Ipas is a non-profit making organization working to improve women’s lives by focusing on improving access to information and services to basic sexual and reproductive health across the globe.  Since the year 2000, Ipas Ethiopia has been collaborating with the Ministry of Health (MOH), Regional Health Bureaus (RHBs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and various local and international partners to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity resulting from unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion. 

In light of the need to strengthen our relationship with stakeholders and expedite program implementation, we are planning to hire the following position

Position Purpose and Summary of Responsibilities

The Community Mobilization and Engagement Advisor will oversee and coordinate interventions of projects that aim to mobilize and educate women, young people and the community at large.  She/he will lead and facilitate community-based project interventions to increase access to acceptable, affordable, and quality SRH information and services to women, adolescents, youth and the community at large. Based on health education programs of Ipas, the incumbent will coordinate Ipas’s work at community level by closely working with Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Youth-focused organizations, health extension workers (HEWs), woreda women and youth affairs office, development associations and other stakeholders at community level.  

The Advisor is expected to build strong working relationship with Ipas team and our external partners and stakeholders for effective implementation of projects that are targeted to enhance women, adolescent/youth participation and increase community awareness and engagement on SRH aligned with Ipas’s strategic priorities, mission, and vision.

Specific Responsibilities 

Project Planning & Management

• Oversee community interventions through collaboration with community-based organizations (CBOs); appraising project proposals, award sub-grants, follow-up implementations, collect and review reports of CBOs.

• Lead, execute and monitor all project work plans, milestones, and progress of key deliverables that are related to community outreach.

• Develop/participate in development of annual health education plans and quarterly reports for donors and government.

Technical Support & Communications

• Facilitate and provide technical assistance and insights for digital-health platform design, development, implementation, and continued improvement.

• Participate and support grassroots advocacy activity of Ipas and partner CBOs.

• Provide ongoing technical support, supportive supervision, and periodically organize review meetings with CBOs and other partner organizations.

• Create/facilitate referral linkages between the community/youth and Ipas supported health facilities, NGOs / private clinics.

• Serve as a point of contact on community education activities of Ipas Ethiopia with partners and stakeholders through regular communication with all key stakeholders.

• Contribute to the design, development, use and evaluation of IEC/BCC tools and other teaching aids to enhance access to information on SRH.

• Support/participate in Ipas’s media interventions including journalists training, and message development.

Subgrant Management

•  Compile/develop community education/ communication strategy to guide sub grantees and partner organizations to properly address family planning and abortion issues.

• Identify effective community-based organizations and participate in project appraisal of CBOs and youth focused organizations.

• Conduct pre-award assessment prior to award grants including robust risk assessment by using Ipas’s sub recipient management SOP.

• File and store all contractual documents in a secure and retrievable place.

• Review and monitor financial and programmatic reports from sub-grantees based on agreed timetable.

Monitoring, Evaluation, & Documentation

•  Identify best practices/lessons learned from community approaches and create a forum to share with other Ipas networks and stakeholders.

• In collaboration with R&E unit, track and document data and information on community mobilization activities of CBOs and youth-focused organization.

• Develop tools/ guidelines for conducting pre- and post-test assessments, to evaluate the usage and effectiveness of IEC materials and other community-based interventions.

• Participate/ support conduct rapid evaluation on the success of community-based and youth-focused interventions.

• Participating in in-house review meetings, grant proposal writing, and documentation and reporting of project performances to government partners and donors

• Responsible for documentation of community engagement interventions and generating a report.

• Other related activities as assigned by supervisor.

Report to: Senior Project Manager

Grade: Advisor

Terms of employment: One year with possibilities for extension

Note:  Female applicants are highly encouraged!

Ipas management reserves the right to modify the contents of this position description at any time.

Ipas is strongly committed to providing a work environment that is free from all forms of harassment, discrimination, and inequity.  We recruit, employ, train, promote, and compensate our personnel without regard to race, age, sex, religion, national origin, color, creed, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, veteran status, military service, disability, genetic information, or any other personal characteristics protected by law or outlined by Ipas policy

Job Requirements

Position Requirements 

Educational Requirements 

• Master’s degree in sociology/anthropology, public health, or other related fields.

Experience / Expertise

•  A minimum of 10 years’ experience in leading community engagement and mobilization interventions.

• Demonstrated high level of technical expertise to ensure effective implementation of project specific demand generation and community engagement activities.

Other Qualifications 

• Innovative/creative, team builder, communicator, and excellent team player.

• Experience in developing training materials and facilitation/ training experience.

• Proven ability to build positive working relationships with diverse internal teams and external partners.

• Strong commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially abortion and contraception access.

• Interested, capable and willing to travel to project sites and provide support and technical guidance as deemed necessary.

• Fluency in spoken and written English.

How to Apply

Please send CV and application within 15 days from the day of announcement to the following address or hand-deliver to our office:

 Micky Leland Street (Behind Caravan Hotel)

Behind Yeshi Buna

Tel: 011 663 3379/ 011 662 6311

Email: zewdieh@ipas.org

P. O. Box 63001 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

 N.B. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.