GAMBIA – PROJECT MANAGER | MILANO, LOMBARDIA, ITALIA | COOPI – COOPERAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE

COOPI is looking for a Project Manager in The Gambia COOPI has started its experience in The Gambia in with several feasibility missions to assess migration patterns and youth vulnerabilities, their causes and devise possible solutions which led to the opening of its offices in December , both by Banjul and North Bank and Central River Regions.
Since then, COOPI has been working on two main pillars.
1)  tackling the root causes of irregular migration  through psychosocial support of returnees, sensitization campaigns about the risks and integrated assistance to unaccompanied minors in mobility across the borders with Senegal 2)  supporting livelihoods to young Gambians  with a particular focus on agriculture and productive infrastructures.
COOPI is launching a new project of  food security  in  North Bank and Central River  funded by Italian Governement.
The intervention has the general objective of contributing to the  improvement of the living conditions of vulnerable groups (peasant women and young people) in regions affected by migratory flows.
This improvement will have two dimensions.
one is based on the creation of employment opportunities for young people in these rural areas through a cash for work programme.
The second dimension will be focused on women farmers and support to support their work in community gardens.
The direct beneficiaries of the project will be 200 young people involved in the improvement of production infrastructures and 880 women farmers involved in the cultivation of community gardens.
Description of the role The  Project Manager  is responsible for the overall  activities’ planning, execution and reporting of the project, and for the implementation of effective project tracking, review and troubleshooting mechanisms.
He/she also is directly assigned to, and responsible of the supervision of all logistics, HR, financial and overall functioning aspects for his projects.
Main responsibilities Country Strategy, planning and program development in The Gambia Support to  identify needs and opportunities  for expanding COOPI’s interventions in the country through field missions, needs assessments, and data analysis; Together with the regional team, develop  COOPI’s intervention strategy  for the country; Support COOPI’s  positioning  with key stakeholders in the country.
Program management Provide overall  managerial oversight  over the team assigned to the project in the portfolio; Supervise the accurate  design of project planning tools  in line with the project guidelines and description, guaranteeing the smooth implementation of all activities; In collaboration with the MEAL Regional department, supervise the  implementation of the MEAL plan  and regularly review data; Plan and monitor the activities’ progress, in compliance with donor regulations and contracts, as well as COOPI’s procedures; In collaboration with the Administrative and the Logistics team, plan and monitor the  expenditures  in line with the project’s implementation needs; Manage the  goods  purchased for the project; for all goods purchased by the project, support updates of the inventory and guarantee the respect of the policies and guidelines, in cooperation with the Logistics Office; Finalize the  data  provided by his/her team, support the preparation of  narrative and financial reports  expected by the donor; In collaboration with the regional Team, prepare all the  formal communication  and contract modification requests (ex.
budget modification) of the project; Execute any other task necessary to good and timely completion of the projects; Ensure the transversal application of protection, environment, and disability considerations, do no harm principles, and conflict sensitivity.
Human resources Support in  hiring  of new staff directly related to the project; Ensure adequate  induction  for newly hired staff, including orientation about COOPI’s Code of Conduct and PSEA policy; Follow and enforce all COOPI codes of conduct and policies (globally and in-country); Coach and orient  project staff by maintaining a two-way feedback channel and conducting staff appraisals at key milestones and advise senior management on actions to be taken; Support the Coordination in maintaining a good understanding of the  HR needs  in the basis and across projects.
Administration Ensure the proper implementation of  purchasing and service procedures; Ensure the correct management of the  safes  and the project’s  bank accounts, by directly managing or by regularly controlling the project accountant, if available; Ensure the correct project  accountancy  and all accountancy documents filing, by monitoring the accountants or by directly performing the accountancy, in case there was no accountant; Verify the correct  administrative management  of the projects in compliance with COOPI and the donor’s procedures; Ensure the correct filing of all project’s administrative documents; Monitor  expenses  in accordance with the budget, and provide the accountancy data to the PM so as to allow him to monitor and plan the expenditures and to request funds; Support the elaboration of eventual  contract modifications, and the preparation of all necessary projects documents; Contribute to the development of the project’s  financial planning; Prepare the intermediate and final  financial reports  for the projects under his responsibility.
Others Execute any other task necessary to good and timely completion of the projects; Work closely with communication team.
Requirements Essentials Master’s Degree in  Humanitarian / Development Studies / Social Sciences  or any related field; At least 3 years of field working experience in/with INGO on Project Management; Proven interest & commitment to humanitarian and development principles and a demonstrable understanding of conflict/post-conflict development contexts; Expertise in sustainable livelihoods, safety nets programs, in particular; Data collection, analysis, and report writing including post-distribution monitoring (PDM); Excellent written and spoken English; Knowledge of the Italian language is mandatory; Demonstrated success in community resilient programs and technically sound in Cash transfers and Cash for work, capacity building and other social protection components; Proven commitment to accountability practices; Previous experience with projects funded by  of the Italian government; Excellent Microsoft Office applications skills; Experience in  administrative and financial supervision; Knowledge of and adherence to Code of Conduct, understands other international development guidelines; Ability to function effectively under stressful conditions such as heavy workloads, and deadlines; Excellent communication skills, calm, with a good sense of working in inter-cultural environments; Ability to plan, organize work, communicate and reports effectively (both in writing and verbally); Proven ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines.
Plus Experience in managing agriculture and livelihood development activities; Previous work experience in The Gambia.
We reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the application closing date, once a sufficient number of applications have been received.
Please note that only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Interviews will be conducted on rolling basis and the vacancy will be closed when filled, thanks for understanding.
COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale is an Italian secular and independent humanitarian organisation fighting against all forms of poverty to improve the world.
Founded in , today COOPI is present in 33 countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East, with both emergency and development projects carried out by expatriate staff – an average of over 270 people per year – and national staff.
The main institutional funders are the European Union – ECHO and INTPA – USAID, UN agencies, the Italian Government, local authorities and other European Governments.