Livelihoods Program Manager

USD $1,276 per month

The Livelihoods Program Manager position will provide leadership, guidance and supervision of the Farmer Field and Business Schools (FFBS); an integrated, market-based and gender transformative approach to extension, and Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) as the livelihoods program components. The livelihoods component focuses on improving income opportunities for rural households and for women in particular by developing organizing skills and working together so they can earn and invest more in their families and community. The school feeding program offers new market opportunities to rural households to supply nutritious local produce and learn about climate resilient and sustainable farming.  This position will supervise and mentor the livelihoods field teams in Ainaro, Ermera, Manatuto municipalities and Oé-cusse to increase rural women’s economic options and income from agribusiness. The Livelihoods Program Manager will oversee the team to document progress and lessons learned and to make changes to solve problems and increase impact. The role requires strong leadership, management, analytical and technical skills in agribusiness, livelihoods and gender transformative approaches and an ability to learn from other country programs and adapt to the local context. Strong research, networking and communication skills are needed as well as understanding of marketing opportunities. This position is based in Dili, with frequent travel required to rural and remote locations in Ainaro, Manatuto, Ermera and Oé-cusse.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:    

Lead Planning, Implementation, and Management of Livelihoods (FFBS and VSLA)

• Lead the development of annual work plans and budget for the livelihoods component of the HATUTAN Program including the promotion of Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) and utilizing the Farmer Field Business School (FFBS) approach in implementation.
• Develop periodic plans (e.g. quarterly, monthly) with staff to complete the annual work plan.
• Integrate gender analysis in planning, budgeting and reflection of all activities.
• Develop technical standards for quality in the FFBS and VSLA activities.
• Ensure staff or partner implementation of FFBS and VSLA is in accordance with the approved plan and timely corrective actions take place when necessary.
• Guide the formation of Producer and Marketing Groups or cooperatives, linking them to schools and with government services to unlock access to new markets, capital for expanding production and training opportunities.
• Coordinate with other team members to integrate the implementation of FFBS and VSLA activities in the overall HATUTAN Program.
• Establish good coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and other stakeholders to identify market gaps of nutritious foods useful for school feeding programs.

Staff and Performance Management

• Supervise, lead and mentor field teams based in the municipalities and Oé-cusse region.
• Directly supervise the Senior Livelihoods Project Officers in Ainaro, Ermera, Manatuto and Oé-cusse.
• Orient, train and coach staff in technical implementation that leads towards quality implementation and impact of FFBS and VSLA activities.
• Ensure that regular staff reflection sessions on gender and social norms are embedded in team meetings. 
• Lead orientation of newly hired staff including review of CARE’s focus on girls’ and women’s empowerment and gender equality.
• Develop a staff capacity-building plan on FFBS and VSLA approaches and their implementation and facilitate implementation of the plan.
• Continually identify skills gaps of staff and facilitate staff capacity strengthening initiatives using processes such as staff performance appraisal and talent management assessments.

Program Initiative Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Reporting

• Develop the FFBS and VSLA impact measurement framework suitable for the Timor-Leste rural context.
• Ensure that gender transformative indicators are measured.
• Document achievements, lessons learned, promising practices, including human-interest stories.
• Document processes and achievements of the FFBS model for public dissemination e.g. draft reports, case studies for use in the dissemination of best practices.
• Organize and conduct reflective learning forums (meetings, workshops, etc.) internally and externally with program stakeholders including government.
• Learn about and apply forward accountability mechanisms to monitor the quality of FFBS and VSLA implementation and impact with a focus on continuous learning and improving.
• Plan and conduct quarterly and annual program review meetings to assess progress, adjust plans, and disseminate lessons learned.
• Prepare and submit monthly and quarterly reports on a timely basis and ad-hoc reports as needed.
• Support scheduled evaluations (e.g. mid-term and final) in collaboration with the M&E Team.
• Keep current with state-of-the-art interventions for ongoing personal development through regular self-study of reports from within Timor-Leste or other countries by learning from other projects.

Representation, Networking and Relationship building 

• Create working relationships with the Government of Timor-Leste from the national to grassroots levels to ensure government support in implementing FFBS and VSLA initiatives.
• Identify other agencies working in livelihoods and establish strategic alliances to explore areas for collaboration to expand and strengthen the impact of FFBS and VSLA implementation.
• Effectively communicate the FFBS and VSLA approaches and their impact through available forums at national, municipal, sub district, and village level.

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Take on other duties as assigned by the supervisor.
• Engage in emergency preparedness and assist in any emergency response as required.
• Promote a safe and secure work environment; foster a culture of safety and security awareness and consistently follow all CARE safety and security policies, procedures and directives.
• Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to gender equality, diversity and child protection

For more information about this position, visit this link:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PG-K5TaPknbTvFd-Je_jsy9ZrT5lBrv0/view?usp=drive_link

1. Selection criteria

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

Education and Experience

• Post Graduate degree/Masters in relevant field/disciplines such as agriculture, agriculture economics, natural resource management and related fields and at least 5 years of work experience in supporting building capacity of partners in Climate and Water Smart Agriculture (or Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field with at least 8 years work experience).
• At least 2-years’ experience working in a supervisory role.
• Excellent knowledge and experience in Farmer Field School or FFBS as well as VSLA and the establishment of market linkages across a variety of agricultural value chains

Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrated strategic planning skills, organizational and management skills.
• Strong team-building and ability to motivate the field teams.
• Demonstrated ability in project management.
• Strong initiative and flexibility to innovate.
• Facilitation and capacity building skills.
• Analytical mind with the ability to think critically and creatively to resolve problems.
• Excellent understanding of gender transformative programming.
• Excellent skills in working with municipal and local level structures.
• Strong negotiation and influencing skills especially with regional level structures.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in Tetum and advanced English skills required for cross-program learning exchanges and following new research.
• Very good working knowledge of common office software packages i.e., word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software.

1. How to apply

Interested applicants should send a CV (no longer than four pages) and cover letter via email to [email protected] OR to the Human Resource unit at CARE office at Bairo Pite, Dili.

CARE is an equal-opportunity employer committed to a diverse workplace. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

CARE Timor-Leste is committed to protecting the rights of children in all areas we work. CARE Timor-Leste reserves the right to conduct screening procedures to ensure a child-safe environment.