Job Description

Finnish Refugee Council (FRC) / Suomen Pakolaisapu (www.refugeecouncil.fi) is an International non-governmental organisation with Head Office in Helsinki; FRC advocates for the rights of refugees, displaced populations and migrants, and supports their new beginning. By reinforcing equality and creating opportunities for everyone to lead a good life, FRC promotes the establishment of stable and peaceful societies.

Education forms the foundations of an equal society, and FRC´s activities place emphasis on capacity building for the most vulnerable members of societies as well as for community-based organizations, thus strengthening basic democratic structures.

FRC has been registered and accorded legal personality with Registry Number 4184 on 11^th of June 2019 as a Foreign Organization and, as per the plans revised due to COVID-19 outbreak, FRC started its operations in Ethiopia as of September 2020, implementing the 1 year long humanitarian project funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

The project is titled “Functional Adult Literacy for enhanced refugees´ resilience in Gambela Region” and aims at increasing the access to Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) for vulnerable South Sudanese refugees and host community members in Gambela Region.

Duration: 9 months (from 1^st January 2021to 31^st of August 2021) with possible of extension

Category: Humanitarian/Development sector

Career Level: Officer

FRC is looking for a dynamic and pro-active professional to be appointed as Disability Focal Person (Officer) to be based at Gambela Field Office. The position holder will directly report to Field Office Coordinator/FAL Team Leader and work closely with Senior Education Officer based in Addis Ababa. He/she is responsible for ensuring that disability is mainstreamed in all project cycle as well as ongoing FAL project is implemented in disability sensitive manner. His/her main tasks will be:

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Technical Adult Education Support and Training (40%)

• Provide counselling service to beneficiaries with disabilities to actively participate and benefit from the project intervention and wider development interventions in their community;
• Map organizations working on disability and link PWD to access supportive equipment/devices that facilities their active participation in FAL project;
• Conduct mapping exercise at Jewi refugee camp and Gambella zuria woreda host community to identify PWD’s;
• Provide day to day life skills training alongside the provision of training on literacy and numeracy skills with an objective of enabling learners with disabilities to accept their impairment and develop self-esteem and self-confidence;
• Plan and implement functional adult literacy (FAL) and language training – such as English for Adults (EFA) – following the agreed curricula, topics and themes and ensure inclusion of disability;
• Make sure that people with disability and women are participating equally and actively in the program;
• Provide the required technical assistance to the project staff and peer facilitators to effectively mainstream disability in any project activity;
• Provide professional support to and capacity building of volunteer instructors in the field of adult teaching, literacy and language training;
• Ensure FAL curriculum, training manual and checklists consider inclusion of disability, gender, environment and marginalized community both at refugee and host community setting;
• Coordinate targeting of FAL learners in consultation with FAL team leader and ensure people with disability targeted for the program;
• Prepare and provide advice on testing of learners, including design of final exam.
• Conduct trainings to government structure at all level and FRC on issues of disability inclusion;
• Coach peer facilitators in planning weekly, monthly, quarterly and biannual lesson plan for FAL learners;
• Actively participate in FAL learners’ selection from refugee and host community as per in line with the targeting criteria and program document;
• Produce quality periodic reports on FAL program and report to supervisor;
• Support FAL team leader and senior education officer in the whole process of PCM particularly on the area disability inclusion;
• Ensure constructions and renovations planned community centres by FRC considered people with disability which avoids structural discrimination;
• Oversight reading materials developed/ procured from existing market appropriately considered PWD’s and women;
• Organize and facilitate training sessions/workshops on disability mainstreaming in humanitarian projects for the authorities and other stakeholders ;
• Provide on the ground technical support to stakeholders on mainstreaming of disabilities in their projects and programmes;

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (40%)

