Capacity Development and Partnership Officer (7 Positions)

Job Purpose:

The Capacity Development and Partnership Officer is responsible for strengthening partnerships, providing technical assistance, and building the capacity of Project Participants, Government partners, and private sector actors in the assigned regions under the TRAIL III Project and the Rural Connectivity for Improved Food Security Programme (RCFSP).

The role requires strong thematic expertise in social and institutional development to ensure timely and quality delivery of all activities related to capacity building and partnership development, in line with the approved scope of work.

Key responsibilities include coordinating trail bridge needs assessments, promoting the inclusion of trail bridges in government strategic plans and budget allocations, establishing and strengthening regional road technical teams, and supporting the formation and capacity development of trail bridge operation and maintenance committees. The Officer will also facilitate local production of trail bridge construction materials, enhance the capacity of construction and consulting firms, conduct studies, and generate lessons learned.

Aligned with HELVETAS’ long-term strategy of gradually transferring direct implementation and scaling responsibilities to capacitated partners while focusing on advocacy and technical backstopping, the incumbent is expected to actively contribute to and work in accordance with this strategic direction.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Partnership and Capacity Strengthening:

• Conduct institutional capacity assessments to identify strengths, needs, and gaps in scaling up rural transport infrastructure, including individual skills and organizational systems.
• Coordinate trail bridge needs assessments in collaboration with the Infrastructure Development Officer to provide government partners and stakeholders with data for prioritizing rural access in plans and budgets.
• Collaborate closely with partners and organizations to promote effective linkages among government, civil society, and private sector actors.
• Identify training and capacity development needs of government partners and private sector actors, and facilitate planning, organizing, and overseeing appropriate training programs.
• Support and implement capacity development initiatives for target communities, government institutions, private actors, and community organizations based on identified gaps and project plans.
• Promote internal learning, synergy, and joint resource mobilization among actors to achieve shared development results.
• Work with TVET institutions and universities to develop appropriate human resource development training for the Rural infrastructure sector.
• Undertake analytical work and provide technical guidance on community mobilization and capacity building for rural transport infrastructure, with a focus on ensuring sustainability of trail bridges and foot trail networks.
• Conduct continuous follow-up to ensure that skills, tools, and resources for trail bridge and network improvement are adopted and integrated into standard operating procedures.

Project Implementation:

• Contribute to the development of standards, guidelines, and processes that ensure the quality of capacity development approaches across project outcomes and outputs.
• Support and advise the project team and government partners in implementing Woreda development plans and designing sustainable strategies for the operation and maintenance of road infrastructure (trail bridges and foot trail networks).
• Facilitate the establishment and strengthening of regional, zonal, and Woreda-level networks for the development and implementation of trail bridges and foot trail infrastructure.
• Provide technical inputs to rural infrastructure planning processes to ensure plans are realistic and consider social development constraints and criteria for infrastructure delivery.
• Prepare annual operational plans, reports, and updates for the partnership and capacity development component of the project.
• Ensure project implementation aligns with approved work plans and take timely corrective actions when necessary.

Quality Assurance, Documentation, and Reporting:

• Contribute to organizational and sector-wide learning by providing high-quality inputs on lessons learned, best practices, and evaluations for all program components, including training, mobilization, and IEC materials.
• Identify and anticipate potential risks and challenges and advise on mitigation measures and solutions.
• Collaborate effectively with local government partners and project team members to ensure timely and efficient project delivery.
• Ensure regular updates and submission of progress reports against intermediate milestones and set targets throughout the project cycle.

Qualifications:

• BA in Social Work, Sociology, Social Work, community development, Development Studies, management, or related social science field to rural access.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years work experience and of which 2 years NGO related work experience in partnership and capacity development, facilitation of community mobilization and institutional capacity development.
• Solid knowledge about capacity building approaches and working modalities
• Demonstrated experience facilitating training and workshops
• Relevant experience working within a partnership agreement and/or a network including regional institutions.
• Understanding and knowledge of the Ethiopian Road Sector Development Program, working guidelines, standards, and specifications.

Skills and Competences required:

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Flexible, capable of working independently, high integrity, and hard-working.
• Fluency in spoken and written English is required; proficiency in the local languages of the region applied is mandatory.