COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FACILITATORS
LOCATION : PAMPAIDA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA
APPLICATION DEADLINE : 08-DEC-09
ADDITIONAL CATEGORY MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
TYPE OF CONTRACT : UNV
LANGUAGES REQUIRED : ENGLISH
STARTING DATE :
(DATE WHEN THE SELECTED CANDITATE IS EXPECTED TO START)25-JAN-2010 DURATION OF INITIAL CONTRACT :ONE YEAR
BACKGROUND
THE UNITED NATIONS VOLUNTEERS (UNV) PROGRAMME IS THE UN ORGANIZATION THAT PROMOTES VOLUNTEERISM TO SUPPORT PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT WORLDWIDE. VOLUNTEERISM CAN TRANSFORM THE PACE AND NATURE OF DEVELOPMENT, AND IT BENEFITS BOTH SOCIETY AT LARGE AND THE INDIVIDUAL VOLUNTEER. UNV CONTRIBUTES TO PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT BY ADVOCATING FOR VOLUNTEERISM GLOBALLY, ENCOURAGING PARTNERS TO INTEGRATE VOLUNTEERISM INTO DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMING, AND MOBILIZING VOLUNTEERS.
IN MOST CULTURES VOLUNTEERISM IS DEEPLY EMBEDDED IN LONG-ESTABLISHED, ANCIENT TRADITIONS OF SHARING AND SUPPORT WITHIN THE COMMUNITIES. IN THIS CONTEXT, UNV VOLUNTEERS TAKE PART IN VARIOUS FORMS OF VOLUNTEERISM AND PLAY A ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE TOGETHER WITH CO-WORKERS, HOST AGENCIES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
IN ALL ASSIGNMENTS, UNV VOLUNTEERS PROMOTE VOLUNTEERISM THROUGH THEIR ACTION AND CONDUCT. ENGAGING IN VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY CAN EFFECTIVELY AND POSITIVELY ENRICH THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF LOCAL AND SOCIAL REALITIES, AS WELL AS CREATE A BRIDGE BETWEEN THEMSELVES AND THE PEOPLE IN THEIR HOST COMMUNITY. THIS WILL MAKE THE TIME THEY SPEND AS UNV VOLUNTEERS EVEN MORE REWARDING AND PRODUCTIVE.
BRIEF PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
THE MILLENNIUM VILLAGES PROJECT, SUPPORTED BY THE EARTH INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, THE UN MILLENNIUM PROJECT, AND MILLENNIUM PROMISE IS A NEW BOTTOM-UP APPROACH TO LIFT DEVELOPING COUNTRY VILLAGES OUT OF THE POVERTY TRAP THAT AFFLICTS MORE THAN A BILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE.
THE MILLENNIUM VILLAGES’ TEAM OF EXPERTS IN AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION AND HEALTH, ECONOMICS, ENERGY, WATER, ENVIRONMENT AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ARE WORKING WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND GOVERNMENTS TO APPLY A PROVEN HOLISTIC PACKAGE OF INTERVENTIONS TO HELP VILLAGES GET OUT OF EXTREME POVERTY AND MEET THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS).
THE MILLENNIUM VILLAGES PROJECT IS A DEX PROJECT MANAGED BY UNDP, WITH A PROJECT TEAM IN THE FIELD. THE PROJECT TEAM IS HEADED BY A TEAM LEADER AND HAS SEPARATE COORDINATORS FOR AGRICULTURE, EDUCATION, HEALTH, INFRASTRUCTURE AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FACILITATORS WILL REPORT TO THE OPERATIONS MANAGER WHO REPORTS TO THE PROJECT MANAGER.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
UNDER THE DIRECT SUPERVISION OF THE OPERATIONS MANAGER, THE UNV VOLUNTEER WILL UNDERTAKE THE FOLLOWING TASKS:
• MOBILIZE VILLAGE COMMITTEE TO IDENTIFY PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS AS WELL AS FACILITATE THEIR PARTICIPATION TOWARDS PROJECT OWNERSHIP
• (PLAN, IMPLEMENT, MONITOR AND EVALUATE) TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR COMMITTEES ACROSS SECTOR AREAS OF AGRIC, HEALTH, EDUCATION, WATER & SANITATION TOGETHER WITH SECTOR SPECIFIC FACILITATORS AND; COORDINATE TRAININGS FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN LEADERSHIPS, DECISION-MAKING, ORGANIZATIONAL AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS FOR DEVELOPMENT
• COORDINATE (PLAN, IMPLEMENT, MONITOR, AND EVALUATE) STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PROGRAMMES FOR BOTH KEY PROJECT MESSAGES AND BEHAVIOUR CHANGE NECESSARY AS TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO COMMUNITY BASED COMMITTEE, SO AS TO STRENGTH THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF THE PROJECT
• DEVELOP APPROPRIATE FOLLOW-UP TOOLS AND ORGANIZE FOLLOW – UPS TO ENSURE SMOOTH PROGRESS OF ACTIVITIES.
• MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRESS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY
• PROMOTE HIGH LEVEL OF COLLABORATION, COMMUNICATION AND CO-OPERATION WITH GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS AND ACTOR IN THE COMMUNITY.
