Programme Officer (PO)

Position:  Programme Officer (PO) Reports to: Programme Manager (PM) Contract: Permanent, Full Time - Onsite Location : Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with frequent travel to regional offices in Semera, Afar region or other regions. Contract Type:  fixed term (12 months, renewable, 60 working days probation) Application closing date: 30th April 2026   About The HALO Trust The HALO Trust is the world’s oldest and largest humanitarian demining organisation, with 10,000 staff in 30 countries. 98% of HALO’s staff are local employees and include a growing number of women. Wearing the HALO badge is to belong in a team sharing one purpose: serving people affected by conflict, clearing landmines and explosive remnants of war that threaten lives long after fighting has finished. At HALO, we pride ourselves in the lifesaving work we do and have correspondingly high expectations of the staff we employ.   HALO has been registered in Ethiopia since 2021 and established mine action operations in Afar region in 2025. The recent 2020–2022 armed conflict in Tigray has left large areas of northern Ethiopia contaminated with explosive ordnance. Spillover of combat operations and explosive remnants of war (ERW) from Tigray impacted neighbouring Afar, home to pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities who rely on access to grazing land for survival. HALO intends to grow its programme in northern Ethiopia to address this pressing and long-term humanitarian and development issue.   About the role: HALO Ethiopia is seeking a Programme Officer (PO) to join their team, based in its Addis HQ with frequent travel to Afar region and the programme’s Semera office. The Programme Officer will play a central role in ensuring the effective management, delivery and communication of HALO programmes in Ethiopia. This role combines programme coordination, donor and contract management, external engagement, monitoring and evaluation. The Programme Officer, under the supervision of the Programme Manager (PM), will oversee donor reporting and proposal writing, gather and analyse operational data to track progress against targets, engage with donors and stakeholders, and represent HALO publicly on behalf of the programme.    This role requires excellent attention to detail, strong communication skills and the ability to transform programme data and activities into compelling proposals, reports, case studies and external communications. This is a varied role requiring a balance of analytical, organisational and representational skills. The successful candidate will need to work effectively across teams, maintain donor confidence through robust contract management and contribute to HALO’s visibility through professional communications and advocacy.   Duties and Responsibilities    Donor Management  Write concept notes, project proposals and programme briefs for donors, ensuring high-quality, persuasive submissions aligned with donor requirements.  Support the HALO Programme Manager in seeking out new funding opportunities.  Review and draft budget narratives, coordinating closely with the finance team, for donor reports, work plans and proposals.    Support the Programme Manager with the management of existing contracts, ensuring compliance with donor obligations and HALO’s internal policies.  Track progress towards contracted donor outputs and targets, maintaining oversight of programme logframes, output indicators and reporting tools to ensure accuracy of data and consistency across projects.  Maintain strong working relationships with donors, including representing HALO at relevant meetings and events and organizing field visits as required.    Communications and Advocacy Produce programme publications and digital content such as infographics, brochures, briefing documents, displays and presentations using visual communication tools (e.g., Piktochart, Canva). Travel each cycle to HALO field operations to develop case studies, human-interest stories and emotive narratives for demonstrating programme impact. Work with HALO HQ communications staff to ensure alignment with global messaging and campaigns. Draft monthly Situation Reports (SITREPs) for the programme.   External Engagement and Partnerships  Represent HALO externally with donors, partners, and other stakeholders; confidently deliver presentations and speak on behalf of the programme in public forums.  Manage due diligence processes and maintain documentation required for donor and partner engagement.  Support the Programme Manager in developing and maintaining strategic partnerships to advance programme objectives.  Assist with the hosting of visitors, donor delegations, and other external engagements in-country.    Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL)  Ensure programme outputs and outcomes are accurately tracked, analysed, and reported in close coordination with HALO’s MEAL and IM teams.  Use programme data to measure progress against objectives, highlight gaps and recommend solutions to strengthen programme delivery.  Contribute to programme reviews, evaluations and learning processes to improve impact and accountability.  Conduct regular quality assurance checks on information, ensuring accuracy and consistency in reporting.  Ensure programme outputs are captured and stored systematically for use in reports, proposals, and communications.    Safeguarding and Gender  Promote safeguarding standards within the programme and ensure adherence to HALO’s safeguarding policies.  Support gender mainstreaming across all programme activities, ensuring women and men are equitably represented and empowered.    Programme Support  Support the drafting of strategic documents.  Provide secretarial support for programme meetings, including agenda preparation and accurate minute-taking.    Complete other tasks as required.    All HALO staff are expected to undertake the following general duties:  Work within the framework of HALO’s core values, promoting its ethos and mission statement.  Work towards achieving key programme objectives.  Ensure familiarity with and adhere to all HALO policies and procedures and keep informed of HALO activities.  To discharge duties and responsibilities under HALO’s Health and Safety Procedures which may include Risk and COSHH Assessments and participation in evacuation procedures as necessary.    This job description is intended to summarise the main duties and responsibilities of the post; this is not intended to be a full and exhaustive list of tasks. All HALO staff are expected to demonstrate flexibility and willingness to perform appropriate tasks when the need arises.