Local project assistant at Expertise France

Local project assistant (M/W)

Département Santé - DEPSAN > Pôle Renforcement des systèmes de santé

Published on : 11/04/2024

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA RWANDA KIGALI

Mission description

The Project Assistant, based at Expertise France's offices in Kigali and reporting to the Project Manager, contributes to the organization and implementation of project activities alongside the field and headquarters project team. 

Project activities mainly concern the organization of training courses, seminars and field missions. The number of partners requires rigorous organization of logistics for field missions (contact with experts, beneficiary administrations, service providers, travel agencies, etc.). The large number of organized activities requires a high level of anticipation, reaction and proactivity, as well as excellent interpersonal skills.

In particular, the Project Assistant will be responsible for the following tasks:

Logistical management of activities:

In coordination with the project manager and local partners, anticipate the steps required for the programming, organization and smooth running of missions: transport, accommodation, visa applications, mission orders, health and safety requirements, etc; 
Collect supporting documents for archiving and auditing (hotel invoices, vehicle rental, etc. / boarding passes / signed attendance lists / mission reports....);
Assist the Project Coordinator in organizing events (seminars, workshops, training courses) linked to project activities: send out invitations and draw up lists of participants, prepare supplies and equipment needed for the smooth running of activities.

Administrative and budgetary management (in coordination with the project manager and head office)

• Facilitate the contractualization of expertise and purchasing contracts, in liaison with the project team at head office.
• Ensure payment for contracted services
• Carry out administrative and secretarial tasks in support of the project's general organization: update project schedules, format documents, maintain files of partners and third-party contacts, follow up by telephone, manage correspondence, and any other tasks as required (organize meetings, make appointments).
• Participate in the preparation of half-yearly technical and financial reports;
• Implement and monitor the administrative and financial management of the project, in liaison with the project manager in Paris;
• Monitor and implement procurement procedures, in liaison with the project manager;
• Support the preparation and payment of mission expense reimbursements for missionaries (experts, employees);
• Ensure, in coordination with the project manager and the head office team, accounting/treasury follow-up;
• Participate in budget planning exercises with the project manager, and contribute to the planning, optimization and monitoring of activity costs;
• Contribute to the preparation of audits, in coordination with the project manager and head office;
• Ensure archiving of project documents and vouchers for audit purposes.

Project or context description

Rwanda's National Strategic Plan for the health sector (2018 - 2024), which has been defined by the Ministry of Health, aims to improve four key sectors identified for health development by 2024:

• Increasing sustainable social protection;
• Extending access to essential health services to combat communicable and non-communicable diseases;
• Strengthening healthcare systems;
• Strengthening health safety and the resilience of the healthcare system.

In addition to this strategic plan, there is a programme to train human resources in the health sector, which provides for the training of around 6,000 medical and paramedical professionals over 10 years (to 2028).

In June 2021, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning submitted a request to the French Development Agency (AFD) to provide fund for the first phase of a project to rebuild the Ruhengeri Hospital. The hospital's current capacity is 320 beds, and the aim of the project is to build a modern 600-bed structure to offer a wide range of activities: medical imaging, outpatient consultations (dentistry, surgery, maternity and neonatology, physiotherapy, paediatrics and ENT), inpatient services and patient rooms, emergency services, gynaecology and obstetrics, intensive care, infection prevention and control services.

The hospital in Ruhengeri, capital of the Musanze district, is a referral hospital for the population of the North and part of the population of the Western Province. The hospital also receives patients from the Democratic Republic of Congo, as it is located close to the border. The recruitment base in Ruhengeri hospital is substantial, and there is a growing need for health services, especially specialists in health services.

Following AFD's identification mission in February 2022, the authorities validated the opportunity to support the Rwandan authorities in this project. This support will take the form of a loan dedicated to the rehabilitation of the hospital.

In addition to the loan to rehabilitate the Ruhengeri hospital, AFD is providing financing to improve access to quality healthcare throughout the country. Within this framework, Expertise France has been granted funding of €4 million to implement a project to strengthen human resources in the health sector in Rwanda and to build the capacity of the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC), with particular emphasis on project management for the Ruhengeri hospital.

The RBC, created in 2011, is Rwanda's central health implementation agency, one of whose missions is to manage hospital investment projects.

The Project:

The general objective of the project is to improve access to healthcare for the population of Rwanda, and specifically in the Northern Province.

The project consists of two parts:

• Component 1: Improving the availability and quality of human health resources in Rwanda, particularly in Musanze province

This component involves strengthening the priority medical and paramedical specialities identified by the Rwandan authorities in Kigali and Musanze, as well as strengthening hospital management functions.

• Component 2: Strengthening the capacity of RBC in its function as contracting authority for hospital investment projects and supporting it in managing work on the Ruhengeri hospital (Musanze district).

The aim here is to strengthen the various hospital engineering professions through training, but also to support the RBC in its mission to act as project manager for the rehabilitation of the Ruhengeri hospital and to assist the Rwandan authorities with the opening of the hospital.

Required profile

• Degree in administration, logistics, finance, accounting or project management;
• At least 3 years' successful experience in a similar position;
• Excellent command of office automation tools, particularly Excel and Word required;
• Mastery of project management fundamentals is an asset;
• Experience of working on EU-funded cooperation projects is also an asset.

Skills 

• Rigor and organizational skills
• Ability to anticipate and be proactive;
• Ability to work independently on several tasks at once;
• Ability to communicate and work as part of a team;

Additional information

Full-time position based in Kigali with travel to the provinces, in particular Musanze.

Type of contract: Rwandan national fixed-term contract
Starting date : As soon as possible
Remuneration: according to EF salary scale and profile

Candidates interested in this opportunity are invited to submit their CV and covering letter mentioning at least 2 references before April 30, 2024. 

Expertise France reserves the right to pre-select candidates before this date.
The selection process will take place in three stages:

• First, a shortlist will be drawn up freely by Expertise France.
• Secondly, short-listed candidates may be invited to an interview. 
• hirdly, short-listed candidates may be invited to take written tests to assess their technical and linguistic skills.

Deadline for application: 30/04/2024 23:55