• FACILITATE IDENTIFICATION OF APPROPRIATE INTERVENTION AND DEVELOP CAPACITY IN THE COMMUNITY TO WRITE PROPOSALS FOR PRESENTATION TO DONORS FOR FUNDING AND ENSURE CONTINUITY OF EXISTING PROJECT
• CARRY OUT ANY OTHER RELEVANT DUTIES THAT MAY BE ASSIGNED BY THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & GENDER SPECIALIST.
FURTHERMORE, UNV VOLUNTEERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO:
• STRENGTHEN THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPT OF VOLUNTEERISM BY READING RELEVANT UNV AND EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS AND TAKE ACTIVE PART IN UNV ACTIVITIES (FOR INSTANCE IN EVENTS THAT MARK IVD);
• BE ACQUAINTED WITH AND BUILD ON TRADITIONAL AND/OR LOCAL FORMS OF VOLUNTEERISM IN THE HOST COUNTRY;
• REFLECT ON THE TYPE AND QUALITY OF VOLUNTARY ACTION THAT THEY ARE UNDERTAKING, INCLUDING PARTICIPATION IN ONGOING REFLECTION ACTIVITIES;
• CONTRIBUTE ARTICLES/WRITE-UPS ON FIELD EXPERIENCES AND SUBMIT THEM FOR UNV PUBLICATIONS/WEBSITES, NEWSLETTERS, PRESS RELEASES, ETC.;
• ASSIST WITH THE UNV BUDDY PROGRAMME FOR NEWLY-ARRIVED UNV VOLUNTEERS;
• PROMOTE OR ADVISE LOCAL GROUPS IN THE USE OF ONLINE VOLUNTEERING, OR ENCOURAGE RELEVANT LOCAL INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS TO USE THE UNV ONLINE VOLUNTEERING SERVICE WHENEVER TECHNICALLY POSSIBLE.
RESULTS/EXPECTED OUTPUT:
• THE KEY RESULTS FROM THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FACILITATOR ACTIVITIES ARE TO PROMOTE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INTERVENTIONS NEEDED TO ACHIEVE THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS) AT THE VILLAGE LEVEL. ENHANCE UNDP NIGERIA BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT POTENTIALS AND THE REPUTATION OF THE ORGANIZATION WITH ITS KEY STAKEHOLDERS. IN PARTICULAR, THE KEY RESULTS HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF UN MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AND ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MILLENNIUM GOALS POLICY, AS WELL AS REACHING RESOURCE MOBILIZATION TARGETS.
• A FINAL STATEMENT OF ACHIEVEMENTS TOWARDS VOLUNTEERISM FOR DEVELOPMENT DURING YOUR ASSIGNMENT, SUCH AS REPORTING ON THE NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS MOBILIZED, ACTIVITIES PARTICIPATED IN AND CAPACITIES DEVELOPED.
COMPETENCIES
THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FACILITATOR MUST POSSESS THE FOLLOWING COMPETENCIES:
• DEMONSTRATES INTEGRITY BY MODELING THE UN’S VALUES AND ETHICAL STANDARDS.
• DEMONSTRATES COMMITMENT TO UNDP’S MISSION, VISION AND VALUES.
• DEMONSTRATES UNDERSTANDING AND COMMITMENT TO THE UN MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDG’S)
• DISPLAYS CULTURAL, GENDER, RELIGION, RACE, NATIONALITY AND AGE SENSITIVITY AND ADAPTABILITY.
• TREATS ALL PEOPLE FAIRLY WITHOUT FAVORITISM.
• AN EXCELLENT SENSE OF JUDGMENT.
• CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION FOR COORDINATION AND MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES;
• STRATEGIC VISION: STRONG TECHNICAL AND ANALYTICAL CAPACITIES, SOUND JUDGMENT.
• EXCELLENT ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS AND ABILITY TO HANDLE MULTIPLE TASKS EFFECTIVELY.
• DEPENDABILITY, RELIABILITY AND INITIATIVE.
• SENSE OF CONFIDENTIALITY.
REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
• BACHELORS’ DEGREE OR EQUIVALENT IN COMMUNITY HEALTH, SOCIAL WORKS, AGRIC AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT, SOCIOLOGY OR RELATED FIELD.
• DEMONSTRATE ABILITY TO WORK AND MOBILIZE COMMUNITIES TO IMPLEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
• ABILITY TO WORK WITH MINIMUM SUPERVISION
• HAVE GOOD INTERPERSONAL AND ORGANIZATION SKILLS.
• FLUENCY IN ENGLISH AND HAUSA LANGUAGES ARE ESSENTIAL.
• MUST HAVE INTERPERSONAL, ORGANIZATION AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS
• MUST BE A TEAM PLAYER
• AT LEAST 2-3 YEARS EXPERIENCE AS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AGENT IN AN AFRICAN VILLAGE SITUATION IN REPUTABLE ORGANIZATIONS AND NGOS PARTICULARLY IN NORTHERN NIGERIA
• MUST POSSESS AND APPLY DEPTH AND BREADTH OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE TO MEET JOB DEMANDS.
• POSSESS THE ABILITY AND TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE TO USE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVELY AS A TOOL AND A RESOURCE.
• DEMONSTRATED ABILITY TO SUCCESSFULLY CONDUCT RESEARCH AND MANAGE PROJECTS IN REMOTE RURAL LOCATION WITH MINIMUM SUPERVISION.
