Community Engagement Officer

MSD is an indigenous, non-profit civil society organization established in 1999 with a mission to improve the health, well-being, and socio-economic conditions of communities across Ethiopia. Over the past decades, MSD has evolved into a well-established development and humanitarian organization, delivering evidence-based, community-centered programs that respond to the evolving needs of vulnerable and underserved populations.

MSD implements integrated programs across a broad range of thematic areas, including: Health and Nutrition: TB, HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health (SRH), maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), and nutrition. Education and Skills Development: Access to quality education, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), and skills development.  Social Mobilization and Livelihoods: Economic strengthening, community mobilization, and prevention of harmful traditional practices (HTPs), gender-based violence (GBV), and female genital mutilation (FGM), Migration and Trafficking: Safe migration, protection, rehabilitation, and reintegration support for migrants, returnees, and victims of trafficking; Child Care and Development: Child protection, early childhood care and development, and infant and young child feeding. , Human Rights and Good Governance: Democratization, peace building, social accountability, civic engagement, and dialogue; Humanitarian and Emergency Response: Integrated assistance and protection services for communities affected by conflict, displacement, disasters, and other emergencies; and Environment and Climate Change: Environmental sustainability, climate resilience, and biodiversity conservation.

Through these integrated programs, MSD works in close collaboration with federal and regional government institutions, communities, civil society organizations, development and humanitarian partners, and other stakeholders to strengthen local systems, expand access to essential services, promote inclusion and equity, and build resilient communities across Ethiopia.

Project Background:

The Border Security Programme (BSP) is a UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)-funded regional initiative designed to address organized immigration crime (OIC), strengthen border security, and contribute to safer borders and communities. The programme seeks to reduce the activities and influence of criminal networks involved in facilitating irregular migration, human smuggling, human trafficking, document fraud, and other forms of organized immigration-related crime. It adopts a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach that combines institutional capacity strengthening, evidence-based decision-making, community participation, and protection support for individuals affected by organized immigration crime.

Position: Community Engagement Officer  

• Location: Metema
• Salary: Negotiable subject to organizational salary scale and project budget
• No. Required: 1
• Gender: Both male and female are invited, and women are highly encouraged to apply.
• Term of Employment: Contract

Job Summary

The Community Engagement Officer is responsible for planning, coordinating, and implementing community-based engagement, mobilization, and awareness-raising activities under the Border Security Programme (BSP) in Metema and surrounding border communities. Based in Metema and reporting to the Migration/Protection Coordinator, the Officer leads efforts to strengthen community awareness, participation, and collective action on safe migration, human trafficking prevention, migrant rights, and protection of vulnerable groups.

The position works closely with community leaders, religious institutions, youth and women’s groups, local authorities, community-based organizations, and other relevant stakeholders to promote informed decision-making, address drivers and risks of irregular migration, and strengthen community-based protection mechanisms. The Officer facilitates community dialogues, sensitization campaigns, outreach activities, and participatory initiatives, while ensuring the meaningful engagement of women, youth, returnees, and other vulnerable groups.

The role also supports community-level identification of protection concerns, dissemination of safe migration information, and linkage of vulnerable individuals to appropriate protection and referral services. The Officer ensures that all activities are inclusive, culturally appropriate, accountable to affected communities, and aligned with safeguarding, PSEAH, confidentiality, and do-no-harm principles.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

·         Community Mobilization and Engagement: Mobilize and engage community leaders, religious institutions, youth groups, women’s associations, and local structures in preventing human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and exploitation.

• Awareness Raising and Prevention: Organize community awareness campaigns, dialogues, public discussions, and educational sessions on safe migration, trafficking risks, migrant rights, and the consequences of irregular migration and exploitation.
• Community-Based Early Warning: Support the establishment and strengthening of community-based early warning and reporting mechanisms to identify suspicious recruitment practices, trafficking risks, exploitation, and other migration-related protection concerns.
• Community Reporting Mechanisms: Facilitate accessible, confidential, and safe channels through which community members can report suspected trafficking cases, exploitation, and protection concerns to appropriate authorities and service providers.
• Stakeholder Coordination: Establish and maintain working relationships with local government offices, community-based organizations, traditional and religious leaders, law-enforcement agencies, and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen community-level prevention initiatives.
• Community Structures Strengthening: Support the establishment, training, and capacity development of community-based groups, volunteers, and local protection structures to identify and respond to migration-related risks.
• Identification and Referral: Facilitate the identification and safe referral of vulnerable individuals, potential trafficking survivors, and at-risk migrants to appropriate protection and support services in coordination with the Referral Officer and Migration/Protection Officer.
• Community Feedback and Participation: Promote meaningful community participation in programme planning, implementation, monitoring, and feedback processes, ensuring that the voices and concerns of vulnerable groups are considered.
• Monitoring and Documentation: Document community engagement activities, awareness sessions, emerging protection risks, community feedback, and early warning information, and prepare regular activity reports.
• Safeguarding and Protection Mainstreaming: Ensure that all community engagement activities respect human rights, gender equality, child safeguarding, confidentiality, PSEA, inclusion, and the Do No Harm principle.

Qualification Requirements:

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, Social Work, Psychology, Community Development, Development Studies, Communication, Social Sciences, or other relevant fields.
• Additional training or certification in community mobilization, migration management, human trafficking prevention, protection, or humanitarian response is an advantage.

Experience

• At least 3–5 years of relevant professional experience in community engagement, mobilization, awareness-raising, or humanitarian and development programmes.
• Demonstrated experience in designing and facilitating community-based interventions addressing irregular migration, human trafficking, migrant protection, and safe migration.
• Experience in mobilizing community structures, including community leaders, religious leaders, youth groups, women’s associations, and local organizations.
• Proven experience in conducting community awareness campaigns, sensitization sessions, dialogue forums, and behavioral change communication activities.
• Experience working with vulnerable groups, including potential migrants, returnees, trafficking survivors, women, children, and youth.
• Experience coordinating with government offices, CSOs, community-based organizations, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Experience in documenting community engagement activities, collecting feedback, and preparing periodic reports.

Training and Technical Knowledge

• Community mobilization, participatory approaches, and community-led development.
• Migration governance, safe migration, and human trafficking prevention.
• Migrant rights, protection principles, and referral mechanisms.
• Gender equality, GBV prevention and response, and child protection.
• Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) and Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC).
• Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), community feedback and complaints response mechanisms.
• Safeguarding, PSEAH, inclusion, and do-no-harm principles.
• Participatory needs assessment and stakeholder mapping.

Expected Skills and Competencies

• Strong community mobilization, facilitation, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to build trust and establish effective relationships with community leaders, local authorities, and vulnerable groups.
• Strong skills in planning and facilitating community dialogues, awareness campaigns, and sensitization activities.
• Ability to develop culturally appropriate communication and awareness-raising materials on safe migration and human trafficking prevention.
• Ability to identify community protection concerns and facilitate appropriate referrals to relevant service providers.
• Strong networking, negotiation, and stakeholder coordination skills.
• Ability to promote meaningful participation of women, youth, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized groups.
• Good documentation, data collection, report-writing, and presentation skills.
• Ability to work effectively in multicultural and challenging border-community settings.
• Good computer skills, particularly MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Language Proficiency

• Excellent written and spoken Amharic is mandatory.
• Good spoken and written English.