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Ref.
2024/IPO/12383

Job offer type
Field staff jobs

Type of contract
Fixed-term contract (CDD)

Activity sectors
Vocational training, Integration, Employment

Deadline date
2025/01/13 13:55

Contract
Wage portage

Duration
7 Months

Mission description

Under supervision of the Program Director, the Project Officer contributes to all aspects of the project implementation of the project “IYBA-SEED: Investing in Young Businesses in Africa – Supporting Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development”. 

The Project Officer is part of the Project Management Unit (PMU) – and is based in Brussels. 

He/she will work on a daily basis with the PMU Team (Program Director; MEAL Officer; Administrative and Financial Officer; Project Assistant; 3x Technical Component Leads), will support the Country Teams (via the Country Leads), and will be in regular contact with the EF HQ. 

The position implies a high degree of autonomy and thoroughness, as well as interpersonal skills appropriate to working in a European, international and multicultural environment. 

 

Under supervision, in close collaboration with and as a support to the Program Director, the Project Officer will contribute daily to (non-exhaustive): 

 

  • Coordinating between project and external actors: providing support in liaising between Expertise France, external project partners, and consortium members, be it in Europe or partner countries, the donor, experts and other actors, organizations and initiatives in the fields covered by the project; 
  • Follow-up of the project activities sub-contracted to external experts (communication and visibility, gender, sustainability, technical expertise on entrepreneurship, etc.), preparing terms of reference, managing selection procedures, follow-up of the implementation of contracts, etc. 

     

  • Smooth flow of information within the project, and the optimal organization of the project documents;

  • Project reporting - drafting notes, reports and minutes on project activities and meetings; participating in drafting / analyzing / synthetizing / editing the narrative reports on the basis of the experts' and partners’ deliverables and in close collaboration with the Program Director, etc.;

  • Organising project events and activities (such as internal monthly meetings), expert missions, study visits, steering committees, Team management, recruiting and HR aspects, etc.

  • Support the country teams as a sparring partner for their project management, activity design and by sitting on evaluation committees 

  • Supporting developing and implementing the project action plan and work schedule.

Project or context description

Expertise France is the French public international cooperation agency. It designs and implements projects which aim to contribute to the balanced development of partner countries, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda and the priorities of France’s external action. 

IYBA-SEED is co-funded by the European Union (DG INTPA), the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Team France and SlovakAid, for a period of 4 years (2023-2026). It is implemented by a consortium of leading European development agencies, including Enabel (Belgium), Expertise France (France), GIZ (Germany), SAIDC (Slovakia) and SNV (Netherlands). The consortium is led by Expertise France. 

IYBA-SEED is part of the third Building Block of the Team Europe Initiative “Investing in Young Businesses in Africa”, which is made up of three Building Blocks: 1) Increase the financial and technical support for pre-seed stage entrepreneurs and micro and small enterprises, 2) Increase the finance for SMEs and entrepreneurs at seed and early stages, and 3) Supporting the ecosystem, with a special emphasis on women and young people. 

IYBA-SEED takes an “Ecosystem Strengthening” approach: it targets the entrepreneurship ecosystem and its actors, in order to reach young businesses (i.e. SEED beneficiaries) which are defined as: 

  • (Very-)early stage businesses and entrepreneurs (pre-seed and seed) 
  • Exclusively led by young entrepreneurs (18-35y) and/or women entrepreneurs (of all ages) 

The project aims to “contribute to creating decent jobs and resilient economies by strengthening entrepreneurship ecosystems in a number of sub-Saharan countries so that they can increase access to Business Development Services (both financial and non-financial) for SEED beneficiaries” in 5 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Benin, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Togo). 

IYBA-SEED works on four key components / specific objectives: 

  • Capacity Development and Networks : strengthen and connect Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Actors (EEAs) and their networks (both nationally and internationally) to improve access to Business Development Services (both financial and non-financial) for SEED beneficiaries 

  • Business Environment : contribute to a business environment (policies and regulations) which is conducive to the creation and growth of SEED beneficiaries

  • Entrepreneurial Culture : promote an inclusive entrepreneurial culture that encourages existing and future young and women entrepreneurs to create and grow SEED beneficiaries

  • Knowledge : foster access for Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Actors, SEED beneficiaries and other stakeholders to lessons learned and best practices for Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Strengthening 

Required profile

  • Master’s degree in economics, development economics, political sciences, or any other profile in line with the tasks to be carried out; 
  • 10 years professional experience in project management (5 years minimum) preferably in the field of private sector development, in the context of international cooperation development projects; 
  • Experience in multi-stakeholder coordination; 
  • Full proficiency in English and French is required.

Specific knowledge, experience, skills or competences 

  • Good command of the fundamentals of international project management and of the M&E processes, particularly in EU-funded projects required (preferably in multi-donor, multi-country, and/or multi-operator projects); 

  • Proficiency in developing technical reports required;

  • Thematic knowledge of Private Sector Development, in particular Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Mapping and Strengthening will be strongly appreciated;

  • Experience with gender and youth issues will be an asset. 

Soft skills 

  • Strong teamwork skills, flexibility, excellent organisational skills, responsiveness; 

  • Proven writing skills (reports, briefing notes, strategies, etc);

  • Pragmatic, proven ability to produce tools and documents in a short time;

  • Skills in training facilitation and capacity building;

  • Excellent interpersonal skills in a multicultural context. 

Additional information

  • An exciting job in an international environment

  • A contract for a term of 7 months (maternity leave cover) based in Brussels, and with potential field visits to the five countries of implementation (Benin, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Togo)

  • The exact salary will be defined according to relevant recognised experience for the function. 

Deadline for application : 2025/01/13 13:55

Expertise France is the public agency for designing and implementing international technical cooperation projects. The agency operates around four key priorities :

  • democratic, economic, and financial governance ;
  • peace, stability, and security ;
  • climate, agriculture, and sustainable development ;
  • health and human development ;

In these areas, Expertise France conducts capacity-building initiatives and manages project implementation, leveraging technical expertise and acting as a project coordinator. This involves combining public sector expertise with private sector skills to drive impactful results. 

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