Community Mobilization Program Manager, Uganda

From Action Against Hunger USA

Country: Uganda
Region: Karamoja
Job Type: Employment
Job Location: Field
Directing HQ: Action Against Hunger – USA
Job Duration: 4mths
Language(s): English
Minimum Experience: Humanitarian
Expiry Date: Jun 30 ’10
Job Objectives:

JOB DESCRIPTION
To assess, define and implement a community based communication strategy in Kaabong & Moroto districts. The main aim of the strategy is to ensure improvement in nutrition, health, and hygiene main practices via community empowerment on household health. The process of definition will involve reviewing existing communication tools (MoH for feeding, hygiene) and methodology between ACF and the program beneficiaries, as well as between ACF and communities within the interventions area, in order to strengthen the knowledge and understanding of the organization, program and mandate acceptance, to promote adoption of improved practices in relation to hygiene (nutrition, health & WASH) and ensure a coherence between programs (integration Nut, WASH, FSL).
This is a field post, close to beneficiaries in order to best learn how to define strategies of promotion and education as well as to ensure a strong collaboration with all departments in the coordination and field teams. It is a merging point for different departments to bring together their expertise and have best impact on communities.

DETAILED POSITION OBJECTIVES


Objective 1:

  • To evaluate communication practices used by ACF and define a common communication strategy (integrated) to improve ACF’s acceptance as well as effectiveness, and impact of field programs
  • To evaluate strengths and weaknesses (good & bad practices) of the current sensitization approach about ACF and themes for promotion by ACF team who work closely to communities and identify mechanisms for improvements in relation to the Karamojong culture and context.
  • To collect key information that will promote community acceptance of ACF activities.
  • To analyze strategic plans and actions by the Uganda mission in terms of communication with communities.
  • To propose a strategic revision (tools and methodology) that will define the overall regional approach in the field in terms of communication with beneficiaries and communities in intervention areas (indirect or non-beneficiaries of the program).
  • To train all teams in Karamoja (WASH, FSL and Nutrition) in relation to the communication policy.
  • To define a guide presenting the ACF communication policy and integrate the main tools and presentation documents in its implementation. The result will be a simple ACF sensitization package for teams to use in the field.

Objective 2:

  • To evaluate and improve the present activities in Karamoja region on the promotion of best practices linked to Health, Nutrition and Hygiene and to define a common intervention strategy to be implemented by the community department as well as mainstreamed by all departments.
  • Identify, with the different actors involved, the main ACF practices and actions linked to health, nutrition and hygiene.
  • To evaluate strengths and weaknesses (good & bad practices) of the current sensitization approach for health, nutrition and hygiene promotion and identify mechanism for improvements or new approaches in relation to the Karamojong culture and context for best impact of activities.
  • To collect information and key practices linked to health nutrition and hygiene with the ACF teams and beneficiary communities. A baseline KAP survey is available as baseline information.
  • To collaborate and to coordinate with other actors involved in health, nutrition and hygiene promotion (sector actors, UN, NGO, government sectors).
  • To analyze collected information in respect to ACF policies.
  • To define an intervention strategy (methodology and tools) that will define the approach in the field towards health, nutrition and hygiene promotion at the lowest community level unit (in Karamoja this is the manyatta level).
  • To train all technical teams on the Health, Nutrition and Hygiene promotion policy, specifically on methodology, to be followed, recommendations in terms of formulation of messages, and communication practices to improve the effectiveness of sessions delivered.
  • To define a guide for team on the communication approaches and tools for nutrition-health-hygiene promotion activities.

Objective 3:

  • To implement, follow-up, and evaluate a small scale community based pilot project in 200 manyattas in Kaabong & Moroto district that will be based on policies and strategies outlines in Objective 1 & 2.
  • To identify locations in Kaabong and Moroto districts for the pilot project (10 villages in each district; 10 manyattas within each village).
  • To define appropriate HR plan within budget framework and recruit needed team for implementation and monitoring of activities (Community Officers and Community Assistants).
  • To liaise and ensure community based nature to the project tin involving local leaders and key informants in the planning and implementation. This will result in a strong community network in pilot locations.
  • To develop delivery and monitoring skills of the team to ensure best impact in communities.
  • To train actors who compose the networks in collaboration with the field team.
  • Adjust activities as needed in order to obtain positive results in behavior change.
  • To ensure that the community department is structured, trained, managing and monitoring community activities.
  • To handover activities to the specified Program Manager who will oversee the community activities

Objective 4:

  • To support and advise specific requests from field teams for production of visual materials in communication, training, or community mobilization.
  • To train teams in the organization and implementation of communication/mobilization campaigns.
  • To train community teams on best delivery and follow-up methods.

Objective 5:

  • To ensure the training of ACF teams in community communication and mobilization.
  • To train program managers and technical teams on the communication methods and application tools developed according to previous objectives.
  • To identify resource people in the coordination team and transfer the acquired experience in order to ensure the approach is maintained in the long tern after the program manager leaves the mission.
  • Reporting: document the products for each project for capitalization of the approach.

Objective 6:

  • To coordinate with all technical departments on the mission as well as partners.
  • To define a work plan with the different teams and within a cross cutting framework
  • To work in synergy with the technical departments of the mission, in terms of activities, intervention areas, and targeted population.
  • To represent ACF in key meetings as identified necessary.
  • To contribute and participate in formulation of concept papers, proposal, and donor reports in relation do health nutrition hygiene promotion
  • To follow-up budget and logistics according to planned activities.
  • To produce regular reports in collaboration with technical coordinators or as requested by CD.
Qualifications:

Education / Specific Degrees / Special Skills :

– Masters’ degree in Public Health, Health Promotion Sciences, Community Approach and Communication related topic or other relevant subject. Extensive successful experience in community based approaches will be considered.

– At least 2 years experience in the development field – Strong community approach background – Dynamic with sensitivity to cultural perceptions in order to fulfill the task adequately.

– Capacity to innovate and integrate strategy within a given context – Good adult education techniques and understanding – Strong capacity for strategy definition in collaboration with three technical sectors.

– Strong training capacity

– Effective monitoring and evaluation skills on health-nutrition

-hygiene promotion activities

– Commitment to community based approaches for best outcomes for the targeted population Humanitarian field experience requested: YES

LANGUAGES French: NOT NEEDED English: PROFESSIONAL Spanish: NOT NEEDED Other: (may be helpful) SWAHILI, LUO, LUGANDA, Ngakaramajong

Cluck here to apply

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