Program Officer – Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Specialist at Act Change Transform (Act)

The Position

1.0Job Summary

The position will primarily be based at the Act!’s Mombasa Office. The incumbent will primarily be responsible for providing leadership and technical support on countering violent extremism strategies and approaches to partners and communities that Act! works with. These may include but not limited to regional and national organizations, grassroots community groups, networks and coalitions, the media and professional associations.

2.0 Key responsibilities

Specifically, the Program Officer, CVE Specialist, will be responsible for but not limited to:

2.1 Program Management

• Assist in the development of the Strengthening Community Resilience against Extremism (SCORE) and other Peace Building and Conflict Transformation (PBCT) detailed program work plans, including activity descriptions / timelines and manage the implementation of these activities so as to ensure the program’s activities and outputs are executed on time and to adequate quality standards.
• Assist in the identification, development and implementation of new CVE and conflict mitigation ideas, initiatives, strategies and approaches that will further the objectives of SCORE and PBCT program as a whole.
• Take lead in identifying and undertaking technical capacity assessment and capacity building of sub grantees on matters CVE.
• Assist the Program Manager to establish and deepen partnership with National, County Governments (including but not limited to the County Commissioner, County Police Commanders, National Intelligence Service, National Counter Terrorism Centre, National Steering Committee on Peace Building and Conflict Management, National Cohesion and Integration Commission, Uwiano Platform for Peace) and CSOs in target counties and the Coastal region as a whole.
• Working closely with Program Manager and Grants Officer, assist in the development of Rapid Respond Fund (RRF) including review of RRF technical applications and following up the implementation of the successful applications/sub grants.
• Assist the Program Manager in undertaking bi-weekly violent extremism scans/situational briefs, policy papers, case studies, success stories, monthly, quarterly, semiannual, annual and end of activity progress reports.
• Assist sub grantees and partners to undertake assessments and or studies to establish push, pull and enabling factors of radicalization and violent extremism in the target counties and ensure the same are addressed in their respective programmes of works (sub awards).
• Support the Programme Manager in ensuring appropriate reporting, peer learning on key cross-cutting issues within other Act! programmes, and keep abreast of changing sector knowledge and best practice.
• Represent SCORE and Act! in external meetings and forums such as coordination meetings, partnership building and networking meetings with authorities and non-state actors and CVE forums and roundtables as requested

2.2 Monitoring Evaluation Reporting & Learning

• Provide support to MERL Officer(s) in assessing extent to which partners’ initiatives are achieving the set results, writing and filing of reports.
• Together with the MERL team, develop indicators and protocols for monitoring progress in implementation of programme interventions and capacity building initiatives and generate the necessary progress reports.
• In liaison with the Programme Manager, take leadership in tracking and reporting SCORE progression for partners and the programme.
• Participate in and contribute to quarterly and other scheduled program performance review meetings.
• Participate actively in contributing to documentation of “success stories” and other anecdotal information to enhance the overall quality of performance reports to the donors, government agencies and communities.
• Share information and lessons learnt with other program staff through among others, writing of brief occasional papers for uploading into the website and internal seminars.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly and final program narrative reports

2.3 Capacity Development

• Provide technical guidance and support to the Capacity Development team on CVE advocacy issues and technical assistance to County and National governments.
• Provide leadership in training and delivery of PBCT training for Act! SCORE Partners/sub grantees.
• Provide leadership in mentoring and coaching for partners through accompaniment and quarterly site visits.
• Liaise with the Program Manager in ensuring all advocacy capacity development needs for the partners are addressed.
• Prepare training materials and modules to respond to the SCORE’s PBCT training areas identified in the OCAs.

2.4 Networking and Representation

• Establish and maintain regular contact with partner organizations, liaise and co-ordinate with the appropriate government bodies whenever appropriate to ensure successful project progress.
• Negotiate collaboration with partner institutions and government departments in support of Act! and the project activities subject to approval from the supervisor.
• Liaise and maintain contacts with government agencies and line ministries, civil societies and private sector collaborators.
• Attend sector level meetings and other CVE related gatherings.
• Represent the programme and Act! in meetings as delegated by the Programme Manager.

2.5 Resource mobilization

• Contribute to the development of Act! fund-raising strategy and annual fundraising plan.
• Participate in researching funding sources and donor trends to help position Act! ahead of major funding changes or trends.
• Participate in exploration of new income generation opportunities for Act!.
• Contribute in development of proposals for fundraising.

3.0Qualification, Experience and Skills:

The minimum required academic and professional skills for the jobholder to perform successfully in their job are:

3.1 Academic qualifications

Degree in Peace Building, Social Sciences or any other related field. Masters’ degree or equivalent would be an added advantage.

3.2 Experience in years and indicate level of experience

• A minimum of 3 years practical work experience in Countering/Preventing Violent Extremism.
• At least 5 years relevant work experience in the Peace building sector in general.
• Working experience in the coastal region of Kenya desirable.

3.3 Essential competencies

• Strong analytical and report writing skills as well as excellent presentation and facilitation skills.
• Self-driven and able to deliver results with minimum supervision.
• Willingness to travel extensively within the country, work extended periods in the field and interact effectively with partners and willingness to learn new approaches.
• Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary and multicultural environment and with partners at all levels.
• Excellent organization and coordination skills.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills.
• Highly proficient in Ms Word, Excel, Access, Power-point and the use of Internet for research.