Project Title: Legal and Social Empowerment Program on Women’s Rights in Kaduna and Plateau States, Nigeria

Position Title	Assistant Project Officer
Designation	Abuja-FCT
Time Frame	Two (2) Years
Start Date	August 1st 2021
End Date	July 31st 2023

 

1. Introduction

1A. Organizational Context

Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) is a women-focused non-governmental organization whose mission is to actualize women’s legal rights in private and public spaces. WRAPA envisions a Nigeria where there is improved access to social justice for women. WRAPA core programs seek to enhance access to justice for Nigerian women, especially the weak and vulnerable whose knowledge of their rights and capacity to seek redress is limited. Key activities are the provision of free and subsidized legal aid and counseling services to meet the needs of women within Nigeria’s three (3) legal systems. Other interventions include mobilization, research, and sensitization against gender-based violence, legal reforms as well as public education on domestic and international laws.

 

1B. Project Context

Despite the existence of constitutional provisions and commitments to regional and international human right treaties and conventions, the right of women and girls are grossly violated and devalued in Nigeria and many African countries. Nigeria is still grappling with gender equality, working on building a just society devoid of discrimination, equal opportunities regardless of sex that can give both men and women equal voices in decision making and policy implementation.

In 2004, Nigeria ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (African Women’s Protocol), thereby taking the first step towards expanding the scope of protection for women’s human rights in Nigeria, and in particular violence against women. The African Women’s Protocol is one of the several international instruments Nigeria ratified, which provides measures to be taken to improve the promotion and protection of women’s rights. Earlier international statutes include the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Declaration on Violence Against Women.

Following a fourteen(14)-year long rigorous policy advocacy, President Goodluck Jonathan on 25th of May 2015 signed the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act into law. This legislative progress was followed by the Plateau state government passing into law the GEO Law in 2015 making it the first in Northern Nigeria, while Kaduna State passed the VAPP Act in 2019. However, there are critical thorns in the journey of ensuring effective implementation. This is on account of pockets of resistance of duty bearers and gaps in technical and financing inputs to ensure implementation. There is poor awareness of the Laws, lack of coordination amongst key stakeholders, and a poor history of gender responsive budgeting, which should create the opportunity and window for tangible actions towards the effective implementation of the Laws in both states.

It is worth noting that WRAPA implemented the Haki Mkononi project in 2015, which contributed to the passage of the VAPP Act & GEO Law in Kaduna and Plateau States respectively. Asix (6) months intervention to push for the implementation of both laws was concluded in December 2020 supported by SIDA, with evidence base traction built. However, it is critical to take to scale and consolidate the gains made,by deepening engagement with relevant key stakeholders for the effective implementation of the model laws.

Against this background, WRAPA will implement a two(2) year intervention supported by the African Women Development Fund(AWDF), to ensure continuity of interventions that sustains and consolidates progress made so far as an imperative to ensure that the generated momentum, political will and social pressure on government and other duty bearers is not lost.

 

2. Duties/Functions

2A. Key Functions:

Summary of Key Functions:

1. Project Implementation and Technical Support.
2. Results Based Monitoring and Evaluation, Knowledge Building.
3. Finance and Administration.
4. Communications and Partnership Building.
5. Other support as required/necessary.

 

2B. Description of Functions:

1. Project implementation and technical support
2. Support the timely and targeted implementation of activities according to the project activity plan and effective delivery of results.
3. Maintain close communication with partners, including government, civil society organizations, international organizations, and donors.

• Maintain regular contacts with beneficiaries to ensure relevance and quality of projects’ outputs.

1. Liaise with State Project Officers and external consultants to ensure maximum productivity.
2. Coordinate technical support to project partners and key stakeholders on specific issues related to the project scope;
3. Support Project Coordinator to ensure the smooth functioning of all operational activities related to project implementation;

• Coordinate consultations with the project partners and other stakeholders in order to ensure timely information about the project implementation;
• Organize and run effective coordination meetings and ensure communication flow among partners;

1. Provide the required support to ensure timely implementation of all project result areas: (i)Sustain and strengthen the culture of high-level engagements to deepen political will for effective implementation of the GEO Law, and the VAPP Act, 2015;(ii) Amplification of demands targeting community influencers for ownership of the effective implementation of the two Laws; (iii)Sustain activities that popularize the VAPP Act & the GEO Laws to ensure scale in knowledge and attract uptake to protect the rights of survivors of VAWG in the project states.
2. Provide technical support to the review, monitoring and the proper use of funds according to signed agreements and work plans.

 

1. Results based monitoring and evaluation and knowledge building
2. Support the monitoring and reporting, as well as for timely submission of quality progress reports and agreed-upon monitoring deliverables.
3. Support the development and implementation of the monitoring plan.

iii. Support the M & E team to regularly review planned activities, and make necessary adaptation or modification when needed in response to any emerging circumstances.

1. Draft project progress reports and provide inputs to project related products/tools.
2. Contribute to M & E reporting

 

1. Finance and Administration
2. Work with the Project Finance & Grant Officer to manage the project activities’ financial resources in accordance with AWDF rules and regulations and in cooperation with the WRAPA Administration team;
3. Manage project files and support information collection and dissemination.

 

 

1. Communications& Partnership Building
2. Build and maintain partnership with key and relevant partners, while ensuring synergy and result based partnership.( Public Sector Institutions, Civil Society Organizations, Private organizations)
3. Establish & maintain partnership with communication/media outfit to facilitate behavior change communication, knowledge shift on VAPP Act & GEO Law, scale interventions and provide visibility for the project.
4. Support the communication team in the development and implementation of the project communication strategy and annual communication plan that supports increased visibility and impact of the project’s advocacy activities and initiatives.

iii. Support the development and production of information products and communication materials in support to the project (Newsletters, brochures, fact sheets, presentations, information leaflets, knowledge products, brochures, info graphic reports and project factsheet, human interest stories etc.)

1. Support advocacy/engagement with relevant stakeholders.
2. Reporting Lines

The Assistant Project Officer will work with the Project M & E Officer, and will report directly to the Project Coordinator

 

3. Guiding Principle

The Assistant Project Officer will:

1. Carry out the responsibilities of the position in an efficient, effective, and professional manner.
2. Discharge the duties, observe and comply with all procedures, administrative regulations and standard operating procedures (SOP) of WRAPA and AWDF.
3. Exercise the values of due diligence, responsible work ethics, and mutual respect, due consideration, accountability and good faith in all dealings.

 

WRAPA shall:

• Diligently discharge its obligations under this contract in a timely and transparent manner.
• Extend its cooperation and support to the legal expert in accordance with best practice and subject to mutual considerations.
• The parties agree that the duties and functions outlined in the TOR are not exclusive whereby work of a similar nature may be expected to attain the contract objective.

 

Other Matters

1. Confidentiality

The Assistant Project Officer shall undertake to observe the secrecy of confidential information received from or supplied during the period of implementation of this project or other agreement made pursuant thereto. The Staff agrees that the provision of this clause shall continue to be binding notwithstanding the termination of the employment.

 

1. Termination and dispute

Either the organization or the legal expert may for a good cause and subject to compliance with 4 weeksnotice to terminate this agreement. In so doing, either of the parties shall discharge all obligations of payment or work outstanding at the point of termination. This ToR is governed by dispute resolution procedures as applicable in relevant Nigerian laws. Due notice shall be given by either party of resort to any arbitration method.

 

1. Interpretation

For purpose of this employment and TOR, ‘confidential information’ means any information whether prior to, during, afterwards, disclosed by WRAPA, its staff, agent, beneficiaries or services providers (the disclosing party) to the Legal expert (the receiving party) of the engagement involving technical, policy, know how, project management and other information, data and/ or strategies in any form, including but not limited to any information which is designated in writing to be confidential or by its nature so intended.