State Citizen Engagement/Capacity Building Specialist

Title: State Citizen Engagement/Capacity Building Specialists

Location: Sokoto State**

Start date: May 2022 – August 2025

Background:

The purpose of the five-year (2020-2025) “State Accountability, Transparency and Effectiveness” (“State2State”) Activity is to increase the accountability, transparency and effectiveness of selected states and local governments (LGAs) in Nigeria. This will be achieved by: strengthening governance systems (with a focus on public financial management [PFM] and procurement, as well as monitoring and evaluation) related to the delivery of services in key sectors (basic education, primary health care, and water, sanitation and hygiene [WASH]); increasing government responsiveness to citizen needs and priorities; and improving government and civil society capacity to manage conflict (through work on prevention, mitigation and reconciliation with the same sectoral partners, not stand-alone assistance to the police or judiciary). State2State will achieve this purpose by facilitating the strengthening of subnational governance systems in a sustainable manner, supporting the efforts of local reformers and building on locally-derived solutions including, to the extent possible, reforms already working in other parts of Nigeria.

Position Objectives:

The State Citizen Engagement/Capacity Building Specialists will support the implementation of advocacy, oversight, and engagement activities and ensure the advocacy and or oversight of interventions in selected States. S/he will also address gaps in capacity through range of technical assistance, mentoring and peer learning, ensuring sustainable capacity for implementing reforms.

Responsibilities:

The State Citizen Engagement/Capacity Building Specialists will collaborate with the State Bureaus of Procurement or due process offices as well as Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) to design training and grants for local CSOs and media on sector-specific procurement monitoring; support the co-create grants to engage CSOs and media to design activities that support reform objectives in using audit reports to monitor service delivery efficiency and will hold co-creation workshops twice a year. S/he will facilitate engagement among State Boards of Internal Revenue, State Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED), and local chambers of commerce to discuss tax policy options and their impact on the private sector growth using DAI analytic tools to assess how new tax and fee rates may affect women and men differently; support the coalitions of complementary organizations, including think-tanks, private sector and professional associations, as well as traditional and faith-based organizations, around issues linked to state reform plans. The incumbents will facilitate, coordinate, track and report on the engagement of citizens in all core activities of priority sectors; conduct surveys and use citizen scorecards to measure their trust in elected (or appointed) government officials and their satisfaction with health, education, and WASH services; strengthen individual and institutional capacities of citizens/CSOs for good governance reforms, ensuring sustainable skills’ building and knowledge applications; and carry out any other function(s) as may be assigned by the Line Manager/ Deputy Chief of Party/Chief of Party.

Reporting: The State Citizen Engagement/Capacity Building Specialists will report to the Citizen Engagement/CSO Director Sokoto.

Minimum Requirements:

· A relevant degree or HND in social sciences, development studies, etc. Master’s degree preferable.

· At least five (5) years of demonstrated experience in a successful implementation of international development activities, with preference given to governance activities under a USG instrument, building technical and organizational capacity of CSOs in areas advocacy planning and engagement of government and stakeholders.

· Stated experience in working for or with civil society to drive a reform agenda

· Stated experience in community mobilization and civic engagement.

· Stated experience using facilitative, participatory approaches to organizational and technical capacity development.

· Demonstrated effective training, capacity building and coaching skills, networking, interpersonal skills, creative problem solving, conflict, and ethical management skills.

· Excellent written and oral communication skills.

· Computer literacy in word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software (Microsoft Office).

· Fluency in English, Hausa and/or other local languages is required

· Previous experience of familiarity and working in activity/program’s priority sectors in the state will be an added advantage.