RDDP II Project Manager

Description

Heifer International is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

The Organization

Since 1944, Heifer International has supported more than 36 million Small Holder Farmer (SHF) families globally lift themselves out of hunger and poverty while caring for the earth in partnership with the communities we serve including Youth & Women. Heifer International is now accelerating its strategic approaches to closing the Sustainable Living Income (SLI) gap for 10 million additional SHF households globally by 2030.

In Rwanda, our aim is moving 300,000 smallholder farmers to achieve sustainable living income by 2030 against Heifer Africa target of 6.745 million. Heifer does this through the sustainable locally led Development approach.

Function

The Project Manager will be responsible for the overall management of the Rwanda Diary Development Project (RDDP) which includes Efficient management of project resources; review and approve project plans, budgeting, and monitoring expenditures; supervision of field operations, procurement for the project, Audit, supervision of monitoring and evaluation; and ensuring quality control and timeliness of all deliverables as required. S/he will be responsible for the successful implementation of the RDDP project that is co-funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Heifer International (HPI). The Project Manager will work closely with the Project Coordinators, Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB), Single Project Implementation Unit (SPIU), Heifer country program teams and the IFAD country team as occasion demands to facilitate the implementation of RDDP II project.

S/he will ensure full compliance with the donor contract and regulations and will oversee the project reporting process to the donor (quarterly, semi-annual, and annual reports; evaluation report and end of project report). S/he will oversee performance management of all project staff working exclusively in his/her project and will ensure timely reporting on the progress of the project and its financial status.

Essential Character Traits

Respect, accountable, good stewardship, credible, good communication skills, reliable, good interpersonal skills and proactive, problem solver, humble, flexible, enthusiastic, dependable, creative and team player.

RESPONSIBILITIES DELIVERABLES

A. Project Management and project effectiveness (50%): Day-to-day management and implementation to ensure achievement of project objectives and outputs & activities.

• Provide overall leadership and management of the Project including programmatic, administrative, operational, and logistical direction.
• Review, approve and consolidate progress   reports in compliance to Donor and Heifer’s requirements. Lead overall project planning, technical and operational approaches, infrastructure, monitoring, and evaluation (M&E), and feedback loops required for program delivery and success.
• Coach and mentor project staff to ensure achievement of project targets.
• Manage project team performance and ensure timely completion of annual staff performance reviews.
• Provide guidance and support to project team to design district specific implementation plans, monitoring and reporting. Ensure smooth coordination with Heifer Rwanda program team, to ensure timely submission, review and dissemination of project information and reports.

B. Project planning, monitoring, and reporting (30%)

• Ensure compliance with donor requirements and Heifer’s internal policies and procedures.
• Review, approve and consolidate progress reports in compliance to Donor and Heifer’s requirements.
• Collaborate with the Country Program team, project team to develop and implement Projects Annual Work Plans and Budgets (AWPB).
• Ensure the quality of all program deliverables, including activities, outputs, documentation, and reporting.
• Ensure coordination, documentation and sharing of project learnings and key adaptations.
• Hold project Teams to the highest standards of accountability.
• Collaborate with the communication Specialist to collect document and communicate project success stories.

C.  Budgeting Management 20%

• Collaborate with the Country Office program team to ensure effective Budget preparation.
• Ensure sound project financial planning, management, logistical and operational structures and management, and reporting.
• Ensure compliance with donor, and Heifer policies and procedures.
• Oversee planning, expenditure tracking and auditing of financial resources.
• Ensure strategic and efficient management of project financial resources.
• Exercise proper financial controls.
• Oversee procurement processes (Manage the preparation of procurement plans, Participate/chair in local Procurement Review Committees (PRC), Manage assets and liabilities and ensure proper inventory control).

D. Coordination and Stakeholder’s management (15 %)

• Represent the organization and the project at various levels.
• Identify and nurture relationships at ministerial, local authorities and other partners.
• Establish plans for multi-stakeholder’s engagement and learnings, including the creation of appropriate forum for key stakeholders to facilitate knowledge sharing.
• Develop strategies of capturing and processing sharing knowledge from RDDP project to CPO management for review and approval.
• Participate in quarterly, semi-annual, and annual planning meetings with stakeholders.
• Develop and review the project exit strategy.

E. May perform other job-related duties as assigned (5%)

• Any other job-related tasks assigned by the line manager or Country Director.

Minimum Qualification

• Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, Veterinary Sciences, Animal Production, and Rural Development or a relevant field plus a minimum of Seven (7) years of working experience in project management in the agriculture development sector with at least three (3) years of working experience managing large projects funded by major bilateral or multilateral donors.

Preferred Requirements

• Master’s degree in project management, Rural Development of other related fields, plus five (5) years' working experience in the Dairy Sector of which, at least 2 years implementing Dairy related projects in Rwanda.
• Proven experience in building the capacity of partner institutions, managing knowledge, measuring progress and planning and innovation within the dairy industry.
• Demonstrate experience in conducting business, investments analyses and capital budgeting and sufficient evidence on how the results were used to develop potentially viable business ideas and subsequently tangible businesses.
• Willingness and openness to working in the agriculture sector in rural areas.
• Ability to influence and engage effectively with the private sector, local authorities, and governmental partners.
• Excellent planning, organizational, and time management skills, able to work well under pressure both proactively and prioritize a challenging workload.

**Most Critical Proficiencies
**

• Experience managing large projects funded by major bilateral and multilateral donors.
• Good understanding of the different agricultural commodity value chains in general and dairy value chain in particular.
• Experience working with producer organizations comprising of women and men smallholder farmers.
• A good understanding and appreciation of the gender, youth, and technology themes in agriculture
• Strong leadership, teamwork, mentoring and coaching skills.
• Proven interpersonal and communication skills.
• Proven track record in generating innovative solutions in work situations; utilizing different and novel ways to deal with work problems and address opportunities.
• Knowledge of income and expense budget preparation and monitoring.
• Fluent in English and Kinyarwanda.
• Exceptional writing skills.
• Experience in farming, crops and livestock is also needed.

Essential Job Functions and Physical Demands

• Preparing and presenting project reports and presentations in a well-designed and attractive format with superior attention to detail.
• Demonstrated creativity, ability to think systematically, willingness, and ability to incorporate innovative solutions.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to work cooperatively, tactfully, and diplomatically with culturally diverse groups of people.
• Constant face-to-face, telephone, and electronic communication with colleagues both within and outside of Rwanda.
• May require constant sitting, working at a computer, focusing for extended periods, and performing office work in the field and/or in remote conditions.
• Ability to manage and execute multiple tasks with little supervision while meeting strict deadlines.
• Working with sensitive information and maintaining confidentiality
• Willingness to work with a flexible schedule.
• Willingness to travel both locally and internationally.

Keywords

Project ManagementAgricultureDairy SectorRural DevelopmentCapacity BuildingBudgetingLeadershipCommunicationInnovationMonitoring