Ad-hoc staff are also called Ad-hoc employees and they are usually recruited by government agencies such as INEC(Independent National Electoral Commission), NPHCDA (National Primary Healthcare Development Agency), NPC(National Population Commission), and more. Many times, people have had to find a meaning to the word “Ad-hoc”; while it doesn’t exactly have the meaning that people think, it is a Latin word that means – for this period or this situation. This also explains why Ad-hoc staff are only hired for a short period.
Who is an Ad-hoc Staff?
An ad-hoc staff is a person who has undergone necessary training under the required federal government agencies and has been brought on board to work with them for a stipulated period which is usually within a few weeks to some months (on rare occasions). This broadly explains that ad-hoc staff are not just sent to do the job without making sure that they can really do it. The purpose of the training is to take each staff through the process of the responsibilities they will be bearing and also confirm that they can do the job. For instance, if you are looking to work with the INEC for general elections, before the elections, a period would have been set apart to educate participants on what they should know about handling ballot boxes, what vote counts and which doesn’t, how votes are supposed to be counted and how to issue ballot papers. All of these are necessary if the election process must move on smoothly.
Also, an NPHCDA ad-hoc staff may have to work to ensure that children are immunized. Considering that this is a very sensitive assignment before the immunization exercise commences, staff are trained regardless of their level of experience to see that they can perform their duties without a glitch. The same thing goes for the NPC ad-hoc staff. To make sure that people within each household are properly counted and recorded in the NPC database, the ad-hoc staff are trained.
Responsibilities of an Ad-hoc staff
Ad-hoc staff work for different government agencies in Nigeria and this means that they can’t have uniform obligations or perform the same set of duties. The responsibilities of an NPC Ad-hoc staff will be very different from that of an INEC Ad-hoc staff. However, there may be some general responsibilities just like we have listed below:
- They attend to people who might need to get some information concerning the project.
- They are usually in charge of administrative duties such as registration and coordination.
- They educate people about the importance of partaking in activities which could be voting, health screenings, or census.
- Assisting, organizing, and running the projects to support the agencies.
- Controlling the large crowd that may be in attendance to be a part of the activity.
How to get Ad-hoc jobs with government agencies
If there is anything that has bothered Nigerians for a long time, it is the issue of unemployment. Therefore, it is impossible to stall on an opportunity such as this which means there are quite a number of people who will be interested even when they know that it’s a temporary position. However, to get an ad-hoc job with government agencies, here are simple steps that can help you:
Decide on the agency you wish to work for
Ad-hoc jobs may be seasonal which means it doesn’t happen at the same time for all agencies. However, pick one agency you think you are fit to work with; if you have a thing for healthcare and don’t enjoy how elections pan out in the end, you can just choose to work for NPHCDA instead of INEC. If you also think that you can deal with the job description of NPC workers, you can also give it a try.
Be Informed/Up-to-date
These government agencies publicly announce their intention to hire ad-hoc staff and whenever you visit the internet, the information is there. The only way you can get the information in time is to use your social media well. You can also follow these agencies on every of their social media platforms and turn on your post notification just so that you can always receive key information in time.
Follow application instructions
The moment any of these agencies announces recruiting ad-hoc staff for their projects, they drop a link that allows interested participants to apply for the jobs. Also, requirements for each job are stated right there on the application site, take time to read through to be sure that you are eligible to be a part and also have the necessary documents. A lot of people go ahead to apply and don’t get the job eventually because they didn’t get the instructions and requirements right.
You need people too
Nigerians like to believe that they need people’s help to hit a certain goal. In most cases, it is true! So, if you have anyone who works within your preferred agency or who doesn’t but you think might be of help, let them know that you are interested in the ad-hoc job and you have sent in your application. Remember that we earlier talked about how there can be a lot of people who might be interested which makes it a competitive stage. So, if you know anyone who can be of help to you, lean towards them for your advantage.
