Project Coordinator- Access to Justice At Terre des hommes IN BENUE
About Terre des hommes Foundation (Tdh)
Terre des hommes (Tdh) is a Swiss-based humanitarian organization committed to improving the lives of children and youth. Operating in over 30 countries, Tdh focuses on child protection, access to justice, health, and humanitarian response, working closely with governments, communities, and local partners.
In Nigeria, Tdh works to strengthen systems in health, access to justice, and mobility through a systemic and community-centered approach. This includes strong engagement with cross-cutting themes such as gender, child protection, WASH, and digital innovation (ICT4D).
In 2025, Tdh will launch a new project in Benue State, focusing on improving access to justice and health services for women and girls who are survivors of gender-based violence (GBV). The project will be implemented in collaboration with local NGOs, community-based organizations, and government institutions such as the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Women Affairs, and security and health authorities. The initial duration of the project is 18 months, with long-term engagement planned.
Overall Objective of the position:
Under the supervision of the Head of Base and in close collaboration with the Deputy Country Representative for Programmes, the Project Coordinator – Access to Justice serves as the strategic and operational lead for a multi-sectoral intervention aimed at strengthening access to justice and protection systems for survivors of GBV in Benue State, Nigeria. The position ensures quality implementation in line with Tdh’s standards, project cycle management principles, and organizational procedures across HR, logistics, finance, and risk management.
The Project Coordinator is responsible for the integrated delivery and performance of the A2J project, ensuring coherence across legal, psychosocial, health, reintegration, and monitoring and evaluation components. Functioning at a senior management level, the role provides strategic leadership, working closely with a multidisciplinary team as well as with regional technical advisors and the Regional Coordinator for Access to Justice.
The Project Coordinator will oversee the project cycle from design and adaptive planning to implementation, monitoring, learning, and reporting. Key responsibilities include fostering cross-sectoral integration, strengthening partnerships, ensuring safeguarding and accountability mechanisms are embedded, and promoting survivor-centered, rights-based justice and protection models.
A central focus of this role is to ensure that access to justice for GBV survivors is not implemented in isolation but integrated within broader protection systems and services in collaboration with government institutions, civil society organizations, legal aid structures, and community-based networks.
This position requires strong leadership, coordination, and diplomacy skills balancing stakeholder engagement with technical rigor and operational efficiency. The ideal candidate combines legal and protection expertise with experience managing complex, multi-component programs and leading diverse teams in humanitarian or development contexts.
Tdh operates in regions with security concerns, taking necessary precautions to ensure team safety. The candidate must be willing and able to travel in these areas while respecting organizational safety protocols.
Specific Responsibilities / Context « tasks »
- Strategic Program Leadership
- Provide overall strategic and operational leadership for the A2J project in Benue State, ensuring cohesive, quality, and results-driven implementation across all program components—Access to Justice, GBV response, MHPSS, Health, Socio-economic Reintegration, and MEAL.
- Lead integrated planning and adaptive management processes, overseeing the development of workplans, implementation strategies, and performance frameworks in alignment with Tdh standards, organizational priorities, and donor commitments.
- Ensure that survivor-centered, rights-based, and gender-transformative approaches are consistently embedded across all program pillars.
- Work in close collaboration with the Deputy Country Representative for Programmes, as well as regional technical advisors and the Regional Coordinator for the Access to Justice Programme, to ensure strategic coherence, technical soundness, and alignment with regional priorities.
- Contribute to the design of new projects and development of high-quality proposals, ensuring that learning from implementation and contextual analysis informs program growth and donor engagement.
- Team Management and Technical Supervision
- Provide overall leadership and supervision for the multi-disciplinary project team, including component leads (e.g., GBV Legal Assistance Specialist, MHPSS Specialist, Health, and WASH staff), ensuring coherent and integrated delivery of all project components.
- Facilitate cross-functional collaboration between project staff and technical advisors from the Delegation team to ensure alignment with Tdh standards, methodologies, and technical guidance.
- Ensure effective coordination between programmatic, operational, and technical streams (GBV, MHPSS, Health, WASH, MEAL), promoting accountability and synergies across components.
- Support the capacity strengthening of national staff and local partners, fostering their ability to progressively assume greater technical and leadership responsibilities for sustainability.
- Model and promote an inclusive, supportive, and safeguarding-compliant leadership style, consistent with Tdh’s values.
