Position Overview
The Governance & Social Cohesion Officer will lead fieldÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂlevel implementation of governance strengthening, community engagement, social cohesion, NRM, and DRR activities.
The role focuses on building the capacity of local authorities, community structures, and civil society actors to promote inclusive decisionÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂmaking, peaceful coexistence, and resilience.
The officer will support the development and implementation of Local Development Plans (LDPs), facilitate community dialogues, strengthen NRM committees, support DRR structures, and coordinate social cohesion initiatives across Damaturu and Fune LGAs.
Key Responsibilities
Governance Strengthening and Institutional Capacity Building:
Support the development, review, and implementation of Local Development Plans (LDPs): Facilitate the participatory development, periodic review, and effective implementation of Local Development Plans (LDPs) in target LGAs, ensuring alignment with community needs and state development frameworks.
Facilitate "Living Together" activities to promote citizenship and culture: Organize and facilitate "Living Together" activities, cultural events, and citizenship awareness sessions that foster a sense of belonging, shared identity, and mutual respect among diverse community groups.
Facilitate capacity-building sessions for governance actors: Design and deliver capacity-building sessions for LGA authorities, traditional leaders, CSOs, and community-based structures on topics including good governance, transparency, accountability, inclusive planning, and citizen engagement.
Strengthen multi-stakeholder governance platforms: Establish, strengthen, and facilitate multi-stakeholder governance platforms (e.g., LGA-level coordination forums, ward development committees) ensuring meaningful participation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Support LGAs to integrate gender-responsive and conflict-sensitive approaches: Provide technical support to LGAs to integrate gender-responsive budgeting, conflict-sensitive planning, and social inclusion principles into LDPs, annual work plans, and budget cycles.
Facilitate coordination between LGAs, MDAs, and community structures: Act as a bridge between LGAs, relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), and community-level structures to enhance policy alignment, resource coordination, and joint problem-solving.
Document governance gaps and support advocacy for improved service delivery: Identify, document, and analyze governance gaps, service delivery bottlenecks, and accountability failures; support evidence-based advocacy initiatives to address them.
Support development of advocacy plans for LDP resource mobilization: With support from the SPM assist LGAs and community stakeholders to develop and implement advocacy strategies aimed at mobilizing domestic and external resources for the implementation of priority LDP actions.
Social Cohesion and Peacebuilding:
Lead implementation of social cohesion activities: Work with the SPM and plan, coordinate, and facilitate social cohesion activities including community dialogues, peace forums, inter-community exchange visits, cultural events, sports competitions, and inter-religious peace meetings.
Support establishment and strengthening of community peace committees: Facilitate the formation or revitalization of community peace committees and social cohesion groups; provide ongoing technical support, training, and mentorship to ensure their functionality and sustainability.
Facilitate conflict-sensitive community engagement processes: Ensure that all community engagement processes are conflict-sensitive, do no harm, and actively include women, youth, and marginalized groups (including PWDs and IDPs).
Conduct conflict mapping, stakeholder analysis, and community perception assessments: Lead or support conflict mapping exercises, stakeholder power analysis, and community perception assessments to understand drivers of tension, sources of resilience, and entry points for peacebuilding.
Promote peaceful coexistence and trust-building: Implement targeted activities to foster trust, mutual understanding, and peaceful coexistence between IDPs, returnees, host communities, and other identity-based groups (ethnic, religious, generational).
Document success stories and positive social cohesion outcomes: Identify, document, and disseminate success stories, case studies, and positive deviance examples that demonstrate improved social cohesion, reduced conflict, and enhanced inter-group cooperation.
Natural Resource Management (NRM) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Support:
Support development and implementation of DRR action plans: Facilitate the participatory development, validation, and implementation of community-level and LGA-level Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) action plans aligned with the Sendai Framework and local hazard profiles.
Support establishment and strengthening of NRM committees and DRR structures: Facilitate the formation or strengthening of Natural Resource Management (NRM) committees and community-based DRR structures (early warning teams, search and rescue groups, first aid teams).
Support natural resource mapping and community NRM agreements: Facilitate participatory natural resource mapping processes and support the development, negotiation, and formalization of community NRM agreements, land use plans, grazing corridors, water access protocols, and conflict-sensitive resource management practices.
Conduct awareness sessions on climate change adaptation and sustainable resource use: Organize and facilitate awareness-raising sessions for DRR committees, NRM groups, and community members on climate change adaptation, environmental protection, reforestation, sustainable agriculture, and alternative energy sources.
Support DRR committees to develop early warning systems and contingency plans: Provide technical support to DRR committees to establish or strengthen community-based early warning systems (EWS), develop contingency plans, stockpile contingency materials, and conduct simulation exercises (SIMEX).
Support the development of M&E frameworks for LDP and resilience plan implementation: Assist in the development of gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks to track the implementation of LDPs, resilience plans, and governance commitments.
