Program Assistant – Connect, Defend, Act!

Region: Southern Africa

Office: Lilongwe, Malawi

Hours: 20 hrs per week

Application deadline: May 10, 2024

With support from NORAD, Hivos is implementing a project called ‘Connect, Defend, Act!’. To respond to the issue of shrinking civic space and amplify civil society-led action, the “Connect, Defend, Act!” (CDA) project will support civil society actors in Colombia, Indonesia, Malawi and the occupied Palestinian territory in their efforts to defend and expand civic space through three strategic objectives:

• By promoting coalition building among diverse civil society actors, including human rights defenders, rightsholder-led civil society organizations and independent media actors, grounded in civil society-led evidence gathering and knowledge production, and facilitated by context-specific communities of action.
• By contributing to safe and inclusive digital civic spaces for sustained collaboration and action among civil society actors through localized holistic digital security capacity strengthening, knowledge production and active referral to digital protection providers.
• By increasing civil society actors’ flexibility to rapidly respond to changes in civic space through organizational capacity strengthening and the provision of strategic funding for sustainable action.

The project aims to strategically support relevant actors within civil society whose work actively contributes to civic space from the perspective of different sectors and interests, while particularly including groups who are marginalized within civil society, such as women, youth, LGBTIQ+ persons, Indigenous People and others.

Role purpose

The Program Assistant (PA) provides timely, efficient and effective operational and administrative support across the Connect, Defend, Act! Project. Essential to this role is pro-active coordination, organisation, tracking, and progression of project activities.

Responsibilities

The key responsibilities of the role include:

Operations and administration

• Coordinate and manage the team and project’s calendar of activities.
• Maintain confidential records for the project;
• Act as main contact person for contractors, vendors and other service providers
• Acknowledge receipt of correspondence and documentation in the absence of Project Manager or program staff, and drafts preliminary versions of correspondence to be signed by the Project Manager or relevant program staff;
• Develop and maintain an efficient filing system for the team, including assistance in processing calls for proposals as required;
• Maintain a tracking system of responses to proposals;
• Maintain and update team’s databases and mailing lists using the Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook Exchanger
• Organize regular team meetings and conference calls/video-conferences, including the preparation and distribution of documents and providing the necessary technical devices;
• Take minutes of regular team meetings and other meetings as required;
• Organize and keep track of meetings (minutes and tracking of items), maintain and apply department agenda and planning,
• Liaise with regional and global office staff as required, and provide assistance to regional and global office staff when visiting local office;
• Assist in the orientation of new staff, interns, volunteers and consultants by providing them with the necessary documents and materials for orientation;
• Ensure appropriate supply of office consumables are available at all times.

Management of Information Systems (MIS)

• All Solutions Key user (Project side) responsible for training and support of users
• Exercises a line control function by checking all projects data and information ensuring:
  • Compliance with ISO procedures
  • Consistency of data and information between the system and contracts
  • MIS overviews are counter-checked for consistence and accuracy
  • Ensuring all reporting and/or submission deadlines are met
• Maintains program administration database such that:
  • Programme and project records are complete and correct
  • Reminders and pre-reminders are sent out to partners
  • The budget estimates accompanying programme and project proposals are checked and assessed
  • Ensuring timely registration of own project costs through the settlement process
  • Generate or extract relevant reports from the MIS to inform management decisions
  • Initiate project closures after ensuring that all obligations are met

Financial management

• Manage the program petty cash with support from the FO
• Bookkeeping and ensure all required cash flow reports are finalised and submitted in a timely manner;
• Maintain an overview of finances of the office;
• Procure office and program needs as per organization manual;
• Record financial commitments (contractual & planned) to partner organisations such that:
  • Payments are made and recorded correctly and in good time
  • Budget control can be performed on the basis of periodic information
  • Initiation and control of programme administration audit can be made

Portfolio management support

• Supports portfolio management such that:
  • Contracts conform to Project management (ISO) requirements
  • All relevant contract steps are fulfilled (including assessments)
  • The payment process is prepared and administered in compliance with contractual conditions
  • Regular MIS overviews are made available for planning, review and reporting purposes (Contracting, spending, fundraising and report submission and assessment overviews

Coordination of events and logistics

• Assist with training, workshop and meeting logistics and other preparations;
• Liaise with relevant regional office staff and other outside agencies regarding venue, travel, hotels, and with Catering Services staff for provision, room organization and logistics
• Coordinate and disseminate all internal and external material, including publicity and background documents for programme events;
• Prepare workshop kits or information packages and sends material to participants in a timely manner;

Resource Mobilization and fundraising

• Manage and update the donor data base
• Contribute to design and development of project proposals
• Support the preparation and compilation of all funding application documents

Person specifications

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as information systems, administration or business management/commerce or other relevant tertiary qualification from a recognized institution.

Knowledge / experience

• At least 3 years of experience in a similar position working in the area of projects, administration and/or management preferably within a similar environment.
• Demonstrated experience in event and travel coordination support.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating procurement, purchase orders, invoicing, payment and other financial processes.
• Excellent interpersonal and representational skills with experience in building and maintaining effective working relationships with a range of different individuals and organisations.
• Proven ability to effectively manage information, multi-task and work under pressure to meet tight deadlines.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English,
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team and autonomously in a multi-cultural environment.

Key skills / attributes

• Good computer skills using the Microsoft working environment.
• Administration practices and procedures.
• Procurement procedures.
• Accuracy, attention to detail in administrative activities.
• Prioritisation and time management.
• Logistics and event coordination
• Efficient file management processes.
• Ability to deal with confidential information in a professional manner.

What we offer

Hivos offers a challenging position in an international environment.

The Regional office is based in Harare, Zimbabwe. This position will be based in Lilongwe, Malawi. Hivos welcomes International & Regional applicants but can only offer a position to only those with a valid work permit for Malawi. Hivos can only offer employment on local terms and conditions.