Senior Military Advisor at the Center for Civilians in Conflict

Center for Civilians in Conflict’s mission is to improve protection for civilians caught in conflicts around the world. We call on and advise international organizations, governments, militaries, and armed non-state actors to adopt and implement policies, tools, and training to prevent civilian harm. When civilians are harmed we advocate for the provision of amends and post-harm assistance. We bring the voices of civilians themselves to those making decisions affecting their lives.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Military Advisor

Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Job Type: Full Time
Travel: Up to 35% required
Reporting to: Country Director, Nigeria

About The Position

• The Senior Military Advisor will be a highly valued member of the CIVIC’s Nigeria Team and Field Leadership Team
• The postholder will be responsible for the design and delivery of high-quality training to the Nigerian Armed Forces, engaging and managing relationships with the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Job Purpose

• Implement security force training in support of CIVIC’s programs
• Working with the Country Director, Sr. Advisor Training, and the rest of the in-country team, Senior Military Advisor (US-based), Senior Protection Advisor (US-Based), and the Africa Program Director, the SMA will provide military-specific strategic guidance and management of CIVIC’s Nigeria program portfolio throughout program implementation.

Duties include:

• Support CIVIC’s projects to strengthen civilian protection policy, practice, and training of the Nigerian government and military.
• Cultivate strong working relationships with senior government, military, and civil society leaders.
• Lead the design and delivery, in close coordination with Sr. Advisor Training, Senior Military Advisor (US-based) and Senior Protection Advisor (US-based) on protection of civilians and civilian harm mitigation training for Nigerian Armed Forces at the strategic, operational and tactical levels, including national-level training schools and professional military education institutions.
• Assist the Nigerian Armed forces with development of context specific training sessions and SOPs in line with protection of civilians.
• Advise the Nigerian Armed Forces on the implementation and practices and process to improve civilian harm mitigation.
• Promote the representation, training, and advocacy on civilian protection and harm mitigation.
• Assess training efforts to identify best practices and provide recommendations to diverse stakeholders in order to improve civilian protections.
• Lead the development and implementation of the training program strategy by consulting with staff, partners, and other interested parties.
• Conduct monitoring and reporting of activities in support of project reporting requirements.
• Contribute to, or write op-eds, blogs, and articles highlighting issues important to CIVIC when possible. With the permission of the Country Director, speak with media about our work in the region.
• Research and draft publications (such as reports and briefing papers) and advocacy materials discussing CIVIC’s work.
• Work with the Country Director and broader team to develop medium-term strategy, advance program objectives, deliver ambitious work-plan, and identify new opportunities.
• Work with the Country Director to identify possible funding opportunities for program work and perform other duties as required to further the CIVIC’s mission and goals
• Build Strategic relationships and partnerships with key foreign missions’ Military Attaches such as EU, US, UK, Germany, Russia, and France.
• Engage, and as appropriate coordinate with military advisors such as ECOWAS, BMATT, the EU among others on current security issues within the sub regions.
• Work with the monitoring, evaluation and learning team to track on the effectiveness of trainings delivered from time to time.
• Dependent on experience, support the design and deployment of support to the East Africa and Sahel programs based in Nairobi and Mali respectively.

Qualifications & Skills Sets of Candidate
Applicants must have the following qualifications and experience:

• Past Military Experience at Strategic Level of the Nigerian Armed Forces (equivalent of a Brig. General or at least Lt. Col in the Army or in other services).
• Graduate of Senior Professional Military Education (Nigerian or Foreign Equivalent of National Defence College or Service War College, such as Army War College Nigeria).
• Current operational experience in internal security operations (ISO) inside Nigeria (defined as serving in ISO within the last 4 years, experience in the Northeast preferred); experience serving in a peacekeeping operation preferred.
• Experience training Nigerian Armed Forces or other armed forces required; experience training on protection of civilians or International Humanitarian Law or serving as Directing Staff at a military institution is strongly desirable, Flexibility, cultural awareness and sensitivity.
• Computer literacy including proficiency in Excel, Word, Power Point, etc.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Ability to write high-quality narrative and qualitative reports.
• Demonstrated experience networking with donors, government officials and the private sector.
• Strong personal network in the Nigerian Armed Forces,
• Demonstrated strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop collaborative relationships, especially in a multi-component project.
• Superior analytic, communication and interpersonal skills, including training and facilitation skills and demonstrated experience working with multicultural teams.
• High level of integrity in dealing with co-workers and with programs.
• Service as Brigade Commander/Chief of Staff or on Theater/Division level staff in ISO, (preferably in operations or intelligence) is strongly desirable.
• Familiarity with Operational Design is desirable.
• Prior experience working at a non-profit desirable.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.