THEEuropean Institute for Cooperation and Development (IECD) is a development aid organization which operates in around fifteen countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in the Near East & North Africa region, in the Indian Ocean and in South-East Asia.
Since its creation in 1988, the IECD and its teams have continued their mission on the ground as “Sowers of the future”. Entrepreneurs in human and economic development, they build, with local partners, environments favorable to the deployment of everyone's talents. The ambition of the IECD is to give beneficiaries the essential know-how to improve their living conditions, become responsible actors in their country and contribute to making society fairer. The IECD has developed recognized expertise in three areas of intervention: Education, Training & professional integration, and Entrepreneurship.
The Entrepreneurship Center operates 2 programs:
- The “VSE Program” to support Very Small Businesses: training and support for project leaders and entrepreneurs, mainly in urban areas. This program is deployed in 10 countries: in Africa (Cameroon, Ivory Coast, DRC, Congo Brazzaville, Madagascar, Central African Republic), in the Middle East (Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon) and in Asia (Vietnam);
- The “TRANSFORM Program” for incubation of Small and Medium Enterprises in the agri-food processing sector in Cameroon and Ivory Coast;
Through these two programs, the IECD invests in training and support for small businesses, the main engine of growth and job creation at the local level. Each year, Entrepreneurship programs support more than 3 project leaders and entrepreneurs in the launch, sustainability and development of their activity. These programs thus contribute to inclusive economic and social development in the implementing countries.
The IECD's “VSE Program” to support Very Small Businesses has been deployed in the DRC since 2010, where it has enabled the training and support of more than 2000 entrepreneurs in the city of Kinshasa. RDC Entreprises Développement (RDCED) is the operational partner of the IECD in Kinshasa, responsible for the implementation of the Support Program for Very Small Enterprises. In addition to core training activities, RDCED operates several recurring business coaching services within the framework of partnerships with foundations or private companies, and implements entrepreneurship awareness activities on a large scale within 7 professional training establishments.
Since 2023, IECD has aimed to develop and diversify its activities in the DRC. As part of this strong development, and while several new operational opportunities directly concern support for entrepreneurship, the IECD is looking for a person passionate about development projects and willing to participate in a project with strong social value, to join its teams in Kinshasa, providing technical assistance to RDC Entreprises Développement.
Our mission
The TPE Project Manager M/F will adopt a technical assistance posture, in close collaboration with the RDCED operations manager and the support teams, under the responsibility of the RDCED Executive Director (also country director of the IECD):
1. Supervision of the operational implementation of projects
- Directly support the RDCED operations manager in planning the activities of the various projects, defining the objectives and results to be achieved, identifying priorities and supporting the teams in resolving the problems encountered;
- Support the development of new approaches and methodologies, and the implementation of new activities;
- Supervise the implementation and monitor the achievement of target objectives;
- Adapt monitoring tools and project activities in coordination with the thematic coordination team;
- Ensure regular monitoring of key indicators from logical frameworks;
- Working in a permanent logic of capitalization: exploits, enriches and ensures the transmission of formalized documents on relevant and/or innovative subjects (tool, methodological guide, CR, etc.), in collaboration with its line manager and thematic coordination.
2. Financial and administrative management of projects
- Develop budgets for projects within its scope and carry out budget monitoring;
- Ensure the proper maintenance of RDCED's analytical accounting and bank accounts under the supervision of the administrative and financial assistant;
- Supervise RDCED's planning, expenditure commitment and anticipation of financial risks;
- Guarantee compliance with commitments made to financial partners, ensuring compliance with RDCED and financial partner procedures on commitment and justification of expenditure.
3. Support for teams and management of HR issues
- Assists the RDCED operations manager and the executive director with the recruitment, support, and retention of the RDCED team (around ten people)
- Identifies key local executives and talents and upgrades their skills;
- Ensures the management of employee arrivals and departures (training, support, end of contract, termination of contract, resignation, etc.) with the support of their line manager and the administrative and financial assistant.
4. Report on activities
- Internally, develop and transmit relevant information to thematic coordination teams (based in Paris) or other support functions (DAF, communication, partnerships, etc.);
- Externally, develop, validate and transmit narrative and financial reports to the financial partners for whom he/she is responsible;
- Ensure regular dialogue with the RDCED Board of Directors; prepare and participate in meetings;
- Maintain a close relationship with financial partners present in the field: visibility actions, field visits, meetings, etc.
5. Consolidation and development of relationships with operational and financial partners, and participation in institutional representation
- Manages and develops institutional relationships and funding: develops new partnerships (projects, external services) and identifies new sources of funding for RDCED;
- Participates in the representation of the IECD to local stakeholders;
- Develops the internal and external communication of the project under the supervision of a communications manager: ensures the visibility and notoriety of the project (Newsletter, Facebook page, local media, organization of events, etc.);
- Identifies and relays opportunities for deployment of other IECD projects in the country
Profile
- Education: Training from higher education (management, development, international relations, etc.)
- Experience:
– Minimum 3 to 5 years of experience in project management or similar position
– Foreign experience essential, preferably in sub-Saharan Africa
– Interest in the field of development and international solidarity
– Ideally, experience in the fields of entrepreneurship, business launches, incubators, etc. - Expected skills:
– Project management, monitoring of activities and indicators
– Management: support, train, unite, and retain teams in a partnership approach with a strong focus on skills development
– Ability to mobilize and unite a network of partners
– Budget monitoring skills
- Mastery of the pack Office
– Knowledge of the challenges of entrepreneurship and the informal sector in Africa - Personal qualities :
– Sense of pedagogy, transmission, ability to support people, diplomacy
– Pragmatism
– Listening skills and perseverance
– Creativity and sense of result
– Rigour, organization
– Strong moral qualities: honesty, humility, respect
– Relational ease, open-mindedness
– Adherence to the values of the IECD: a look at the person, the spirit of service, professional commitment
Conditions:
- Status: VSI
- Under the responsibility of: the Director of Operations of IECD in the DRC and Executive Director of RDCED, based in Kinshasa
- Location: Kinshasa, with possible travel to the provinces depending on the development of new activities
- Position dates: April 2024, 2 years renewable
