Senior Project Officer

ORGANIZATION AND PROGRAMME BACKGROUND

Mercy Corps is a global humanitarian and development organization supporting communities affected by crisis, conflict and economic hardship. Mercy Corps Nigeria works across livelihoods and food security, economic development, financial resilience, youth empowerment, conflict management and humanitarian response.

The Senior Project Officer will support the Protecting Food Security Against Flood & Drought Cycles project within Mercy Corps Nigeria’s Resilience and Climate Adaptation portfolio in Katsina State. Project interventions include watershed restoration, solar-powered water systems, community food and fodder storage facilities, sustainable land management, climate-smart agriculture and capacity strengthening for farmers and pastoralists.

ROLE PURPOSE

The Senior Project Officer will provide day-to-day technical and operational leadership for field implementation. The post holder will coordinate activities across target communities, supervise field personnel, manage stakeholder relationships, monitor progress and ensure timely, high-quality implementation within approved budgets and technical standards.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Coordinate daily implementation across assigned LGAs and communities.
• Develop detailed implementation plans and track progress against approved workplans.
• Coordinate flood and drought mitigation, climate-resilient water infrastructure and community-storage interventions.
• Ensure activities comply with technical standards, budgets, timelines, donor requirements and government regulations.
• Support assessments, baseline studies and site-selection processes.
• Review engineering designs, Bills of Quantities, technical specifications and implementation plans.
• Conduct field supervision and monitor the quality of infrastructure works.
• Monitor contractor performance and verify completed works.
• Identify technical problems and recommend corrective action.
• Facilitate participatory planning with community leaders, farmer groups, pastoralist groups, women’s associations and local authorities.
• Strengthen community-management structures and promote ownership and sustainability.
• Organize technical training on climate preparedness, water-infrastructure management and operation and maintenance of community assets.
• Monitor construction schedules, materials and environmental, health, safety and safeguarding compliance.
• Support procurement through technical inputs and delivery monitoring.
• Support commissioning and handover of infrastructure.
• Collect, verify and report implementation data and track project indicators.
• Prepare weekly, monthly and quarterly implementation reports.
• Document lessons, success stories, innovations and effective practices.
• Maintain relationships with state, LGA and community stakeholders.
• Monitor field budgets, procurement plans, invoices and contractor-payment documentation.
• Supervise and mentor Project Officers, Community Facilitators, Technical Assistants, Field Assistants, enumerators and temporary field teams as assigned.
• Identify implementation risks and ensure compliance with Mercy Corps, donor, safeguarding and security requirements.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Environmental Management, Agriculture, Water Resources Engineering, Natural Resource Management, Project Management or a related field.
• A master’s degree is an advantage.
• At least five to seven years of progressively responsible experience implementing donor-funded infrastructure, climate-resilience, agriculture or natural-resource-management programmes.
• Experience supervising construction or community-infrastructure activities.
• Experience working with rural communities and local government.
• Experience supervising contractors and community-based interventions.
• Project-management certification such as PMP or PRINCE2 is an advantage.

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

• Strong planning, coordination, reporting and organizational ability.
• Infrastructure supervision and quality assurance.
• Community engagement and capacity strengthening.
• Contractor and stakeholder management.
• Microsoft Office and mobile data-collection proficiency.
• Excellent interpersonal and facilitation skills.
• Fluency in English.
• Hausa and other languages spoken in Katsina State are highly desirable.

CONTRACT DETAILS

• Employment type: Full-time.
• Duty station: Katsina State, with extensive travel to rural and remote communities.
• Reports to: Technical Project Manager.
• Contract duration: Not specified.
• Salary and benefits: Not specified.
• Official opportunity reference: c596201a-5cb0-4bf6-bbe8-a564ad42a0e1.

SAFEGUARDING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Mercy Corps promotes accountability, transparency, inclusion and community feedback. The organization is an equal-opportunity employer and does not tolerate discrimination.

Mercy Corps prohibits child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. Personnel must comply with its Code of Conduct, safeguarding policies and security procedures.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Applicants must complete their application through Mercy Corps’ official UKG recruitment portal before 14 August 2026.

Required application documents: Not specified on the accessible official vacancy page.

Mercy Corps does not charge recruitment fees.