Support Services Interns at Sightsavers Nigeria (Abuja and Kaduna)

Sightsavers is an international organisation that changes lives for the long term. We work in more than 30 countries to eliminate avoidable blindness and support people with visual impairments to live independently.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Support Services Intern

Location: Kaduna (x1) and Abuja (x1)
Reports To: Programme Officer
Duration: 12 months
Directorate: Operations, Performance & Finance
Slot: 2 Openings

Job Purpose
Working within the Operations, Performance & Finance Directorate, the job holders will be responsible for providing a flexible and multi-disciplinary range of services to the organisation. Chief amongst these is the provision of:

• Administrative assistance to the Support Services unit, other employees and visitors to the Country Office in Kaduna and the Abuja Annex Office.
• Manning the front desks and protocol duties with regards to receiving and directing visitors and stakeholders

Working within the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) programmes supported by the Nigeria CO under Operations, Performance and Finance, the intern will be supporting the implementation of Sightsavers NTDs project in the state:

• He or she will assist the programme officer in the state for effective programme implementation and in the process gained field experience in project implementation.
• He or she will support in planning, development, design, budget, delivery and reporting of programme implementation in the state in line with the organization’s goal.
• Assist in a wide range of tasks which the team undertakes in the implementation of the NTD programme in the state.

Main Responsibilities

• Assist in the development and documentation of state NTD programme implementation plans.
• Assist in documentation, filling and archiving of documents (programme, monitoring and financial reports) in appropriate storage filling methods.
• Assist in innovative implementation of activities for programme delivery and achievement of organizational objectives.
• Arranging and coordinating programme meetings and activities, also ensure reports are written and submitted within the expected timeframe.
• Assist in preparation of payment vouchers, cashbook and bank reconciliation statement, partners financial report and donor report.
• Assist in periodic verification of physical assets, bank transactions and collection of bank statement.
• Assist in gathering / photocopying of supporting documentations for payment vouchers and coding and filling of payment vouchers in arch file accordingly.
• Assist in process payment to vendors, per diem and transportation for participants during field activities.
• Assist in tracking and following up on all outstanding advances to ensure timely retirement.
• Support the team in the logistics for activity preparation and travels.
• Carry out any other duty assigned by the programme officer.

The Main development of the Front Desk Officer:

• The improvement of their appreciation for office etiquettes, acceptable behaviours, interpersonal skill and diligence to responsibility.
• The preparation of the interns for future carers in administrative and corporate services roles.
• The instilling of the culture of problem solving and to develop their capacity to stay calm under pressure

The main duties and responsibilities for the Front Desk Officer are as follow:

• Provision of protocol services to stakeholders within the office premises
• Provide day-to-day premises service to the NCO and Abuja Annex Office
• Support the Administrative Secretary and Assistant in particular and the Support Services team in general where appropriate, to complete necessary tasks and projects
• Assist the Support Services Manager with ad-hoc tasks and projects
• Answer, screen, and forward incoming phone calls to recipients
• Receive visitors to the organisation and direct them appropriately
• Receive, sort and distribute mails and other deliveries

Develop a time-bound work plan with measurable activities:

• 1st week: The interns are inducted and introduced to all staff. Objectives are discussed and agreed with their line Managers, the Admin Officers and settle down in their workstations
• 2nd-4th week: Interns get engaged in their day-to-day tasks
• Every Month end: Review meetings with line managers to discuss progress, lessons learned and evaluate performance in general
• End of 12th Month: Final review of internship programme and closure

The key deliverables the intern is expected to achieve or deliver

• Courteous and a welcoming ambience within the reception area
• Establish and maintain good rapport with visitors and stakeholders
• Willingness to help with and resolve stakeholder requests and enquiries
• Ensure very clean and neat waiting area
• Efficient handling of incoming telephone calls and mails
• On-time delivery of other tasks and objectives as may be required by the Admin Officers or the Support Services Manager

Explain how the intern will be supervised, coached and her / his performance evaluated:

• Review meetings will be held with the interns every month end
• The interns will write progress reports after each review meeting

Duration and location of the internship assignment:

• 12 months at the Nigeria Country Office, Kaduna

Key Relationships
Internal:

• Admin Officer
• Support Services Manager
• Nigeria CO staff
• State NTD teams
• Relevant State Ministries
• LGAs NTDs Coordinators and team members

External:

• Partners
• Vendors / Suppliers
• Consultants
• Civil and community-based organisations

Required Minimum Academic Qualifications

• First Degree or Higher National Diploma in Business Management, Social Sciences or the Humanities

Skills and knowledge required for the internship:

• Strong administration skills
• Excellent customer care skills, particularly over the telephone
• Effective written and oral communication skills
• Time management skills
• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity
• Good IT skills e.g. Microsoft applications
• Hands-on experience with office automation

Position and name of the person that will supervise the intern:

• Helen Onietan: Administrative Officer, NCO
• Eno Udongo: Administrative Officer, Abuja Annex Office

Explain how often the supervisor will meet the intern:

• Formal review meetings will be held monthly
• On the job coaching will be an ongoing event
• Final report will be submitted at the end of the internship

Core Behaviours:

• Communicating & influencing
• Team working
• Planning & organising
• Change & improvement
• Delivery and implementation

Skills (special training or competence):

• Good analytical skills.
• Ability to build strong working relationships to enable effective management of partnerships
• Ability to think strategically and translate concepts into effective action plans.
• Some experience in monitoring and evaluation of projects
• Programme management and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to understand and work with project budgets, forecasts and reports.
• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity for disabled people.

Core behaviours:

• Change and Improvement
• Communicating and Influencing
• Decision Making
• Team Working
• Planning and Organising
• Delivery and Implementation
• Plus, we would expect the following:
• Interpersonal and intercultural sensitivity
• High degree of integrity
• Active listener

Application Closing Date
18th November, 2020.