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Consultant - Community Engagement Specialist

JSI Research & Training Institute

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Social Science

Social Science and Community

Hawassa

5 years

1 Position

2025-11-14

to

2025-11-25

Required Skills

analyse community needs

Fields of study

Health Officer

Social Science

Full Time

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Job Description

JSI is a global nonprofit dedicated to improving lives through better health and education outcomes for individuals and communities, and to providing an environment where people of passion can pursue this cause. In Ethiopia, JSI has been working to improve health outcomes for more than 30 years, implementing more than 60 projects and working in every region. JSI has historically managed a large portfolio of projects focusing on the quality and equity in access of RMNCAH services, primary health care (PHC), including community health programs, digital health, health information systems (HIS), supply chain management, public health emergency responses, and social and behavior change. 

The Momentum Integrated Health Resilience project is implemented by a consortium led by IMA World Health, is a global initiative that partners with governments and local stakeholders in fragile states and regions. MIHR’s objective is to save lives through increased access to high-quality MNCH-Nutrition life-saving interventions, strengthening partnerships with local organizations, and improving adaptive management to prevent, detect, and respond to health emergencies. MIHR focuses on equipping health institutions and frontline workers with the skills, tools, and resources to sustainably address the leading causes of maternal and child deaths. In Ethiopia, the project has three main objectives: 1) Enhance health facilities' readiness to provide essential quality MCH and nutrition services; 2) Improve access to and utilization of quality MCH and nutrition services through contextualized service delivery models; and 3) Enhance health security by improving emergency preparedness, disease surveillance, and outbreak response.

Direct, operational support to Primary Health Care Units (PHCUs) and their associated community structures. This pivotal role is dual-focused: 1) Driving demand and improving health-seeking behavior for essential RMNCAH services through Community Mobilization, and 2) Enhancing Health Security by strengthening local capacity for Risk Communication and Emergency Preparedness (RCCE). The Consultant will ensure high-impact implementation and knowledge transfer, aligning local actions with MIHR-E's strategic goals for sustainable community health and resilience.

Key Responsibilities

  • Direct Technical Support: Provide direct, hands-on technical support and mentorship to Health Extension Workers (HEWs), community volunteers, and PHCU staff in implementing planned Community Mobilization and SBC (Social Behavior Change) strategies.

  • Platform Rollout: Facilitate the effective rollout and utilization of community-based platforms such as community dialogues, Health Post Open House events, Community Action Cycles (CAC), school health activities, and other participatory approaches that strengthen linkages between communities and health facilities.

  • Barrier Analysis: Facilitate and monitor community meetings and dialogues to understand local barriers to service uptake and gather community feedback, which must be relayed back to the Woreda level for programmatic adjustment.

  • Data-Driven Prioritization: Support the PHCU management team in using both community and facility data to identify under-performing villages/kebeles and prioritize specific community mobilization interventions for maximum impact on RMNCAH utilization.

  • Preparedness Planning: Lead the development and implementation of a Cluster-Specific RCCE Action Plan focusing on priority health risks (e.g., infectious disease outbreaks, health crises) to ensure rapid, trusted communication protocols are in place.

  • Coordination and Intelligence: Maintain active, day-to-day coordination with PHCU leadership and Woreda Health Office experts regarding outbreak intelligence, public health alerts, and the effective deployment of RCCE messaging.

  • Systems Linkage: Support the integration of community-based surveillance and referral systems with facility response protocols during periods of heightened health risk.

  • Supportive Supervision: Provide timely, supportive supervision and technical mentorship to cluster staff on the use of various community engagement and RCCE tools, ensuring quality implementation.

  • M&E and Tracking: Track the performance and impact of the interventions using established indicators.

  • Data Analysis and Reporting: Collect, analyze, and report on performance data to inform local evidence-based decision-making and identify areas for improvement, adhering to MIHR-E reporting standards.

  • Stakeholder Harmonization: Conduct mapping of relevant stakeholders, including development partners in the woreda, with regular updating to harmonize community engagement efforts.

  • Work Relationships: Foster close and smooth work relationships with woreda health office and facilities managements and experts to ensure local ownership and sustainability.

Job Requirements

  • Master’s degree in health fields, Health promostion, Social Science, or related field with training and/or experience related to community engagement and empowerment 

  • More than 5(five) years of demonstrated technical and programmatic experience on community engagement and empowerment

  • Familiarity and demonstrated experience with Ethiopian Primary Health Care system including the Community Health Program, community engagement 

  • Proven experience in the provision of technical support and capacity building Community-level experience in facilitating trainings and workshops is highly desirable

  • Demonstrated experiences on capacity development of NSAs/CSOs

  • Strong communication, interpersonal skills, and writing skills

  • Able to promote team work and effort.

  • Experience of working with local governments and civil society organizations, and senior level government officials is desired. 

  • Excellent English writing and communications skills required, fluency in local language is an advantage

  • Computer literacy

  • Able to work with minimum supervision.

JSI/WEI is a child-safe organization, and the safety and well-being of children is a priority of our organization. We have robust recruitment procedures to ensure that all staff are suited to work with the children served by our programs.

JSI/WEI is an Equal Opportunity; Affirmative Action Employer committed to workplace diversity. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants and employees without regard to age, race, color, national origin, ancestry, creed, religion, gender, disability, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, or protected veteran status in any employment decisions. M/F/V/D

How To Apply

Interested applicants who met the above minimum requirements should send and apply at THIS LINK

Please submit Only your application letter and CV in English detailing your experiance , exposure and skills that are relevant to the post. Please do not attach copies of your transcripts, academic degrees or recommendation letters with the application. You will provide them upon request.

Fields Of Study

Health Officer

Social Science

Skills Required

analyse community needs

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