Job ID: 318954

Social Cohesion Officer

Location: Nigeria

Apply by: 29 Nov 2026

Relevant Sectors

Administration, Management, Finance/Accounting, Procurement

Social, Education, Gender, Youth, Child

Social Cohesion Officer - MMC, Jere and Mafa

Key responsibilities:

Conflict and context analysis:

Carry out a conflict and do-no-harm analysis at each facility site. Identify the groups involved, what divides and what connects them, past tensions, power dynamics and risks linked to the facility.
Map stakeholders for each facility: landowning families, traditional leaders, host community members, returnees, IDPs, women and youth groups, and government offices. Note each group's interests and expectations.
Update the analysis every quarter. Advise the Project Manager on conflict risks before key decisions on land, membership, plot allocation or benefits.

Ownership and land tenure process:

Lead the ownership and tenure audit. Collect and review Phase 1 MoUs, land donation letters, Certificates or Rights of Occupancy, community resolutions and site records.
Facilitate consultations with landowning families, first separately and then jointly with government and communities, using free, prior and informed consent principles.
Support negotiation of the land-use instrument for each site (long-term lease, conditional donation or regularisation through the Ministry of Lands) and of the landowner recognition and benefit package.
Draft the Tripartite Facility Management Agreements with the legal adviser. Coordinate their signing by the lead MDA or LGA, the cooperative and the landowning family or traditional institution.
Organise public validation meetings where each agreement is explained in local languages and a summary is displayed at the facility.

Governance structures:

Facilitate transparent selection of members and supervised elections of the Facility Management Committees, with protected seats for a Women's Lead, a Youth Lead and a landowner representative.
Support each group to draft its constitution and bye-laws, including term limits, removal procedures, conflict-of-interest rules and a code of conduct.
Set up and support the LGA Facility Oversight Committees in MMC, Jere and Mafa. Provide technical support to the secretariat of the State Asset Oversight Committee.
Train committees in leadership, transparent decision-making, inclusive participation and accountability to members.
Put the safeguards against elite capture in place: public display of membership lists and plot allocations, quarterly social audits, and General Assembly meetings.

Social cohesion and peacebuilding:

Facilitate community dialogues between landowners, host communities, IDPs and returnees, women and youth, and government officials, to agree a shared vision for each facility.
Lead the development and signing of a Government–Community Compact in each LGA, setting out what government and communities each commit to.
Organise landowner recognition events at commissioning, together with traditional and government leaders.
Coordinate quarterly joint monitoring visits and the twice-yearly community open days.
Set up, train and mentor Peace and Grievance Committees in mediation and dispute resolution. Make sure they include traditional, religious, women, youth, landowner and IDP/returnee representatives.
Mediate disputes over land, access, water allocation, membership and benefits directly. Escalate unresolved cases through the agreed path: facility committee, then traditional leader and LGA mediation, then the Facility Oversight Committee.

Early warning and accountability:

Maintain a log of tensions, disputes and how they were resolved. Report it every two months to the LGA Oversight Committees and monthly to the Project Manager.
Make sure grievances are linked to the Feedback and Complaints Response Mechanism (FCRM). Refer protection concerns to the Protection focal point.
Help design and analyse the social cohesion perception survey (baseline and endline) with the MEAL Officer.

Supervision of community mobilisers:

Plan and supervise the community and committee work of the three community mobilisers.
Train them in facilitation, mediation basics, conflict sensitivity and safe referral.
Review their reports, and check the quality and inclusiveness of meetings they organise.

Handover readiness:

Assess the ownership, governance, inclusion and cohesion criteria of the handover readiness scorecard for each facility.
Document lessons learned on ownership resolution and social cohesion for WFP and partners.

Cross-cutting duties:

Stay impartial and be seen to be impartial. Never take sides in disputes or make commitments on behalf of government or landowners.
Make sure at least 40% of members of every governance structure are women and youth, and that persons with disabilities, returnees and IDPs take part meaningfully.
Follow PSEA, safeguarding, confidentiality and security procedures.
Carry out any other reasonable duties related to the project, as assigned by the Project

Essential requirements:

Qualifications, experience and competencies:

Education:

Essential: a university degree (B.Sc or HND) in Peace and Conflict Studies, Sociology, Political Science, Law, Public Administration, Development Studies or a related social science.
Desirable: a Master's degree in Peace and Conflict Studies, Development or Law.

Experience:

Essential:

At least 4 years of experience in social cohesion, peace building, community governance or conflict-sensitive programming.
Proven experience facilitating community dialogues and mediating disputes, preferably over land, water or shared resources.
Experience setting up or strengthening community structures such as committees, cooperatives, WUAs or peace committees, including elections and constitutions.
Experience working with traditional institutions and State and LGAs in North-East Nigeria.
Experience with NGOs, UN agencies or government programmes in humanitarian or recovery settings.

Desirable:

Experience negotiating land-use, asset handover or community ownership agreements.
Knowledge of customary and statutory land tenure in Borno State, including the Land Use Act.
Experience with livelihoods, WASH or infrastructure projects where communities share assets.
Experience with Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) and feedback mechanisms.

Skills and competencies:

Excellent facilitation, negotiation and mediation skills.
Able to stay neutral, build trust and handle sensitive information with discretion.
Strong analysis of power and conflict dynamics, and sound judgement on risk.
Clear writing of agreements, meeting records and reports.
Cultural sensitivity and respect for local customs, with a commitment to inclusion of women, youth, persons with disabilities, IDPs and returnees.
Commitment to PSEA, safeguarding and humanitarian principles.
Proficient in MS Office or Google Workspace.