Vacancies for Food Security and Livelihoods Coordinator At Première Urgence Internationale (PUI) – Nigeria

Première Urgence Internationale (PUI) is a non-governmental, non-profit, non-political and non-religious international aid organization. Our teams are committed to supporting civilians’ victims of marginalization and exclusion, or hit by natural disasters, wars and economic collapses, by answering their fundamental needs. Our aim is to provide emergency relief to uprooted people in order to help them recover their dignity and regain self-sufficiency. The association leads on average 190 projects by year in the following sectors of intervention: food security, health, nutrition, construction and rehabilitation of infrastructures, water, sanitation, hygiene and economic recovery. PUI is providing assistance to around 5 million people in 20 countries – in Africa, Asia, Middle East, Eastern Europe and France.

Following the intensification of the Chad Lake conflict in Nigeria (North East of the Country), PUI has decided to also respond to this crisis (since the organization already assist the Nigerian refugees in Cameroon) from Nigeria.

Humanitarian situation and needs:

Historical and geographical statehood:

The current Nigeria is an agglomeration of both the Northern and Southern protectorate, which were amalgamated in 1914, only about a decade after the defeat of the Sokoto Caliphate and other Islamic states by the British which were to constitute much of Northern Nigeria. In those days, Cameroon, the eastern bordering country, was divided in French and British parts. Following a plebiscite in 1961, the Northern Cameroons opted to join Nigeria. The territory concerned made up much of what is now Northeastern Nigeria, and a large part of the areas affected by the North insurgency.

Borno State Insurgency’s origins:

Boko Haram (Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād -> « People Committed to the Prophet’s Teachings for Propagation and Jihad ») was officially founding in 2002. Boko Haram conducted its operations more or less peacefully during the first seven years of its existence. During that period, the government reportedly repeatedly ignored warnings about the increasingly militant character of the organization.

Boko Haram uprising:

The situation changed in 2009 when the Nigerian government launched an investigation into the group’s activities following reports that its members were arming themselves. The present insurgency in Borno State began in 2009, when the jihadist rebel group Boko Haram started an armed rebellion against the government of Nigeria. Originally the group had alleged links to al-Qaeda. The insurgency took place within the context of long-standing issues of religious violence between Nigeria’s Muslim and Christian communities. When the government came into action, several members of the group were arrested, sparking deadly clashes with Nigerian security forces. The group’s founder and then leader Mohammed Yusuf was killed during this time while still in police custody.

Escalating conflict:

After the killing of M. Yusuf, the group carried out its first terrorist attack in Borno in January 2010. Since then, the violence has only escalated in terms of both frequency and intensity. In addition of that, in 2012, tensions within Boko Haram resulted in gradual split of the group between a conservative faction named Ansaru, led by Abu Usmatul al-Ansari, and the more dominant, violent faction led by Abubakar Shekau. In 2013, Nigerian governmental has started to apply a state of emergency in North Est Nigeria (Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa) => Nigeria forces launched an offensive in the Borno region in an attempt to dislodge Boko Haram fighters. The offensive had initial success, but the Boko Haram rebels were able to regain their strength. The violence escalated dramatically in 2014, with 10,849 deaths.

Regional/International impact:

In 2014, Boko Haram militants attacked several Nigerian towns in the North and captured them. The insurgency spread to neighbouring Cameroon, Chad, and Niger thus becoming a major regional conflict. This prompted the Nigerian government to launch an offensive, and with the help of Chad, Niger, and Cameroon. In 2015, a coalition of military forces from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger began a counter-insurgency campaign against Boko Haram. The coalition offensive forced Boko Haram to retreat into the Sambisa Forest (South East of Maiduguri City).

Recent developments of the conflict:

By 2015, the Shekau’s faction became officially ISIL’s West Africa branch (ISWA). Mid 2016, due to internal discord between the IS worldwide leadership and the previous Boko Haram leaders, IS announced that it had appointed Abu-Musab al-Barnawi as the new leader of the group. Shekau refused to accept al-Barnawi’s appointment as leader and vowed to fight him while stating that he was still loyal to ISIL’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The group has since split into pro-Barnawi and pro-Shekau factions, with reports of armed clashes breaking out between them.

Occidental political/military support:

In 2015, an occidental military coalition (US, France, British) deployed troops to (Cameroon, Niger, Tchad, Nigeria), with the approval of the governments concerned. Their primary mission is to provide intelligence support to local forces as well as conducting reconnaissance flights. A program is also conduct to transfer military vehicles to the local Armies to aid in their fight against Islamist militants.

