Department/Program

Mastercard Foundation Accelerating Impact for Young Women in partnership with BRAC (AIM)

Program Officer, AIM

NB: Reserved for females only

Location ( 5 per district)

Upper West Region (Lawra, Wa west, Wa Municipal Jirapa, Nadowli)

Reporting to

Branch Manager, AIM

Level/Grade

ORGANISATION RELATIONSHIPS:

Number of persons Supervised (including the name of the positions):

Average 3-4 Mentors, 1-3 Schools (including its teachers, PTA/SMCs etc.)

Supervision received by: (Name of the position)

Branch Manager, AIM

ABOUT THE AIM PROGRAMME

The Mastercard Foundation Accelerating Impact for Young Women (AIM) in Partnership with BRAC is equipping 2 million adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) with age-appropriate entrepreneurship, employability, and life-skills training, as well as the tools to start and scale their own businesses. The nine-year program (2021-2030) applies BRAC’s proven model using microfinance, youth empowerment, agriculture, education and skills development to improve lives and livelihoods. It currently operates in seven African countries: Sierra Leone, Liberia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Kenya. Based on the AGYW age, needs, and circumstances, AGYW are placed on one of two pathways in the AIM program: an education pathway or a livelihood pathway.

Reporting to the AIM Branch Manager, the Program Officer (PO) will be responsible for the overall implementation of direct field-level programme activities for the three programmatic pillars: Social & Economic Empowerment (Livelihood & Education pathways), Enabling Environment for AGYW. The PO will lead the participant selection process and set-up of the clubs. She will also be in-charge of the day-to-day management and supervision of the clubs and will supervise and follow-up on all mentor activities. The PO will also be responsible for conducting mentor training, asset purchase and distribution, selecting participants to the AIM education pathways, working with schools, and follow-up of school-related activities. She will keep all related programme documents, prepare programmatic data, and other required reports. The role will keep close working relations with regional technical persons, BRAC microfinance counterparts, and key community stakeholders.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Implementation Support

Social Empowerment Pillar

Lead the AIM program community-level inception activities, including community and participant selection, club selection and setup, club launching, participant enrolment activities, mentor selection, training and onboarding, community mobilization, linkage services, and value chain mapping.

Lead the implementation and supervision of activities in assigned clubs as per program design, activity plan, and budget

Conduct household (HH) and other surveys, as per programme requirement

Form and manage AIM safe spaces/clubs as per programme target in selected communities

Ensure achievement of club-level program targets as per implementation guideline and report any operational/management issues to AIM-BM

Follow-up closely with participants to minimize attrition and prepare monthly attendance reports and bi-monthly drop-out reports

Ensure manual and digital attendance collection by the mentors

AIM Livelihoods Pathway

Conduct participant-wise livelihood option selection, organize livelihood technical training, entrepreneurship training and other need base training/refreshers

Provide enterprise development support, and coordinate all market development and facilitation activities in the community

Ensure assets/inputs transfer and other livelihood-related activities

Conduct participant follow-up through initial/immediate home visits after receiving livelihood assets, home visits, and group visits to ensure the asset safety and growth, increase household income, and confidence building

Collect the livelihood shared cost portion installments from the livelihood participants and deposit them accordingly to the branch office.

Form and follow-up VSLAs to create a savings culture to the participants and to serve few other programme activities by leveraging this platform based on the programme design.

Help with conditional cash transfers of assets and cost recovery of such assets

Ensure a minimum 80% of transition to formal microfinance institutions for AIM livelihood participants

Education Pathway

Select participants for AIM - Education, mobilize, and support the set-up of a peer mentor study circle.

Ensure education-related support to the eligible participants

Support and follow-up activities of ongoing peer-mentor study circle

Support with distribution or provision of school-related costs (in-kind or cash) and monitoring use of resources, as well as school attendance of AIM education participants

Support in creating linkages between enabling environment activities and school management activities

Support identifying out of school very young adolescent (VYAs) & adolescent girls (AGs) who are interested in completing their education

Support in conducting household (HH) and other surveys, as per programme requirement

Enabling Environment Pillar

Formation of the youth development committee (YDC), training, meetings and other community-level activities/meetings as per programme design.

Conduct local level service providers mapping and support Branch managers to establish a rapport with relevant service providers mapped.

Support in GBV and SRH referrals and other relevant referrals of AGYW to relevant service providers.

Support to ensure gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) related activities.