- Access to Justice Technical Oversight
- Provide strategic and technical guidance on access to justice interventions for GBV survivors, ensuring integration across legal aid services, community-based mechanisms, customary systems, and formal judicial structures.
- Oversee the development, adaptation, and implementation of survivor-centered tools, protocols, and referral pathways, ensuring they are safe, ethical, and contextually appropriate to IDP camp and host community settings.
- Promote innovation and learning in community-based justice initiatives, alternative dispute resolution, and institutional capacity strengthening (e.g., police, judiciary, legal aid providers), in close collaboration with Tdh technical advisors.
- Ensure that accountability, protection principles, and safeguarding standards are embedded in all access to justice activities.
- Systems Strengthening and Institutional Engagement
- Build and sustain strategic partnerships with government ministries, justice sector institutions, traditional and community authorities, civil society organizations, and professional bodies to enhance systemic responses to GBV.
- Facilitate coordinated, multi-sectoral action across justice, health, WASH, protection, and social welfare actors to ensure an integrated and survivor-centered response framework in Benue State.
- Lead advocacy and policy dialogue to promote the effective implementation of existing legislation particularly the Benue State Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law and support reforms that strengthen institutional accountability and access to justice for survivors.
- Promote capacity development and institutional ownership by engaging state and local actors in co-designing and sustaining protection and justice mechanisms
- Program Quality, MEAL, and Adaptive Management
- In close collaboration with the MEAL Manager and technical advisors, ensure that robust monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) systems are embedded across all program components, enabling evidence-based decision-making and adaptive management.
- Promote the systematic use of disaggregated data, survivor and community feedback, and participatory learning approaches to guide program adjustments and strengthen relevance, inclusivity, and impact.
- Ensure full compliance with Tdh’s programmatic and technical standards, donor requirements, and international protection frameworks, with particular attention to safeguarding, protection mainstreaming, and risk mitigation protocols.
- Support the documentation and dissemination of lessons learned, promising practices, and innovations to inform internal learning and external advocacy.
- Financial, Operational, and Resources Management
- In close collaboration with, and under the supervision of, the Field Coordinator/Head of Base, provide oversight and coordination for the financial, human resource, logistics, and supply chain management elements of the project, ensuring alignment with Tdh standards, donor requirements, and compliance frameworks.
- Contribute to budget planning, forecasting, and monitoring, ensuring effective use of resources and timely adjustments to meet programmatic priorities.
- Coordinate with HR teams to support recruitment, onboarding, and capacity development of project staff, fostering a professional, inclusive, and accountable working environment.
- Work with logistics and supply chain teams to ensure timely and transparent procurement, fleet, and asset management, as well as effective delivery of program materials and services.
- Ensure strong operational coordination mechanisms across program, finance, HR, and logistics teams to guarantee the smooth and efficient delivery of activities, including service provision, outreach, training, and coordination forums.
- Oversee the management of partnerships, sub-awards, and consultancies, ensuring that contractual, safeguarding, and operational standards are respected.
- Representation, Visibility, and Thought Leadership
- Represent Tdh and the Access to Justice project in relevant coordination forums, technical working groups, donor engagements, and policy dialogues at state and national levels, ensuring consistent and professional communication of program objectives and achievements.
- Contribute to Tdh’s strategic positioning as a key actor in survivor-centered justice, integrated GBV response, and system-strengthening approaches, in close collaboration with the Deputy Country Representative and regional technical advisors.
- Support the documentation, visibility, and dissemination of project learning, good practices, and innovative models to inform state, national, and global dialogue on access to justice and protection systems in humanitarian settings.
- Maintain trusted relationships with government counterparts, community leaders, civil society, and humanitarian actors, reinforcing Tdh’s credibility and advocacy reach.
Core Competencies & Skills
This function requires possession of fundamental personal, social and leadership skills (CPSLs), technical and methodological skills (CTMs) and Managerial and strategic skills (CMSs).
Particularly including the following:
- Proper integration and application of guidelines and strategy in the development and carrying out of his/her activities.
