Vacancies

Project Manager, Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan/Uzbekistan)

Agency: Saferworld

Location: Osh, Bishkek or Tashkent

Reporting to: Central Asia Regional Programme Manager (line manager)

Grade and Salary: A competitive INGO salary

Contract terms and hours: 34 months with possible extension depending on funding, standard working week is 37,5 hours 

Background: 

Saferworld is an independent international organisation working to prevent violent conflict and build safer lives. We work with people affected by conflict to improve their safety and sense of security and conduct wider research and analysis. We use this evidence and learning to improve local, national, and international policies and practices that can help build lasting peace. Our priority is people – we believe in a world where everyone can lead peaceful, fulfilling lives, free from fear and insecurity. We work in over 10 countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Saferworld is committed to providing a safe and trusted environment that safeguards our staff, partners and communities. Our organisational integrity is derived from the values and principles that underpin and guide our work.

Saferworld has been active in Central Asia since 2009. We have offices in Bishkek and Osh, and programmes in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. We help build trust and improve services by bringing people and security providers together. We encourage accountability and cooperation between communities and authorities to ensure that people’s security needs are addressed, and work on addressing women's and youth's concerns. In Kyrgyzstan, we work to improve cooperation and understanding between community representatives, the police and local authorities, and marginalised groups. Together with our partners, we develop and support civil society networks to address issues that affect people’s security. We also work with government officials and civil society to provide evidence and recommendations for improved policies and services for conflict-affected communities and for effective conflict prevention. Our work focuses in particular on working with women and young people, who are often left out of decision-making processes. In Uzbekistan, building on projects focusing on community security and preventing gender-based violence, we are now implementing projects aimed at strengthening civil society across the country, as well as on regional connectivity and cooperation.

Job purpose:

The post-holder provides overall leadership in the implementation of the regional project, which aims at empowering civil society, authorities and communities in the Fergana Valley to deliver inclusive, locally-led peacebuilding and violence prevention initiatives. 

They will provide strong leadership in conducting a needs assessment, and present the project (including benefits for women, men, girls and boys) to communities to build understanding and buy-in, agree on communication channels, establish feedback and response mechanisms, and apply robust security and safeguarding measures. The post-holder will constantly monitor contextual changes and global events that could impact project delivery, as well as discuss mitigation measures or changes. This will also include contingency planning with partners based on changing dynamics along the borders of the Fergana Valley, as well as the potential development of adaptation measures in consultation with the donor.  The post-holder will also promote dialogue among CSOs to help facilitate discussions and ensure that different perspectives are heard, help to address communication barriers and create a platform to encourage collaboration between CSOs.  

The post-holder will also facilitate engagement in the project of partners, which will lead to enhancing their skills in project design, provide opportunities for training on finance and grant management, and support them with information and advice on sustainable fundraising that will help a diversity of CSOs working on conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Together with the Central Asia Regional Programme Manager, they will be responsible for further developing, managing and monitoring the regional strategy and programme, elaborating the strategic vision, and carrying out fundraising as needed to pursue programme development opportunities. They will provide financial oversight of the project, manage project staff, and report on progress to donors. They will also represent Saferworld in interactions with relevant authorities, donors, and other stakeholders in Central Asia and globally, developing these relationships to advance our regional strategy. The post-holder will engage in cross-organisational information-sharing and lesson-learning on key policy and strategy issues and contribute to building synergies between the programmes.

The Central Asia programme deals with politically sensitive issues and a complex context. In this environment, effective programme management means that the post-holder must lead on planning for and managing a range of expected risks. Finally, the post-holder will contribute to organisation-wide strategic planning, processes and discussions to advance Saferworld's thematic and operational priorities, methodological approaches and organisational development.

Roles and responsibilities:

Coordinate effective planning, delivery and adaptation of the programme  

• Support the team and partners to deliver on project commitments, including through project planning and adaptation, facilitation of workshops, conducting trainings, and through the development of high-quality monitoring, evaluation and learning systems;
• Manage and monitor all project components
• Organise dialogue meetings, workshops and seminars in the provinces with local governments, civil society and international organisations to raise awareness of efforts to prevent violent conflict and promote cooperative approaches to security, including the advancement of CSO capacity
• Help identify capacity gaps and requirements of community-based organisations, NGOs, law enforcement agencies and government departments in relation to the prevention of violent conflict
• Contribute to the development of relations with Saferworld’s partners in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and capacity-strengthening of civil society partner organisations 
• Assist in the design and delivery of training and other support activities for authorities, civil society, and communities
• Regularly draft project activity reports and outcome monitoring forms
• Contribute to outcome harvesting and lesson learning
• Contribute to the production of narrative and financial reports for donors 
• Contribute to research undertaken by Saferworld and/or local partners and in the analysis and drafting of research reports and regular policy and thematic briefings, when required
• Facilitate and maintain cooperation with other international organisations, especially those working at the regional or cross-border levels.

Monitoring, evaluation and learning

• With the support of the MEL coordinator, conduct outcome harvesting and lessons learning processes with Saferworld staff and partners.
• Coordinate staff and donor monitoring visits and evaluations, as appropriate;
• Write timely and accurate activity reports to submit to donors
• Support the development and implementation of monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) systems/processes for the Central Asia regional programme in collaboration with the regional MEL coordinator;
• Foster coordination and cross-learning between Saferworld’s work in the region with other regions/offices/projects and between Saferworld partner organisations. 

