Graduate Program Officer at SkilllsOutSideSchool Foundation (SOS Careers)

SkilllsOutsideschool foundation (SOS Careers) - The SOS Careers program will offer preparatory support and guidance to students in tertiary institutions in accessing their chosen career interests. This will be through access to online courses, career simulation games/exercises, professional development training, networking events, CV and cover letter drafting skills, mock interview skills sessions and technical and soft skills training.

This program will also aid in placing the participants in internships, shadowing opportunities and insight days in various industries to develop the participants’ commercial awareness and competence skills.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Program Officer

Location: Abuja

Roles and Responsibilities

• The Program Officer oversees the coordination and administration of all aspects of the Skills Outside School Foundations’ Careers Program including planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the program activities.
• The Officer will primarily plan, execute, monitor and evaluate the Careers Program. The Officer will also manage the liaison with the relevant Stakeholders and ensure the smooth execution of the careers program in line with the framework.

The Program Officer will perform a wide range of duties as outlined below
Plan the program:

• Develop integrated program management plan - communication, stakeholder relation, personnel, budget, risk assessment, club structure governance structure, management and charter, program charter, grant chart, etc.
• Plan the delivery of program components in accordance with the integrated program management plan.
• Develop new initiatives to support the strategic direction of the organization.
• Develop a program evaluation framework to assess the strengths and identify areas for improvement.
• Ensure all feedback evaluation forms by the Consultants/ consulting firms , trainers, experts, participants and other relevant team members are completed, collected and assessed through collaboration with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Research team
• Ensure all program documentation and material is provided to the participants as due.
• Responding to the specific needs of the students.
• Develop forms and records to document program activities.
• Develop and update program management documentation.
• Conduct relevant research and feasibility studies as required to develop integrated program management plan and update assumptions.

Organize the program:

• Provide reports to the Board of Trustees and the Acting President.
• Create and maintain the program management calendar/schedule and file all program documents.
• Coordinate and manage the Workshops, events, programs, sessions as required.
• Manage stakeholder relations and consultancy engagements.
• Maintain a relationship with the institutions, relevant government agencies, ministries and parastatals, corporate organizations, grant making bodies.
• Secure relevant funding through interactions with donors, grant making organizations, etc.
• Maintain a grants calendar and complete grant applications as required
• Maintain a conferences and seminars schedule to enhance SOSF visibility.

Lead the program:

• Monitor the program activities on a regular basis and conduct a evaluation according to consultants, trainers, skills personnel, career experts, etc. onto the program through the use of media and other outlets including but not limited to conferences, seminars, personal network etc.
• Communicate with  stakeholders to understand how the delivery of the workshops and the program can be enhanced
• Provide the necessary information to the Stakeholder Relations department to allow for appropriate and targeted media updates on the Foundations activities
• the program evaluation framework
• Report evaluation findings to the Acting President and Board of Trustees and recommend changes to enhance the program, as appropriate
• Recruit advisors,

Control the program:

• Provide information on finances and expenditure on the program and attach supporting documentation for the board.
• Document the expenses of the program and revenues.
• Monitor and approve all budgeted program expenditures.
• Work with Financial Secretary to manage the disbursement of funds for all program activities and other general administrative functions of the Foundation.
• Submit relevant expenses memos e.g. for stipends etc. timely.
• Process and document payments by beneficiaries
• Manage procurement
• Negotiate and Document High Value contracts and manage contract deliverables
• Maintain and keep financial records of all programs and the Foundations’ activities including monitoring the expenses of the Foundation and ensure they are up to date.

Qualifications/Experience

• University degree in program management, business administration/management or a related field of study.
• 0-2 Years of program management, business management/administration, or otherwise exercise.
• Knowledge of program management.

Required Skills
The Program Officer should demonstrate competence in all of the following:

• Behave Ethically: Understand ethical behaviour and business practices, and ensure that own behaviour and the behaviour of others is consistent with these standards and aligns with the values of the organization.
• Build Relationships: Establish and maintain positive working relationships with others, both internally and externally, to achieve the goals of the organization particularly with current partners and sponsors; Command a professional image.
• Communicate Effectively: Speak, listen and write in a clear, thorough and timely manner including by phone with several stakeholders; Articulate the foundations’ mission, program objectives with existing partners – organisations and schools.
• Creativity/Innovation: Develop new and unique ways to improve operations of the organization and to create new opportunities.
• Foster Teamwork: Work cooperatively and effectively with others to set goals, resolve problems, and make decisions that enhance organizational effectiveness.
• Lead: Positively influence others to achieve results that are in the best interest of the organization.
• Make Decisions: Assess situations to determine the importance, urgency and risks, and make clear decisions which are timely and in the best interests of the organization; Proactively take actions necessary to produce results and able to work independently/with little guidance.
• Organize: Set priorities, develop a work schedule, monitor the progress towards goals, and track details, data, information and activities; Strong time management skills.
• Plan: Determine strategies to move the organization forward, set goals, create and implement actions plans, and evaluate the process and results.
• Solve Problems: Assess problem situations to identify causes, gather and process relevant information, generate possible solutions, and make recommendations and/or resolve the problem.
• Strong strategic, analytical, and program management skills: demonstrated ability to take responsibility for a diverse number of programs and to complete them in a timely manner with limited supervision.

Abilities:

• Proficiency in MS Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint).

Proficiency in the use of computers for:

• Word processing
• Simple accounting
• Databases
• Spreadsheets
• E-mail
• Internet
• Google Docs, Sky Drive, DropBox.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV's to: [email protected]