Field Officers

Overview  

Position: Field Officers x 2, CGA Sierra Leone  
Contract duration: Full-time 9 months with a possibility for extension  
Location 1: Kambia and Port Loko   
Location 2: Western Area Urban and Western Area Rural   
Start date: As soon as possible  
Closing date 6 September 2024   

About CGA Technologies   

We are a UK-registered consultancy established in 2011 that works to strengthen social protection, monitoring and management of information, resources and service delivery across a range of developing and fragile states, particularly in Africa. We build use-case-focused systems to distribute cash and manage data efficiently and transparently in low-resource settings, focusing on strengthening service delivery in the social protection sector and beyond.  

CGA Technologies is a part of Corus International, an alliance of organizations working together to deliver comprehensive and sustainable solutions to address interconnected challenges. Collaborating with local partners, we aim to alleviate poverty and enhance access to education and health.  
 

Background and Context  

The Girls in School Project in Sierra Leone addresses the economic and social barriers that prevent vulnerable girls from accessing and engaging with education. The programme is being implemented in four districts (Kambia, Port Loko, Western Area Urban, Western Area Rural) in partnership with the Government of Sierra Leone's Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) and the Teaching Service Commission (TSC). The project provides monthly cash assistance tied to school attendance and establishes referral pathways to essential wraparound services. By ensuring that at-risk girls remain in school and complete their education, the project aims to contribute to the broader goal of achieving quality, inclusive education for all in Sierra Leone.  
 

Role Summary   

As Field Officers, you will play a critical role in implementing our "Girls in School" Project, which is designed to enhance school attendance among vulnerable girls in Sierra Leone. Your responsibilities will include coordinating and overseeing various project activities by closely collaborating with schools, community members, and district education officers.  

Key responsibilities include:  

Beneficiary Targeting: Identify and enrol eligible girls into the program, ensuring they meet the criteria for support.  

Stakeholder Engagement: Work with district stakeholders, including District education officials, school leadership, school management committees to build strong partnerships that support program goals.  

Cash Transfers Operational Supervision and Monitoring: Oversee the distribution of cash transfers, ensuring operational effectiveness, including that beneficiaries receive the correct amount on time and that all transactions are properly documented.  

Beneficiary Monitoring, Follow-up and support: Use digital tools to remotely monitor school attendance of cash beneficiaries; Conduct regular follow-ups with schools, beneficiaries and their families to monitor progress and support them in addressing key challenges.  

Support Services Mapping: Identify and map out additional support services available within the community that can further assist beneficiaries and carry out referrals.  

School Attendance Monitoring: Assist school leaders in effectively utilizing the school attendance monitoring system, ensuring accurate tracking and reporting of attendance data. Where necessary, you will provide limited technical assistance and capacity building support.  

You will report to our Project Director, but with supervision from the project case management lead and in close coordination with the training lead. You will be accountable for the quality and timely delivery of all outputs. Your work will be crucial in ensuring the success and sustainability of our efforts to keep girls in school.  

Required qualities  

• Passionate and people-focused: we value a relational approach to development.  
• Values-driven – impact-led and motivated by a commitment to poverty reduction  
• Creative and opportunity-oriented: we are excited by can-do attitudes that look beyond immediate delivery to identify pathways towards greater impact and learning.  
• Self-motivated: working remotely with a range of personnel across multiple time zones requires focus and flexibility. We are looking for someone who will maintain positive project momentum.  
• Setting strategic direction, while maintaining a firm grasp of the detail required to ensure high-quality delivery  
   

Required skills and experience  

• Demonstrated ability to follow up and provide support to girls enrolled in the program, including monitoring daily attendance and addressing drops in attendance.  
• Exceptional skills in communication, presentation, and building relationships with diverse stakeholders.  
• Ability to apply technical skills in the implementation and community delivery of cash-based programs, including identifying and resolving technical issues promptly.  
• Experience in participating in on-the-job training sessions, particularly in data handling and the accurate use of cash tools.  
• Experience in the process of identifying beneficiary communities, applying robust and participatory targeting criteria.  
• Proficiency in conveying key messages to clients, local government partners, vendors, non-clients, and other stakeholders, ensuring clear communication throughout the community.  
• At least 2 years of experience in carrying out development projects, education or social work or similar fields.  
• Availability to travel regularly to remote areas is necessary.  
• Fluency in both Krio and English is essential.  
   

Desirable skills and experience  

• Experience or familiarity with data management and Management Information Systems (MIS) tools is a plus.  
• Experience in conducting beneficiary feedback and response mechanism activities to ensure accountability and program improvement.  
• Familiarity with basic technology for development (Tech4Dev) approaches and processes is desirable.  
• Direct experience in cash programming, social work, community engagement or other key areas are an advantage  
   

Qualifications  

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Educational Sciences, Adult Education, Political and Social Sciences, or equivalent.  
    

Submission of Applications  

Interested candidates are invited to submit their detailed CV and a Cover letter of no more than 2 pages with two contactable references by 06  September, 2024 to the following email colleaguesandfriends@cgatechnologies.org.uk   

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and some may be contacted prior to this date.  Due to limited resources, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.