Project Development Assistant

ABOUT ACTED PAKISTAN:

ACTED is a non-governmental organization with headquarters in Paris, founded in 1993. Independent, private and not-for-profit, ACTED respects a strict political and religious impartiality and operates according to principles of non-discrimination and transparency. ACTED has been present in Pakistan since 1993 and currently supports communities in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Azad Jammu Kashmir. ACTED Pakistan programmes range from short-term emergency responses to recovery and rehabilitation, as well as longer-term development initiatives. ACTED strategy is to target vulnerable communities affected by natural and conflict-related disasters as well as lack of socio-economic development.

ABOUT PROJECT DEVELOPMENT (PD) DEPARTMENT:

• The PD department supports the successful operations in ACTED Pakistan through three core roles:
• Coordination – Developing and maintaining timely, accurate and effective mechanisms internal and external liaison, reporting and follow up including advocacy;
• Communication – Leading the creation, collation and publishing of articles, posters, leaflets and other materials for external communications in line with donor and HQ requirements;
• Project development and management – Organizing proposal development and submission, internal
• Project coordination and donor reporting as per contractual requirements.

Responsibilities:

The Project Development Assistant is in charge of contributing to the following activities:

• Project Cycle Management and Reporting
• Facilitate the development and implementation of project cycle management;
• Liaise regularly with Area Coordinators, Programme Managers and technical staff to ensure solid knowledge and follow up on project implementation and the production of quality reports across areas and across Donors;
• Ensure that reporting and contractual requirements are met and that donor reports reflect the progress and status of projects in a transparent, timely and professional manner.
• Ensure in particular that reporting guidelines, formats, philosophy, deadlines for each project and donor are communicated clearly and standardized across the country for new and on-going projects
• Follow up the implementation of the Project Management framework (PMF, ACTED PCM Tool) for assigned projects
• Keep track of assigned projects and programmes monitoring and evaluation schedules and work plans with field staff to design and implement monitoring and evaluation procedures;
• Work in close relation with AME Department to develop and incorporate more solid monitoring and evaluation components in reports;
• Work in close relation with Finance Department and ACTED HQ to ensure greater coherence between financial and narrative reports, and ensure steady cash inflow based on the timeliness and quality of report submissions.
• Information System
• Work with all departments to follow up project and programmes databases incl. work on the nomenclature used (official names etc.);
• Ensure that appraisal, monitoring and evaluation and donor reports are made useful for fundraising and proposal development strategy and add on to the general base of field knowledge in the country;
• Contribute to develop the Resource Centre in capital office, update it regularly with appropriate and relevant external and internal resources.
• Diffuse information to other internal stakeholders
• Ensure that all meetings are held and documented (monthly management meetings, capital coordination meetings, area coordination meetings, weekly base meetings, quarterly country coordination meetings);
• Follow-up meetings at the field level and/or in the capital, between area, base and sub base offices.
• Draft and / or supervise agenda and minutes of country-wide meetings.
• Proposal Development, External Relations and Donor Strategy
• Participate in and contribute to defining and formalizing an ACTED strategy in the area.
• Update on a weekly and monthly basis the external relations database (donor follow up), which documents the latest negotiations and proposal possibilities with a number of key donors;
• Update monthly the reporting follows up and ensure smooth and regular communication with ACTED HQ Project Development Department.
• Mobilize Area Coordinators, Programme Managers and technical staff to ensure that proposals are developed in a cohesive and professional manner and in line with ACTED country strategy and donor requirements;
• Act as point of contact for all Donor communication, including the organization of and hosting of Donor visits in the field.
• Liaise with national authorities on a regular basis to ensure that ACTED is in regular coordination and complies with their requirements.
• Address ad hoc donor requests in liaison with the regional director
• Take the lead in the development, drafting and consolidation of project proposals and fundraising documents in liaison with ACTED HQ Project Development Department and other stakeholders
• External Communication
• Define the main target groups, activities, resources and partnerships needed;
• Ensure continuum of PR activities, including formal presentations, engaging media for coverage on success stories, updating project-specific and regional fact sheets, and documenting publications featuring ACTED in the media;
• Provide ACTED Global with full information on projects whenever needed.
• Participate in ACTED Global communication strategy by providing regular informal updates on projects, by sending pictures and articles on projects progress and/or specific events for ACTED Newsletter and Annual Report.

Skills Requirement:

• Graduate in Journalism, International Relations or a relevant field
• Previous related work experience, preferably in the humanitarian field w/knowledge of donor relations
• Advanced proficiency in written and spoken English
• Excellent writing and communication skills.
• Ability to work efficiently under pressure

Note: “ACTED is committed to protecting beneficiaries and staff within our programs from sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). ACTED has a Code of Conduct and organizational policies, which outline the expected behavior of all staff, consultants and other stakeholders and reminds ACTED’s zero-tolerance approach. Any candidate offered a job with ACTED will sign those documents as part of their work contract and is expected to abide by them.” “ACTED is commitment to zero tolerance to all forms of violence against children, beneficiaries and staff. ACTED is equal opportunity employers. Females and minorities are encouraged to apply. Candidates with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Final selection will be based on security clearance of the candidate.”