In-Country Project Co-ordinator (Western Balkans) – Conservative WFD Programme

Published by rosica

Deadline: 12 August 2018
Open to: Residents of Macedonia and international applicants of any age with eligibility to work and reside in Macedonia
Benefits: competitive local salary

Description

Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is an independent political foundation sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DFID) specialising in parliamentary strengthening and political party development. It does this primarily by supporting the development of parliaments, political party structures and civil society organisations.

Established in 1992, WFD has supported transitions to democracy in central and Eastern Europe, strengthened multi-party democracies in Africa and extended its work to the Middle East and North Africa and Asia in recent years. For more information, please visit www.wfd.org

The Project Co-ordinator for the Western Balkans Region will have responsibility for coordinating of the Conservative WFD projects in the region, which includes overseeing the full programme cycle from set up, planning and implementation, through to transition/end of project, as well as budget management and monitoring and evaluation. The Project Co-ordinator will also have responsibility for UK experts deployed on short and long-term missions in the region.

This is a high profile programme for the Conservative Party (CCHQ) International Department and the Project Co-ordinator will play a central role in stakeholder management with partners in the region’s parliaments (parliamentarians and senior secretariat staff) and political parties; international partners and the UK Embassies, in addition to CCHQ and WFD colleagues within the region if applicable.

Contract length: 6 months (with possibility of extension)

Location: Skopje, Macedonia

Main Duties:

1.Programme Management

Coordinating the full programme cycle utilising standardised programme management tools including, work breakdown structures, project logic, outcome matrix, logframes, etc.; Regularly consulting and working with the programme’s local partners and stakeholders to tailor activities against set objectives.

Undertaking the following tasks:

  • Contribute to political economy analysis of the region or specific countries within it
  • Conduct programme activity follow-up with direct and indirect beneficiaries
  • Support long- and short-term international experts visiting the region
  • Review progress of programme according to WFD’s monitoring and evaluation guidelines
  • Coordination and planning of inward and outward visits
  • Source suppliers for delivery of programme activities
  • Develop and apply programme communication’s strategy
  • Maintain an up-to-date risk register
  • Properly apply WFD’s risk management policy and procedures in own areas of responsibility and assess and manage risk appropriately, particularly when operating outside WFD’s stated ‘risk appetite’

2.Programme stakeholder management

  • Establish trust with key stakeholders, member parties and the UK Embassies
  • Develop and maintain stakeholder mapping
  • Consult and work with the programme’s beneficiaries and partners to ensure buy-in for the programme in its design and implementation
  • Establish and maintain key donor and implementing agencies relations, such KAS, NDI, IRI and HSS
  • Work closely with the International Programme Manager at CCHQ

3.Financial Responsibility

  • Responsible for profiling, forecasting and coordinating the programme budget
  • Responsible for keeping track of finances and expenditure
  • Responsible for accurate and timely financial reporting to CCHQ and WFD
  • Responsible for ensuring that expenditure incurred in country complies with HMRC standards and polices

4.Reporting and analysis

  • Research, analyse and report on trends on political party and parliamentary practices, and political reform issues and developments in the region
  • Research and prepare policy advice relating to the programme and on new policy issues and priorities in the region
  • Undertake information gathering for the Conservative International Department and other analysis as required by CCHQ or WFD

5.Risk Management

  • Properly apply WFD’s risk management policy and procedures in area of responsibility and assess and manage risk appropriately, particularly when operating in areas outside WFD’s stated ‘risk appetite’
  • Ensure that an appropriate system of risk management is maintained and to escalate matters of ‘high risk’ to the International Programme Manager

Eligibility

Open to international applicants of any age.

Knowledge, skills and experience:

Essential:

– Educated to degree level in a relevant discipline, such as political science, law, social development, public administration or international relations;

– Thorough knowledge of the political environment of the Balkans & Regional languages;

– Experience in designing and implementing programmes. This should ideally include programmes related to democracy development work

– Proficient in spoken and written English, necessary to produce proposals and reports and to present them to CCHQ/WFD, UK Embassies and to local partners and other stakeholders;

– Thorough understanding and experience of financial management and numerical competency;

– Ability to travel across the Western Balkans region to deliver programme activities;

– Experience of producing programme reports with analysis and documentation of outcomes and programme learning

Desired:

– A sound understanding of parliamentary and political systems;

– Proficiency in one or more Western Balkan languages: Albanian; Serb/Croatian; Macedonian;

– Experience of gathering and consolidating information for monitoring and evaluation purposes.

Competencies:

– Credibility and confidence to lead programme implementation and coordination;

– Flexibility to work in a fast changing environment with the ability to manage and prioritise a range of operational, financial and administrative responsibilities;

– Good judgement in taking decisions where there is sometimes no precedent;

– Highly organised, with the ability to work independently and effectively, and drive to manage workload, with limited supervision;

– Ability and confidence to multi-task in an international environment;

– Strong diplomatic skills and ability to influence and negotiate with senior officials, politicians, and representatives of international organisations and NGOs, as well as with suppliers;

– Demonstrated ability to capture lessons learnt to inform new ways of working and identify future opportunities and challenges;

– Achieves a level of delivery which exceeds expectations and enhances the reputation of the organisation and promotes the programmes’ successes;

– Highly discreet and capable of managing confidential information with great professionalism.

Benefits

Competitive local salary.

How to apply?

Please submit your CV and cover letter to international@conservatives.com with the subject “Western Balkans Project Coordinator Application” by midnight on Sunday 12th August at the latest (early applications are welcome).

Apply to: international@conservatives.com

For more information please read the document from the open call.