Project Coordinator

Merlin

Full-time Staff - Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa

Apply by: 7th February 2012

Responsible To: Operations Manager (Maniema)
Working With: Field medical and non medical team members
Location: Punia - Maniema - Democratic Republic of Congo
Start Date: ASAP
Duration: 12 months
Salary: £28,130 to £29,480 per annum (dependant on relevant experience),
Inclusive of annual Cost of Living Allowance
Benefits: Insurance cover, accommodation, R&R, annual leave entitlement of 24 days per annum rising to 30 days at the completion of 12 months of continuous employment with Merlin.

Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be shortlisted on a regular basis and we may offer this post before the closing date.

Please note: this is an unaccompanied position.

Merlin
Undaunted and determined, Merlin saves lives. We deliver medical expertise to the toughest places. And we stay to help build lasting health care.

Our mission is to end the needless loss of life in the poorest countries caused by a lack of effective health care. We help communities set up medical services for the long term including hospitals, clinics, surgeries and training for nurses and other health workers.

We do whatever it takes and we stay for as long as it takes.

Context and Background
The Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) is the third largest country in Africa and one of the poorest. Decades of dictatorship and an ongoing, unresolved civil war has left much of the national infrastructure destroyed.
Merlin has been operational in eastern DRC since 1997 when it established emergency medical support to populations in Maniema Province. Merlin teams have been providing emergency medical care to the most vulnerable, accessible populations in Maniema Province, Kasai Oriental Province, North Kivu and Orientale Province, and in response to the Goma volcanic eruption of Jan 2002. Activities include: emergency response, primary health support and supply, secondary health support and supply, reproductive health, institutional capacity building, nutrition, wat/san, rehabilitation of health facilities.

Currently, four main programmes are being implemented by Merlin in Maniema :

• Support to primary health care across ten health zones Manemia: This 3 year program covers health centre rehabilitation, drug and medical equipment supplies, training, partners capacity building, reproductive health, gender-based violence activities, specific support to reproductive health activities and support to immunization campaigns.
• Support to Kindu Provincial Referral Hospital: Funded by DFID, this program started in September 2002 and aimed at reviving Kindu hospital through rehabilitation, drug supplies, re-equipment and staff training. As with the Primary Health Care program, Merlin team will now have to focus on capacity-building to enhance the hospital self-sustainability.
• Global Fund HIV/AIDS Program: This project commenced in August 2005 and is primarily focused on prevention and control of STIs with health facility support to all 69 health facilities in eight health zones. Establishment of VCT services at Kindu hospital will be undertaken with introduction of ARVs and related case management for opportunistic infections within Kindu Hospital.
• JOAC Maternity and health centre rehabilitation and/or construction: this one year project aim to assure access to maternal, newborn and general health care services in the targeted health areas and health zones, through the construction and rehabilitation of the targeted infrastructures.

Merlin aims to continue to invest in provision of lasting healthcare services for the communities in DRC, through building solid partnerships at both local and national level. The advent of large scale consortium support for the health sector will offer the opportunity to consolidate Merlin’s experience and organizational strengthens within the health sector, while influencing policy and practice in full collaboration with the MOH and partner agencies.

Merlin’s Goma office is a management and support office for nine field-site projects in eastern DRC. The office handles the financial and reporting aspects of a multi-million dollar grant portfolio, the HR and administrative requirements for approximately 40 expatriates and 400 national staff, most national and all international purchasing, and in-country transportation (almost exclusively by air) of staff and material between the Goma office and field sites.

Maniema programme currently employs 13 expatriates and more than 200 national staff.

Main purpose of the role
The Project Coordinator for Punia will assume overall responsibility for the projects in the field. He/she will report to the Operations Manager based in Maniema. The main responsibilities are as set out below.


