Social Workers -Dessie (2 Positions)

Empathy for Life Integrated Development Association (ELiDA) is a women-led local CSO established in 2008 by the initiation and reputation of women friends of volunteers who could not get the heart to pass over the timely multi-dimensional socio-economic problems of needy community members in general and women and children in particular. Empathy for Life Integrated Development association has been serving people living in poverty through initiating long term development programs, Peace Building and Conflict resolution projects in Amhara, Tigray, Oromia, Afar regions and Addis Ababa city administration.

ELiDA is looking for a passionate individual for Support, Enable and Engage (SEE) in its Dessie office who has the experience and competences to work as Social Worker, taking a responsibility in enhancing quality implementation, documentation, learning to achieve breakthrough solutions, bringing immediate and lasting change in the lives of youth generation we serve.

Position Summary

The Social Worker – Youth Entrepreneurship, Mindset & Soft Skills Specialist will play a pivotal role in driving the Support, Enable, Engage (SEE) initiatives. The primary focus of this position is to empower youth by cultivating positive mindsets toward diverse career paths, enhancing essential soft skills, and boosting entrepreneurial capabilities within priority sectors (such as Agriculture, Manufacturing, and the Digital Economy). This role requires a unique combination of social work empathy, community mobilization skills, and practical business development awareness to transform community attitudes and mentor the next generation of young entrepreneurs.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Dialogue Sessions & Role Model Engagement

• Plan, facilitate, and coordinate continuous youth-role model dialogue sessions to connect aspiring youth with relatable local examples and normalize failure as a step toward success.
• Manage the collaborative community processes to identify, select, and formally recognize local influencers, mentors, and ambassadors who embody resilience and hard work.
• Onboard and guide youth ambassadors to promote professional growth, active citizenship, and robust safeguarding mechanisms for youth during networking activities.

2. Public Lectures, Workshops & Capacity Building

• Coordinate large-scale public lectures and intensive workshops focusing on modern socio-economic participation, professional growth management, self-awareness, and business model generation.
• Lead interactive, participatory capacity-building sessions designed to strengthen youth competencies in self-confidence, goal-setting, communication, and self-expression.
• Form and institutionalize youth-led peer support networks to facilitate ongoing collective problem-solving, vocational guidance, and experience sharing.

3. School-Based Entrepreneurship Ecosystems

• Organize workshops for secondary school teachers to equip them with modern methodologies for fostering growth mindsets and creativity within traditional classrooms.
• Establish, supply, and support school-based Entrepreneurship Clubs to serve as innovative hubs for students to collaborate on business ideas and launch small-scale Income-Generating Activities (IGAs).
• Supervise the logistical distribution of supportive technology and stationery (such as mini-projectors, speakers, and manuals) to target clubs and monitor their effective utilization.

4. Stakeholder Coordination & Partnership Management

• Maintain proactive communication and operational synergy with key local line offices, including the Office of Women, Children, and Social Affairs (WCSA), Labor and Skills, and Youth and Sport.
• Represent the project at local protection networks, GO-NGO forums, and civil society council meetings to ensure institutional accountability and alignment with regional development strategies.
• Facilitate regular qualitative insight sessions with youth advisory groups to capture evolving economic barriers and shape upcoming project interventions based on real-time feedback.

5. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Number of youth actively engaged in community-driven dialogue sessions and public lectures.
• Successful establishment, functionality, and output tracking of youth peer-support groups and school entrepreneurship clubs.
• Demonstrated shift in youth self-confidence, business acumen, and community attitudes toward gender-inclusive vocational work.
• Timely and accurate submission of operational data to the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) framework.

6. Safeguarding, Protection Compliance and Other Responsibilities

• Ensure that all project activities comply with the principles of confidentiality, safety, respect, non-discrimination, informed consent, and the survivor-centred approach in accordance with national and international GBV standards.
• Promote and enforce organizational policies on Safeguarding, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH), Child Protection, Gender Equality, and the Do No Harm principle across all project interventions.
• Monitor project implementation risks, identify operational challenges, recommend corrective actions, and support continuous quality improvement to ensure effective project delivery.
• Build and maintain strong professional relationships with community leaders, women’s groups, youth networks, government counterparts, and consortium partners to strengthen local ownership and sustainability of project interventions.
• Perform any other duties assigned by the Project Manager or Consortium Lead that contribute to the successful implementation, coordination, and achievement of project objectives.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Sociology, Psychology, Business Administration, Development Studies, or a highly related field.
• Minimum of 2–3 years of hands-on experience in community mobilization, youth development programs, or implementing entrepreneurship incubation projects.

Core Competencies & Soft Skills

• Ability to dynamically adjust work plans based on localized security risk assessments or logistical obstacles.
• Strong public speaking and workshop facilitation capabilities, with an innate ability to connect with diverse youth cohorts, including young women and persons with disabilities.
• Deep commitment to youth safeguarding principles, gender equality, and inclusive economic empowerment.
• Proven skill in managing multi-layered relationships across local government officials, community elders, and civil society actors.

Languages

• Fluency in English and Amharic is required.