Project Coordinator

The Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA) is a regional NGO, with country offices in Ethiopia and Somaliland. Established in 1989, PENHA combines grassroots project implementation with research and policy analysis, focusing on pastoralism, rangelands, dry forests and landscape restoration, with an emphasis on Gender and Social Inclusion. PENHA’s mission is to promote development by empowering communities and fostering sustainable and diversified livelihoods. PENHA believes in a bottom-up, participatory and people-centred approach, working in an open and collaborative way with numerous local and international partners.

PENHA is an executing agency for a new UNEP-Global Environment Facility (GEF-8)-LDCF-funded project, to be implemented in collaboration with Ethiopian Forestry Development (EFD). This initiative aims to scale up best practices from the Green Legacy Initiative, while strengthening climate resilience and the livelihoods of smallholders and vulnerable communities across six priority districts (Merti, Wenchi, Girawa, Bati, Argoba and Misha).

The Project: “Scaling up the Green Legacy Initiative best practices to enhance the climate resilience of smallholder farmers and vulnerable groups in Ethiopia” The project will build on past and ongoing investments and best practices established under the initial phases of GLI, enhancing the quality of planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting, promoting climate-resilient approaches to forest and agricultural landscape restoration, and integrating agroforestry and plantation forestry practices that reduce the vulnerability of local communities to climate impacts — including the planting of high-value seedlings, promoting and developing innovative nature-based livelihoods and value chains, and creating more green jobs for women and youth. The project will prioritize Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities and natural ecosystems to climate impacts. The project is co-executed by PENHA and Ethiopian Forestry Development, with technical support from CIFOR and the Ethiopian Meteorological Institute (EMI). Appointees will form part of a Project Management Unit, reporting to PENHA and EFD, while ensuring coordination with UNEP.

We are seeking four highly motivated and qualified professionals to fill the following key positions:

1. Project Coordinator

Position: Project Coordinator
Location: Addis Ababa
Duration: 60 months (2-year contract, renewable for another 2-3 years based on performance)
Reporting to: PENHA & EFD

The Role: Lead project implementation, ensuring technical excellence in landscape restoration and resilient livelihoods while managing stakeholder engagement and financial compliance. In this key post, the Project Coordinator will work closely with PENHA’s Regional Programmes Coordinator. The Project Coordinator will be primarily responsible for project management activities, with a broad set of responsibilities, encompassing project planning and implementation, the provision of technical inputs and quality assurance. The Project Coordinator will lead the PMU and work directly with project partners and stakeholders.

Responsibilities:

Project Planning and Implementation:

• Lead and coordinate the implementation of the project in accordance with GoE, GEF, and UNEP policies and guidelines, ensuring the achievement of all objectives, outputs, and outcomes.
• Develop and regularly update detailed work plans, budgets, and monitoring frameworks in coordination with project stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance with the terms of the Project Cooperation Agreement, including compliance by all the Project Management Unit members.
• Facilitate stakeholder engagement, including national and local government authorities, private sector actors, research institutions, and local communities.
• Component 1: Oversee and provide technical inputs to capacity building and institutional coordination, including training programmes, strengthening of multistakeholder platforms, and establishment of adaptation finance mechanisms and climate information services. Key deliverables are presented below:

Technical Inputs and Key Deliverables Related to Project Components:

