Project Manager , LACoE

Job Title : Project Manager, LACOE (Latin America Centre of Excellence)

Reports to Position Title: Director, LACOE (Latin America Centre of Excellence)

Research Project Title:The Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security

FTE (based on 35 paid hr work week) 100%

Duration :12 months. Full-time

About the Research

Lt. General Romeo Dallaire founded the Child Soldiers Initiative in 2007 and Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, provided a home to the Initiative in 2010. In 2020, the Initiative became the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, an international repository of expertise, research, and advocacy to prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed violence. The Dallaire Institute is the co-developer of the 2017 Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers. As part of Dalhousie University, the Dallaire Institute hosts a prestigious Tier 1 Canada Research Chair on International Peace, Security and Children and offers undergraduate and graduate courses. Through academic and practitioner training and community engagement, the Dallaire Institute’s interdisciplinary and applied research advances innovative strategies for preventing the recruitment and use of children in armed violence. The Dallaire Institute is supported through private, public and international contributions.

To achieve this important objective, the Dallaire Institute conducts activities on four fronts:

•World-class, interdisciplinary research to build and share knowledge, which in turn leads to new solutions.

•High-level advocacy activities to create and promote the political will to end the use of children in violence as central to the achievement of global peace and security.

•Education and programming to sustain the efforts to make the recruitment and use of children as soldiers unthinkable by inspiring leaders, educators, and policy makers to implement new approaches, conduct research, and actively share their knowledge on the prioritization of the children’s rights upfront approach.

•Comprehensive, prevention-oriented training to security sector actors, in the service of broader security sector reform, as well as collaboration with civil society to create and implement tools that protect children from the dangers associated with recruitment.

Job purpose

The Project Manager for the Latin America Centre of Excellence (LACoE) is responsible for overseeing the coordination, implementation, and strategic alignment of the Centre’s portfolio of initiatives. This role ensures coherence across multiple projects, strengthens regional partnerships, and supports the operationalization of the Dallaire Institute’s strategic priorities in Latin America.

Duties and responsibilities

Project Management

•Facilitate overall implementation of the programmatic pillars across the Latin America Centre of Excellence (LACoE).

•Manage project timelines, activity workplans, and coordination across teams, ensuring coherence across multiple projects within the Centre’s portfolio.

•Provide strategic oversight on project integration across the Dallaire Institute’s research, training, and advocacy pillars.

•Support alignment of all projects with LACoE and broader institutional strategic priorities.

•Facilitate and manage consultant contracts and agreements for project deliverables.

Financial Oversight

•Oversee project budget execution and financial planning across multiple funding streams.

•Monitor and authorize expenditures and ensure cost-effective use of resources.

•Support donor financial reporting and audits.

Embedded Research & MEAL

•Integrate data collection, research activities, and MEAL processes across LACoE projects.

•Lead or support stakeholder interviews, consultations and field-level engagements

•Ensure MEAL frameworks capture data from training, fieldwork, and CSO engagements, and contribute to cross-project learning and analysis, and CSO engagements.

Training & Capacity Building

•Work with the Training Coordinator to help oversee the coordination of Basic and ToT Courses across the region.

•Work with the Training Coordinator and appropriate HQ support staff to help ensure training quality and curriculum consistency.

Stakeholder Engagement

•Manage relationships with partners and institutions across the region.

•Support coordination of MOU renewal processes, contracts, and partnership agreements.

•Represent the Dallaire Institute in external meetings, forums, and donor engagements when applicable.

•Coordinate planning of regional conferences, symposiums and high-level engagements (including donor visits and field activities).

Knowledge Mobilization & Communications

•Translate findings into reports, briefs, and communication products.

•Coordinate dissemination with the Communications team.

•Oversee and support production of multilingual documentation.

•Support development of presentations that showcase LACoE activities (to Institute staff, funders, academics, partners, and the public).

Team Support & Leadership

•Contribute to team culture and participate in internal planning and reporting processes at the Centre and institutional level.

•Supervise project staff, consultants, and interns where applicable.

•Foster collaboration across internal teams and departments to ensure integration of research, communications, and training deliverables.

•Support internal coordination mechanisms to strengthen the overall functioning of the LACoE.

All staff are additionally responsible to:

•Proactively participate in planning and performance processes as outlined in the Employee Handbook, including annual appraisals, regular meetings, and ensuring that annual reviews are an integral component of work plans and priorities.

•Promote a safe and secure work environment in line with the organization’s core values, including the Dallaire Institute Workplace Principles and foster strong communication between teams within the organization.

•Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to promoting and protecting the rights of children, particularly the prevention of the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict.

•Comply with Dallaire Institute’s financial and operational requirements and uphold high standards of honesty and integrity in personal conduct.

•This job description is a general outline of responsibilities and qualifications and is not intended to be an exhaustive list. The responsibilities and duties may evolve based on the organization's needs, and additional tasks may be assigned as required.

Qualifications

Required:

•Demonstrated ability to work effectively across multicultural, multilingual, and multidisciplinary teams.

•Master’s degree or equivalent experience in relevant field.

•3–5 years of experience in project management.

•Experience in MEAL and research.

•Full fluency in Spanish and English.

•Experience managing six-figure budgets.

•Strong organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.

Assets:

•PMP or equivalent certification

•Experience and/or training in gender-based analysis+ (GBA+).

•Experience supporting projects and field-level staff remotely.

•Fluency in additional languages.

•Knowledge of asset-based community development and youth engagement.

•Experience with civil society or security institutions.

•Familiarity with Dalhousie University or similar.

Working conditions:

Hybrid role: The successful applicant will be eligible for hybrid work (combination of in-person work on-site and remote work) as agreed by all parties based on operational requirements and Institute guidelines.

The position is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with the need for travelling up to 25% of the time.

Supervisory/managerial

The position is at the managerial level and will lead multidisciplinary teams in multiple countries in Latin America, integrated by local trainers, MEAL officers and Community Engagement specialists, as well as local financial officers.