Programme Officer – UAE

Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE with minimal travel (up to 15% of time) across the region

Reporting Manager: Programme Manager

Start date: January 2023

Duration: 12 months with possibility of extension

Remuneration: About 2,900 – 4,000 USD per month, depending on level of experience and qualifications, plus benefits.

MAGENTA is a leading Social and Behavioural Change (SBC) Research and Communications agency that specialises in understanding human decision-making processes in order to design communications solutions for positive change in fragile and development settings. We implement programmes across the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, using the latest in behavioural science principles and a rigorous approach to research, strategy, campaign design and implementation.

Our client base includes UN agencies, INGOs, governments and the private sector. We aim to amplify the voices of local actors while bringing international expertise and methodological rigour. To do so, we partner with civil society, creative agencies, media and academics to design innovative, relevant and impactful solutions to some of the most challenging problems of our time. Whether we are aiming to shift parenting practices to improve children’s outcomes or to understand how social norms underpin corruption, we always go the extra mile to ensure we can create positive impact for some of the most underserved populations in the world.

MAGENTA’s team operates across the globe, with offices in Jordan, Tunisia, Mexico and Pakistan and operates on a range of projects that include research, strategy development, SBC intervention implementation, and evaluation.

This position is based out of our office in UAE. MAGENTA has been working with a government entity in UAE since 2021 to develop a social and behaviour change strategy to help achieve the 2030 vision of the government entity. In the first phase, MAGENTA conducted robust, mixed-methods formative research to inform the components of the strategy and adopted a participatory design process to draft the final strategy. We are now in the strategy implementation phase, where we will partner with different government and private entities to design and deliver the four components of the strategy. This includes designing a behaviourally informed national creative campaign, followed with a 360-degree media campaign, community mobilisation and improved service delivery. We are looking for an exceptional individual to work on this ambitious strategy and deliver the Y1 objectives of the strategy.

The Programme Officers’ main responsibilities are to support (1) programme management, (2) programme and data analysis, (3) organisational knowledge management and (4) programme design. They will work under the guidance of the Programme Manager and/or the Regional Manager.

Responsibilities

The Programme Officer will provide project management support for a range of programmes in the research, communication, and strategy field. Typical tasks include:

Programme Management:

• Conducting regular desk reviews and situation analyses
• Conducting key informant interviews and stakeholder consultations with a wide audience
• Participate in identifying and hiring necessary third-party vendors
• Providing inputs to project plans, Gantt charts and resource plans
• Contributing to technical reports, project presentations, and programme updates
• Coordination of project partners e.g., client, consultants, media, civil society, data collection firms
• Monitoring of project KPIs and updating of monitoring and evaluation tracking tools
• Filing of project documentation
• Organising project logistics, including travel and calendar scheduling

Programme and Data Analysis

• Overseeing data collection and implement quality assurance checks (including translation)
• Coding qualitative data transcripts
• Developing reporting tools and liaising with implementing partners on data submitted
• Contribute to the construction of the M&E (Monitoring & Evaluation) framework to monitor performance of the strategy

Knowledge Management

• Updating Magenta databases – past performance records, contact lists, partner testimonials
• Writing up detailed meeting notes
• Developing/editing project-based case studies

Business Development

• Contributing to proposal preparation and submission for Y2 of the strategy implementation phase
• Monitoring of other tenders and opportunities within UAE

Requirements and Competencies

Education:

• Relevant degree required.

Experience:

• 2-3 years professional experience.
• Experience in social behavioural change, communications and/or research.
• Demonstrated experience conducting workshops and organizing various types of events.
• Experience in delivering or supporting the delivery of training.
• Experience managing and coordinating across diverse stakeholders
• Substantial knowledge of the international development and/or humanitarian system and institution and donors in Middle East.
• Ability to work effectively, respectfully, and successfully with governments, clients, partners and other stakeholders in complex settings.
• Familiarity with project management.
• Understanding of early childhood development, public health, gender and/or community mobilization programming is a plus.
• Technological and software fluency.

Strategic thinking:

• A high-level strategic thinker, with a keen desire to learn and consume new information.
• Robust logic chain analytics and strong general analytical skills.

Culture:

• Good sense of humour, personable and demonstrated ability to build networks.
• Entrepreneurial spirit; ability to work in uncertain and unstructured environments

Language:

• Excellent written and spoken English and Arabic is required.

Working Conditions

• MAGENTA has a flexible working policy which promotes periods of remote working in the year
• The position is client-based, which means regular site visits or working from the client site
• Some travel is required, around 15% of time.

MAGENTA is committed to creating a diverse work environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, or age.