Project Coordinator – Cotabato City, Philippines (National)

Mission

Geneva Call is a neutral and impartial non-governmental organization dedicated to strengthening the protection of civilians affected by conflicts involving armed groups and de facto authorities (AGDAs). Geneva Call works to increase respect for international humanitarian norms, based on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL) as well as relevant local and religious norms, by AGDAs, towards positive policy and behaviour change, while supporting communities’ efforts to improve their own protection.

In the context of armed conflict, Geneva Call focuses its efforts on the protection of children, education, healthcare, humanitarian access and cultural heritage; preventing forced displacement and food insecurity; prohibiting sexual violence and working towards the elimination of gender discrimination; as well as curbing the use of anti-personnel mines and other means and methods which are not in compliance with humanitarian norms.

In the Philippines, Geneva Call employs a mix of direct and indirect strategies to advocate for the added value of humanitarian engagement with armed actors, with the aim of preventing protection risks in humanitarian crises. Equipping local stakeholders for humanitarian engagement is equally a centrepiece of Geneva Call’s strategy, which aims for sustainability and local ownership.

Role

The Project Coordinator (PC) under the supervision of Head of Mission (HoM) will provide technical and implementation oversight for achieving the key deliverables of the assigned project(s). The project goal is Communities, particularly women, children, and those most at risk, feel safer from rido and conflict-related violence in BARMM and adjacent areas. This contributes to strengthening respect for localised humanitarian norms and reduced violence against communities in Mindanao, and more specifically to limiting the impact of intra-Moro local violent conflict and supporting the stability of the implementation of the Bangsamoro peace process. Further, IHL-related concerns will be raised when relevant due to contextual developments. Additional projects complementing the above may fall under the PC’s responsibility depending on programme development efforts and results.

The PC will take the lead in implementing the project(s) and will ensure that the assigned project(s) meets its objectives and deliverables quantitatively, qualitatively and within the prescribed timeframe and budget following internal procedures and donor requirements. The PC will ensure quality MEAL, documentation, and reporting, both by GC and partners. The PC is also responsible to lead on financial management aspect of the project(s), develop spending plans, activity budgets and conduct monthly BVAs. The project(s) will require humanitarian engagement with armed groups and relevant authorities at the local and regional levels, while also engaging with civil society, traditional and religious leaders. The PC will ensure minority participation, gender, PWD and social inclusion analysis – focusing not on who are traditionally marginalised but who are most vulnerable to the effects of rido, and who are most likely to take part in violence due to social pressure.

In addition, the PC is expected to contribute to the design, planning, and implementation of other initiatives as part of the overall Philippines country programme. Importantly, the PC shall ensure that the project(s) and overall country programme are in sync and that no aspects in the projects’ implementation would have adverse effects on attaining the broader strategy for the Philippines programme.

Geneva Call consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, and opinions. Geneva Call is an inclusive working environment for all its staff. Applications are particularly encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on the grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Core responsibilities

I. Project Management

• Lead in the drafting of monthly project plans, budgets, and monitoring plans;
• Responsible for quality project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation in line with internal and donor work plans;
• Ensure timely and accurate reporting on achievements and challenges vis-à-vis all project activities, outputs and outcomes, including supporting local partners and ensuring their reports follow GC formats;
• Oversee the collection and analysis of information relating to the context, conflict situation, humanitarian needs and potential impact on GC’s work in project area(s);
• Ensure sufficient research is done into specific humanitarian issues in project areas to analyse trends and support arguments to improve compliance with humanitarian norms;
• Ensure conflict sensitivity is integrated into the project design and implementation;
• Suggest partnerships with relevant organisations/agencies, where required also identifying them, that can contribute to the success of GC mission – where required, lead on the partner activities;
• Support the Head of Mission in conducting exploratory/scoping missions to new project areas/sites for program expansion;
• Conduct/lead Monthly/Quartetly Project Cycle meetings with project teams and country management team for progress review and course corrections;
• Work on developing first version of the donor reports and also contribute to the review and finalization process of the donor reporting.

