Capacity Building Leader - International Relief & Development - Kandahar, Afghanistan

Location: Kandahar, Afghanistan
FLSA: Exempt
Core Sectors: Community Stabilization
Classification: Regular Full-time


Summary:

IRD is seeking a Capacity Building Manager with experience working with public sector and community development institutions in post-conflict environments.  This manager will lead the design, development and delivery of capacity building training programs for Stability in Key Areas (SIKA)-South, a major USAID funded program in Kandahar, Afghanistan. 

Training methodologies should include project activities and learning by doing (training events). 

The Stability in Key Areas (SIKA) – South program headquartered from Kandahar, Afghanistan.  SIKA – South promotes stabilization in key districts by coordinating the implementation of community-led development and governance initiatives.  The program will improve service delivery and build people’s confidence in government.  .  Stakeholders  include Afghan project staff from the key districts, GIRoA counterparts, principally the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Rural Development (MRRD) at the provincial level, and district level entities, such as Community Development Committees (CDC) and District Development Assemblies (DDA). 

This is an 18 month program, with an additional 18 month option period

This program will enable provincial and district entities to do the following:

·        Address sources of instability and take measures to respond to people’s development and governance concerns.

·         Identify organizations and provincial line departments in their areas, the services they provide, and how the population can access those services.

·        Improve their ability to communicate with district entities to help them better understand their population’s needs and prioritize basic service delivery interventions.

·        Improve basic service delivery by working with and through district entities while building their capacity to plan, design, implement and monitor projects, with a focus on labor-intensive activities or productive infrastructure.

 

Specific Job Functions:  

• Manage a team of four to six Afghan Capacity Building Officers. 
• Prepare and deliver capacity building programs to strengthen the procedural, organizational, and institutional capabilities of target groups, including SIKA – South Afghan national staff, implementing partners, and GIRoA, principally MRRD at the provincial and district levels, CDC, DDA, and other district entities through training, exposure to activities, and learning by doing (training events) to enable actors to competently execute their duties and tasks.
• Initiate and lead the Training Needs Assessment (TNA) to systematically diagnose the requirements of SIKA – South stakeholders and develop adequate training responses to the needs of the target groups to enable the project to achieve its goals and objectives.
• Coordinate with the SIKA – South technical supervisors and outside consultants to identify and contract with a variety of training providers and specialists with strong knowledge of the local context and circumstances and required local language skills. 
• Organize internal workshops and coordinate meetings with project target groups, including SIKA – South supervisors (project administrators, engineers, HR, IT, procurement, finance, etc.) and implementing partner organizations to gather input on opportunities for capacity building within their technical area. 
• Work with the project team, outside experts and consultants to identify and contract with a variety of training providers and specialists with strong knowledge of the local context and circumstances and required local language skills.
• Write the Terms of Reference (ToR) with deliverables and budgets for training providers and specialists; supervise and contribute to the technical development of training courses and modules to ensure strong emphasis on learning by doing; assign tasks and supervise the organization, development, and implementation of training events.
• Lead development of an Operational Implementation Plan that meet the requirements of the SIKA – South project timeline, budget, and intermediate results; ensure the relevant target groups and potential participants are informed of and prepared for learning by doing activities, training events, and workshops.
• Strongly coordinate with the M&E unit and technical sector supervisors (engineers, environmental specialists, HR/administrative, IT, finance, etc.) to access the quality and the impact of the training events based on the TOR; identify and incorporate lessons learned to improve training quality over the life of the project.

 

 

Essential Job Functions:

• Manage a team of four to six Afghan Capacity Building Officers
• Develop and manage a Capacity Building unit budget and timeline in coordination with the Intermediate Result Team Leader/DCOP/COP
• Manage the financial affairs of all training programs, training providers and specialists
• Manage all Capacity Building unit project files, data, and reports
• Initiate and lead the Training Needs Assessment (TNA)
• Develop all Terms of Reference (TOR) for contract training providers and specialists, assign tasks and supervise their work
• Manage implementation of all training events and workshops; oversee and contribute to the technical development of all training courses and education modules
• Coordinate the different phases of the training cycle
• Link all capacity building activities to the phases of the program implementation cycle
• Collaborate with the M&E unit on the development of Capacity Building unit outputs, outcomes, and impact indicators
• Develop standards and procedures to assure the suitability, effectiveness, and quality of Capacity Building unit activities; prepare a Capacity Building Quality Control Plan, train staff in its use, and manage its implementation throughout all steps in the capacity building cycle
• Other duties as assigned

Required Skills & Experience:

•  Proven experience in developing and implementing training, on-the-job training, “training the trainer” and development program
•         Demonstrated experience applying adult training principles and experiential training methodologies
•         Minimum 5 years of experience working on training and development programs with public sector and community development institutions, preferably in post-conflict environments.
•         Fluency in English (knowledge of Pashto a plus).

Success Factors:

• Excellent communication and organizational skills;
• Strong leadership skills;
• Ability to coordinate and lead team members;
• Excellent interpersonal skill, including patience, diplomacy, willingness to listen and respect for colleagues. Must be capable of working both individually and as part of a team;
• Ability to analyze and propose solutions to problems;
• Ability to work independently and as part of a group;
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and changing environment.

Travel Requirements:

• Up to 30%.

Physical Requirements:

All IRD personnel who work in Afghanistan must be physically able: (i) to function for extended periods of time wearing personal protective body armor weighing approximately 35 pounds and a helmet weighing approximately 5 pounds; (ii) to walk comfortably over rough terrain; and (iii) to ascend up to six flights of stairs on a daily basis.  Candidates will be required to provide medical certification to IRD's satisfaction of the absence of any conditions that might impair a candidate's ability to meet these requirements.

Apply Online