Job Description

Client: BRAC UPGI Team Lead: Position: Location: Dates of Assignment: Duration of Assignment:
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Government of the Philippines Julie Kedroske Padayon SLP Project Development Officer Bukidnon (National) August 2022-Oct 2022 3 months
About BRAC Ultra Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) Beginning in 2002, BRAC pioneered the Ultra-Poor Graduation approach in Bangladesh, a comprehensive, time-bound, and sequenced set of interventions designed to enable the most vulnerable and destitute households to progress along a pathway out of extreme poverty. BRAC established the Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) to deliver technical assistance to agents of scale on how to adapt and implement the Graduation approach and other holistic economic inclusion and social protection strategies. For more than a decade, BRAC has served as a leading provider of global technical assistance and advisory services for the Graduation approach to governments, multilateral institutions, and NGOs worldwide.
Project Background The Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) is a capability-building program for poor, vulnerable, and marginalized households and communities to help improve their socio-economic conditions through accessing and acquiring necessary assets to engage in and maintain thriving livelihoods. Through Administrative Order 11 series of 2011, SLP was formally introduced as one of the core programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for poverty alleviation. As SLP gears toward its 10th year of implementation, SLP embarks on a new project to explore new strategies to enhance the Program’s implementation process and improve delivery of services to the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized households and communities. DSWD, in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in Australia, is planning to integrate the Graduation approach into the current SLP process to holistically address the poverty challenges of SLP participants and ensure the sustainability of its interventions. This will begin through a series of Graduation pilots as part of the Padayon SLP program in the provinces of Iloilo, Bukidnon, and Sultan Kudarat. The program will provide a set of holistic interventions as an additional support mechanism for SLP participants. This will complement the Department’s efforts to strengthen delivery of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). In the post-COVID context, the integration of the Graduation approach will benefit and strengthen the resilience of the poor and vulnerable households whose employment and income have been adversely affected by the shut-down of most economic activities, travel restrictions, and social distancing requirements. BRAC UPGI’s Technical Assistance Role To support DSWD’s implementation of the Graduation approach, BRAC UPGI will deliver advisory support, building on the experience of prior projects that successfully utilized the Graduation approach to provide comprehensive support to households living in extreme poverty in the targeted provinces. BRAC UPGI’s technical assistance will focus on four key areas: 1) pre-implementation, 2) social preparation of Graduation participants, 3) resource mobilization, and 4) project implementation and monitoring.
Scope of Work The Padayon SLP Project Development Officers (SLP PDO) will be locally based frontline staff who deliver the various components of the Graduation Approach to the project participants in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) and Indigenous Peoples (IP) communities following the proper sequence. This includes conducting regular home and enterprise visits for coaching, mentorship, training, and monitoring of household progress. SLP PDO will be recruited and trained by DSWD and BRAC UPGI and will report to the Provincial Coordinator. Specific responsibilities include:

• Participate in rigorous training and refreshers around case management specific to the Graduation approach, including technical skills training and life skills coaching.
• Deliver initial training and refresher training directly to the participants (with assistance from DSWD field staff and other resource persons) at different points in the project;
• Provide ongoing support to selected livelihood enterprises;
• Guide participants through challenges, either related to the project or communities and their families. Mentor participants, boost confidence, and encourage positive world views and coping mechanisms;
• Monitor progress of participating households via bi-weekly visits, collect monitoring data on a digital platform, and troubleshoot issues related to households’ progress toward achieving Graduation criteria;
• Help to identify household basic needs and guide participating households to link with relevant support services and various national and local government projects;
• Provide regular feedback to the Provincial Coordinator for improving program design and household progress;
• Attend weekly, monthly, and quarterly progress meetings and feedback and learning sessions with the Provincial Coordinator, Field Manager, and other team members as required; and
• Perform other necessary duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, social work, development studies or related field;
• Demonstrated experience in training delivery, case management, and working directly with communities, particularly poor populations;
• At least 1 year of experience working on government programs, DSWD programs preferred;
• Proven experience in working with Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) and Indigenous Peoples (IP) communities
• Proven experience in working in small enterprise development, livelihoods strengthening, or related experience; and
• Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills.

How to Apply Candidates are encouraged to apply by submitting the following:

• Resume
• Cover letter
• Three references

Please submit all documentation electronically to BRAC International no later than July 29, 2022. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Only soft copy applications will be considered, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.