Project Officer: EiA Ghana - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food-secure future. 

To find out more about IITA, visit our websites at http://www.iita.org

Job Description

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) seeks to recruit a PROJECT OFFICER under the Excellence in Agronomy Initiative (EiA) - Ghana.

Duty Station: Accra, Ghana with some travel to project implementation sites

The Position

The Project Officer – EiA Ghana has the responsibility of providing project management and administrative support to the Excellence in Agronomy Regional Coordinator, to ensure effective delivery of Initiative deliverables and outcomes from the respective Use Cases.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

The Project Officer – EiA Ghana will perform the following duties, among others: 

Donor and Partner Agreement Administration 

• In liaison with the Project Lead for the Ghana Use Case with GAIP, actively participate in review of donor agreements and other amendments. 
• Participate in the development of partner contracts/sub-grants working with ABC Grant Management Team and manage these agreements. 

Accounting and Donor Reporting 

• Coordinate technical and financial report submissions from Partners and ensure timely submission to the donor. 
• Coordinate processing of financial and technical reports ensuring correctness and timely submission to the donor.  
• Work with the project team in budgeting and making reallocations as necessary. 
• On a monthly basis review transactions posted to the project cost centers to ensure correctness and accuracy. 
• Monitor the project's overall budget and various Project cost centers spending levels, making follow-up with respective budget officers as required. 
• Compile Project cash flow projections and follow up with the Alliance Finance directorate on partner and supplier disbursements.  

Partnerships and capacity building 

• Build and maintain good working relationships with all Project stakeholders. 
• Maintain partner matrices and monitor execution of planned deliverables. 
• Follow up with partners and monitor timely completion and submission of reports to the Alliance. 
• Train partners with the donor and ABC accounting, financial reporting and procurement procedures and guidelines. 
• Support linkages with other Initiatives and centers within the one CGIAR. 
• Responsible for  project risk management process working with the Station’s Risk Management Committee. 

Project Liaison and Communication 

• Liaise with the Project Team in relation to the compilation and management of the Project’s annual procurement. 
• Liaise with the Regional Communication team on emerging research highlights, stories, blogs and other social media platforms.
• Organize and coordinate Project meetings, workshops and team-building events. 
• Manage the Project fixed asset and inventory register. 
• In liaison with Project Lead and Station Administrator, participate in the recruitment of the Project staff. 
• Follow up on engagement, delivery, and subsequent payments to Project consultants. 
• Manage the Project close-out process following donor guidelines. 
• Perform any other work-related duties as may be assigned by the Excellence in Agronomy Regional Team Leader 

Required Skills or Experience

The candidate should have a Masters’ Degree in Development Studies or related disciplines, have experience in Project Management, Finance and any other related field with a minimum of five (5) years of work experience in a similar role, preferably in an international non-profit & non-governmental setting.

Core Competencies

• Proficient in using Microsoft Office products (including Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and other project management tools.
•  Must be able to work independently with minimal supervision, but also participate as a team member in the accomplishment of duties.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to maintain a timely and efficient workflow.
• A positive attitude and strong service orientation.
• Possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills, sound judgment, and a high level of respect for confidentiality.
• Experience in supervising, monitoring and mentoring other team members.
• Ability to work in a multi?cultural and multi-disciplinary environment
• Knowledge of French is required