Program Assistant at Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Limited

Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Ltd (Sahel) is a leading management consulting firm focused on the agricultural and nutrition sectors in Africa. We partner with government agencies, private sector companies, and leading international development organizations to conduct research, analyze policies, develop strategies, and implement programs that promote sustainable food security and improved nutrition. We have worked on a variety of projects across West Africa, including in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Program Assistant

Location: Adamawa with occasional travels across Nigeria
Employment Type: Contract

Duties and Responsibilities
Work Plan Formulation:

• Support in the timely development of work plans for all the ALDDN projects implemented in the state.
• Provide the necessary information required by the Program Officer regarding implementing partners, the market price of inputs, beneficiary information, location-specific information, stakeholder information, and general logistic requirements for developing the work plans
• Assist in coordination and communication of implementation strategies among stakeholders particularly the processor, State government officials, and the project coordinator.

Project Implementation:

• Assist the Program Officer in the implementation of project activities in accordance with the various ALDDN project work plans.
• Prepare administrative documents, collect and compile inputs to documents and ensure timely submission of documents, reports, minutes of meetings, and weekly updates to the Sahel PMO.
• Support the Program Officer in preparation of meeting venues, timely sending out of invites to participants, and coordination of the meeting
• Draft a routine correspondence for ALDDN project implementation.
• Prepare inputs for the implementation processes such as management of team members of implementing partners, procurement of inputs, logistic of transportation of inputs to destination, and suggesting of contractors according to the Sahel rules and regulations.
• Assist in procurement processes for any conference, seminar services, training, and meeting logistics such as meeting rooms, audio-visual equipment, name tags, and training venues.
• Administer contracts with service providers and/or beneficiaries by the interpretation of contracts and ensure effective communication of agreements.
• Collect, compile and organize background materials, documents, and other materials for meetings.
• Compile all project reports and prepare inputs summaries, graphs, and tables for presentations in support of various project activities.
• Ensure uploading of data by implementing partners on the ALDDN portal on time and correctly
• Provide support to implementing partners during community mobilization, development of community action plan, lunching of boreholes, ensuring milk collection, community engagement with other stakeholders, leading community entry, and serving as a contact point for Sahel in the project state.
• Maintenance of the project filing system and compilation of all reports for documentation.
• Support implementation of project-related communication activities.
• Perform any other duties as required.

Key Results

• Monitor beneficiary and project location identification processes to ensure compliance with program requirements
• Ensure compliance to all SOPs and checklists related to the ALDDN projects are done and reports submitted to the designated officer
• Collect and upload verified data of all project activities namely farmers’ organization, Commercial Fodder producers; database, list of trained farmers, CHEWs, and extension agents recruited for the ALDDN program
• Lead the training of trainers’ sessions for extension agents and CHEWs
• Support the ALDDN M&E team in preparing enumerators’ monthly payments based on satisfactory and verified milestone completion in the state
• Ensure all project activities provided by implementing partners are verified and documented,
• Share weekly progress updates on-field activities with the Project Management Office (PMO)
• Maintain an inventory of all project assets that are purchased by the program for all the ALDDN projects in the State
• Document and submit all key procurement processes, receipts supplied by vendors, processor partners, and other stakeholders to the Administration and account office of Sahel
• Monitor the distribution of project inputs such as milk can, feed and fodder inputs, and submit an updated distribution register to the ALDDN M&E team at the end of every month
• Plan all training and mobilize trainees for effective and efficient training sessions and lead the training of the trainers across all projects
• Support the Policy Advocacy Coordinator in organizing state steering committee meetings and stakeholder convening
• Assist in the mapping of stakeholders and dairy related policies in the state
• Alert the Policy Advocacy Coordinator when there are changes in policies, security challenges and other issues that are relevant to the program
• Ensure that all project assets such as project vehicle, laptops and phones are used for the intended purpose and are always in good working condition
• Support the driver in preparing budgets for car maintenance and fuel expenses while documenting receipts and fund retirement
• Share monthly travel log, fuel and project vehicle maintenance information and supporting evidence with the PMO
• Participate in the recruitment and deployment of extension agents, all project service providers and community health workers
• Support quarterly program implementation plan including activities, targets and deadlines and provide quarterly reports on program accomplishments
• Upload key project data across all interventions in the State to the ALDDN online data portal and submit supporting evidence to the PMO
• Submit weekly reports on accomplishments, challenges, and mitigation strategy to the ALDDN Livestock Officer
• Provide weekly plans and progress updates on key activities, challenges and mitigation strategies to the National Team Leader or senior team members delegated by Sahel during weekly review meetings
• Participate in ALDDN State Steering Committee meetings and provide reports to the PMO

Minimum Qualifications & Requirements

• Bachelors’ Degree in Animal Science, Animal Production, Agronomy, and Extension or any other related fields
• Minimum of one-year experience in livestock production, animal husbandry management, or any agriculture-related field experience,
• Working knowledge of English Language (both written and verbal).

Competencies:

• Result focus and problem-solving skills
• Teamwork and building effective relationships
• Communication and knowledge sharing.

Application Closing Date
20th May, 2022.