Regional Support Officer - Africa at Catholic Agency For Overseas Development - CAFOD

Job Profile   

To support the smooth and effective management, administration and co-ordination of CAFOD’s work in the Africa region. The scope of the post falls into the following broad functions:  

• Support and co-ordination: supporting the Heads of Region in the management and co-ordination of cross-regional work and relevant organisational processes, including information management, planning, reporting and budgeting;supporting the Surge Country Representative and Programme Manager Africa Church Advocacy Programme
• Communications: supporting the effective communication and flow of information across the regional team and with the rest of the organisation, including acting as a key point of contact for information on the region’s work;
• Programme & financial support: supporting the Heads of Region in the management of any cross-regional partnership projects/programmes, including correspondence with partners, approval and payment of grants, monitoring and reporting; and the maintenance of paper and electronic project files; providing similar support to Programme Officers in the region when their workload requires;
• Administration: providing administrative support to the Heads of Region and the regional team, including correspondence, information systems, and induction, among others;
• Representation: of the region across CAFOD (and occasionally externally), as requested by the Heads of Region. 

Job Scope 

• The post holder will work as an integral part of the Africa team. The post holder will be responsible for building effective working relationships with peers in the International Development Group, as well as with colleagues in the Emergency Response and Advocacy & Education Groups. 
• The role also has a number of cross-organisational functions linked to work with CAFOD’s Fundraising, Finance, Media and Communications teams. The post requires international travel of between 4 and 6 weeks per year. CAFOD currently has country programmes in Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, eSwatini, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Accountability  

• The post holder will report to one of the Heads of Region, Africa

Key Responsibilities  

Support and Coordination (30%) (particularly where there are cross-regional programmes) 

• Support and co-ordinate the region’s responsibilities towards relevant organisational and departmental processes and initiatives, including planning, and reporting (e.g. quarterly and annually);
• Maintain and monitor cross-regional budgets and financial statements, working with the Heads of Region and Regional Finance Manager on quarterly and annual financial reviews;
• Support the creation of a strong team identity, fostering learning and a shared understanding of relevant issues. This includes organising and facilitating on-line and face-to-face meetings of regional staff;
• Co-ordinate relevant monthly regional management team meetings, and ad-hoc meetings between members of the regional team and colleagues across CAFOD;
• Research, identify and promote co-ordination with relevant networks, including Caritas, CIDSE and other global or region-specific networks, as agreed with the Heads of Region and/or Country Representatives;
• Keep a watching brief on security issues/concerns in the region, and highlight emerging concerns to the Heads of Region, monitoring Country Security Plans within the region to ensure they are kept up-to-date;
• Work with regional staff to ensure that there is a good level of understanding of CAFOD’s operating systems, policies and procedures, and where necessary provide training and induction.  

 Information and Communication (20%) 

• Support the effective flow of information and communication within the regional team and across CAFOD,
• Act as a key point of contact for information on the region’s work, and work collaboratively with regional programme staff and the International Operations Team to ensure that CAFOD’s work in the region is fully reflected in the organisational agenda (e.g. in campaigning, fundraising or media work),
• Be an active source of internal communication, providing easy access to information by maintaining the regional team SharePoint site, as well as other specific sites on the intranet, and engaging with the media team as appropriate,
• Encourage and co-ordinate regional staff to engage with and contribute to internal and external communications that promote the work of the region, 

Administration support (40%)

• Provide administrative support to the Heads of Region, including correspondence, information systems, management of the team diary, preparation and follow-up of monthly team meetings, design and monitoring of filing systems, and maintenance of database and other systems to provide effective planning, communication and information flow
• Accompany staff in order to ensure efficient and effective use of the Programme Cycle Management system, working in conjunction with other teams in CAFOD, to provide support when necessary (e.g. when access is disrupted)
• Be the first point of contact and/or provide essential administrative support to the regional teams
• Organise and co-ordinate induction for new staff directly managed by the Heads of Region, in conjunction with the International Operations Team
• Provide administrative support to other members of the team, where required, including helping to organise programmes for staff/partner visits, travel and accommodation needs, routine correspondence, and occasional cover for colleagues when absent. 

Representation (10%)

• Attend and represent the region in CAFOD networks, working groups and similar fora on behalf of the Heads of Region, or other members of the team,
• In agreement with the Heads of Region attend external meetings or events occasionally and identify and follow-up on actions from these. 

Person Specification  

Understanding our context  

• Understanding Catholic identity – Has an appreciation of CAFOD’s role as an agency of the Catholic church.
• Understanding CAFOD – Has a clear understanding of CAFODs faith-based partnership approach to development reflected in the Our Common Home strategic framework.
• Understanding international development – Understanding of effective and values-based partnership work between northern and southern organisations and communities. First-hand previous experience would be an advantage. 

Working together    

• Managing ourselves – Excellent administrative skills, including MS Word/Excel/Outlook/PowerPoint, and ideally MS SharePoint. Ability to manage international conference calls/meetings, minute taking.
• Working with others – Excellent organisational skills and an ability to manage international conference calls/meetings & minute taking.
• Communicating - Excellent communication skills 

Making change happen  

• Managing resources - Knowledge and some experience of budget planning and monitoring 
• Achieving results - Understanding and experience of Programme Management Cycle and PDMEAL 
• Managing our performance - Efficient in data management and usage, including the use of complex databases and programme cycle management system and tools. 
• Taking the lead - Experience of managing robust systems and processes for information sharing, communication, and co-ordination.
• Looking outwards – Understanding and experience of development work 

Job specific Competencies  

• Excellent spoken and written English. Ability to communicate in French language would be desirable.
• Excellent administrative skills, including MS Word /Excel /Outlook/ Teams and ideally MS Sharepoint.
• Ability to implement programme cycle management tools effectively and proactively.
• Efficient in data management and usage, including the use of complex databases. 

Desirable 

• Understanding and experience of programme management and quality standards in an international development context.