Project Administrator At Iita - International Institute Of Tropical Agriculture

Duties

Program-Wide Administrative Leadership:

• Provide overall administrative and operational coordination for I-Youth 2.0 across Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
• Develop and maintain a Program-wide administrative framework that supports implementation across the three countries.
• Coordinate administrative requirements arising from the Program work plan, ensuring that operational needs are identified and addressed ahead of implementation.
• Establish and maintain administrative trackers, calendars, workflow systems, and follow-up mechanisms for the three-country program.
• Coordinate administrative inputs from the country teams and ensure timely submission, processing, and follow-up of Program requirements.
• Monitor the status of key administrative actions across Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone and escalate delays, bottlenecks, and operational risks to the Country Coordinator and relevant Program management.
• Provide administrative guidance to country teams and ensure consistency in the application of relevant institutional and Program procedures.

Coordination with Country Teams:

• Serve as the central administrative link between the Program management team and administrative/project support personnel in Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
• Coordinate and consolidate country-level administrative requirements and provide regular updates to Program management.
• Support Country Coordinators in planning and sequencing administrative requirements for Program activities.
• Ensure that country teams initiate administrative processes in accordance with agreed implementation timelines.
• Facilitate the resolution of cross-country administrative issues that require coordination with IITA's institutional support units.
• Promote consistent administrative practices and documentation standards across the three countries.
• Maintain a consolidated view of Program-wide administrative priorities, outstanding actions, and deadlines.

Planning and Operational Coordination:

• Translate the approved Program work plan and activity schedules into corresponding administrative and operational requirements.
• Coordinate the preparation of administrative action plans for major Program activities across the three countries.
• Monitor administrative readiness for trainings, workshops, field missions, stakeholder engagements, meetings, and other Program activities.
• Anticipate operational requirements, proactively initiate follow-up with responsible teams, and support units.
• Coordinate administrative arrangements for Program start-up, implementation reviews, donor engagements, missions, and Program closeout activities.
• Develop and maintain Program-wide administrative calendars to facilitate the timely delivery of activities.
• Identify operational constraints and recommend practical solutions to Program management.

Procurement and Contract Administration Coordination:

• Coordinate with the Procurement Officer and technical teams to ensure that procurement requirements arising from Program activities are identified and communicated in a timely manner.
• Track the administrative status and timelines of procurement-related actions and follow up on outstanding requirements with the responsible officers.
• Coordinate the administrative documentation required to facilitate procurement and contracting processes.
• Maintain appropriate records of procurement-related administrative correspondence and supporting documentation.
• Work with the Procurement Officer to ensure that procurement-related actions are aligned with Program implementation timelines.
• Escalate procurement-related delays or operational bottlenecks that may affect Program implementation to the appropriate Program management level.
• Coordinate the administrative aspects of consultant and service-provider engagements while leaving procurement decisions, vendor selection, and procurement compliance to the Procurement Officer.
• Financial and Administrative Coordination
• Work closely with the Project Accountant to coordinate the administrative requirements associated with Program budgets, activities, commitments, and expenditures across the three countries.
• Ensure that administrative documentation required for payments, advances, retirements, and other financial processes is prepared and submitted in a timely manner.
• Track the administrative status of payment requests, advances, retirements, and other operational financial processes and follow up with responsible units.
• Provide the Project Accountant and Program management with relevant administrative information required for financial planning and reporting.
• Coordinate administrative inputs required for country and consolidated Program financial reporting.
• Maintain appropriate records supporting administrative and financial processes.
• Flag administrative issues that may affect timely expenditure or Program implementation.

Travel, Meetings, Events, and Program Logistics:

• Lead the coordination of Program-wide administrative arrangements for meetings, trainings, workshops, field missions, conferences, stakeholder engagements, and other events across the three countries.
• Coordinate local and international travel arrangements for Program staff, consultants, partners, and other authorized participants.
• Coordinate flights, accommodation, transportation, visa support, and other travel documentation in collaboration with the relevant IITA support functions.
• Develop administrative and logistical plans for major Program events and missions.
• Coordinate logistical requirements for donor, partner, and senior management visits across Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
• Ensure that country teams receive timely guidance and support for Program events and missions.
• Maintain records of Program travel, meetings, missions, and major events.

Institutional Coordination and Compliance:

• Serve as the central administrative interface between I-Youth 2.0 and relevant IITA institutional support units.
• Coordinate with Finance, Procurement, Human Resources, Travel, ICT, Legal, and other institutional functions to facilitate the timely delivery of Program requirements.
• Ensure that Program administrative processes are consistent with IITA policies, donor requirements, and approved Program procedures.
• Communicate relevant institutional procedures and administrative requirements to country teams.
• Monitor compliance with administrative requirements and escalate significant issues to Program management.
• Coordinate responses to administrative reviews, audits, and other requests for Program documentation.
• Ensure that required administrative records are complete, accurate, and readily available for audit and review.

Program Records and Documentation:

• Establish and maintain a central Program administrative records management system covering Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
• Ensure consistent filing and documentation standards across the three countries.
• Maintain Program-level records relating to contracts, correspondence, approvals, travel, meetings, events, administrative processes, and other operational documentation.
• Coordinate with country teams to ensure timely submission and proper filing of country-level administrative records.
• Maintain an up-to-date repository of key Program administrative documents.
• Ensure that records are appropriately maintained in accordance with IITA and donor requirements.

Management Reporting and Risk Monitoring:

• Prepare regular updates for Program management on the status of administrative activities across Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
• Maintain consolidated administrative action trackers and provide periodic status reports to the Country Coordinator.
• Track outstanding administrative actions arising from Program management meetings and ensure timely follow-up.
• Identify recurring administrative challenges across countries and recommend improvements to Program management.
• Monitor administrative and operational risks and ensure that significant issues are promptly escalated.
• Contribute administrative information to Program progress reports, annual workplans, reviews, audits, and donor reports.

Administrative Systems and Continuous Improvement:

• Develop and maintain tools, templates, procedures, and standard administrative practices to improve Program efficiency.
• Identify opportunities to streamline administrative processes across the three countries.
• Promote harmonization of administrative practices while taking into account legitimate country-specific institutional requirements.
• Document administrative lessons and good practices for application across the Program.
• Perform any other administrative duties assigned by the Supervisor.

Requirements

• Master's Degree in business administration, Public Administration, Secretariat Administration, Management Sciences, Accounting, Economics, Social Sciences, or related discipline.
• A minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience in project administration, office management, or program support within a reputable organization is required.

Competencies

The ideal candidate must have:

• Experience supporting donor-funded development projects or international organizations.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating project logistics, procurement processes, travel arrangements, and administrative operations.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams and managing multiple assignments simultaneously.
• Good understanding of administrative, financial and procurement procedures within development programs.
• Excellent organizational and administrative skills.
• Strong planning and coordination abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills.
• High attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
• Sound problem-solving and analytical skills.
• High level of integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and virtual collaboration tools.

Benefits

• We offer highly competitive salary with equally attractive benefits and excellent working conditions in a pleasant campus environment.