Education Project Officer

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is a US non-governmental organization that has been operating in Vietnam for nearly 20 years. CRS projects assist local counterparts to build capacity in the areas of Education, HIV/AIDS care and treatment, Disaster Risk Reduction and emergency preparedness and response. Reflecting our commitment to carry out quality programming to benefit the poor, we are now seeking a dynamic Vietnamese candidate for following position for our Program based in Hanoi:

Title:        Education Project Officer
Reports to:    Program Manager (Disability Network Capacity Strengthening and UXO Education)
Supervision:    NA

PRIMARY FUNCTION

Coordinate and oversee the project implementation and partner relationships for “Social inclusion of people with disabilities through civil society action” .  This project is funded by Irish Aid, Caritas Australia and CRS. It is a 3 year project (2012-2015) that aims for strengthening Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (DPOs) and parents associations and involves five key partners of Vietnam Federation of Persons with Disabilities (VFD), Hanoi DPO, Department of Labor Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA) of Quang Tri, Quang Nam DPO, Ninh Binh DPO and Phu Cat district in Binh Dinh province.

The post holder will work closely with the Program Manager and other staff to take responsibilities for the implementation of the project in Quang Nam province.

This position is recruited to replace CRS Project Officer during her maternity leave. The position is required for period of July 2014 to end of January 2015, with possible renewable contract. The position is based in Ha Noi with at least 50% travel to project sites.

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

Internal:      

• Program Manager (Disability Network Capacity Strengthening and UXO Education)
• Country Manager
• Education Program and other CRS staff
• CRS regional and HQ staff

External:    

• Provincial and district partners in Quang Nam
• Disability related network and organizations;
• Disability Working Group members 
• Project consultants
• Project donors as assigned by PM, and CR

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
Programming

• Project Planning: Take responsibilities to work with partners to develop overall, annual and quarterly project activity plan for Quang Nam DPO under the facilitation of the Program Manager (Disability Network Capacity Strengthening and UXO Education), including programming activities and budget. Planning sessions will be done with participation of local partners either at project sites or in office.
• Project Implementation: facilitate relevant partners of DPO Quang Nam in the implementation and monitoring of project activities in line with the approved plans and CRS procedures and regulations, with a focus on strengthening capacity of DPOs at different levels and parents association to build on their own initiatives. Facilitate linkage between DPO and parents association to support PWDs in community. Support local partners with selecting consultants for the project activity implementation which include procedures for contract with consultants and quality of consultancy services.
• Project Quality Management and M&E: Take responsibilities to work with Quang Nam DPO  for the project quality with direction and overall facilitation of the project manager. Provide technical inputs to local partners for quality activity implementation, especially relating to inputs for DPOs and parents associations in developing their small grants or strategic plan. Work with partner to set up and maintain project M&E systems, tools and processes.
• Field Monitoring: Make regular field trips to project sites to meet with project counterparts and participants to monitor quality of activity implementation as assigned by the program manager.
• Reporting: Ensure regular recording of field trips and activity implementation relating to project implementation in Quang Nam. Coordinate local partner to provide inputs for the periodical reports to submit to the  Program Manager as required by donors and government agency.
• Documentation: Participate in compiling lessons learned, designing and implementing events for exchange of program experience. Ensure effective recording and dissemination of results of model of DPO capacity building. Contribute to designing system to compile and disseminate best practices within and outside CRS.
• Partner Relations: Maintain positive and productive working relations with the district and provincial partners, relevant DPOs, CSOs and other government bodies. Communicate respectfully to the partners and guide/accompany them in every stages of project implementation.
• Networking and Advocacy: Provide analysis of local context to help manager’s advocacy work.  Maintain good relations with similar organizations in Disability working group and other minded organizations/programs in Quang Nam to share and learn from their activities to maximize the effectiveness in supporting PWDs.  Attend external meetings and networking activities related to disability related events as required by supervisors.
• Coordination at the Province level: Proactive support PM in developing coordination mechanism with the  INGOs and NGOs working in in IE for CWD and Disability Inclusion  at the province level, especially with APHEDA,  and others, share the best practices, CRS learning materials and build their relationship with the  project partners. 

Finances

• Financial Oversight: Participate to the development of project annual program budget under the guidance of the program manager. Take leading role for financial management of project expenses by partners and by CRS for activities implemented in Quang Nam. Maintain regular financial management (including quarterly and activity advance and liquidation). This includes, but not limited to mechanism of correspondence and updating to partners relating to financial procedures and balances, advances, liquidation, payment requests and consultant payments.
• Other: Troubleshooting and other tasks as necessary, education program activities / projects as requested by supervisor.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS:

1.Bachelor degree in Public health, education, social science or relevant discipline.
2.At least 3 years working experience for NGOs or international organization and sound knowledge in the disability support sector.
3.Demonstrated ability and skills in project management (planning, scheduling, and organization, financial management, monitoring and reporting).
4.Experience in technical assistance for community based capacity building activities.
5.Fluency in spoken and written English and Vietnamese language
6.Independent, resourceful, self-motivated and a team builder.
7.Willingness to travel.

REQUIRED APPLICATION DOCUMENTS:

• Curriculum Vitae in English, with names and addresses of three references (preferably former supervisors)
• Application Letter in English
• Copies of diplomas, certificates

Please send completed applications to:

Ms. Tran Thi Thu Hang
Administrative Officer
CRS, No 1 Alley 7, Nguyen Hong Street, Ba Dinh District, Ha Noi.
Or email: [email protected]

Deadline for Applications: 18 May 2014

CRS is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or HIV/AIDs.