Project Manager

Sustainable Peace Foundation (SPF) is an Iraqi feminist Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) striving to build and sustain peace through vertical and horizontal approaches and participatory methods; addressing root causes of tensions and conflicts challenging positive peace in Iraq. SPF strives to achieve this by working on the grassroots level to reinstate and strengthen the lost trust between Iraq’s diverse ethno-religious communities; increase community resilience, empower and building the capacities of the very effected communities so they can mitigate and transform conflicts through dialogue and non-violent means.

SPF strives to achieve these objectives by working with vulnerable groups such as, youth, women and girls, people with special needs and IDPs through developing their capacities to take leadership roles and to actively participate in the peace and reconciliation processes; economically empower communities by offering them vocational trainings and providing them with livelihood means to ensure stability and a dignified living standard.

SPF also strives to engage local authority and security actors with the local communities through advocacy, round table dialogue sessions and developing local peace mechanisms and structures capable to acts as soundboards conveying their communities’ needs and challenges. Another pillar of SPF’s efforts is to support and capacitate Iraq’s civil society for example, SPF provide the technical coordination and the secretariat of Nineveh Peace Forum, which it is a founder.  

SPF also provides consultations for local and international NGOs on peacebuilding and social cohesion programming, such as: context analysis, needs assessments, actor and service mapping etc.

SPF’s focuses on minority protection, but through its Do-no-Harm approach, which ensures that SPF programming and implementation creates cohesion instead of doing harm.

Project Aims

The project aims to strengthen youth resilience in Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib and Al-Tarmiyya districts by empowering young women and men through arts and sports. By combining capacity-building, mentorship, community initiatives, and public campaigns, the intervention seeks to foster inclusive participation, reduce vulnerabilities to extremist narratives, and build peaceful and cohesive communities.

Terms of Reference

The Project Manager will be responsible for the overall leadership, coordination, and management of the project. This includes overseeing planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting, ensuring compliance with organisational policies and donor requirements, and coordinating with key stakeholders, including government counterparts, civil society, and community leaders.

Scope of Work:

• Lead and supervise the implementation of all project activities in line with the budget, workplan and logframe.
• Lead and ensure effective and productive communication with donors.
• Manage and provide guidance to project staff and consultants.
• Coordinate with local stakeholders, including authorities and youth groups, to ensure meaningful participation and ownership.
• Monitor project progress, address risks, and adjust implementation strategies as needed.
• Ensure timely preparation of reports, documentation of lessons learned, and dissemination of success stories.

 

Deliverables:

• Approved and updated workplan and monitoring framework.
• Timely implementation of activities and achievement of outputs.
• Monthly, interim, and final reports of high quality.
• Effective coordination with donors, partners, authorities, and community actors.

Note: Employment under this vacancy is subject to the signing of the contract with the donor.

Qualifications and Preferred Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, Development Studies, Peacebuilding, or related field (Master’s preferred).
• At least 5 years’ experience in project management in NGOs or international organisations, preferably with youth, peacebuilding, or arts/sports programming.
• Strong knowledge of Iraq’s socio-political context, especially Baghdad.
• Experience in coordination with government institutions, CSOs, and local communities.
• Strong skills in staff management, donor reporting, and risk management.
• Fluency in English and Arabic required.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.

Note: Employment under this vacancy is subject to the signing of the contract with the donor.

Interested candidates should submit their CV and a cover letter outlining their relevant experience and motivation for the role to hr@sustainablepeacefoundation.org. Please include “Project Manager – Abu Ghraib” in the subject line of your email. Please note applications without cover letters will not be considered. 

For more information about the Sustainable Peace Foundation visit our website at www.sustainablepeacefoundation.org.