Capacity Building and Training Coordinator - A Community-Centred Approach to Transforming Criminality and Violence in the Niger Delta

Location: Delta State, Nigeria. Search for Common Ground (Search) is an international non-profit organization that promotes the peaceful transformation of conflict. With headquarters in Washington, DC, and Brussels, Belgium, Search’s mission is to transform how individuals, organizations, and governments deal with conflict—moving away from destructive approaches and towards cooperative solutions. With more than 700 staff worldwide, Search implements projects in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and North America. Position Summary Search is seeking an experienced Capacity Building and Training Coordinator for an anticipated 18-month project funded by the European Union. The project will be implemented in consortium with co-applicants with the overall goal of fostering inclusive community security approaches to address the systemic drivers of violence and criminality in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers States. The role is expected to play a crucial role in facilitating and coordinating capacity-building initiatives within the organization and community. He/She will be responsible for overseeing and managing the overall capacity-building efforts, ensuring that the organization's objectives are met and that individuals or groups are equipped with the necessary skills and resources. This position holder will report to the Consortium Coordinator and be functionally managed by the Head of Programme Implementation. The position holder will be based in Delta State.The Capacity Building Coordinator is expected to bring to the role proven experience and skills in and training of conflict transformation, conflict resolution, conflict sensitivity, and do no harm (DNH) principles along with human rights. The candidate will have skills in training government actors at the local and state level that includes security personnel in the Common Ground approach to conflict resolution and human rights; the candidate will also have experience working with different stakeholders and leading dialogues processes. The primary purpose of this position is to both coordinate all training and facilitate training/workshops in the Niger Delta Region where Search operates in the Common Ground approach on all project training. The position holder will work with key stakeholders that include community leaders, the security sector, government officials, women, and Youths to understand the cycle programming and the importance of building confidence and fostering good relationships. This position holder will report to the National Capacity Building and Training Specialist and be functionally managed by the Head of Programme Implementation. The position holder will be based in Delta State.The position holder will work with the project teams to design, review, update, and roll out capacity-building and training activities related to mitigating conflict-related issues in the Niger Delta. S/he will build synergy and collaborate with project managers in the allocation of both human, material, and financial resources for the effective utilization of our internal capacity to maximize our inputs, outcomes, and results.The anticipated project will bring together four leading peacebuilding and development organizations in the Niger Delta, in a consortium aimed at providing a holistic, community-centered approach to addressing core drivers of criminality, violence, and conflict in the region, with a specific focus on the empowerment and inclusion of youth in the security of their respective communities in the Niger Delta . The consortium partners will leverage existing relationships with the action’s diverse target groups, including at-risk youth, local communities impacted by oil production and oil bunkering, state security actors, the private sector, journalists and media actors, key civil society organizations, and policymakers at the state, regional, national, and international levels, to secure broad-based buy-in and participation in the action. Overall, the project will seek to initiate a shift in the way that relevant actors think about and approach issues of oil bunkering, criminality, and security in the Niger Delta in favor of more bottom-up, human-centered perspectives. This institutional and social shift is necessary in order to sustainably reduce the prevalence of oil bunkering and other forms of criminality and violence in the region in the long term.The design of the action centers around four activity streams, each addressing a systemic driver of division, violence, and criminality in Bayelsa, Rivers, and Delta States:  Stream 1 will foster intra-community collaboration around issues of social exclusion, lack of economic opportunity, and environmental degradation. Stream 2 will build trust and collaboration between communities, the government, and security actors for more participatory, community-centered security operations.  Stream 3 will leverage arts- and culture-based approaches to foster social cohesion between divided communities, both online and offline. Stream 4 will facilitate policy change to institutionalize community-centered security approaches at the local, state, regional, national, and international levels. The position will be based in Delta with frequent field travels to Rivers and Bayelsa states.

