SPARC Jobs in Nigeria: SENIOR TECHNICAL OFFICER

DFID-SPARC POLICY & STRATEGY TEAM

The State Partnership for Accountability Responsiveness and Capability (SPARC) is a major programme funded by the UK Government’s Department for International Development and managed by HTSPE Ltd assisting the Nigerian Government to build on governance reforms already under way in five states (Enugu, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano and Lagos) and at Federal level. The programme started in September 2008 and will run for six years.
We are now looking for SENIOR TECHNICAL OFFICER (STO) to join the SPARC Team. The STO will be based at the SPARC Lagos Office. The STO will work closely with SPARC Policy and Strategy consultants and administrative teams at the PMU and other SPARC state offices. This position is part of the management team of the state office and requires people with cognate experience.


The STO will be responsible for the following duties:
• Support the TCM in developing and maintaining effective working relationships with the State MDAs associated with activities prioritized under the SPARC Policy and Strategy work plans.
• Work closely with and facilitate Government officers, SPARC consultants and staff, and other key stakeholders to implement the P & S work plans;
• Support activities of P & S consultants, acting as a link with Government and ensure that the consultants fulfill their TORs and collaborate appropriately with Government officers;
• Support P&S related meetings and workshops, including aspects of: identification and recruitment of participants, preparation of workshop and training materials, note taking, minute writing, reporting and aspects of their administration;
• Follow up and support timely implementation of activities arising from meetings, workshops, training events, etc;
• Assist in preparing TORs for consultancy inputs, writing and checking consultancy reports, and following up timely implementation their recommendations as appropriate;
• Liaise closely with SPARC staff assigned to other work streams ensuring mutual familiarity with work plans and deputizing for others as may be required from time to time;
• Comply at all times with SPARC guidelines, policies and procedures; Assist in preparing and updating periodic P & S related cash flow forecasts
• Contribute to the strengthening of selected State organizations that can support and incentivize government for improved state-level performance
• Responsible for the management of SPARC Technical inputs to EIU
• Periodically contribute to the review of the performance of the EIU
• Report on progress of Consultancy and other inputs in the EIU
• Supports the TCM in coordinating consultancy inputs for State work in P&S
• Work with the relevant State MDAs to schedule consultancy inputs and facilitating the work of the consultants during inputs
• Supports the QA of Consultant’s input into the State work programme
• Working with the G&SI Consultant and the STL to support implementation of the internal GSI system, including initial system roll-out and devise quality assurance mechanisms to ensure that gender/inclusion issues are systematically addressed within SPARC introduction of regular updates or developments, consistent with SPARC works plans on GSI
• In collaboration with the TCM, ensure that all SPARC staff and consultants are briefed on the correct SPARC G and SI procedures. o Working with central GSI team to support implementation of the internal and external SPARC GSI policy and processes
• Develop capacity and train technical and administrative staff on the practical application G SI issues
• Any other duties of a related nature which might reasonably be required and allocated by the Line manager or STL.

REQUIREMENTS
• Minimum undergraduate social science degree, masters required
• Relevant work experience in programme support, project management or office administration essential
• Requisite knowledge of governance and development issues in Nigeria and international development issues generally
• Skills in using project management tools and software desirable
• Proficiency in using Microsoft Office applications essential
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills essential
• Requisite knowledge of research, policy planning and strategy development tools, approaches, methodologies and challenges in Nigeria
• Familiarity with DFID or other donor assisted programmes in Nigeria would be an advantage

TO APPLY
If you believe you have both the skills and experience required to meet the above job requirements, please email/send your CV along with a brief outline of how your qualifications and experience meet our needs hr@sparc-nigeria.com by close of business on 7th September 2010 quoting ref: application for STO.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Further information on SPARC con be found at www.sparc-nigeria.com and on HTSPE at www.htspe.com