PROGRAMME OFFICER - RWANDA AND BURUNDI

Job title: Programme Officer - Rwanda and Burundi

Date of issuance: July 2013

Duty station: Nairobi, Kenya 

Position status: Full time position

Interpeace, a Swiss non-profit organisation, works in close partnership with the United Nations, with the aim of building lasting peace. Interpeace has a two-fold mandate: (i) to strengthen the capacities of societies to manage conflict in non-violent, non-coercive ways by assisting national actors in their efforts to develop social and political cohesion; and (ii) to assist the international community ( and in particular the United nations) to play a more effective role in supporting peacebuilding efforts around the world through better understanding and response to the challenges of creating local capacities that enhance social political cohesion.

Chaired by former President of Ghana, John Kufuor, and headquartered in Geneva, Interpeace is supported by bilateral and multilateral donors as well as private funding. The organization is currently active in Africa, Central America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Interpeace Regional Office for Eastern and Central Africa manages the Organization’s programmes in the Somali region, Rwanda and Burundi. All these programmes are carried out in close partnership with local peacebuilding organizations.

General Position Summary

Interpeace has been implementing a peacebuilding programme in Burundi together with its local partner CENAP since 2007 and in Rwanda together with its Rwandan partner organization IRDP since 2002. When in 2011, Interpeace initiated a regional peacebuilding programme that will start fully in September 2013 and involves Burundi, Rwanda and DR Congo’s North and South Kivu provinces, the need emerged to recruit a new Programme Officer who will focus on the Burundi and Rwanda country specific programmes, while the present Programme Officer will lead the Great Lakes regional programme.

The Programme Officer – Rwanda and Burundi (PO-RB) is a member of the core programmatic team for Interpeace’s work in the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa, which also includes the DR Congo, and will collaborate closely with the other members of the team - the Regional Director, the Programme Advisor and the Programme Officer – Great Lakes Region - in the overall management of the Rwanda and Burundi programmes. In this capacity, he/she will also be the key conduit for shaping and disseminating Interpeace’s reconciliation and peacebuilding work to key stakeholders. The PO-RB will continuously exchange and work closely with Interpeace’s Great Lakes Region team and in particular with the Programme Officer – Great Lakes who covers the regional peacebuilding programme in areas of synergies or where coordination is needed.

Interpeace, a Swiss non-profit organisation, works in close partnership with the United Nations, with the aim of building lasting peace. Interpeace has a two-fold mandate: (i) to strengthen the capacities of societies to manage conflict in non-violent, non-coercive ways by assisting national actors in their efforts to develop social and political cohesion; and (ii) to assist the international community ( and in particular the United nations) to play a more effective role in supporting peacebuilding efforts around the world through better understanding and response to the challenges of creating local capacities that enhance social political cohesion.

Chaired by former President of Ghana, John Kufuor, and headquartered in Geneva, Interpeace is supported by bilateral and multilateral donors as well as private funding. The organization is currently active in Africa, Central America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Interpeace Regional Office for Eastern and Central Africa manages the Organization’s programmes in the Somali region, Rwanda and Burundi. All these programmes are carried out in close partnership with local peacebuilding organizations.

General Position Summary

Interpeace has been implementing a peacebuilding programme in Burundi together with its local partner CENAP since 2007 and in Rwanda together with its Rwandan partner organization IRDP since 2002. When in 2011, Interpeace initiated a regional peacebuilding programme that will start fully in September 2013 and involves Burundi, Rwanda and DR Congo’s North and South Kivu provinces, the need emerged to recruit a new Programme Officer who will focus on the Burundi and Rwanda country specific programmes, while the present Programme Officer will lead the Great Lakes regional programme.

The Programme Officer – Rwanda and Burundi (PO-RB) is a member of the core programmatic team for Interpeace’s work in the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa, which also includes the DR Congo, and will collaborate closely with the other members of the team - the Regional Director, the Programme Advisor and the Programme Officer – Great Lakes Region - in the overall management of the Rwanda and Burundi programmes. In this capacity, he/she will also be the key conduit for shaping and disseminating Interpeace’s reconciliation and peacebuilding work to key stakeholders. The PO-RB will continuously exchange and work closely with Interpeace’s Great Lakes Region team and in particular with the Programme Officer – Great Lakes who covers the regional peacebuilding programme in areas of synergies or where coordination is needed.

The PO-RB is responsible for working with the local partners – CENAP in Burundi and IRDP in Rwanda - to ensure that the work of Interpeace is well planned in its content, captured throughout its delivery and strategically disseminated to donors and other key stakeholders to optimize its impact.