Support in identifying AIM youth and mobilising for AIM community dialogues and action planning.

Procurement, Coordination and Supervisory Support

Select, train, and supervise AIM club mentors and ensure continued follow-up coaching and mentoring for their capacity improvement

Help to ensure all branch level procurement and logistics and supply and keep all programme related documents, files, and registers as per design.

Support with the school improvement planning and execution, follow-up of teacher development activities, and supervision of school-related activities.

Manage and strengthen management information system (MIS), program/management data collection, and reporting through manual and digital (BInsight) platforms.

Ensure internal monitoring within the programme to assess the quality-of-service delivery, data collection and integrity, and documentation in the clubs.

Ensure appropriate, timely and accurate data collection against agreed indicators to enable both consolidation of branch internal and external reports.

Attend monthly coordination meetings organized at the branch level and provide updates on club activities, flagging any issues needing attention from the branch/area manager.

Ensure cash flow by submitting cash requisition timely for smooth day-to-day project activities

Prepare and input quality programme data using both relevant manual and the digital programme management information system (BInsight MIS)

Prepare financial and other reports, as needed, and submit it in time

Safeguarding Responsibilities

Ensure the safety of team members from harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation to achieve the project goals on safeguarding implementation. Act as a key source of support, guidance, and expertise on safeguarding to establish a safe working environment.

Practice, promote, and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action.

MAJOR CHALLENGES

Participant dropout, internal migration, natural disasters or calamities, unwillingness of project participants and/or key stakeholders, challenging school environments, poor market system, hard-to-reach communities.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)

Quality survey conduction, smooth club operation and group formation with enrolled participants number, quality mentors’ selection and training, livelihood and education support to the eligible participants, YDC formation and meetings and linkages with SMCs, VSLA formation and meetings, asset transfer and follow up to participants, effective implementation of the AIM cost recovery, MF transition, job placement for participants seeking wage employment, completion of atleast secondary school by select AIM participants, increase household income, market access and linkages for participants, quality MIS data in manual and digital (BInsight) platforms.

DECISION MAKING

Decision taken independently: Prepare club meetings schedule, select training venue, potential youths for training and other regular project activities.

Decision referred to the Supervisor: Change club meeting date, include or exclude club members, mentors change and any other AIM programme changes

RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER ROLES

Within the Programme or Department (position names): MF counterpart (e.g. MF credit officer), Accounts & Finance and Technical officers

Outside the Programme or Department (Programme & position names): HR, MEAL team and local elites.

WHO DOES PERFORMANCE REVIEWS FOR THIS ROLE?

Branch Manager, AIM

ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES?

Banking, Procurement and other need-based activities.

BUDGET under this POSITION: [Budget holds/provided to spend for the project or programme or the signing authority of the position (If any)]

Not Applicable

NUMBER OF REPORTEES

Direct: 3-4 Mentors, 1-3 Schools (including its teachers, PTA/SMCs etc.)

Indirect: N/A

EXPERIENCE (Including sector/industry)

Graduate Degree or Post-secondary Diploma in Development Studies

At least 2 years of experience in the national/international development sector, including experience working with marginalized communities to implement community development programs, including education, microfinance, livelihood, agricultural and food security, and/or girl’s, women’s empowerment programs and other related programmes/projects

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

Ability to spend extended periods of time in the field and travel within the country

Computer literacy and Proficient in using mobile devices, and computers, particularly with Microsoft Office

Experience in use of digital reporting and/or survey platforms (e.g. KoBo, Google forms, SurveyMonkey, CommCare, SurveyCTO etc) are preferable.

Strong sense of teamwork and collaboration and demonstrated ability to build relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds

Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and dedication to the mission of BRAC

Strong sense of teamwork and collaboration and demonstrated ability to build relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds

Community mobilization skills, including good communication and facilitation skills.

Local Language

Ability to speak the local languages in the Upper West Region: Dagari, Waale

SPECIFIC EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION

Degree: Graduate or Diploma

Concentration / Major: Development Studies, Social Work, Community development, Gender and Development, Education and other related subjects

PROFESSIONAL DEGREE / CERTIFICATION

Qualified and interested applicants should submit their application torecruitment.ghana@brac.net stating the job title and the preferred location in the email subject.

Qualified and interested female candidates in the Upper West Region and Central Regionof Ghana are encouraged to apply and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Program Officer, Aim

Key skills

At a glance