Responsibilities
Operational Management
• Ensure collaborative stakeholder management including involving the relevant authorities in the planning and implementation of Merlin’s activities
• Be responsible for the effective and efficient management of the project consistent with the project management cycle and compliant with Merlin procedures, systems and guidelines
• Establish and implement project monitoring and evaluation plans
• Provide regular written and verbal reports to the PMT (Provincial Management Team) and the CMT (Country Management Team) on project progress and issues
• Prepare high-quality and timely donor reports
• Line manage one or two international staff and ensure effective management of approximately 30 national staff
• Optimize the use of human, logistical, and financial resources
• Monitor the evolving humanitarian situation and consider immediate and strategic responses
• Contribute to preparing plans, proposals, and budgets for project extensions

Security
The Project Coordinator has responsibility for security in the field site including:
• managing day-to-day security of the team field team and liaising with the Maniema security focal point
• briefing all project staff on arrival in the field on the security context and its implications
• monitoring the political, military and security situation in all project areas and respond accordingly
• establishing security guidelines in working areas in collaboration with the Maniema security focal point and keep these up to date and ensure adherence by all project staff
• providing timely verbal and written security incident reports to the Operations Manager
• attending security meetings and maintain regular contact with other actors (e.g. OCHA, military) in the field

Logistics/Finance/Administration
• Ensure all projects adhere to Merlin’s systems and procedures
• Ensure that project implementation meets donor compliance requirements
• Responsible for budgetary control and overall financial management at the project site, including maintaining oversight of expenses and procurement
• Ensure that the programme complies with all legal and bureaucratic requirements in DRC.

Human Resource Management
• Maintain good team communication, engender good team dynamics and take remedial action when problems occur.
• Support team members professionally and monitor and support stress management
• Conduct and document regular team meetings for planning and reporting purposes.
• Carry out appraisals according to Merlin’s Human Resource procedures
• Ensure all new team members are adequately briefed on arrival in the field, and departing team members are debriefed.
• Maintain up-to-date job descriptions for international staff and prepare and maintain job descriptions for national staff
• Assume overall responsibility for national staff selection, recruitment, and disciplinary procedures and assist with recruitment of expatriate staff in project area.
• Be responsible for capacity development and training of national personnel
• Plan national and international staff requirements and liaise with the PMT and CMT

Representation
• Represent Merlin to donors, authorities, (I)NGOs and other parties as necessary. Ensure all relevant parties are kept informed of Merlin activates as appropriate (e.g. donors, health authorities etc.)
• Be the project’s contact with press and media when requested by the DCD Maniema under approval of the Country Director

Other
• Provide coverage for other posts when needed and carry out any other responsibilities as requested by the Operations Manager




Person Specification
Essential
Qualifications, experience and competences
• Strong communication skills with a high-level of spoken and written English & French
• Strong project management skills and knowledge of appropriate project management tools
• Previous field humanitarian experience in a management role
• Security management experience in an unstable environment
• Experience in finances or related issues
• Experience of conducting needs assessments and project development
• Experience of financial and administrative management
• Knowledge of project management tools (Logical Framework analysis, project cycle management, indicators etc.)
• Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office
• A strong interest in basic curative and preventative health care
• Experience of a flexible approach to managing and prioritizing a high workload and multiple tasks in a fast paced environment with tight deadlines
• Good team worker, able to live and work closely with a team under pressure
• Ability to work under stressful conditions in an isolated area
• Experience of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures
• Leadership skills and a supportive management style
• Good training/capacity building and management skills.
• Willing to work in an insecure environment.
• Ability to work on own initiative.
• Experience of proactively identifying and addressing issues
• An understanding of and commitment to Merlin’s mission and values

Desirable
Qualifications, experience and competences
• Working experience in the region
• A strong interest in community participation
• Experience in the health sector


To apply for this position
To apply for this job, please go to www.merlin.org.uk/jobs and apply using our online recruitment system. In order to apply for a job with Merlin online you will need to complete a short registration process and create an account – the online recruitment system explains how to do this. Once your account has been created, you will be able to save the information that you have entered in your application and re-visit it at any time before you submit it.

If you are unable to apply online please contact: applications@merlin.org.uk.

Please note that we do not accept CVs. Unfortunately due to the number of applications we receive, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.



Please mention Jobs4Development in your application