Program Officer (PO)

Position: Program Officer (PO)

Location (base):  Dhanusha and Sarlahi districts of Madhesh Pradesh 

Reports to:  Program Manager

Department or Program: Girls Education – learning continuation and life skills opportunities for out of school children.

Contract Starting date: as soon as possible 

Probation Period: 3 months 

No of Opening: 2 (Two)

Introduction 

Social Organization District Coordination Committee Parsa (SODCC Parsa) is reputed and non-profitable organization which is established in 1994 and registered district administration office Parsa under the government rules and also affiliated in social welfare council. Now it has been working for the children and women in province 2 to improve the status of children and women specially focus on the area of education, health, sanitation, child protection, gender-based violence reduction, poverty alleviation, women empowerment, awareness raising and emergency response. Also, it has been working for the capacity enhancement of youth, organizational management, community mobilization, and leadership development of women, children and stakeholders for well planning and program implementation 

Girls Education (GATE) is a 9-month community-based non-formal education program. Further GATE graduates required to mainstream in formal education and retention is key challenges for which project will work with selected local governments, mother schools for rest of project duration to ensure regular attendance, learning continuity after mainstreaming.  GATE will imparts basic functional literacy, numeracy and life skills to out-of-school adolescent girls, with the aim of preparing them to mainstream into the formal school system. Considering the existing complexity of the OOS adolescents issue and process of mainstreaming them into formal education, ensuring their retention and completion of full cycle of basic education is still a big challenge. Radical and rigorous multi-stakeholder approaches are necessary to bring girls of age group 10-14 back to the mainstream education, ensuring their retention in school and continuation of full cycle of basic education. This would be possible through provision of additional and tailored non-formal education to strengthen basic literacy, numeracy, life skills and confidence of out of schools adolescent girls along with community engagement for retention that is only possible through integration of various sectorial interventions.

Scope of work 

The Program Officer will be overall responsible of the project ensuring the implementation of activities of “Girl’s Education-Learning Continuity” described on project work plan, ensure project output identified in Result Framework, manage budget expenditure and monitor program implementation with close coordination of government line agencies, funding organization and report project activities to organization. Project Planning and Implementation 

Major roles and responsibilities:

A. Program Management

• Prepare monthly work plan based on agreed program activities with SODCC/ UNICEF and shared with SODCC/Program Manager.
• Organized bi- monthly meeting with Supervisors, young champion and facilitators to ensure project status and upcoming month plan.
• Need assessment for capacity development of Young champions, Supervisors and Facilitators essential for field implementation of program.
• Plan and facilitate program Orientations, workshop and review meeting in assign local levels and districts to stakeholders.
• Coordinate with Program Manager / Local Bodies / SODCC/ UNICEF field Office for key program decisions.
• Coordinate with Program Manager for convergence of health, Protection and WASH.
• Coordination and finalization of program in schools.
• Mobilize Young Champions for attendance monitoring & additional retention activities.
• Participate in key education meeting in the district as required related to program.
• Prepare training & meeting plan for religious leaders, stakeholders and mother schools.
• Ensure the covid-19 safety protocols throughout the program implementation.
• Support to manager to develop the advocacy contents on importance of girls’ education.

B. Capacity building

• Support implementing partner and respective local government for regular monitoring providing technical support.
• Coordinate and support for joint monitoring of local stakeholders and political leaders as applicable. 
• Establish partner wise Local Level wise district database for program indicators.
• Assess capacity gap of the young champions, facilitators and Supervisors through field visit and regular meetings and provide feedback to the trainers and Supervisors as applicable.
• Organize meeting & coordination meeting with mother schools to capacitate teachers from program schools for child friendly school.
• Capacity building of social, religious and political leaders on importance of girl’s education.

C. Field Implementation 

• Ensuring effective delivery of activities agreed to achieve the result.
• Ensure budget expenditure in cost effective way follow up financial rules and regulations of organization.

D. Program Monitoring

• Field monitoring of at least 5 GATE centers and 10 mother schools per month on random and rotational basis to ensure implementation process and high quality of project deliverables.
• Ensure regular field monitoring of all classes and schools organizing and attending facilitators, Supervisors & young champion meeting at least once a month or as per need.
• Monitor program implementation process to ensure high quality of project deliverables along with Joint Monitoring in coordination with local government, UNICEF, SODCC and education stakeholders.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly progress report, time sheet, work plan, database, event report and submit on 25th of each month.
• Collect, compile and edit case stories and best practices from supervisors/young champion and submit to M&E Coordinator.

E. Coordination and Communication

• Maintain regular working relationships with local level and mother schools.
• Maintain clear and specific communication strategies of project implementation to relevant. 
• Undertake any other relevant responsibilities assigned by SODCC/ UNICEF.

F. General Responsibilities

• Other Task assign by SODCC Parsa.
• Adhere to SODCC Parsa policies and internal procedures, protocols, with special attention to Safeguarding Standards and Procedure, Child Protection and Do No Harm policies; immediate reporting of any complaints and issues.

G. Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor degree in education or social science, with good understanding and experience in literacy, numeracy and life skills contents and classes. 
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience working in education sector project, school governance, Child right advocacy and policy formulation. 
• Fluency in English and Nepali language both in writing and oral communication
• Experience of working with marginalized and vulnerable groups is a plus.

H. Desired Knowledge, Skills and Competencies 

• Strong understanding of formal/Informal & Girls education and mobilization of young champions. 
• Depth knowledge of school governance and Child friendly schools.
• Strong ability to conduct trainings/meetings with mother schools, religious leaders and local level.
• Fluency of local language of Madhesh Pradesh (Bajika, Maithali, Bhojpuri).
• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills.
• Willingness to undertake extensive field works in remote and rural communities in Madhesh Pradesh.

Candidates from Madhesh Pradesh, women and other marginalized and minority group are encouraged to apply.

Interested candidates aged completed 18 years and not more than 30 years are encouraged to apply with two references their updated CV and Application letter to the email address sodcc.vacancy@gmail.com clearly mentioning the position applying in the subject line addressing to the Human Resource Department, Social Organization District Coordination Committee Parsa (SODCC Parsa), within 28th June 2022 by 5:00 PM. 

SODCC Parsa is an equal opportunity employer

Only short-listed candidates will be called for further screening process. 

Telephone enquiries will not be entertained.