattered lives, infrastructure, essential services, and social fabric.

Two million people are internally displaced across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states. Approximately half of these live within local communities, increasing pressure on scarce resources. Access to food is limited, particularly in Borno state, where most families are already facing crisis levels of food insecurity. Civilians, including aid workers, continue to be the target of deadly attacks by non-state armed groups, and transport corridors are persistently insecure.

Through Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA) Core Competency, NRC supports efforts of the Government to increase access to legal and civil documentation, and Housing, Land and Property (HLP) rights for conflict-affected communities in northeast Nigeria. Assistance is focused on the provision of information, counselling and legal assistance on identity documentation and support to secure tenure/shelter to rights-holders, and capacity building for duty-bearers, in collaboration with local authorities, UN and NGO partners.

What we are looking for:

Under the overall supervision of the Area Programme Manager and with the technical support of ICLA Specialist, the Project Manager will be responsible for implementation of activities in Adamawa state.

1. Line management for project staff
2. Adherence to NRC policies, guidance and procedures
3. Contribute to the development of Country, Area and ICLA strategies, initiate and participate in the development of relevant ICLA projects
4. Coordinate and manage ICLA project implementation (activities, budget and project documentation) in line with proposals, strategies and donor requirements.
5. Implement technical direction and ensure high technical quality of projects
6. Provide regular progress reports to the Area Programme Manager and the ICLA Specialist
7. Ensure that projects target beneficiaries most in need of protection, explore and asses new and better ways to assist
8. Develop and manage project budget (in cooperation with Cs) and coordinate across Core Competencies
9. Ensure capacity building of project staff and transfer key skills
10. Liaise and collaborate with relevant local authorities and other key stakeholders
11. Promote the rights of IDPs/returnees in line with the advocacy strategy

What you will do:

Budget and administrative responsibility:

1. Implementation of the ICLA projects in accordance with agreements applicable to the grants from the donor(s) and NRC principles and ways of work.
2. Prepare all relevant project documentation to ensure implementation of activities in accordance with ICLA policies and guidelines (i.e. Workplans, Spending Plans, Recruitment plans and others)
3. Monitor spending and budget execution of ICLA budgets, to ensure both internal compliance with NRC standards and on track execution of the ICLA grants in the area
4. Monitor, evaluate and suggest changes and improvements in the projects and materials based on observations and discussions with the ICLA staff and the ICLA Specialist
5. Prepare weekly and monthly summary reports on implementation on ICLA activities, along with overseeing preparation of project documentation by the ICLA teams in line with required standards (i.e. means of verification, attendance sheets, intake forms, monitoring matrixes, assessment reports and others)
6. Supervise and train ICLA teams as to ensure efficient programme delivery and compliance with NRC standards and donor requirements
7. Identify capacity gaps within the team and provide capacity building to make sure these are addressed, in collaboration with the ICLA Specialist and AM or APM, where needed.
8. Recruit, train, and build capacity of ICLA staff to implement ICLA project in Adamawa, Area office South.

Coordination, engagement and representation responsibilities:

1. Support access negotiation and engagement on ICLA with local authorities and stakeholders, with guidance from the ICLA Specialist and in coordination with the AM and APM (with the AM having final approval on all access and security risk within their Area Office)
2. Follow-up on the required documentation with key stakeholders and local authorities in ICLA areas of responsibility to ensure compliance with the operational requirements (in consultation with the ICLA Specialist and coordination with AM and APM)
3. Represent NRC ICLA in relevant coordination fora at state/field level (i.e. PWG, HLP AoR, DS-TWG, site management meetings, etc) along with bilateral engagement with relevant partners for further information exchange and cooperation relevant for the ICLA programme in the area (guidance from ICLA Specialist and in coordination with the AM and APM);
4. Coordinate ICLA activities with relevant stakeholders including local, and state authorities, NNGO’s, INGOs, and UN agencies

Partnership and localization responsibilities:

Lead the partnership and localization agenda for the ICLA programme in in Adamawa, Area office South with guidance from the ICLA Specialist, namely:

1. Undertaking scoping and mapping exercise of potential partners and grassroot structures for collaboration and implementation of the ICLA objectives.
2. Conduct feasibility assessments for the pre-identified ICLA partners.
3. Undertake capacity building and monitoring of the ICLA partnerships set up, to ensure compliance with NRC standards both in terms of accountability and program quality.

Programme development and monitoring

1. Draft area-level proposals, concept notes, and donor reports for review and refinement by the Area Programme Manager and ICLA Specialist
2. Design and develop program approaches and activities that can be piloted and expanded to other locations.
3. Develop Monitoring tools together with Coordinators, ICLA CCS and MEL Manager
4. Draft area level needs assessment, baseline, endline and/ or outcome monitoring reports for APM, and ICLA CCS review.
5. Ensure activities are closely integrated with other CCs, and ICLA positioned as technical service provider to other sectors, and actors in the area.

Please download the detailed job descriptionto learn more about the role.

What you will bring:

• Minimum 3 years of experience from a senior level project implementation position in a humanitarian/recovery context
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts
• Technical CC (X) expertise
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal

Context/ Specific skills, knowledge and experience:

• Knowledge of the context in north-east Nigeria
• Knowledge of the legal infrastructure in Nigeria
• Minimum first level university degree; preferable in law or related field of study
• Fluency in English is required. Hausa and other local languages is an added advantage.
• Proven track-record with enabling access for ICLA/Protection programme
• Experience with setting up and managing downstream, partnerships.
• Proven management skills of teams and projects across multiple locations.
• Tech savvy and digitally literate – ideally, experience with tech-enabled program delivery
• Technical ICLA expertise, especially in the fields of information dissemination, Collaborative Dispute Resolution (CDR), HLP, and civil documentation.

What we offer:

• Location: Yola
• Contract: 12 months contract
• Salary/benefits: grade 8 on NRC’s scale
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity without distinction to age, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability.
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.

We invite applications from all qualified and interested candidates who have the legal right to work in Nigeria. Please note that we are unable to provide work permits or visa sponsorships for this position.

Send in your application by 1st October (included).

Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC

Important information about the application process:

• To apply as an internal candidate*, log in with your official email,* or click on Opportunity MarketPlace.
• When creating your profile, include your full name as given on your passport. Complete all the system-required fields for experience, employment history and education.
• Submit your application and CV in English, ensuring to attach your latest CV.
• Applications that do not meet the minimum standards in terms of experience or qualifications will generally not be considered. Unsolicited applications not related to this specific job advertisement will not be considered.
• We receive many applications for each vacant position, as a result only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• If you have any questions about this role, please email cwa.recruitment@nrc.no with the job title as the subject line.

Why NRC?

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. Our 15,000 staff work in crises across 40 countries, providing life-saving and long-term assistance to millions of people every year.

Watch this short video to see NRC in action.

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:

• do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts.
• join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.
• be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity.

How to apply

If interested, please apply here.