Search for Common Ground (Search) is an international non-profit organisation that promotes the peaceful transformation of conflict. With headquarters in Washington, DC, and Brussels, Belgium, Search’s mission is to transform how individuals, organisations, and governments deal with conflict, moving away from destructive approaches and towards cooperative solutions. With more than 700 staff worldwide, Search implements projects in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and North America. Search for Common Ground has fully integrated the Lake Chad Basin Programme, representing a strategic, multi-dimensional, and coordinated conflict transformation initiative across Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad.
The Nigeria Office is part of Search’s Lake Chad Basin Country Programme which leverages a mature, nationwide operational platform in Nigeria established in 2004, a strategically expanding mission in Cameroon officially registered in August 2023, and a purposefully re-established presence in Chad returned in 2023 following an initial operational phase from 2011 to 2017. Fundamentally grounded in rigorous, locally validated conflict analysis and deploying our signature Common Ground methodology, the programme systematically empowers women and youth as central agents of peace, strengthens indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms, and mainstreams peacebuilding objectives into humanitarian and development frameworks through the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus approach.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Senior Officer, Social Cohesion / Early Warning & Early Response
Locations: Benue & Nasarawa
Employment Type: Full-time
Position Summary
- Search for Common Ground is seeking an experienced Senior Officer, Social Cohesion/Early Warning Early Response for an 18-month project funded by the European Union.
- The project will be implemented in two states, with the overall goal of strengthening social cohesion in communities of Benue and Nasarawa States.
- The role is expected to oversee the design, coordination, and implementation of all Early Warning, Early Response (EWER), conflict prevention, and social cohesion interventions under the project.
- S/he will work closely with the Project Manager/EWER Specialist to provide strategic oversight for the implementation of activities aimed at strengthening community and state-level conflict monitoring systems, revitalizing Peace Architecture Platforms, supporting State Situation Rooms, enhancing multi-stakeholder coordination, and promoting community-led approaches to conflict prevention and peaceful coexistence.
Roles and Responsibilities
Strategic Coordination and Adaptive Management:
- Has the responsibility for planning, coordinating, and implementing all social cohesion and EWER interventions under the project.
- Provide strategic and technical guidance to the Project Manager/EWER Specialist on adaptive implementation by analyzing emerging conflict dynamics, early warning information, community feedback, and lessons learned to inform timely adjustments to project strategies and interventions.
- Work closely with the project manager / EWER Specialist and relevant team to develop implementation plans, technical guidance notes, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and operational tools required for effective project delivery.
- Support after-action reviews, learning workshops, reflection meetings, and programme adaptation processes.
Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) System Management:
- Coordinate the collection, documentation, verification, and real-time analysis of early warning information received through reporting channels from Community Observers (COs), peace platforms, and other stakeholders, and facilitate the timely dissemination of actionable alerts to relevant actors to support rapid response.
- Facilitate the timely dissemination of actionable alerts to state situation rooms, security agencies, and relevant authorities to support a rapid, coordinated response.
- Support the establishment and/or strengthening of State-level Conflict Monitoring Situation Rooms in Benue and Nasarawa, including EWER software use, geospatial mapping, alert generation, and linkages to community-level reporting structures.
- Produce high-quality early warning knowledge products, including weekly analytical reports, monthly situation updates, and bi-monthly Early Warning bulletins, ensuring timely dissemination to donors, government institutions, local partners, and other relevant stakeholders
- Coordinate the technical implementation of social cohesion interventions that strengthen peaceful coexistence, trust, and collaboration among diverse communities.
- Support joint field verification missions and on-the-spot assessments with community leaders, security actors, and government officials to confirm reported incidents, clarify facts on the ground, and improve data accuracy and response quality
Social Cohesion Programming:
- Ensure social cohesion programming addresses underlying conflict drivers while strengthening community resilience.
- Support the design and oversight of locally identified quick-impact initiatives (economic, livelihood, infrastructure, and community safety) that reinforce trust and complement EWER objectives.
- Facilitate and organise field visits for Search staff, visitors, and donors to local communities
Stakeholder Engagement, Accountability, and Coordination:
- Build and maintain strong working relationships with federal, state, and local government institutions, security agencies, traditional authorities, religious institutions, civil society organisations, development partners, and donor representatives.
- Support dialogue and conflict resolution processes between communities and/or authorities to rebuild trust, address grievances, and prevent escalation.
- Convene or support high-level accountability meetings between state officials, security agencies, humanitarian actors, and community representatives to review conflict monitoring reports, validate findings, and secure commitments to concrete response actions
- Represent Search in relevant coordination forums, technical working groups, and government-led peace and security platforms in Benue and Nasarawa.
Reporting, Learning, and Sustainability:
- Contribute to donor reports, quarterly progress reports, annual reports, and technical publications.
- Support after-action reviews, learning workshops, reflection meetings, and programme adaptation processes.
- Support the institutionalisation and phased handover of EWER infrastructure situation rooms, SOPs, and referral pathways to relevant state authorities, including training of designated state personnel through a train-the-trainer approach.
- Facilitate and organise field visits for Search staff, visitors, and donors to project communities.
- Ensure all programming is conflict-sensitive and adheres to the Do No Harm framework.
Core Competencies:
- Advanced knowledge of Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) systems, conflict monitoring, and conflict analysis.
- Strong understanding of peacebuilding, social cohesion, conflict transformation, and dialogue facilitation methodologies.
- Good knowledge of the political, economic, and social dimensions of the middle belt region.
- Strong command of the English language and knowledge of Hausa language will be an asset.
- Demonstrated expertise in establishing and strengthening Peace Architecture mechanisms and multi-stakeholder coordination platforms.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret conflict trends, political dynamics, and security risks.
- Experience in conflict-sensitive programming and application of the Do No Harm framework.
- Excellent programme design, implementation, monitoring, and adaptive management skills.
- Strong report writing, technical documentation, and presentation skills.
Requirements
Education:
- A Bachelor’s Degree in social science, development studies or related fields is required. A Master's in Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Project Management, or a related field would be an added benefit.
Required Experience:
- At least five (5) years of experience in Programme Management and leading community engagements.
- Have led the implementation of similar projects in North Centra l/North Western Nigeria
- In-depth knowledge of the Benue, Nasarawa, and other Middle Belt States.
- Relevant experience working in the non-profit and NGO sector.
- Substantial experience working with government officials, NGOs, and communities;
Other Relevant Requirements:
- Ability to work effectively in a team environment and strong interpersonal skills;
- Ability to identify issues and to use sound judgment in applying technical expertise to resolve a wide range of problems;
- A demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards and a diverse workplace; and
- Ability to prioritize, plan, and organize workflow to tight timeframes, handle multiple tasks, and be flexible with changing priorities.