Nonviolent Peaceforce

Job Title:                                            Programme Development Officer (PDO) 

Function:                                            Programme Support 

Job Group                                         Programmes 

Duty Station:                                      Odesa, Ukraine (with frequent travel to NP field sites in Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kharkiv)  

Line Manager:                                   Head of Programmes 

Line Management Responsibility:  N/A 

 

 ABOUT US 

 

Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) reimagines security and civilian protection in areas most impacted by conflict by working alongside communities to interrupt and prevent violence. NP is a global civil society organization that works with people affected by violent conflicts to enhance their security and dignity through Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) and by helping to transform the world’s response to conflict situations. Programming is founded on unarmed civilian protection and is thematically focused on protection in displacement, child protection, gender-based violence protection and inter-communal violence reduction, social cohesion, and civic engagement.  

    

NP first established a presence in Ukraine in 2014/2015 working on peacebuilding and conflict mediation. NP has had a sustained presence in Ukraine since April 2022. NP occupies a unique space in the protection response in Ukraine; simultaneously providing direct protection to at-risk civilians and providing hands-on support to front-line volunteer collectives to directly contribute to the sustainability and safety of their actions.   

JOB PURPOSE

 

The Programme Development Officer (PDO) will collaboratively work with the Country Management Team (CMT) in Odesa to manage grants, ensure compliance with donor regulations, write proposals, and monitor and evaluate project implementation. At NPUA, the PDO guides overall programme quality, and impact, while ensuring protection activities are evidence and needs driven, monitored closely, and funded appropriately. The successful candidate will also contribute to staff capacity strengthening and participate actively in programme development, project and grants management, coordination, and strategy meetings with other members of the programme team. 

 

ABOUT YOU 

 

We are seeking an enthusiastic and dynamic PDO to join our Ukraine team. The PDO works directly with the Programmes Team to establish and maintain donor relationships, contribute to strategy, develop proposals, monitor and evaluate project implementation, report to donors and manage grants. The candidate has at least two years of experience in a similar position, preferably with FCDO experience. They combine creativity and innovation with a keen eye for detail and accuracy. They have excellent oral and written communication skills, a demonstrable interest in civilian protection/violence reduction, and a track record of cultivating donor relationships and writing successful proposals. They thrive in a multicultural environment, is a collaborative team player, and is comfortable living and working in highly fluid and insecure environment. 

 

KEY OBJECTIVES/RESPONSIBILITIES 

 

Programme Development Strategy 

 

• Support the Ukraine Country Team with defining programme development strategy, preparing proposals for donors, and negotiating contracts.  
• Contribute substantively to developing and adapting the organisation’s fundraising strategy.  
• Work with the Country Management Team (CMT) to establish and maintain positive relationships with existing and potential donors. 
• Develop proposals, logframes, and support the development of proposal budgets. This includes soliciting ideas from field teams and programme staff, contributing creative ideas, coordinating with the programme management team, and packaging proposals to meet the specific needs of different donors. 

• Proactively follow-up with donors following proposal submission to monitor progress, answer questions, and amend submission as necessary. 
• Help programme colleagues ensure that all project costs are included in budgets – where necessary by submitting proposals to more than one donor. 
• Pursue funding opportunities other than direct grants from donors, e.g., as a sub grantee or consortium member.  
• Lead discussions with programme staff to ensure that protection activities are evidence and needs driven. 
• Participate regularly in activities with the field teams to bring first-hand inputs into reporting. 

 

Grants Management 

 

• Maintain orderly files and involve all internal stakeholders in communications on fundraising issues.  
• Prepare handover files for programme and finance staff following the successful negotiation of donor contracts, ensuring that salient information regarding grant management is clearly flagged and communicated, and that all relevant paperwork is made available.  

• Convert donor budgets into internal budget formats, using budget lines which allow the NP accounting system to be used to generate donor Financial Reports.  
• Assist programme staff with interpreting the terms of, and in re-negotiating ongoing donor contracts when requested.  
• Ensure compliance with contractual requirements, organize and lead grant inception meetings. 

 

Reporting 

 

• Write and edit narrative donor reports.  
• Liaise with the finance department regarding financial reporting to ensure that such Reports are submitted on time, in adherence with financial reporting requirements, and that they correspond to the narrative reports.  
• Contribute to team-wide communications and knowledge management and participate in organization-wide events and discussions on related topics/projects.  

 

  Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) 

 

• Assist with developing and rolling out M&E tools to the project teams and provide them with technical support to implement them. This may include conducting workshops for field staff on monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.  
• Provide hands-on support with updating activities into SalesForce – NP’s global online project management system - and extracting pertinent information for monitoring and evaluation.  
• Monitor project outputs, track progress towards indicators and measure impact of projects via Salesforce. 

Other 

 

• Travel to project sites to enhance understanding of the context and programming for the purposes of developing proposals and reporting to/liaising with donors.  
• Support with rolling out NPUA’s country strategy across all project sites. 
• Contribute to staff capacity strengthening on protection-related subjects, e.g., protection mainstreaming, violence reduction and prevention, etc.  

• Undertake other tasks reasonably expected of them. 

  

QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES 

 

Education, Knowledge, and Experience 

 

• Excellent and precise command of English oral and written communication skills, including ability to analyse and present a cogent argument both in writing and orally. There is a significant amount of writing required in this position.  
• Significant experience establishing and maintaining donor relationships. 
• Track record of developing successful proposal packages, including narrative, logframes, and budgets.  

• Significant experience developing narrative donor reports under minimal supervision. 
• Experience tracking donor trends and opportunities.  
• Experience developing, implementing, and utilising M&E tools.  
• Experience negotiating contracts with donors and managing grants.  
• Experience of managing and prioritising a high workload with a flexible approach to changing environments.  

• University degree in a relevant field. 
• Experience implementing programmes in the field, ideally in humanitarian emergencies and/or in Ukraine. 
• Knowledge or demonstrable interest in civilian protection, human security, violence reduction and/or peacebuilding. 

Skills 

 

• Ability to set priorities, solve problems, and analyse data. 
• Ability to manage information with discretion. 
• Demonstrable conflict analysis skills, identify entry points and design prevention and protection strategies. 
• Ability to communicate effectively with individuals and motivate and provide leadership to team and to work and live in a multi-cultural environment. 

• Solutions focused, creative problem solver. 
• Genuine commitment and interest in living and working at the community level. 
• Flexibility and adaptability. 

Other Specialised Requirements 

 

• Ukraine is a complex security environment, and the evolution of the war is completely unpredictable – experience in insecure environments is essential to success in this position. 
  
  

HOW TO APPLY

• Candidates meeting the above requirements are requested to visit our website to apply with a CV (max 2 pages) and Cover Letter (1 page). Incomplete applications will not be considered. 
• Position will be open until 26 May 2023. 
• Candidates may be selected before the closing date, apply early. 
• As part of the recruitment process, shortlisted candidates may be asked to complete a written assignment before participating in an interview.  

SPECIAL NOTICE

Nonviolent Peaceforce is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff at all levels. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. However, all qualified applicants regardless of their gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, or age, will be considered for this opportunity.  

 

Nonviolent Peaceforce acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of employees, contractors, volunteers, interns, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice in the Humanitarian and Development sector. 

NO FEE 

PLEASE BEWARE OF FRAUDULENT JOB OFFERS. NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE OR ASK FOR FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (INCLUDING APPLICATION, INTERVIEW, MEETING, TRAVELING, PROCESSING TRAINING, ETC). NONVIOLENT PEACEFORCE WILL NOT REQUEST INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.