AFRICA PROGRAM COORDINATOR (English – French speaking – Senegal-based) Full Time NEW

Organization: The Good Shepherd International Foundation (GSIF) is a non-profit organization that promotes the rights of vulnerable people, especially girls and women, by supporting the mission of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd (OLCGS). GSIF works in over 30 countries around the world, supporting programs in education, social protection, economic justice, human rights, and emergency response. GSIF strengthens the capacity of local partners by mobilizing resources, improving program quality, and promoting accountability and impact measurement through knowledge management and strategic partnerships. Learn more: www.gsif.it

Job Location and contract: The position is based in Senegal, 1-year consultancy contract to be extended or transformed into local employment contract.

Department: Africa Team

Role of the Department:

The Africa Team supports and accompanies OLCGS partners in African countries in the management of programs and grants. The department plays a key role in ensuring the success of development missions while GSIF works toward establishing a Regional Office for Africa to strategically coordinate activities across the continent.

Reports to:

Africa Regional Manager

Key Relationships:

• Internal: GSIF departments, relevant OLCGS stakeholders
• External: OLCGS global partners, donors, regional and international stakeholders

Role Purpose:

The Africa Program Coordinator oversees the implementation of program activities in multiple African countries, collaborating with local partners to ensure alignment with national and organizational strategic objectives. He/she balances operational oversight with contributing to the long-term vision of creating the Africa Regional Office. The role involves significant individual responsibility in supporting country-level programs, particularly through regular field visits, while working as part of a team to achieve broader regional goals.

Key Responsibilities:

Program Implementation and Oversight:

• Support local partners in developing, planning, implementing, and monitoring donor-funded programs across various countries, ensuring they meet GSIF and donor standards and are delivered on time.
• Ensure successful execution of all program phases, providing operational support to local partners and ensuring compliance with GSIF’s Program Cycle Management (PCM) standards.
• Ensure accurate and efficient program delivery through financial planning and grant management tools
• Lead the support to country-specific programs, providing guidance through each phase of program implementation and ensuring all activities align with program objectives.
• Contribute to strategic discussions on program quality and on the future vision of the Units/MDO ministries.

Stakeholder and Partner Management:

• Maintain strong relationships with current and potential donors and other stakeholders, ensuring transparent communication on project progress and identifying opportunities for future funding.
• Serve as the main point of contact, ensuring clear and consistent communication between GSIF and local partners.
• Act as a representative for GSIF in external events such as conferences, seminars, workshop.
• Build collaborative networks with other NGOs and international organizations to foster peer learning and knowledge sharing across countries.
• Manage relationships with local partners, ensuring alignment with strategic goals and actively supporting their capacity-building efforts.
• Liaise with GSIF Partnership development team to follow up on partnerships leads and fundraising opportunities.

Financial Management:

• Support local partners in preparing and maintaining financial documents, including project budgets, financial plans, and donor reports, ensuring compliance with internal and donor requirements.
• Collaborate with the GSIF Finance Team to ensure accurate financial reporting that meets donor and internal audit standards.
• Provide financial oversight for country-specific projects, ensuring accurate tracking and reporting of all expenditures.
• Work closely with GSIF’s finance and Africa teams to align on budget management and resource allocation, contributing to regional financial strategy.

Reporting and Evaluation:

• Assist local partners in conducting needs assessments, evaluations, and analysis of projects, integrating findings into GSIF’s monitoring and evaluation systems, in collaboration with the Knowledge Management and Communication Department.
• Review and finalize program reports for donors and internal and external stakeholders, ensuring reports effectively capture project impact, achievements, and challenges.
• Facilitate the collection and analysis of project data from local partners, ensuring it feeds into GSIF’s broader evaluation frameworks.
• Assist local partners in the elaboration of robust M&E systems to ensure that projects implemented have a positive and sustainable impact
• Support in the reporting process for all country-specific projects, ensuring timely and accurate submission to donors and internal teams.
• Collaborate with GSIF’s Knowledge Management and Africa Team departments to ensure evaluation insights contribute to broader regional strategy discussions.

Strategic Planning and Contribution to Africa Regional Office:

• Support local partners in the development, implementation, and monitoring of local strategic plans.
• Identify country-specific challenges and opportunities, providing actionable recommendations that inform the Africa Regional Office’s vision and operational structure.
• Actively contribute to strategic planning sessions for countries and for the Africa region itself
• Facilitate country-level insights and discussions around the development of the Africa Regional Office.
• Contribute to the development and the implementation of a regional capacity building plan in order to support the development of local partners in key skills.
• Contribute to the setting -up of a local branch.

Requirements:

• Deep knowledge of the international development and humanitarian aid sector; previous experience with faith-based organizations is an asset;
• Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Political and Social Sciences or related fields; an advanced degree preferred;
• Academic training or specialized coursework in Project Cycle Management or equivalent professional experience;
• 4+ years of experience, preferably with NGOs or similar organizations working in PMC, including financial planning and management;
• Experience in capacity strengthening and grants writing;
• Experience of work in the African continent;
• Knowledge of Theory of Change;
• Language Skills: Excellent knowledge of English and French; knowledge of other languages is an asset (e.g. Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, etc.);
• IT skills to manage office and remote teams (MS office, videoconferencing).
• Computer literacy in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.