Programme Support Officer

Job Title: Programme Support Officer

Department: Programme

Division: Programme Implementation

Duty Station: Ukraine, Odesa

Line Manager: Senior Programme Manager

Line Management Responsibility: N/A

Position Type: Full-time

Overview:

Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) is a dynamic, international non-governmental organisation. We work with people affected by violent conflicts to enhance their security and dignity through Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP). We work to reduce violence, protect civilians in countries affected by violent conflict and its aftermath, and help transform the world’s response to conflict situations.

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 Summary:

The Programme Support Officer (PrSO) will be responsible for supporting the development and implementation of program management tools, including project workplans, procurement plans, spending forecasts, partner and indicator tracking for field teams. The PrSO will facilitate regular check-ins to monitor progress made by the program teams and grants on the ground and ensure to spending plans are being actioned. Additionally, they will support facilitation of program cycle meetings with field teams, such as project implementation, strategy workshops, activity debriefs, staff trainings, and lessons learned.

The role involves supporting the Senior Programme Manager with establishing and maintaining effective project implementation and record management tools for the Country Office, ensuring up-to-date reports for programme sites throughout project duration. Furthermore, the PSO will provide administrative support to the Senior Programme Manager (SPM) and the Head of Programmes (HoP). The PrSO will work closely with programme staff and team leads across all NP field offices in Ukraine. The PrSO will serve as a liaison between program staff and NP Ukraine support departments when necessary. The Programme Support Officer reports directly to the Senior Programme Manager (SPM).

The successful candidate combines creativity, a solution-oriented approach, and demonstrates adequate knowledge of protection, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and project management. They are experienced and skilled at converting protection, violence reduction and conflict analysis theory into practical, locally appropriate solutions that effectively increases safety and security of civilians affected by violent conflict. They have excellent interpersonal skills and a flair for connecting and building trust with people from a wide variety of backgrounds. They are focused, strategic and are driven by a keen interest and personal commitment to civilian protection and a strong motivation to do what’s necessary in a complex environment.

Key Responsibilities:

Coordination

• Provide an effective link between the programme staff with support departments including Finance, Safety & Security, Admin/HR, Operations/Logistics.
• Keep a record of all programme meetings ensuring that all action points are documented and followed up.
• Support field sites with requests including partner liquidation, ToRs, site strategy, following up with purchase requests, etc.
• Monitor programme expenditure against project budgets, spending plans and procurement plans.
• Reconcile programme expenditure by grant and specific expenditure lines with actual project implementation ensuring that any changes and deviations are noted, documented, and authorized.
• Provide administrative support to the Senior Programme Manager (SPM) and the Head of Programmes.

Programme Support & Contribution to Effectiveness

• Work collaboratively with different programmes for strengthening integration and cross-site learning (e.g. case coordination when cases cross different sites, or other coordination of programming activities).
• Proactive engagement with field teams and SPM to identify programmatic gaps and solutions.
• Assist SPM in monitoring and evaluating projects’ outputs and outcome (in collaboration with the M&E Officer and the Programme Development Officer).
• Provide hands-on support to field teams to implement agreed on protection interventions a within the parameters of NP’s projects.
• Show an eagerness to take on any other tasks assigned by the line manager.

Grant Management Support/Monitoring & Reporting

• Track reporting deadlines on all grants and ensure that relevant people make contributions on the deliverables on time in line with the reporting tracker.
• Ensure program tools and documentation are kept up to date.
• Support monthly review meetings with field teams ensuring project implementation tools are developed and reviewed and updated monthly.
• Organise field programme level Project Cycle Meetings (PCM) on a quarterly basis and ensure field teams conduct monthly Project Implementation meetings.
• Support the facilitation of field programme level Budget versus Actual (BvA) meetings on a quarterly basis and ensure field teams conduct monthly Budget versus Actual (BvA) meetings.
• Using Salesforce, compile summary overviews of activities conducted each week/month and review programme reports to ensure they are of the expected quality.
• Participate in monitoring field visits, as needed, to support data collection or data quality verification.

Communication

• Support the development of communication products (designed and approved in line with donor visibility and internal guidelines) in collaboration with programmes development team.
• Draft and review communication to stakeholders as required for the country programme ensuring that the communication is relevant, appropriate to audience, and clear.

Administration & Human Resources

• Support programme team develop and maintain proper leave plans and leave trackers.
• Monitor service agreement contracts held by field teams, in collaboration with the Field Programme Officers (FPO).

Qualifications:

• 3-5 years of work experience in project management, administration, and project design.
• Demonstrated successful experience in working in complex security environments.
• Demonstrated experience working with state authorities, negotiation and mediation.
• Demonstrated ability to live, work and solve problems independently and effectively in remote, highly challenging locations.
• Demonstrated ability to analyse conflict, security and political contexts.
• Post-secondary education in law, human rights, international human rights law, international humanitarian law, negotiation, mediation, human security or related fields, i.e., equivalent experience.

Skills and Competencies:

Independent Judgment/Analytical:

• Ability to set priorities, solve problems and analyse data.
• Ability to manage information with discretion.
• Identify entry points and design prevention and protection strategies.

Interpersonal:

• Ability to communicate effectively with individuals and motivate and provide leadership to team and to work and live in a multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to exert solutions-focused, creative behavior.
• Proven ability to build relationships with the full range of actors including government, chiefs, military, police and non-state actors.
• Genuine commitment and interest in living and working at the community level.
• Flexibility and adaptability.

Languages:

• Ability to interact confidently in English with colleagues and external contacts, including in writing, and to present effectively relevant information.
• Ability to interact in spoken and written Ukrainian and/or Russian is a plus.

Information Technology:

• High level skills in Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Excel, SharePoint, PowerPoint, Word).
• Knowledge of Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack is a plus.

Working Conditions:

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