Support development of DRR resource mobilization and advocacy plans: Facilitate the development of resource mobilization strategies and advocacy plans for DRR, linking community-level preparedness to LGA and state-level disaster management systems.
Support implementation of the RESILAC I advocacy plan: Support the continued implementation, monitoring, and updating of the advocacy plan developed under RESILAC I, ensuring alignment with current governance, NRM, and DRR priorities.
Community Engagement and Stakeholder Coordination:
Mobilize communities for inclusive consultations and planning sessions: Lead community mobilization efforts to ensure robust participation in consultations, needs assessments, planning sessions, and validation workshops, with specific outreach to women, youth, PWDs, and other marginalized groups.
Build strong relationships with traditional leaders, women's groups, youth groups, and PWD associations: Establish and maintain positive, collaborative relationships with traditional rulers, religious leaders, women's associations, youth networks, PWD organizations, and other community gatekeepers.
Facilitate community-led identification of governance and cohesion priorities: Use participatory methods (community scorecards, participatory rural appraisal, open space technology) to facilitate community-led identification of governance gaps, cohesion challenges, and local solutions.
Ensure community voices inform project planning, implementation, and monitoring: Establish and maintain feedback loops that ensure community perspectives, concerns, and recommendations are systematically integrated into project planning, adaptive management, and reporting.
Monitoring, Reporting, and Learning:
Conduct routine monitoring of governance, NRM, DRR, and social cohesion activities: Perform regular field monitoring visits to track progress, verify activity completion, assess quality, identify challenges, and document results across governance, NRM, DRR, and social cohesion components.
Provide weekly and monthly updates to the Project Coordinator: Prepare and submit timely weekly and monthly progress reports to the Project Coordinator, highlighting achievements, challenges, risks, and mitigation measures.
Support MEAL teams with data collection, community feedback, and documentation of lessons learned: Collaborate with the MEAL team to collect quantitative and qualitative data, gather community feedback, document lessons learned, and contribute to learning agendas.
Prepare activity reports, field visit reports, and case studies: Produce high-quality activity completion reports, field visit summaries, and detailed case studies that capture outcomes, impact, and human-interest stories.
Track progress against governance and social cohesion indicators: Monitor and track progress against project-specific governance, social cohesion, NRM, and DRR indicators; report variances and recommend corrective actions to the Project Coordinator.
Required Qualifications and Experience
Education:
Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, Public Administration, Peace and Conflict Studies, Development Studies, Sociology, Environmental Management, Disaster Risk Management, or a related field.
Master's degree in a relevant discipline (Governance, Peacebuilding, NRM, or DRR) is an advantage.
Experience:
Minimum of 3 - 5 years of experience in governance, peacebuilding, social cohesion, natural resource management, or disaster risk reduction programming in humanitarian or development contexts.
Demonstrated experience in facilitating participatory planning processes (e.g., LDP development, community action planning).
Proven experience in capacity building for local government authorities, traditional leaders, CSOs, and community committees.
Experience in conflict-sensitive programming, peacebuilding, and working with IDPs, returnees, and host communities.
Experience in conflict-affected or fragile contexts (e.g., Northeast Nigeria) is required.
Technical Skills:
Strong understanding of local governance structures, decentralization, LDP processes, and public financial management in Nigeria.
Knowledge of social cohesion, peacebuilding theories, conflict analysis frameworks, and do-no-harm principles.
Familiarity with NRM governance, land use planning, climate change adaptation, and the Sendai Framework for DRR.
Proficiency in participatory assessment methods (conflict mapping, stakeholder analysis, community scorecards).
Strong facilitation, training, and capacity-building skills.
Proficiency in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
Excellent report writing, documentation, and case study development skills.
Required Competencies:
Strong commitment to inclusive governance, social justice, peacebuilding, and environmental sustainability.
Excellent interpersonal, communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
Ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders (LGAs, MDAs, traditional leaders, CSOs, community groups).
Leadership, coordination, and team collaboration abilities.
Problem-solving, adaptability, and resourcefulness in challenging field environments.
Cultural sensitivity and respect for local norms while advancing good governance and social cohesion.
Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
Strong organizational skills and ability to meet deadlines.
High level of integrity, accountability, transparency, and ethical conduct.
Key Working Relationships:
Internal: Executive Director, State Programs Manager, MEAL Manager, Finance and Admin. Manager, Economic Recovery and Gender Inclusion Officer, Economic Recovery Assistants, Gender and Social Inclusion Assistants, Community Volunteers, CSO partners.
External: LGA authorities (Chairmen, Councilors, Planning Officers), State MDAs (Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Women Affairs, SEMA), traditional leaders (Emirs, Chiefs, District Heads), religious leaders, Community Peace Committees, DRR Committees, NRM Committees, women's groups, youth groups, PWD associations, CSOs, and donor representatives.
Language Proficiency:
Fluency in English (reading, writing, and speaking).
Proficiency in Hausa is required; Kanuri or other local languages are an advantage.