Livelihood Project Activity Manager

JOB PURPOSE:

The incumbent will be responsible for the overall management, coordination, and monitoring of Livelihood activities in Borno state. Under the supervision of the FSL Programme Manager, the Livelihood Project Manager leads delivery of the 6-month consolidation phase that turns ten constructed livelihood facilities in MMC, Jere and Mafa LGAs into community-run enterprises with clear ownership, governance and asset management.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Project planning and delivery (20%)

• Lead the inception phase (Months 1): technical assessments, the ownership and tenure audit, conflict analysis and baseline. Turn their results into a costed operational plan for each facility.
• Own the detailed workplan, procurement plan and spending plan, and keep them aligned with the WFP Field Level Agreement (FLA).
• Steer each facility through the five-stage pathway (Assess, Organise, Rehabilitate and equip, operate with support, Consolidate and hand over). Approve each facility's move to the next stage against the agreed exit criteria.
• Lead monthly team reviews; identify delays early and adjust plans.

2. Technical oversight of facility operationalisation (20%)

• Make sure the technical officers deliver on schedule and to specification:
• Approve the business plan, pricing, cost-recovery and revenue-sharing model for each of the ten enterprises.
• Make sure the facilities supply each other as planned, for example feed from the Mafa mill to all three fish farms and greenhouse seedlings to the irrigation farms.

3. Ownership, governance and social cohesion (15%)

• Provide senior leadership on landowner negotiations and the Tripartite Facility Management Agreements, working with the Governance and Social Cohesion Officer and the legal adviser.
• Secure the signature of every agreement by the lead MDA or LGA, the community cooperative and the landowning family or traditional institution.
• Serve as secretariat to the State Asset Oversight Committee and attend the LGA Facility Oversight Committees in MMC, Jere and Mafa.
• Champion the Government–Community Compacts and the landowner recognition events. Personally step in on escalated disputes over land, membership or benefits.
• Make sure committee elections, constitutions and safeguards against elite capture are applied consistently.

4. Asset management (10%)

• Make sure every facility has an up-to-date asset register, tagging, maintenance schedule, spares register and a funded asset renewal reserve.
• Approve major repairs and the declining co-financing of repairs during transition.
• Lead the annual joint asset verification and sign the handover inventories with government and community counterparts.

5. Partnership and stakeholder management (10%)

• Serve as the main operational counterpart to WFP. Prepare for and host joint monitoring visits and quarterly reviews.
• Build working relationships with lead State MDAs (Agriculture, Water Resources, fisheries, Women Affairs, Lands, Cooperatives), the three LGA Councils, Borno State ADP/FADAMA, traditional rulers and private-sector partners.
• Represent the project in the Food Security Sector and relevant working groups.

6. Team leadership and people management (10%)

• Recruit, induct, supervise and appraise the project team of 21, with a target of at least 40% female.
• Set clear objectives for each staff member, linked to the handover readiness scorecard.
• Coach staff and promote teamwork across technical, governance and community roles.
• Oversee short-term specialists: legal adviser, feed mill engineer, pump engineer, mediation facilitator, digital solutions provider and endline evaluator.

7. Finance, procurement and compliance (10%)

• Manage the project budget. Track spending monthly against the plan and flag any variance above 10% to the line manager.
• Make sure all procurement (pumps, feed mill, tailoring equipment, pond materials) follows the organisation's and WFP's rules, with warranties, after-sales service and value for money.
• Approve payments within delegated authority and oversee the tapering transitional stipends for facility operators.
• Make sure the project is ready for audits and keeps complete supporting documentation.

8. MEAL, reporting and learning (5%)

• Make sure the MEAL system tracks facility functionality, enterprise performance, asset condition, governance and social cohesion indicators.
• Submit accurate, timely narrative and financial reports to WFP and internal management.
• Use monitoring data to adapt the approach, and document lessons and good practice for future WFP resilience programming.

Cross-cutting duties

• Apply do-no-harm and conflict sensitivity in every decision on land, membership and benefits.
• Uphold protection, gender, disability inclusion and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) standards. Make sure the Feedback and Complaints Response Mechanism (FCRM) works.
• Model and enforce PSEA and safeguarding; report any concern immediately through the proper channels.
• Follow security procedures for all movement, especially to Mafa, and keep staff safety first.

Carry out any other reasonable duties related to the project, as assigned by the line manager.

Education & Professional Requirements:

Education:

• Essential: a university degree in Agricultural Economics, Agriculture, Development Studies, Business Administration, Economics, Sciences, Social Sciences or a related field.
• Desirable: a Master's degree in one of these fields.

Professional experience

• At least 5 years of experience in food security or resilience programmes, including at least 3 years in senior supervisory roles.
• Proven experience delivering projects activities including supervision of procurement and contractors.
• Experience building community-based enterprises or cooperatives, including business planning and cost-recovery systems.
• Experience working with State and LGA government counterparts and traditional institutions in North-East Nigeria.

Personal requirements

• Ability to lead and motivate a mixed technical and community team under pressure.
• Negotiation, mediation and stakeholder management skills, including on sensitive land and benefit-sharing issues.
• Sound judgement on enterprise viability, pricing and financial sustainability.
• Clear report writing and presentation skills in English.
• Commitment to gender equality, inclusion, AAP, PSEA and humanitarian principles.
• Proficient in MS Office or Google Workspace; able to use data and dashboards for decisions.

Languages

• Essential: fluent written and spoken English; good spoken Hausa.
• Knowledge and fluency in English and local languages (Hausa and Kanuri).