Rural Development Officer

GVC - Gruppo di Volontariato Civile
GVC oPt

Location: Tulkarem
Country: West Bank - Palestine
Job Title: Rural Development Officer – national staff
Donor: CRDP- UNDP
Project: UNDP/69435

Background
GVC – Gruppo di Volontariato Civile is an Italian based international NGO operating in the oPt since the 1992 and providing support to the people living in West Bank and Gaza.
GVC works in co-operation with national and local organizations, institutions and authorities in order to provide immediate responses to acute needs and long term and sustainable solutions for improving community development.
GVC’s interventions have been recently characterised by a particular focus on WASH and Food Security/Agriculture sectors.

Main tasks and Responsibilities
Under direct supervision of the North West Bank Area Manager, performs a variety of programme management and advisory functions for the project “Promoting sustainable livelihood, economic recovery and self-reliance for most vulnerable Bedouin communities in Jordan Valley Area C.”, founded by CRDP-UNDP.

Several following tasks are conducted in collaboration with the Field Technical Coordinator in Tulkarem and the Development Coordinator.

-To provide technical inputs to local stakeholders engagement in regards  of sustainable rural development
-To facilitate community based activities and support the field work for project implementation, particularly to take an active role in field and office related activities.
-To work closely with other staff members, partners and other relevant stakeholders for project activities including assessments/studies, providing trainings, scheduling and leading meetings, workshops, etc.
-To conduct regular field visits to coordinate, implementing and monitor agriculture component activities and collecting data in accordance with the projects needs
-To document methods, good practices, experiences and results from the targeted communities and partners and provide inputs on project information and documentation (including stories, photos, articles, etc.) to GVC Communications Officer.
-To submit regular activities work plans and reports in consultation with the Project Manager and the Area Manager.
-To be responsible for developing sound networking methodologies for local communities.
-To perform local value chain analysis and assess possible upgrading strategies.
-To support and facilitate participatory planning for local development.
-Perform any other additional duty on request of his/her supervisor

Profile and qualifications required

Knowledge and skills: 
1-University degree in Development Studies, Social Science, Economy or Agronomy.
2-Experience and skills in building good working relationship with local partners;
3-Experience working in remote communities and good cultural, cross-cultural knowledge and interpersonal skills.
4-Good facilitation skills and experience in participatory approaches and community empowerment
5-Ability to work independently under minimal supervision as well as in team work.
6-Experience in a similar position and previous experience of working for a non-government organization will be considered an advantage.
7-Very good analytical skills and experience to assess needs of the target communities and to potential interventions and concepts of projects, and to develop recommendations for stimulating interest in the organization’s program
8-Skill in establishing and maintaining effective and cooperative work relationships with potential partners and community figures.

Experience:                
At least three to five years’ experience working in rural development, sustainable agriculture, integrated water resource management and livelihoods and community development.
Previous work experience with NGO represents an asset.
Work experiences with Bedouin communities represent an asset.

Languages:
Excellent knowledge of the Arabic language and fluent in English (writing, speaking and reading).

Duration of the contract:
First contract will be for a period of seven months with two months of probation, from 1 January 2015 to 31 July 2015. Furthers contracts will be on annual basis.

Application Procedure:
Qualified applicants are invited to send their CV and a one-page cover letter in English, by e-mail to:

gvcpalestina@gvc-italia.org

Please reference the job title as ‘GVC Rural Development Officer - Tulkarem’ in the subject line of your e-mail.

Deadline for receiving the application is Monday the 21st of December, 2014

Please note that GVC will contact only pre-selected candidates by email. The position will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is identified.
We thank all candidates for their interest in a position with GVC