Project Officer

Salary: As per the organizational scale

Type of Employment Condition: Six Months with possibility of Extension

Required Number: one

Organizational Profile

Lawyer for Human Rights (LHR) is a civil society organization established by like-minded lawyers in 2018 and re-registered in September 2019 before the FDRE Civil Societies Organizations Agency in accordance with Proclamation No. 1113/2019. It principally aims to increase the role and contribution of lawyers in the promotion and protection of human rights in Ethiopia. The objectives of the Organization includes increasing the participation and contribution of lawyers in the area of hum

an rights through trainings and other capacity building activities, supporting lawyers across the country and helping them to exchange ideas, information and experience for better protection of human rights and prevalence of human rights; litigating strategic cases in courts and other relevant organs to ensure protection of human rights recognized under the FDRE Constitution and other laws; creating awareness for justice organs about international human rights instruments ratified by Ethiopia; providing free or low-cost legal services for victims of human rights violation particularly disadvantaged communities; influencing the government to enact new laws or amend existing ones to give full protection for human rights; familiarizing the idea of human rights defenders among the lawyers etc.

With a view to achieve these objectives, LHR has been implementing varying projects in collaboration with its donors. Currently, LHR is implementing a project titled “Improving access to justice in criminal justice process through legal aid services and capacity building activities in East Shewa and West Arsi Zones of Oromia and Addis Ababa. The project aims at Improving access to justice by providing legal aid services in prisons located in Adama, Shashemene and Addis Abeba.

Job Objective:

The Project officer oversees project planning, implementation, reporting, supervise, supports legal aid providers and work processes to ensure they run effectively and in accordance with LHR’s priorities and strategies in the project. The Project Officer works closely with the Finance and Administrative Head and the Program Director on financial and administrative matters necessary for the execution of project work.

Key Duties & Responsibilities:

Project management and implementation:

• Under the supervision of the Program Director, the Project Officer will plan and implement project activities at Shashemene Prison Center, Adama Prison Center, and LHR’s Legal Aid Coordination Center in Addis Ababa;
• Work to keep project activities within the budget and time frame;
• Monitor implementation of project policies and practices;
• Schedule and organize project-related workshops, trainings, meetings and other events;
• Preparing technically sound, coherent, and well-crafted terms of reference, concept papers and project plan.
• Oversee the project budget, including tracking billing, payments, and other financial transactions;
• Make sure the implementation of the project attains its objectives and aligns with LHR’s Strategic Plan;
• Crafting working methods that seek to improve the overall effectiveness of the project work and organizational efficiency;
• Ensuring the integration of national and international human rights principles in the project and keeping it abreast of new and emerging developments
• Ensuring that the project activities and their respective outputs are of high quality, effective, and delivered in a timely manner.
• Supervise and evaluate the work of project staffs;
• Ensure that the required narrative and financial reports are prepared and presented to donor organizations in a timely manner;
• Design, distribute and collect reporting templates;
• Analyze data and prepare weekly reports in accordance with donor requirements.

Administrative tasks:

• Creating the necessary file management and personnel evaluation systems that will ensure the efficiency of project activities;
• Work with Finance and Administration Head on planning and disbursement of funds;
• When deemed necessary, perform other administrative and logistical responsibilities that seek to ensure the effectiveness of the project activities implemented by LHR.

Job category: Program

Supervises: The Project Officer will supervise legal aid providers working at Shashemene Prison Center, Adama Prison Center, and LHR’s Legal Aid Coordination Center in Addis Ababa.

Report to: Program Director

Required Qualifications

Skills and ethical considerations

• Proven work experience as a project Officer, or similar roles
• Solid knowledge of projects and programs of different donor procedures
• Advanced MS Word, MS Excel skills
• Knowledge of administrative as well as financial regulations
• Excellent analytical and numerical skills
• Sharp time management skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Strong ethics, with an ability to manage confidential data
• Ability to manage conflict by herself/himself
• Excellent team player

Education:

• Minimum LL. B. Degree or master’s degree in law, Human Rights, Political Science, International relations, Project management and other related fields.
• Training in project cycle management, Monitoring & Evaluation, advocacy, and donor policies and procedures (formal certification) is a plus.

Experience:

• Minimum 3-5 years of project management, or related experience; in which at least two years of experience working on human Rights;
• Knowledge of grants administration, and ability to interpret grants-related governmental documents and accurately respond to them;
• Prior experience working on program support for not-for-profit organizations as well as governmental project management offices, is desirable.

Other requirements:

• Strong attention to detail and accuracy in work outputs, including written communication;
• Fluency in written and spoken language skills in Afan Oromo, Amharic, and English is a plus;
• Ability to independently track and manage multiple tasks and complete them quickly.

Disclaimer:

This job description is only a summary of the typical functions of the job. It is not an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all possible job responsibilities, tasks and duties. The responsibilities, tasks, and duties of the job holder may differ from those outlined in the job description and other duties, as assigned, may be part of the job.