- Proper knowledge and command of the stakes in his/her field of expertise
- Meaningful experience in the development of partnerships, the identification of new opportunities and the mobilization of resources
- The proper integration and application of the guidelines and strategy in the development and carrying out of his/her activities
- The proper integration and application of guidelines and strategy in the development and carrying out his/her activities
- A capacity to work in a matrix organization
- A capacity to listen to and motivate his/her colleagues
- The management of potentially volatile operational areas
As well as the following specific “trade” skills
- Confirmed experience in coordinating and implementing projects in an NGO and/or international organization in his/her field of expertise, in international cooperation and/or humanitarian contexts
- An excellent capacity of and ease in expressing him/herself in public (conferences, workshops) and adapting to their audiences (governments and local authorities)
- A collaborative attitude with colleagues in- and outside the team
- Management of time and priorities; meeting deadlines
- Enthusiastic, reliable and independent with a strong organizational capacity, decision-making and conflict resolution
- A capacity to identify challenges, foresee risks and inform the management with substantive recommendations
- Experience in drafting project proposals and managing subsidies, fund-raising and a good knowledge of financial partners
- Good knowledge and experience of the project management cycle and M&E
- Excellent interpersonal qualities: integrity, a capacity to judge, diplomacy
- Proactive, creative and out-of-the-box thinking
Job Requirements/Required Conditions
Training /Qualifications
- Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Law, Human Rights, Gender Studies, Social Sciences, International Development, or a related field.
- Additional certifications or advanced training in GBV prevention/response, legal aid, women’s rights, or access to justice are a strong asset.
- Specialized training in project management, protection, or MHPSS is desirable
Professional Experience
- Minimum of 4–5 years of senior management experience in humanitarian or development programs, with a focus on access to justice, GBV response, protection, or related programming.
- Proven track record in managing multi-component, multi-stakeholder projects in complex, resource-constrained, or fragile contexts.
- Strong legal or protection background with experience engaging both formal and informal justice systems, including institutional capacity strengthening and legal aid service delivery.
- Demonstrated expertise in strategic planning, program design, monitoring & evaluation, and adaptive management.
- Experience in leading and mentoring multi-disciplinary teams, including specialists in GBV, MHPSS, health, and justice/legal services.
- Prior experience working with government actors, civil society partners, and community structures in sensitive programming areas.
- Willingness and ability to travel frequently within the project area and to work in challenging humanitarian field environments.
Professional Competencies
- Strong leadership and coordination skills, with the ability to inspire collaboration across diverse teams and stakeholders.
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving capacity, with a focus on evidence-based and survivor-centered approaches.
- Strong communication and negotiation skills, including diplomacy in engaging with government institutions, civil society, and communities.
- High level of integrity and commitment to safeguarding, accountability, and ethical conduct.
- Ability to manage budgets, resources, and risks effectively, ensuring compliance with donor and organizational standards.
- Demonstrated capacity to build partnerships, advocate, and influence policy and practice in complex governance settings.
Languages
- Fluency in English (written and spoken) is mandatory.
- Knowledge of local languages in Benue (e.g., Tiv, Idoma, Igede, Hausa) is a strong asset.
IT know-how
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
Others
- Fully comply with Tdh Code of Conduct and ensure Child Safeguarding Policy, PSEA are always upheld.
- Ensure adherence to Tdh standards and quality requirements in all the project activities.
- Adhere to and ensure the team under her/his responsibility follows Tdh administrative and logistical regulations and procedures.
Security
• Comply with Tdh Security Regulations
General Code of of Conduct and Tdh’s Risk Management Policies
- Commits to complying with the General Code of Conduct and systematically reports any breach of the Code through the Tdh warning procedure: raises the awareness within the Foundation on violence and abuse and the rights that derive from them regarding children, community members and our own employees.
- Commits to complying with the Risk Management Policies, including Safeguard policies (the policy of Safeguarding Children, the Policy of Protecting against Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, the Guideline on Abusive Behavior at Work), the Safety/Security Policy and Anti-Fraud/Corruption Policies and the Prevention of Funding Criminal Activities.
- Commits to reducing the risk of abuse by developing an open and informed culture of management within the organization and in our work with children and the communities where we work.
The tasks and responsibilities defined in this job description are not exhaustive and can evolve depending on the project’s needs.
Equal Opportunity Clause:
Terre Des Hommes- Nigeria is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace where all individuals are valued and respected. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and celebrate the differences that make us unique. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, including but not limited to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
Hiring Conditions
- Applications will be processed on a rolling basis.
Method of Application:
Interested and qualified candidates should go to: https://forms.gle/3mRLBQmcqTTmF9wt9 to apply
