Project Manager ChildFund Zambia

ChildFund Zambia is an International, Child Protection and Development Agency working for the well-being of children; supporting locally led initiatives that strengthen families and communities in overcoming root causes of child poverty and ensuring the protection of Children’s rights. ChildFund assists about 15.2 million children and family members in 55 countries regardless of race, creed, or gender. It is the World’s oldest child sponsorship organization.

ChildFund in partnership with We Effect, is looking for competent individuals to fill up the positions of Project Manager (1) in Lusaka for the EU-funded Lusaka Transmission Distribution Rehabilitation Project (LTDRP) – Low voltage Distribution Network: Women Empowerment and Small Enterprises Support. The project is aimed at building resilient and profitable women and youth-run businesses leveraging the power of electricity.

About the position 
The Project Manager for Women’s Economic Empowerment is a new position that will help to unlock the power of entrepreneurs and will be responsible for providing women and youth entrepreneurs and small business owners access to the financial resources they need to grow their businesses and their communities’ economies. He/she will provide strategic planning for the implementation of the Project and provide backstopping support to women and youth groups in target communities. Tasks include the development of work plans, provision of Project leadership, coordination of trainings, engagement of stakeholders, coordination of project monitoring and evaluation, project knowledge management, preparation of donor reports, and compliance with donor guidelines in project execution. The candidate should demonstrate ability to work with divergent women and youth groups from grassroots organisations and those in the informal sector.
Child Safeguarding: Remain alert and responsive to any child safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills which will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the child safeguarding policy and procedures, and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the Child Safeguarding Policy.

Responsibilities will include:

• Develop results-oriented work plans, undertake effective monitoring and supervision and provide technical assistance to their implementation and reporting on the project activities;
• Analyze reports from partners for quality control, undertake field missions, analyzing key events and changes in context and provide substantive and appropriate advice and briefs and support, sharing experiences/reflections sessions of good practices, and dissemination of lessons learned;
• Coordination and facilitation of community capacity-building trainings to bridge knowledge gaps in business management and enterprise development to women and youths groups.
• Development and coordination of project monitoring, evaluation and learning plans.
• Development of monitoring tools, methodologies and approaches which will be applied to highlight project gaps and provide guidance on responsive actions to support continuous programme improvement.
• Conducting project risk analysis and development of response mechanisms accompanied with a clear monitoring and evaluation plan.
• Support networking interventions among mobilised groups for enhanced knowledge sharing and learning.
• Establish Women and Youth groups and develop their capacity for economic empowerment
• Network with relevant Government Departments and like-minded organizations to coordinate relationships with national partners to support the implementation and expansion of Women’s Economic Empowerment.
• Engagement with stakeholders, knowledge management and reporting to donors.
• Reporting and communication of project results
  Provide Onsight leadership to the project team

Minimum Education Qualifications, Experience, and Competencies

• Bachelor’s degree in Gender Studies, Social Work, Business Management/finance, or any relevant development and project management field.
• A Master’s degree in the above disciplines is a requirement.
• Prior work experience with entrepreneurial ecosystems and community development focusing on small business financial services in developing countries
• 7+ years of work experience in a relevant field or equivalent experience
  Proven understanding of digital and cooperative financial solutions and tools that can target low-income entrepreneurs
• Experience in financial inclusion, entrepreneurism, microfinance, or access to finance preferred
• Proven ability to engage with financial service providers is an added advantage
• Deep understanding of enterprise development, marketing, and general
• Excellent interpersonal and writing skills.
• Experience in developing and testing methodologies for planning, monitoring, and learning in women’s economic empowerment and/or gender transformation.