Vacancy Announcement

Position Title: Youth Engagement & Design Advisor

Department/Program: AYSRH

Level: D1

Reports to: Technical Advisor, RISE

Based in: Addis Ababa

Duration of contract: Indefinite based on performance and availability of funds.

Remuneration: As per the organization pay scale plus other PSI/Ethiopia staff benefits

Application Deadline: August 26, 2021 

Who we are?

We’re Population Services International (PSI), the world’s leading non‐profit social marketing organization. We work to make it easier for people in the developing world to lead healthier lives and plan the families they desire by marketing affordable products and services that range from mosquito nets to contraceptives to HIV testing. We are a $560m enterprise based in Washington, DC, operating in the private and public sectors in more than 65 countries.

Join us!

There are over 9,000 “PSI’ers” around the world. It’s a diverse group of entrepreneurs and professionals with an unusually wide range of backgrounds - from the medical industry to the music business - all with unique skills we bring to the job.

PSI/Ethiopia wants reimagine healthcare, put the consumer at the center, and whenever possible, bring quality care to the front door. We achieve health impact in Ethiopia by working with both government and private partners and harvesting technology innovation to bring quality care closer to communities, schools, and homes.  We empower consumers by including them in the design of healthcare solutions, offering them more healthcare choices, and helping them to have a voice in influencing national priorities. We work with all market actors in the health system to understand their needs, designing and delivering solutions so that market systems can sustainably serve consumers for the long term, helping to support the Government of Ethiopia in achieving Universal Health Coverage. 

We are looking for a Youth Engagement & Design Advisor to support the Roadmap for Integrating Smart Start in Ethiopia (RISE), an innovative adolescent sexual and reproductive health program going to scale in partnership with the Ministry of Health. This role will also support youth engagement across the other projects in the Adolescent Youth Reproductive Health portfolio at PSI.

Under the supervision of the Technical Advisor, RISE the advisor will be responsible for implementation of the youth engagement strategy, which aims to ensure youth voices are meaningfully incorporated into all of PSI’s adolescent work. The advisor will work hand-in-hand with our dozens of Youth Innovation Champions (YICs) who bring youth voices to the work and serve as designers, translators, advocates and more through the portfolio. This role will support the development of a clearly defined measurement framework for the strategy and track progress. Above all, the advisor will make sure that young people are at the center of the overall program and work with Ministry of Health officials to strengthen their own youth engagement as a way to delivery quality services.

The Youth Engagement & Design Advisor will be a member of the Design and Adaptation team, which used Human Centered Design (HCD) processes to improve programming for young people. As part of the team, the advisor will be required to support in general HCD work including field interviews, creation of facilitation guides, brainstorming new program elements, and presentations to internal and external stakeholders.  

Sounds like you? Read on!

Your contribution

You will work closely with the Addis-based project team, field teams, and with our US-based global support team to:

• Implement and periodically update the Meaningful Youth Engagement Strategy
• Manage the recruitment of Youth Innovation Coordinators in the respective regions where AYSRH programming is implemented
• Oversee payments, settlements, and other HR issues for all YICs engaged with PSI/E
• Plan, facilitate, and conduct regular capacity building trainings for the YICs
• Put in place a sustainable, rewarding, and cost-effective incentive scheme for young people to be part of Smart Start at different levels
• Design and implement a youth engagement measurement and tracking system
• Plan and run regular insight generation processes in program regions in close collaboration with field teams
• Identify events for young people to attend to highlight their SRH needs, their contribution to programming, and specific advocacy issues that rise
• Select and coach YICs for different public speaking opportunities (often on short notice!)
• Mentor and coach the YICs to meaningfully contribute to AYSRH program improvements with both the internal and external teams
• Represent PSI/Ethiopia in platforms where meaningful youth engagement is an agenda item
• Contribute to the roll-out of Smart Start at the national level so that comprehensive contraception services are provided to rural married girls
• Map youth-led and youth-affiliated organization to position PSI/Ethiopia as a key member of the youth engagement community of practice
• Facilitate meaningful technology use for effective and efficient youth engagement experiences
• Create new opportunities for youth-to-youth engagement at PSI, particularly through the launch of a mentorship program, social media exchange, and other ideas developed in partnership with young people
• Coordinate with PSI global staff working on Meaningful Youth Engagement to ensure alignment on strategy and make sure the Ethiopian perspective is included in global work

The position is based in Addis Ababa, and some travel around Ethiopia to regional offices and project sites may be required. This position will require close coordination and collaboration and with many people—good people skills are a must.

Job Requirements

What are we looking for? The basics

• Master’s degree public health, education/teaching, psychology, adolescent development or related fields with five (5) years of demonstrated experience

OR

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, education/teaching, psychology, adolescent development or related fields with seven (7) years of demonstrated experience

What would get us excited?

• Experience working directly with young people (under age 24)
• Background in health sector, sexual and reproductive health a requirement
• Demonstrated ability to work well with other teams and people
• Fluent in English and Amharic, other languages are an asset
• Excellent written skills in English required

What it takes to succeed

• Excellent communication skills
• Awareness of the challenges and opportunities facing young people in Ethiopia
• Ability to trust the capacity and expertise of young people to contribute meaningfully
• Strong process manager that produces quality products on schedule
• Ability to think creatively and critically to identify solutions to problems
• Good at forging partnerships for greater impact
• Belief in the power of teamwork and partnership to accelerate work and improve outcomes
• Self-motivated, organized professional who can effectively manager his/her own time
• Strong work ethic and “can-do” attitude
• Eager to learn from mistakes and use them to fuel improved performance
• Desire to move beyond ideas and to action
• Hard working and quick learner – not afraid to try new things
• Passion to put the power on the users’ hand.
• Comfortable with multiple technology communication platforms (Teams, Asana, Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, Whatsapp, etc.) and excitement about finding the right tool for the right job

How to Apply

Are you intrigued? Apply!

By following our 3 steps application process:

1. Fill out the application form using the following link: Online Application Form. It will only take 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Send your CV and application letter to recruitment@psiet.org clearly mark “Application for Youth Engagement & Design Advisor Position” in the subject line.
3. Check your email and make sure you receive an automatic response acknowledging receipt of your application that means your application was successful. If you don’t receive the automatic response, check again your subject line and if needed, re-submit your CV and application letter with the correct subject.

Application deadline August 26, 2021. We’ll call or e-mail you back if there is a good fit on both sides.

PSI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from qualified individuals regardless of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or disability.