II. Security

In coordination with security focal point of the country programme:

• Ensure staff supporting the project follows GC’s security policies and protocols;
• Lead regular assessments of the security situation vis-à-vis the project, project partners, beneficiaries and GC, preparing risk assessments and suggesting mitigating measures and following up on incidents as necessary.

III. Communications & External relations

In coordination with the Head of Mission:

• Support implementation of communications strategy including campaigns, events, other initiatives;
• Plan and see through the production of innovative communications materials localised through consultations involving target audiences;
• Ensure material (photos, videos, stories from the field) about project activities and timely reports to showcase project outcomes and achievements;
• Ensure proper implementation of donor visibility and communications plan, also taking into account security and perception risks and seeking for derogations/exemptions when required;
• Engage local and international organisations regularly;
• Oversee and coordinate GC social media presence and online communications.

IV. Financial Management

• Contribute to transparent and timely project-related financial management following GC protocols;
• Work on developing project budgets which further contributes to country budgets;
• Develop/update project spending plans and conduct monthly BVAs with the country management team to ensure project spending is on track;
• Track financial expenditures on monthly basis with support from Finance team.

V. Human Resource Management

• Lead on recruitment process of the project teams;
• Develop annual objectives with the team, and conduct quarterly review of the progress made towards achieving them. Also ensure staff development plans are in place for the direct report;
• Supervise and provide ongoing support, capacity development and mentoring to the project staff, to enable them to successfully perform in their positions, and supporting them to do the same with the staff they supervise;
• Develop and ensure opportunities for the project staff especially female staff to regularly meet, self-organise and build strong, supportive peer networks with each other; and ensuring effective communication, and opportunities for debriefing;
• Ensure staff well-being and care is prioritised and is an integral part of work.

VI. Others

• Attend and represent GC as required at conferences and other fora of interest to the organisation;
• Perform any other tasks as assigned by the line manager.

Main qualifications

Education

• Completed degree of Higher Education in relevant field such as Political, Social Science or Law.
• Knowledge of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and relevant domestic legislation and bilateral agreements between conflict parties is a distinct asset.

Languages

• Excellent English and Tagalog required.
• Local dialects (Maguindanaoan, Maranao, Iranun, Teduray, Bisaya, Tausug, Yakan etc.) preferred.

Technical knowledge or experience in

• Strong analytical, representation and writing skills;
• Project planning, monitoring, reporting and evaluation;
• Managing projects, partnerships and teams;
• Humanitarian protection experience;
• Designing and implementing training programmes;
• Software skills (MS Office, Excel, KOBO, graphic design tools, social media, email);
• Islamic Law;
• Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law;
• Gender;
• In-depth knowledge of the conflict context in Central Mindanao;
• Financial Management.

Personal qualities

• Understanding and respect for organisational principles and confidentiality;
• Strong logic and organisational skills, flexibility and adaptability to change;
• Leadership qualities and unwavering integrity;
• Ability to take responsibility, strong communication skills;
• Ability to work independently as well as in a team;
• Ability to think critically and solve problems;
• Proven ability to work well with colleagues and partners from diverse ethnic/cultural backgrounds;
• Accuracy and reliability, ability to reach results and meet deadlines under pressure.

Performance management

The employee will be accountable for the responsibilities and the competencies, in accordance with the GC Performance Management p. The following documents will be used for performance reviews:

• The Job Description
• The individual Work- and Professional Development Plan
• The Competency Framework

Conflict of interest

Any candidate affiliated to, or openly supporting, one or more interest groups opposed to the Foundation’s principles and values, or whose previous position could engender safety issues for co-workers at Appel de Genève / Geneva Call, will be excluded from this selection process.

Conditions

• Position : Project Coordinator
• Type of Contract: Fixed-Term (National Contract)
• Activity rate: 100%, full-time position
• Work place: Cotabato City, Philippines (with extensive travel within the country – mainly within Mindanao– up to 40% of the time)
• Preferred start date: 1st June, 2024