Roles and Responsibilities - Coordinate trainings:

Needs Assessment: Conduct thorough assessments to identify the capacity gaps and needs within the organization and communities. Develop and implement an effective training coordination strategy for the project across three States offices (Delta, Port Harcourt, and Bayelsa) Develop detailed plans for capacity-building programs, including timelines, objectives, deliverables, and resource requirements. Work with the project teams to ensure all training needs are planned and met and; Support implementation of all Search’s training activities in the region, either in–person or through hired training consultants;  Establishing and maintaining partnerships with partner organizations, experts, and consultants to leverage their knowledge, expertise, and resources in capacity-building efforts. Organizing and coordinating training sessions, workshops, or other capacity-building activities, ensuring they are delivered effectively and meet the identified needs. Develop and implement monitoring and evaluation frameworks to assess the effectiveness and impact of capacity-building interventions, collect data, and analyze results to inform decision-making and improve future programs. Support the National Capacity Building and Training Specialist in the hiring of training consultants for the projects in close collaboration with the HR department.

Design workshops and develop training modules where needed:

Design each training to be culturally identifiable to the context; Search programs, and for the participants attending the training; Design training material, methodology, and training guides templates;  The coordinator is expected to be delivering training that will focus on: Principles of Common Ground in conflict transformation; Conflict resolution and mitigating strategies; Conflict sensitivity and Do No Harm; Dispute resolution; Human rights; Non-adversarial Advocacy; Transformative dialogue and interfaith dialogues processes and; Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR ) co-facilitating with trauma lead. Facilitate effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders, including staff, trainers, and participants, to ensure smooth coordination and implementation of capacity-building initiatives. Continuously assessing and refining capacity-building strategies based on feedback, evaluation results, and emerging needs to enhance the effectiveness and relevance of future initiatives The coordinator will be using Search’s Common Ground Approach manuals and other Search-developed manuals as a basis for adapting the training curriculum to the projects’ needs.

Reporting

Write a monthly summary report highlighting training, lessons learned, challenges, and recommendations including success highlights, feedback from participants, and recommendations for the next stages of Search’s program (sent to line supervisor). Carry out a feedback session in communities after months of training implementation, to gauge how practical the training had been and how participants are putting into use the training learning.

Core Competencies

Demonstrate integrity and promote Search values and ethical standards; Promote the vision, mission, and strategic objectives of Search; Demonstrate capacity to adapt to a multicultural context, tolerance, and respect for issues related to gender, religion, race, and nationality; Proficiency in the use of MS Office  Demonstrate capacity in developing concept notes and Terms of Reference for hiring consultants.

Education

A degree or Post graduate degree in conflict resolution, peace studies, peacebuilding, conflict management, or a relevant field; Additional education in conflict management, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution 

Required Experience

At least 5 years’ experience as a trainer, two of those years should be in the non-profit and NGO sector in relevant topics (as per above mentioned list) for a diverse range of audiences (from communities to authorities);  Have facilitated/ co-facilitated at least 30 trainings to key stakeholders that include: security, local and state-level actors, and community leaders with excellent command of trainees in relevant fields; In-depth knowledge of the Niger Delta region. 

Other Relevant Requirements

Good knowledge of the local languages will be an asset. Knowledge of civil society organizations, government agencies, private sector companies, and international development agencies, with experience of working in partnership within some of these sectors; Written and verbal communications skills including the ability to synthesize complicated policy issues into digestible products and to deal with both elite and popular media and specialist and non-specialist audiences; Experience in partnership building, with experience in influencing stakeholders and establishing and maintaining strong partnerships; Ability to work effectively in a team environment and strong interpersonal skills; Commitment to Search’s aims and a clear understanding of the links between policy, lobbying, campaigning, and how policy change can be achieved through effective advocacy; Organizational skills and attention to detail; Ability to respond flexibly to opportunities and requests sometimes with little notice; Ability to manage competing priorities in a rapidly changing environment; Treats all people fairly without favoritism and solves problems in collaborative ways

To apply: Interested candidates should send the following to our Current resumeCover Letter (which includes expectations of compensation and projected start date)  Posting closes 25th August 2023 Note: This position is only open to Nigerian nationals. Only applicants invited for an interview will be contacted. No phone calls, please. Please see our website: for full details of our work.