Finance and administration

• Work with the Finance Manager and finance team, act as the principal budget holder for the project’s funds
• Ensure timely and accountable financial reporting by partners, supporting partners as required
• Monitor project budgets on a monthly basis to ensure optimum expenditure of funds and participate in monthly grant management meetings with the Asia Grants Manager and finance teams;
• Lead on the forecasting / re-forecasting of activity funds in line with internal requirements;
• Closely monitor programme work plans, budget forecasting, expenditure of activity costs, budget utilisation/burn rates, and variance reporting. 

Communications and advocacy

• Help identify opportunities, develop relationships with stakeholders for promoting project goals and objectives in the country, and develop appropriate strategies, in cooperation with local partners and other local and international actors.
• Monitor and analyse official and public debates on issues relevant to Saferworld’s work in the Central Asia region and identify opportunities for Saferworld to provide input into the policy debate in the region.
• Draft short updates on project activities and changes for Saferworld’s internal news.
• When requested, represent Saferworld at meetings, seminars, workshops, and other events.

Support programme development in Central Asia

• Support the Central Asia Regional Manager in the development of the programme strategy and approaches to community peacebuilding in Central Asia
• Contribute to the development of new proposals and budgets, in conjunction with the Central Asia Regional Manager and Programme Development Manager;
• Represent Saferworld for advocacy and fundraising purposes as necessary; 
• Coordinate with other organisations working on similar projects and in overlapping locations to ensure a joint-up approach
• Contribute to other Saferworld programme development processes and projects, as required;

Key working relationships

• Colleagues in the Central Asia programme – working collaboratively on programme implementation, monitoring, assessment and reporting;
• Partner organisations – working collaboratively to co-design and effectively deliver programme activities, facilitating participatory budgeting processes, and supporting demand-driven capacity strengthening activities
• Regional colleagues and relevant London and Brussels-based staff – contributing to broader Central Asia strategy goals as well as the organisation’s overall strategic objectives, as well as ensuring effective project delivery and learning (including through the development of a learning strategy which captures the outcomes of Saferworld’s work, along with the learning it generates in order to enable our programming to respond to changes as they arise);
• Colleagues in the finance team in the country – working collaboratively on budgeting, compliance and financial reporting
• Local authorities and other external stakeholders, including donors, networking, sharing information, and collaboratively working as appropriate;

Scope and accountability 

Decision making and limits of authority.

The Regional Project Manager is responsible for supporting project management and implementation in collaboration with the Central Asia Regional Programme Manager.   S/he supports programme design and implementation and ensures continuing relevance to Saferworld’s strategic priorities. 

Financial resources

Fully accountable for project budgets, with ultimate responsibility being with the Central Asia Regional Programme Manager

Other resources N/A

People management N/A

Legal, regulatory and compliance responsibility

Ensure compliance of project activities with Saferworld’s and donor procedures. 

Person specification

Knowledge, qualifications and experience

• A degree in international relations, or demonstrable work experience in development studies, peace and conflict studies or a relevant political or social science discipline (or equivalent professional experience);
• An excellent understanding of the Central Asia regional context and a strong grasp of governance, peace, climate, and/or gender equality issues;
• Substantial project management experience, preferably in a non-governmental organisation;
• Proven experience of designing, developing and implementing programmes
• Experience running and facilitating trainings, including sessions on topics related to peacebuilding
• Solid understanding and experience of civil society and government engagement, networking and capacity-strengthening on governance, youth empowerment, justice and conflict prevention issues, among others.
• Demonstrable experience of developing agendas and content for planning workshops, and facilitation of the same.
• Demonstrable experience of working with partners in ways that reflect the principles of power-sharing and accompaniment. 
• Proven experience of building and managing relationships, including remotely, with colleagues and/or partner organisations 
• Experience in mainstreaming gender and gender sensitivity in programmes, research and analysis

Experience in supporting MEL activities.

Skills and abilities 

• Fluency in English and Russian are essential, as is fluency in at least one of the national languages (Kyrgyz and/or Uzbek).
• Ability to develop strategies and translate these into practice
• Excellent communication skills, with clear strategies for working remotely with colleagues and partners, including in different countries and time zones
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work in a non-partisan manner, appreciating cultural, ethnic, religious and gender diversity;
• Strong understanding and sensitive approach to delicate issues and safety of project participants, especially in relation to complex power dynamics, identity, mental health, challenges faced by young people, and marginalisation/stigmatisation.
• Ability to work on his/her own, with demonstrated teambuilding and organisational skills;
• Enthusiasm to learn and apply new knowledge and skills;
• A positive problem-solving approach;
• Demonstrable ability to write research reports, policy papers, briefings and articles tailored to different audiences
• Excellent participatory workshop facilitation skills

Personal qualities

• Commitment to and compliance with Saferworld’s safeguarding principles
• Commitment to respect and value equality and diversity, and understanding of how this applies to own area of work
• Commitment to own continuing personal and professional development;
• Commitment to the vision, mission and values of Saferworld

Other requirements 

Ability to undertake frequent travel within and outside of Central Asia

Application process

To apply: Please visit our Jobs page on our website and apply using the link provided:  

https://saferworld-global.current-vacancies.com/Jobs/Advert/3866294?cid=3345&t=Project-Manager--Central-Asia--Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan

Closing Date for applications: June 19, 2025