Community Liaison Managers at Mines Advisory Group (MAG)

Mines Advisory Group (MAG) saves lives and builds futures by working with others to reclaim land contaminated with the debris of conflict, to reduce the daily risk of death or injury for civilians, and to create safe and secure conditions for development. MAG shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize as a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines for our work to ban landmines. Our vision is a safe and secure future for men, women and children affected by armed violence and conflict.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Community Liaison Manager

Location: Nigeria
6 months Fixed term
Department: Programmes
Scale: PSM 2
Line managed by: Technical Operations Manager
Responsible for line managing: National Staff

About the Role

• As a Community Liaison Manager with MAG you will work with local communities and a wide range of stakeholders.
• Our community liaison roles are varied, and can involve designing and delivering Risk Education programmes to be implemented in the region by our Community Liaison teams, collecting and analysing data on accidents and MAG’s impact to lower these, conducting non-technical surveys, or building relationships with communities so that MAG’s teams can enter a region to start the process of making it safe.
• Our Community Liaison Managers are essential to MAG’s life-saving work and this is a great opportunity to be part of that.

About You

• You will have experience of leading, motivating and managing national staff, have strong participatory learning and facilitation skills and experience of conducting assessments in order to design and implement appropriate interventions.
• In addition, you should have experience in designing and delivering formal or informal training, with the ability to organize and coordinate activities or projects.
• We’d be especially pleased to hear from you if you have previous experience of working in Africa.
• You should be aware though, MAG’s areas of operations are often remote with basic amenities, so you will need to be able to live and work in challenging environments, where the need for your skills and MAG’s work is most.

Job Purpose

• To assist the Senior Management Team to ensure that MAG’s approach to community participation in mine action is integrated into the planning and implementation of programme activities.
• To undertake the management, training, assessment and monitoring of Community Liaison (CL) staff and activities in the field, and recommend improvements to the Technical Operations Manager (TOM), Country Director (CD) / Project Manager (PM) and Regional Programmes Manager (RPM) where appropriate.
• To manage CL resources and be responsible for the gathering and dissemination of relevant and accurate information to enable informed decision making, maximisation of impact and the achievement of MAG’s vision, mission and key aims.

Job Description
Technical:

• Provide research and analysis of relevant socio-economic data in order to help prioritise social target groups and geographical areas for Mine Risk Education (MRE) and clearance activities.
• Plan, prioritise and coordinate all CL activities in order to achieve maximum community participation and understanding during all stages of clearance activities.
• Conduct on-going liaison with all relevant stakeholders (government, INGOs, national NGOs, mine action centres, the military, health care providers etc.) and establish and maintain networks for information exchange.
• Maximise productivity, project outcomes and cost benefit to the donor and beneficiaries through CL programme activities.
• Advise on safe and effective management of all aspects of CL and related tasks in the country of operation, in accordance with relevant MAG and other Standard Operating Procedures and guidelines, and ensuring that these are consistent with MAG’s policies and mandate.
• Conduct training needs assessment in the area of CL (including MRE activities).
• Plan and conduct relevant training activities for national staff where required, including Mine Risk Education, participatory learning techniques, communication skills and facilitation skills.
• Monitor and evaluate the on-going performance of CL and MRE activities by national staff in the field”
• Assist in the design and implementation of programmes to mitigate the risk of living with remnants of conflict (including both child and adult-oriented risk education programmes)
• Coordinate the on-going evaluation of benefits MAG’s activities have on communities and other relevant stakeholders. Where appropriate, design and apply relevant measurement tools and indicators. Ensure the capture of data on the outcomes and impact of MAG’s work and the communication of this data to relevant internal and external stakeholders.
• Conduct research, develop and maintain an understanding of MAG’s CL approach and its evolution. Where required, undertake recording and documenting of CL resources (photographs, reports, MRE materials, etc.)
• Assist and support the development of the country programme strategy, plans, proposals and budgets with regards to CL training and operations in line with MAG’s mission and mandate
• Ensure that all MAG CL activities are in line with the CL position paper
• Conduct assessments, including on-site interviews with beneficiaries, and other technical missions on behalf of MAG as required.

Reporting:

• Assist in proposal writing and budgeting.
• Provide clear and accurate reports for donor and HQ purposes.
• Provide to MAG HQ case studies and oral testimonies of the variety of experience of living with conflict and remnants of conflict.

HR:

• Conduct appraisals of CL staff and support staff in line with MAG procedures.

All International staff are expected to undertake the following general duties:

• Work within the framework of MAG’s core values, promoting its ethos and mission statement.
• Work towards achieving programme and/or department business plan objectives
• Ensure familiarity with and adhere to all MAG policies and procedures and keep informed of MAG activities
• Undertake and apply learning from appropriate training and development programmes.
• Undertake role in developing countries and areas in conflict where standards of living may be basic.
• Undertake the role in a manner appropriate to the cultural context and within the local legal framework.
• This is a non-contractual document that can be varied from time to time as circumstances dictate. This job description is intended to summarize the main duties and responsibilities of the post; this is not intended to be a full and exhaustive list of tasks. All MAG staff are expected to demonstrate flexibility and willingness to perform appropriate tasks when the need arises.
• Some Job Descriptions may be supplemented by specific Terms of Reference.

Person Specification
Essential Experience:

• Experience of working overseas in community and/or educational development activities.
• Experience of conducting needs or risk assessments in order to design and implement appropriate interventions.
• Experience in the monitoring and evaluation of development projects.
• Experience in the design and delivery of formal or informal training and transfer of skills to others.
• Experience of leading, motivating and managing a diverse range of people.
• Experience of participatory research techniques in a working context.
• Experience of working independently for extended periods of time in ‘stand-alone’ environments with minimal supervision.

Essential Skills and Knowledge:

• Strong information management skills
• Good negotiation skills
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to coordinate activities and projects
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and ability to establish relationships with people from a military, development and community background
• Excellent people management skills
• Sound understanding of rural livelihood and international development issues
• Relevant IT and numeracy skills
• Good spoken and written English language skills

Essential Aptitude:

• Ability to establish effective working relationships at all levels internally and externally
• Self-motivated, flexible and enthusiastic approach to work
• Innovative, creative and pro-active with an analytical and solution-oriented approach
• Ability to represent and promote MAG
• Cultural sensitivity and adaptability
• Strong commitment to humanitarian and capacity building principles
• Commitment to MAG’s humanitarian mandate

Qualification

• Qualifications in a development research or an information management related discipline.

Remuneration and Benefits
MAG staff are rewarded with generous benefits: