Project Manager: Land and Corruption in Africa II (Maternity Cover) (m/f/d)

at  Transparency International Secretariat

Transparency International is a global movement with one vision: a world in which government, business, civil society and the daily lives of people are free of corruption. With more than 100 chapters worldwide and an international secretariat in Berlin, we are leading the fight against corruption to turn this vision into reality.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Transparency International Secretariat is currently seeking a Project Manager (m/f/d) for our Land and Corruption in Africa, Phase II (LCAII) project, to manage the implementation of this four-year project in Africa to tackle the issue of land corruption.

Land and Corruption in Africa, Phase I (LCAI) was successfully rolled out from 2014 to 2019. A second phase of the project (2021-2025) is ongoing with the participation of eight National Chapters, and seeks to address land corruption risks by:

• Sharing information on how land corruption manifests and what its effects are
• Ensuring that land corruption and actions to fight it are put on the agendas of governments and international bodies like the African Union
• Raising the importance of combating land corruption in the global land governance debate
• Educating citizens about their land rights and how to defend them
• Working with governments, traditional authorities, the private sector and civil society to find solutions to combat land corruption
• Ensuring intergovernmental organisations, governments and business have procedures in place to sanction offenders and bring about justice for affected citizens
• Pushing for solutions to land corruption that are responsive to the needs of women, young people and other marginalised citizens

This role involves supporting significant organisational capacity development elements with co-implementing partners for grant, project and financial management through these grants, as well as the management of the projects themselves. It will also involve close co-ordination with other related regional/thematic projects e.g. Inclusive Service Delivery Africa , to identify synergies and opportunities for common learning and network-building.
The role requires a highly motivated professional with sound experience in complex project management, donor relationship and reporting, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), partnership development and management, excellent communication skills, and a solid grounding in themes relating to land, climate, environment or natural resource management.
Role Purpose: The Project Manager, Land and Corruption in Africa, Phase II (m/f/d) is responsible for ensuring smooth implementation of the LCAII project, coordinating the workflow, financial and administrative management of the project and ensuring that agreed goals, best practice standards in project management and MEL, donor obligations and TI-S regulations are met relating to the project implementation by TI-S and partners.
Team: Projects Team
Reporting Line: Subteam Lead Regional Initiatives (Africa and Asia Pacific)
Band: Salary according to TI-S internal salary structure; for this position corresponding to band PF2 a salary starting EUR 42,000.00 gross per year depending on relevant experience
Starting Date: July 2024
Contract Duration: Currently we can offer an employment contract of one year
Working Hours: Full time [100%; 40 hours per week]
Location: Transparency International Secretariat (TI-S), Berlin/Germany

MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES OF THE ROLE

Based in the Projects Team, The Project Manager, Land and Corruption in Africa, Phase II (m/f/d) will:

• Coordinate the day-to-day project implementation of LCAII, including strategic planning, overall management of the work plan and road map, monitoring and analysis of project indicators, budget monitoring, risk management, delivery and design of all outputs and activities by project staff on time and to quality. Develop and maintain all project management tools (project calendar, workflows, team collaboration plans, stakeholder and risk management, reporting documentation and MEL, etc).
• Coordinate donor engagement and relationship management in relation to the project including providing regular updates to the donor and delivering the annual narrative, indicator and financial reporting documents.
• Collaborate and communicate regularly with the finance team to build accurate financial forecasts, including reviewing financial reports, identifying areas of over- or under-spending, and flagging any urgent budgetary issues. Review and approve annual project budgets alongside the finance team.
• Lead on continuous communication and learning spaces with LCAII chapters, identifying opportunities for capacity building or support. This includes organising trainings and exchanges, organising grants for additional activities, connecting chapters with local and regional organisations and opportunities, sharing resources, and facilitating cross-Movement communities of practice and learning spaces. Provide continuous project management support.
• Support the Policy & Advocacy (P&A) and Global Movement teams to roll out the LCAII advocacy strategy including planning and identifying stakeholder engagement opportunities, drafting advocacy targets and key messaging, representing the project/organisation at relevant for a, and building relationships and alliances with external counterparts. Update advocacy goals at the beginning of each year in consultation with the P&A team, the Land Governance Thematic Specialist, and the Regional Advisor.
• With the Land Governance Thematic Specialist, maintain the project’s global partnership portfolio including partners from the land governance and climate and environment communities. This includes leading the Land Corruption Working Group of the Countering Environmental Corruption Practitioners Forum, acting the representative of TI in the #LandRightsNow coalition, and maintaining and developing other formal and informal project partnerships.
• Identify and coordinate the development of research and policy outputs and communications content. Ensure work deliverables meet quality standards and proactively seek input from relevant internal experts as needed. Draft policy content needed and provide oversight and editing of research products. Alongside the comms team, roll out the external and internal communications strategy for LCAII including developing, contributing to or commissioning comms and outreach outputs like blogs, social media content and press releases.
• Coordinate closely with other related regional/thematic projects to identify synergies and opportunities for common learning and collaboration. Ensure the inclusion of land governance framing in annual planning and relevant strategic objectives.
• In collaboration with the P&A and fundraising teams, contribute to fundraising proposals for the land portfolio beyond project end in December 2025.
• Contribute to the overall functioning of the Projects Team by providing proactive and ad hoc support where necessary. This will include support to the development and implementation of the new TI-S Project Management Standard.

In order to succeed in this role, candidates will need to meet the following:

• University degree in business administration, management, finance, social science, public administration, economics, or another relevant field
• 5+ years of project management and reporting experience with donor-funded projects in the civil society field - preferably with an International NGO or International Organisation – with demonstrated in-depth knowledge of project management best practices, and including complex or multi-partner co-delivery
• Knowledge of, or considerable interest in, the work of TI and the field of anti-corruption and good governance
• Solid thematic grounding in land governance, climate, environment or natural resource management
• Strong communication, team work and intercultural competencies, diplomacy, and political sensitivity, particularly at distance communication; excellent oral and written communication in both English essential
• Demonstrated working experience in Africa preferred, including regional project management experience
• Experience in managing strategic partnerships with external organisations
• Solid understanding of project MEL and results-based management approaches; and proven track record of supporting partner learning
• Demonstrable experience of gender mainstreaming and incorporating inclusive approaches in project management
• Experience with and/or a good understanding of both advocacy and capacity development concepts and processes
• Solid understanding of budget/financial management processes (working in collaboration with Project Accountants)
• Excellent organisational skills, structured approach to task management and ability to effectively manage complex projects in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of external and internal stakeholders, and build collaborative relationships and informal influencing for project success
• Demonstrated ability to develop creative solutions to complex problems and flexibility and adaptability to accommodate different ways of working with partners
• Results-driven and resilient self-starter, highly motivated to contribute to project success and comfortable responding to complex and competing demands
• Commitment to the values and principles of Transparency Internationa