GBV Project Officer

Empathy for Life Integrated Development Association (ELiDA), established in 2008 and licensed by the Authority for Civil Society Organizations (Certificate No. 1143), is a women-led organization working to empower women, girls and Children in Ethiopia. ELiDA promotes women’s leadership and participation in decision-making while advancing poverty reduction and inclusive development. The organization works across key regions of Ethiopia on girls’ education, women’s economic empowerment, peacebuilding, human rights, GBV prevention & response, child protection, and climate action, striving for a more just, equitable, and peaceful society.

The GBV Project Officer is responsible for the effective planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring, and reporting of GBV prevention and response interventions in ANRS – Oromo Nationality Zone – Kemissie with frequent travel to the project site Antsokia. The position ensures the delivery of high-quality, survivor-centered, age-appropriate, gender-responsive, and rights-based programming in accordance with national GBV guidelines, humanitarian standards, donor requirements, and organizational policies.

The GBV Project Officer will lead community-based prevention activities, strengthen referral pathways, coordinate with government and humanitarian actors, support One-Stop Service Centers (OSSCs), supervise community facilitators, and ensure that all interventions uphold the principles of safety, confidentiality, dignity, and non-discrimination.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Project Management, Coordination and Consortium Engagement
   • Lead the planning, coordination, implementation, and monitoring of all GBV prevention and response activities in the assigned project locations, ensuring timely achievement of project outputs and outcomes.
   • Coordinate project implementation within the consortium by facilitating joint planning, harmonized implementation approaches, information sharing, joint monitoring, and accountability among consortium partners in accordance with agreed partnership arrangements.
   • Establish and maintain effective collaboration with government institutions, humanitarian actors, community structures, and other stakeholders to strengthen integrated GBV programming and ensure sustainability.
   • Represent the organization and consortium in GBV Working Groups, Protection Cluster meetings, technical working groups, and relevant coordination forums.
   • Ensure effective planning, budgeting, procurement coordination, resource utilization, and compliance with donor, consortium, and organizational policies.
2. Technical Leadership and Programme Implementation
   • Lead GBV risk assessments, service mapping, capacity assessments, and other evidence-generation activities.
   • Establish, strengthen, and supervise Women’s Support Groups (WSGs) and facilitate community-based protection mechanisms, including culturally appropriate coffee-based dialogue sessions that promote gender equality and the prevention of GBV and Harmful Traditional Practices.
   • Plan and facilitate capacity-building initiatives for Women’s Support Group facilitators, frontline service providers, government staff, and partners on GBV prevention, survivor-centered approaches, safeguarding, Psychological First Aid (PFA), referral mechanisms, and case management.
   • Coordinate community mobilization, awareness campaigns, behavior change interventions, and dissemination of IEC materials to promote SRHR and positive social norms.
   • Strengthen GBV referral pathways by coordinating with health, legal, psychosocial, protection, and security actors to ensure survivors receive timely, confidential, quality, and survivor-centred services.
   • Coordinate survivor support interventions, including psychosocial support, emergency cash assistance, referrals, and strengthening of One-Stop Service Centers (OSSCs).
3. Monitoring, Reporting, Accountability and Learning
   • Lead project Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) activities, including routine monitoring, indicator tracking, and data quality assurance.
   • Prepare accurate and timely technical reports, implementation updates, donor reports, success stories, case studies, lessons learned, and other required documentation.
   • Facilitate knowledge management and learning by documenting best practices and challenges.
   • Promote Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) by ensuring community participation and effective feedback mechanisms.
4. Safeguarding, Protection Compliance and Other Responsibilities
   • Ensure that all project activities comply with the principles of confidentiality, safety, respect, non-discrimination, and the survivor-centred approach.
   • Promote and enforce organizational policies on Safeguarding, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH), and Child Protection.
   • Monitor project implementation risks and support continuous quality improvement.
   • Build and maintain strong professional relationships with community leaders, women’s groups, and government counterparts.
   • Perform any other duties assigned by the Project Manager or Consortium Lead.

Qualifications and Experience

Professional Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in implementing Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Protection, Women’s Empowerment, Child Protection, SRHR, or humanitarian/development programmes, with at least 3 years in a project management or supervisory role.
• Demonstrated experience in designing, implementing, coordinating, and monitoring GBV prevention and response interventions using survivor-centered and rights-based approaches.
• Proven experience managing community-based protection programmes, including community mobilization, social and behaviour change interventions, and prevention of Harmful Traditional Practices (HTPs).
• Practical experience in GBV case management, referral systems, psychosocial support (PSS), Psychological First Aid (PFA), and strengthening multi-sectoral response mechanisms.
• Experience coordinating and collaborating with government institutions, NGOs, UN agencies, community-based organizations, and humanitarian coordination platforms.
• Previous experience working in consortium projects, including joint planning, partner coordination, donor compliance, and collaborative reporting, is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated experience in planning and facilitating capacity-building initiatives for frontline workers, community facilitators, government counterparts, and local partners.
• Strong experience in project planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting, budget management, and donor compliance.
• Experience supporting One-Stop Service Centers (OSSCs), referral pathway strengthening, and integrated GBV service delivery is an asset.
• Experience working in emergency, conflict-affected, displacement, or fragile contexts, particularly in Ethiopia, is highly desirable.
• Previous experience working with institutional donors such as UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women, ECHO, FCDO, USAID/BHA, Irish Aid, or similar development and humanitarian donors is an added advantage.

  Knowledge and Technical Competencies

• Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Prevention and Response
• Survivor-Centered Approach and GBV Guiding Principles
• GBV Case Management and Referral Systems
• Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)
• Harmful Traditional Practices (HTPs)
• Community-Based Protection
• Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP)
• Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH)
• Child Protection and Safeguarding
• Psychological First Aid (PFA) and Psychosocial Support (PSS)
• Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS)
• Sphere Humanitarian Standards
• Ethiopian National GBV Guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
• Results-Based Management (RBM), Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL), and donor reporting requirements

  Core Competencies

• Strategic thinking and policy influence.
• Leadership and partnership building.
• Excellent interpersonal and networking skills.
• Strong communication and public speaking abilities.
• Results orientation and accountability.
• Cultural sensitivity and diplomacy.

  Languages

• Fluency in English and Amharic is required.
• Knowledge of other languages is essential.