• COOPI has started its experience in The Gambia in 2017 with several feasibility missions to assess migration patterns and youth vulnerabilities, their causes and devise possible solutions which led to the opening of its offices in December 2018, both by Banjul and in North Bank.  It is currently working on one ongoing project tackling the roots causes of irregular migration through psychosocial support of returnees and livelihood support to young Gambians in the North Bank (NBR) and Central River Regions (CRR).
• With this aim, COOPI has continued working on new project proposals to expand its work, and is now  looking for an experienced Project Manager to launch a new project on Cash-for-Work funded by ENABEL as part of an EU-Trust Fund program in partnership with different INGOs. The objective of the three-year project will be to enhance the participation of local communities and especially young people and returning migrants in employment intensive investments to productive rural infrastructure building by a) mobilizing them as non-specialized workforce through a cash-for-work scheme and b) promoting communication and awareness raising campaigns.

Context

• With an estimated population of 1.79 million, The Gambia, situated in West Africa, is one of Africa’s smallest countries. The economy depends primarily on agriculture (22% GDP and 75% of the Gambians occupation), tourism, and remittances from the diaspora. Unemployment remains a critical determinant of poverty and has over the years been identified as having contributed to the rising population of Gambians living in poverty. Major hurdles to economic development also include poor regional integration, the absence of reliable and affordable energy, and sub-optimal infrastructure and vocational training facilities.  Only 13 % of rural population and 71 % of urban population have respectively access to electricity, this circumstance is severely limiting economic activities in these regions.
• The Project will intervene in the NBR and CRR, average populated rural regions with a population of about 447,000 people. Both regions border with Senegal, through the migration corridor that connects the populous West Coast to the region of Tambacounda (Senegal). Both regions are affected by food insecurity (up to 25% for some LGAs) and chronic nutritional insecurity (prevalence data at 34.5% in CRR and 24.9% in NBR), high exposure to risks associated with climate change (droughts and floods) and alarming poverty rates. These issues, apart from irregular migration through the Central Mediterranean Route, lead to a high rate of internal migration to urban areas and lack of skilled labour in rural communities.

Role Purpose

• Under the supervision of the Programme Manager the Project Manager based in Farafenni, NBR, is responsible for the project’s execution, in technical, economic/financial terms, and in terms of resources management on the field, in compliance with COOPI and the donor’s procedures. He/she ensures the expected results attainment in budget management.

Responsabilities

• Activity planning and management: in cooperation with the project staff, he/she plans and monitors the activities’ progress, in compliance with the contract signed with the donor and with COOPI and the donor’s procedures.
• Administrative and financial management: in collaboration with the Project Administrator he/she plans all expenditures to make. He/she regularly monitors all made expenditures. He/she supervises accounting and the project cash safe/bank account management and. In cooperation with the Project Administrator and in coordination with the Regional Administrative Coordinator he/she prepares the Purchases Plan. He/she ensures the organization and donor’s procedures respect when purchasing goods and services.
• Reporting: in coordination with the Program Coordinator and with the Regional Administrative Coordinator, he/she ensures the preparation, in compliance with the deadlines, of all financial and narrative reports – interim and final – expected by the project. He/she is responsible for the preparation of all formal communication and contract modifications requests (ex. budget modification) of the projects he manages.
• Staff Management: In coordination with the Program Coordinator and the Regional Coordinator and in compliance with the country’s rules/laws and with the COOPI’s regulation in The Gambia, he/she selects the local staff to be employed in projects.. By making use of the organization’s tools he/she evaluates the local staff employed for projects and he/she participates to the evaluation of his/her own project, upon request by his/her direct supervisor. He/she coordinates and supervises the work done by all the project staff, in compliance with the organization’s security procedures. He/she is responsible for the initial and continuous training of the local staff under his/her responsibility.
• Goods management: he/she is responsible of the correct management of all goods purchased for the project, both directly and purchased by other offices/field offices. For all goods purchased by the project he/she updates the inventory, in cooperation with the Regional Administrative Coordinator.
• Institutional relations: in coordination with the Programme Manager, he/she keeps the relationship with the donors’ officers and collaborates closely with the donor’s partners on the EU Trust Fund programme. Together with the project’s staff he/she communicates with the    beneficiaries, in compliance with the organization’s guidelines.
• New projects’ writing: upon request by his/her direct supervisor, and cooperating with the project staff, he/she elaborates, writes and prepares all necessary documents to present new projects, in accordance with the organization’s processes and procedures.

Requirements

• Demonstrated field experience in setting up, implementing and monitoring cash transfer programs using varied modalities and delivery mechanism;
• Cash transfer budget management experience including institutional donors;
• Management experience of operational aspects of cash transfer programming (design and implementation of SOPs, procurement and contracting);
• Minimum 3 years experience in the field as project or programme manager or in a similar position.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English;
• Computer literacy, with high proficiency in the use of standard office software applications (e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint);
• Valid driving license.

Soft skills

• Strong analytical and practical problem-solving skills;
• Strong supervisory abilities, and demonstrated capacity of teamwork and of coordination with the relevant actors;
• Very good inter-personal and writing communication skills;
• Ability to organize work efficiently and deliver assignments in a timely manner often under time constraints.

Asset

• Good knowledge of the context.