• Technical inputs and review for the development and delivery of training materials and capacity-building modules on EbA as a climate-resilient GLI best practice to local governments.
• Guidance for the strengthening of the FLR multi-stakeholder technical platform at the regional and district levels.
• Guidance and review for the development of the adaptation finance mechanism and associated resource mobilisation strategy.
• Technical guidance for the development and delivery of tailored climate advisories across the 6 target districts.
• Technical inputs to the implementation of awareness-raising and training workshops (50% women) on the use of data to better understand climate change impacts and inform the identification of adaptation solutions at the district expert and community cooperative level.
• Component 2: Coordinate and provide technical inputs to the implementation of landscape restoration activities, sustainable forest management, and agroforestry interventions to enhance ecosystem services and build resilience. Key deliverables to be supported are presented below:
• Inputs and review for the development and delivery of technical restoration plans and protocols for targeted degraded ecosystems.
• Technical guidance for the preparation and implementation of site-specific restoration implementation plans in target sites, resulting in at least 18,000 ha of land being restored using climate-resilient, ecosystem-based methods.
• Technical guidance for nursery development and the establishment of a functional supply chain system for indigenous climate-resilient species.
• Guidance and technical inputs for the climate-resilient and sustainable management of 42,000 ha of natural forest.
• Guidance and technical inputs for climate-resilient plantation forestry and agroforestry-based restoration on 7,200 ha of degraded land.
• Component 3: Manage support for vulnerable communities to adopt climate-resilient and gender-responsive livelihoods, facilitate training on value addition and entrepreneurship, and strengthen market linkages and private sector engagement. Key deliverables to be supported are presented below:
• Oversight and quality assurance for the market assessments and value chain analyses for climate-resilient livelihood options.
• Guidance for the development and delivery of climate-smart livelihood packages to at least 3,000 beneficiaries.
• Guidance for the delivery of skills training and technical support packages for beneficiary communities on climate-smart agriculture, entrepreneurship, business and financial management, and value addition.
• Component 4: Coordinate and provide technical inputs to the development and implementation of monitoring, evaluation, and knowledge management systems to track progress and support the scaling of climate-resilient GLI best practices. Key deliverables to be supported are presented below:
• Guidance and review for the development of a standardised system for monitoring, evaluating and reporting the impact and success of adaptation interventions under the GLI and other FLR-related initiatives.
• Inputs and review for the development of the knowledge management and communication strategy related to EbA approaches and impacts under the GLI.
• Inputs and review for the development and dissemination of EbA knowledge products.

Financial and Administrative Management:

• Oversee project finances and budget revisions, ensuring efficient budget allocation and disbursement of funds.
• Prepare financial and progress reports in accordance with GEF, UNEP, PENHA and government requirements.
• Ensure proper procurement procedures are followed, in line with GEF, UNEP, PENHA and practices of GoE.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting:

• Oversee the development and implementation of a robust monitoring and evaluation framework to track progress and impact.
• Prepare and submit periodic technical and financial reports to the EFD PENHA and UNEP. Consolidate progress and annual reports from executing entities and implementing partners in one project-wide progress and annual report for submission to EFD. Ensure timely implementation of mid-term recommendations.
• Support the organization and roll out of supervisory missions by UNEP’s Task Manager or other missions from UNEP personnel or the GEF.

Stakeholder Engagement and Capacity Building:

• Organize regular coordination meetings among the executing entities and implementing partners and keep records of decisions and action points taken.
• Foster collaboration with key stakeholders, including government agencies, local communities, and the private sector as per the project Stakeholder Engagement Plan.
• Organize training and capacity-building activities for partners and project beneficiaries.
• Promote knowledge-sharing and best practices in climate change adaptation.
• Prepare agenda, reports and materials for the Project Steering Committee (PSC), serve as the secretary of the PSC and draft PSC meeting minutes.
• Manage the PMU team composed of a finance coordinator, M&E specialist and Gender and safeguards specialist ensuring each team member has a quarterly workplan contributing to the annual project workplan and that performance is evaluated against such workplans.
• Develop TOR for local consultants and consultancy firms, supervise consultants’ workplans, review draft deliverables and ensure adequate dissemination among the project stakeholders for final review and validation of deliverables.

Manage the Project Management Unit team and consultants

Qualifications and Experience:

• Master’s degree in forestry, climate change adaptation, environment and Development studies, natural resource management, or a related field.
• At least 10 years of experience in leading Environment, forest, and natural resource management-related projects and sectors
• Proven experience with GEF-funded projects or similar international development partners supported projects.
• Strong understanding of Ethiopia’s forestry sector and related policies, regulatory environment, and sustainability challenges.
• Excellent financial and administrative management skills, with experience in budgeting and procurement.
• Demonstrated ability to engage stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector partners, and local communities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English; knowledge of local languages is an advantage.
• Experience in gender mainstreaming will be beneficial.