Rapid current stocktaking:

Following these counter-offensive and military support, several capitals city of Local Governmental Areas (LGAs) of Borno State were liberated. But out of the city, in the country side, the Boko Haram superiority is maintained. => At the end of the 3rd quarterly of 2016, from 60 to 80% of Borno State is considered as being under the control of Boko Haram.

Since the current insurgency started in 2009, it has killed 20,000 and displaced 2.3 million from their homes and was ranked as the world’s deadliest terror group by the Global Terrorism Index in 2015.

Our action in the field:

PUI has been present in Nigeria since April 2016. The NGO is willing to cover the needs of crisis affected people in Borno State through a comprehensive integrated approach, targeting the people’s affected by the crisis with means of subsistence (Food Security & Livelihood), the access to the basic services (Primary Health Care, Nutrition) and the living conditions (Shelter, NFI, WASH, etc.).

As part of our activities in Nigeria, we are looking for a Food Security and Livelihoods Coordinator.

The Food Security and Livelihood (FSL) Coordinator designs the intervention framework of the mission in term of Food Security and Livelihood (strategic positioning, programmatic approach, technical guidelines), supports the Food Security and Livelihood field teams in the implementation of their projects, and pilots the Food Security and Livelihood programs development. S/he seconds the Head of Programs in the appreciation/assessment of the social impact of of the projects rolled out.

  • Programmes: S/he supervises the technical rolling out of the programs and ensures the qualitative aspects of programmes (monitoring of objectives, respecting due dates and budgetary provisions, quality control) are properly implemented by the different stakeholders (program teams, field coordinators, partners).
  • Evaluation: S/he develops a high qualitative and quantitative research analysis on FSL opportunities and resilience mechanism to the current Nigerian crisis, to offer an adapted response in a challenging context of intervention for the sector.
  • Strategy & Development: S/he participates, for his/her technical sector, in the design of the operational strategy and suggests new operations according to needs analysis of the humanitarian situation. S/he participates actively (in coordination with other Technical Coordinators and the relevant Field Coordinators) in the definition and implementation of assessments and in the design and overall project cycle management of all FSL projects at mission level.
  • Human resources: S/he supports from a technical point of view the teams operating on FSL (recruitment, objectives definition, and evaluation).
  • Representation: S/he ensures and coordinates the PUI’s FSL representation at mission level with partners, working groups, donors and different authorities.
  • Coordination: S/he ensures that information is efficiently communicated between the FSL teams and other teams (support, programs…) and ensures a proper coordination and information sharing with other national level coordinators (Log, Admin, Shelter and Infrastructure…).
  • Logistical, administrative and financial monitoring: S/he guarantees that logistical and administrative procedures are respected by the FSL teams and alerts/relays this information to the logistical and administrative coordination team.

Training and Experiences:

Master in economics, social science, agronomy would be a major asset

Experience

  • 3 years as a manager of humanitarian projects
  • Successful experience in expatriate team management and the management of FSL Programs
  • A fortiori
  • Knowledge of economics both at macro and micro level, agricultural, distribution programmes, market analysis and resilience support programs

Knowledge and Skills

  • Excellent writing skills
  • Strong knowledge of project management
  • Research experience

Software

Pack Office proficient

Required Personal Characteristics

  • Leadership skills and an ability to make decisions.
  • Ability to show authority, if necessary.
  • Analysis and synthesis skills.
  • Organization, rigor and respect of deadlines.
  • Great ability to listen and to negotiate.
  • Good people person and good communication skills.
  • Ability to remain calm and level-headed.
  • General ability to resist stress, particularly in a changing environment.
  • Languages:

English mandatory

French desirable

Arabic desirable

Proposed Terms:

Employed with a Fixed-Term Contract – 6 months renewable

Minimum duration of commitment: 6 months

Monthly gross income: from 2 200 up to 2 530 Euros depending on the experience in International Solidarity + 50 Euros per semester seniority with PUI

Cost covered: Round-trip transportation to and from home / mission, visas, vaccines…

Insurance including medical coverage and complementary healthcare, 24/24 assistance and repatriation

Housing in collective accommodation

Daily living Expenses (« Per diem »)

Break Policy : 5 working days at 3 and 9 months + break allowance

Paid Leave Policy : 5 weeks of paid leaves per year + return ticket every 6 months

To know more about our job offer, look at the complete job description on our website!

How to apply:

Please send your application (Resume and Cover Letter) to Romain Gautier, Human Resources Officer for Expatriates at with the following subject: « Food Security and Livelihoods – Nigeria

Closing date: 31 Mar 2017