• Collect and analyze data using FRC designed M & E tools and forms on learners’ performance and instructors’ skills and competences.
• Periodically analyze progress towards project outcome and outputs.
• Record and discuss the lessons learnt and possible corrective actions.
• Collect analysis and report sex, disability age, level, segregated data for decision making.
• Monitor the performance and skills of instructors.
• Monitor and evaluate the progress of learners in general and learners with disability.
• Closely follow-up and support learning groups;
• Develop tools and training material for disability mainstreaming training sessions/workshops;
• Undertake a disability mainstreaming survey of other stakeholders and authorities in the camp and host community;
• In collaboration with implementing partners, develop tools for mainstreaming of disabilities in their projects
• Be the focal point for sharing of information to stake holders regarding persons with disabilities in the camp and host community.
• Develop information material on disabilities and referral to be used for awareness raising in the camps and host community.
• Participate in the cluster meetings and in other relevant coordination mechanisms in Gambella.
• In collaboration with the field office team develop a database for persons with disabilities for the camp and host community.
• Document through pictures and narratives the impact of the FRC intervention for PWDs in the camps and host community through success stories and monthly reports.

Innovation (10%)

• Develop methods and teaching approaches to enhance functionality and learner’s involvement particularly learners with disability.
• Develop and experiment new learning materials to promote functionality and participation of learners with disability.

Community Mobilisation (10%)

• Engage other partners in the mobilization and involvement in the adult education activities.
• Mobilise and motivate adult learners to join the learning groups.
• Identify potential volunteers in the community to facilitate and teach literacy and language courses as instructors particularly PWD’s.
• Coordinate the graduation ceremony for learners.
• Mobilize and advocate for PWD’s to enrol and actively participate in FAL program both at refugee and host community settings.
• Work in close collaboration with partner organization in preparing and facilitating regular disability inclusive FAL program campaigns and events
• Perform other duties given by immediate supervisor.

Job Requirements

Minimum academic Qualifications and competencies:

• Bachelor’s degree in Disability Studies, Social Sciences, Education Special needs education, Adult Education/Pedagogy/Curriculum/Psychology/ or Community Development with strong experience Adult Education and Literacy
• Excellent experience in training, material development and participatory assessments
• At least 2 years’ professional work experience in adult education work with communities.
• practical experience in mainstreaming work (gender / disability/environment)
• Previous experiences working with an NGO in the field of disability
• Ability to work with minimal supervision and achieve results.
• Experience working with non-governmental organisations, local communities, authorities.
• experience in coordinating, facilitating, implementing, monitoring and evaluation of education related projects for NGOs in humanitarian and refugee settings, preferably in Gambela Region;
• Familiarity with humanitarian principles;
• Previous experience for International NGOs;
• Knowledge and experience working in different tiers of the education sector;
• Take initiative and is goal oriented, demonstrates abilities to supervise staff;
• Good communication and writing skills, is adaptable, flexible and resourceful, able to adopt an organized and methodological approach, sense of confidentiality;
• Proficient written and spoken English language skills;
• Strong interpersonal and advocacy skills;
• Good team spirit and respect for diversity;
• Proficiency is Microsoft Office package.

Desirable competencies:

• Training on Project Cycle Management;
• Familiarity with at least one of the most widely spoken languages in Gambela (e.g. Anuak, Nuer);
• Previous experiences in functional adult literacy and disability inclusive education programmes.

How to Apply

Applications (CV and cover letter) should be sent to recruitment. Ethiopia@refugeecouncil.fi  and tegistu.petros@refugeecouncil.fi

By 25th of November, 2020.

Interviews (via teleconference as well) will be held from 10th of December 2020.

Include in your application letter:

• Gross salary request,
• Maximum 3-page long CV / Resume and an application letter (attached as one document),
• Contact details (email and telephone) of 3 professional reference persons.
• Do not email copies of certificates. If you do not hear from FRC by 15st December 2020, your application has not been successful.

Early applications are encouraged.  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

FRC is equal Opportunity employer.

People with disability and women are encouraged to apply.