The PO-RB serves as the key focal point between Interpeace and external actors in relation to the programme . The post of PO-RB is based in Nairobi and involves extensive travel to the field. The duration of the contract will depend upon availability of funding.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the general guidance and supervision of the Eastern and Central Africa Regional Director, and in close collaboration with the Programme Officer - Great Lakes, the Programme Officer Rwanda and Burundi will be responsible for the following duties:

Programmatic Support

• Provide programmatic guidance and operational support for field activities by Interpeace and its partners, specifically with respect to the content and methodology of the work. This includes, but is not limited to, collaboratively developing and nurturing a clear understanding of Interpeace’s programmes of work throughout Rwanda and Burundi;
• Play a strong supporting role in the development of programme strategy and work plans for all field components of the programmes; thereby closely work together with the Programme Officer – Great Lakes to harmonize planning and ensuring efficient use of resources in the implementation of the two programmes;
• Monitor and respond to the implementation of work plans and revise them in collaboration with the partners and others within the Interpeace team;
• Ensure reflection and learning as a continuous and integral part of the programme with regard to programme development, methodological adaptations and generally on the topics under study and support cross-fertilization and sharing of lessons learned within Interpeace globally;
• Oversee and support the collection, compilation and dissemination of both contractual and strategic reporting;
• Review written products of the Interpeace Rwanda and Burundi programmes and provide quality control through a mentoring approach to ensure the continuous development of writing capacities within the local partners;
• Support the technical development of the field teams in the areas of methodology, writing and communications; support continuous capacity building of the field teams;
• Develop emerging thematic competences that can be used not only for the Interpeace’s programmes but could also be incorporated into the work of Interpeace in its other programmes of work;
• Constitute the link between the Burundi and Rwanda programmes and the broader Great Lakes Interpeace team within Interpeace; participate in the Great Lakes programme meetings as required.

 Interpeace information about the Great Lakes Region

• Remain abreast of the political, economic and social context in Rwanda and Burundi through coordinated updates with the field teams and other networks developed;
• Monitor substantive developments and provide regular briefings to the Regional Director; engage in a regular exchange and analysis about context dynamics with the Programme Advisor and the Programme Officer – Great Lakes;
• Maintain close liaison with team members to ensure that all Interpeace staff are regularly briefed on Rwanda and Burundi programme activities.

Financial Activities

• Support the fundraising initiatives of Interpeace and the local partners that ensure the financial sustainability of the Intepreace Rwanda and Burundi Programmes;
• Ensure monthly financial reviews and expenditure forecast in collaboration with Interpeace Finance Officer; monitor programme expenditures versus budget and available funds, ensuring that programme expenditures are within approved budgets and available funds;
• Review and approve partner’s activity reports before payments are authorized by the Regional Director.

Networking

• Utilize substantive relations vis-à-vis key Rwanda and Burundi stakeholders, in both informing and disseminating Interpeace’s programmes of work;
• Establish new and maintain existing relations with key international actors in Rwanda, Burundi and Nairobi, including donor relations, and strategically engage these actors as stakeholders of the work of Interpeace.

 Knowledge and Experience

• Master’s degree in peace-related studies, social or political science or other relevant fields
• At least three years of field experience in peacebuilding, political and/or developmental work 
• Knowledge of and experience in Rwanda, Burundi or the wider Great Lakes Region
• Demonstrated experience in conflict resolution/Peacebuilding, external relations, proposal writing, and training
• Strong communications skills: ability to write in clear, concise manner and to communicate effectively orally in both English and French
• Strong computer skills in MS Office applications
• Good interpersonal skills; be a team player while being able to work independently and to meet set deadlines.
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity
• Strong commitment to supporting local peacebuilding initiatives and to the values and working principles of Interpeace
• Strong writing and communications skills in English and French required, local language knowledge in Kinyarwanda/Kirundi and/or Kiswahili a bonus

Success Factors:

• Creative team player with an entrepreneurial spirit that is both creative and flexible
• Commitment to inclusiveness and consensus building
• Confident, tactful and participatory skills
• Ability to problem solve, prioritize and follow up
• Sense of Humour

How to apply: Qualified candidates may submit their application, including a letter of interest detailing relevant experience and a curriculum vitae to the Administrative Officer at:   recruitment@interpeace.org. Please indicate "Programme Officer - Rwanda and Burundi" in the subject line.

Please note that due to the high volume of applications, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

We accept applications until the position is filled with a suitable candidate.

Categories: NGO, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT