Project Coordinator  at Cordaid

Job Title: Project Coordinator 

Organizational Unit: Rwanda Country Office 

Job's Aim: Responsible for the implementation and coordination of value chain development and value chain finance activities precisely in Coffee, tea and horticulture value chains.

Job Specification: Spends 80% of time in the implementation and coordination of project activities in Rwanda with special focus on the access to finance and spend as well 20% of time on acquisition and business development for Rwanda in collaboration with other business developers in the cluster and in Cordaid. 

Aim of the Organizational Unit: Responsible for project implementation in country Office 

Job category/Grade: Rwanda salary scale, Grade VIII.

Supervisor: Program Manager- IFAD Funded Projects.

Supervises: Staff in the country: Project officers, project consultants or relevant Cordaid project implementing partner. 

Result Areas Description

Project planning  Co-leads the Cordaid project plans into specific intended results in designated project areas and formulates an operational project plan within a country/region. Remains within budget propositions and infrastructural possibilities. Project coordination  Supports the program managers with respect to risks, stakeholders’ issues and the project team. Supports and collaborates with all project stakeholders who contributes to the success of the project deliverables, with a large amount of intercultural sensitivity. Understands partners and matches desired results and contextual factors. Stimulates progress and makes necessary adjustments to realize the project within given boundary conditions: scope, time, budget and quality. Financial management   Assists the program managers in project budgeting, forecasting, financial monitoring to ensure expenditures are in line with what has been planned for. Reports regularly on budget realization and acts proactively to comply with the budget.

Field & Partner visits

Supports the program teams to monitor project achievements, conduct field visits with partners, review field reports, analyze field data and formulate conclusions, discussion points and recommendations for all stakeholders.

Supported partners

Support program managers to Identify the need for support with partner organizations and translate this into (customized) forms of support, considering (large differences in) the background and circumstances of (individuals in) partner organizations. 

Network representation

Identify and establish contacts with organizations and explore representation for potential areas for collaboration, considering the mission statement of Cordaid and the possibilities within existing projects.

Project reports

Collects information within the project and reports about the results, impact through stories of change, as well as budget and expenditures with possible deviations following required reporting standards, while providing solutions to minimize the financial risks.

Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning  Work closely with the monitoring and evaluation team to identify project learning opportunities, research and publications and implementation of MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning) policy. Facilitates the dissemination of promising practices and lessons learned. In collaboration with the MERL team, Ensure integration of innovations and best practices. Personnel management  Leads and coaches the project team on a day-to-day basis in accordance with the management style of Cordaid, focused on productivity, the professional development of staff and employee satisfaction. Coaches staff and leaves room for professional freedom to determine how to execute the work. Builds on the strengths and talents of staff members to improve team performance. Emphasis teamwork, project-based working, and commitment. Ensures efficient use of resources and controls quality of work Integrity  Adheres to the code of conduct and integrity policies, reports concern and follows regular integrity training. This is a medium-risk position, with direct contact with vulnerable communities and regular travels. Other  Any other duties assigned by the Manager 

Knowledge, Skills, and Experiences

• Management knowledge and coaching styles, project management, managing international cooperation with local partners, country/region of the Country Office, techniques, reporting standards and languages.
• Knowledge and experience around coffee, tea and horticulture value chain financing and export markets would be an added advantage.
• Experience in coordination and leading intervention around value chain financing precisely in export value chain such as coffee, tea, and horticulture (Or one of the three) will be key.
• At least 7 years’ experience in agricultural finance focusing on smallholders & Agri-SMEs, extensive experience facilitating access to finance and working with financial institutions with practical experience of providing technical guidance /advisory on agricultural financing,
• Broad understanding of agricultural financial product development, and capacity building for financial institutions with practical experience of agricultural financing context.
• Extensive experience working with high level international and national partners including consultants, stakeholders and government institutions and officials,
• Broad understanding and knowledge of agriculture financing trends and challenges in Rwanda and in the region.
• Experience in organizing, facilitating workshops and events with high level audience,
• experience in partner identification, developing and managing relationships with partners
• At least 4 years of experience in managing professional projects and/or (sub-)offices of international organizations or companies.
• Knowledge of the project field of expertise in rural and agriculture finance.
• Social skills to agree on deliverables, ensure progress with staff and to support partners
• Behavioral values and skills: trust, accountability, problem solving, cooperation, teambuilding, negotiation, conflict management, collaboration, flexibility, creativity
• Writing skills to clearly formulate project proposals, project plan and project reports
• Knowledge of the legal framework that governs Cordaid’s operations, as required by local and national government and by major donors (EU, UN, US, Bilateral Donors)
• Knowledge of the mission statement and goals of the Cordaid project and the security policy

Core Competencies

• Quality orientation
• Organizational awareness including planning
• Negotiation skills
• Dealing with details
• Problem analysis
• Conceptual thinking
• Social awareness
• Intercultural orientation
• Managing conflict
• Coordination
• Coaching

Key Result Area:

• Financial institution capacity building
• Product development
• Capital mobilization for MFIS
• Linkage of value chain actors with value chain actors

Cordaid is fully committed to provide a safe and welcoming workplace to its employees, and to maintain respect and dignity of everyone that comes into contact with Cordaid. Therefore, Cordaid participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. For more information about Cordaid’s work on integrity https://www.cordaid.org/en/who-we-are/integrity-and-code-of-conduct/.

Applications including a motivation letter and extensive CV in English, should be submitted online; https://cordaid.hrmagic.co/careers/job?id=OTc4 by 15^th July 2024