Afghanistan: Rural Development Senior Advisor

Sep 25, 2014 | Swedish Committee for Afghanistan

SCA has been working in Afghanistan since 1982 and is presently managing development programmes linked to five Strategic Objectives– Health, Education, Rural Livelihoods and Community Governance with a total annual budget of roughly USD 40 million. The total number of staff is more than 6,000 of whom 15 are non-Afghans. The SCA presence in Afghanistan consists of the Kabul Management Office (KMO), five Project Offices and three Field Offices. In Sweden SCA has 20 staff working at the Stockholm Management Office (SMO) and around 4,000 members organized in local chapters all over the country.

During the last 10 years SCA has undertaken a change process moving from a primarily humanitarian service delivery approach towards more of a developmental role, putting increasing emphasis on capacity development, rights-based programming and outcome orientation. The mission of SCA is to empower individuals, communities and local organizations, primarily in rural areas and with particular focus on women, girls, boys and vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, so that they may participate fully in society and influence their own development.

Rural Development Programme (RDP) has four components; Engineering (construction of health and education facilities), Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), National Solidarity Programme (NSP) and Community Governance and Livelihood Project (CGLP). 

The objective of the NSP is to build, strengthen, and maintain Community Development Councils (CDCs) as effective institutions for local governance and social-economic development. SCA is facilitating partner of Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development in seven districts of Wardak Province. SCA work with both CDCs and local authorities on promoting community governance in light of Rights based approach. We facilitate saving groups and village saving and loan associations for improving the quality of life in rural communities through savings, revolving loans, enhancing production, linkages (both forward and backward), networking and other necessary activities to ensure complete package and long-term commitment for livelihood intervention.

The Rural Development programme is managed by a Programme Management Unit in Kabul Management Office and by project office teams in Jalalabad, Wardak, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kunduz and Taloqan. The Programme covers 12 Provinces of the country.

Scope of Work:

Working in close consultation with the Head of the Rural Development Programme, the Rural Development Senior Advisor has a central advisory function in designing, strengthening and developing the programme for ensuring long-term outcomes. The Advisor helps in guiding processes related to policy, strategy and methodology, and provides technical support for improved planning, monitoring, reporting and implementation. The role encompasses strategic work on institutional and system levels as well as capacity building of key programme staff, partner organisations and counterpart ministries.

For more details and to apply, please visit the link above or click here.