Youth Inclusion and Engagement Director – Amref Health Africa

Youth Inclusion and Engagement Director

The Director will have the following duties and responsibilities:

Technical Leadership

·         Provide technical leadership and guidance ensuring that IYA’s Meaningful Youth Participation/Engagement (MYPE), advocacy, community involvement, social behavioral change, and gender interventions are integrated, high quality and evidence-based;

·         Provide overall leadership and coordination of the youth civic engagement activities, including youth group formation, youth coalition formation and rollout of youth advocacy activities and the overall meaningful engagement of youth throughout the project life cycle;

·         Lead design and implementation of proven and evidence-based youth inclusion and engagement, youth organizing and youth-led advocacy strategies, guidelines, SOPs and training manuals;

·         Design and implement key strategies to increase engagement of youth with key stakeholders including national partners, local collaborators, organizations, youth networks and individual leaders at each local, regional and national levels;

·         Engage and advocate for youth inclusion in national policy review and formulation ensuring that government developes youth responsive policy and national strategies;

·         Develop and implement capacity strengthening plans to enhance the capacity of staff, young people, youth networks, youth-serving organizations, and government in MYPE and youth-led advocacy and provide ongoing support and opportunities for partners to enhance their institutional performance;

·         Provide strategic direction of organization’s shift to becoming youth-centric among the IYA consortium and external partners;

·         Oversee the development and implementation of all SBC activities across multiple issues including peace and security, education, health, economic development, and others;

·         Oversee and ensure that gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) is integrated across all program thematic areas.

Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

·         Lead in the development and/or review of MYPE, advocacy, community involvement and SBC program work plans, quarterly, biannual and annual reports; in consultation with the Program Directors, update the monthly, quarterly and annual plan of action and share with relevant staff;

·         Work with the DCOP and PM&E unit to develop monitoring, evaluation and reporting systems that will effectively capture progress towards results and that will ensure consistent monitoring of program activities being implemented;

• Contribute to the development and timely submission of written reports, preparing periodic update reports on successes and challenges facing the project, as well as its progress;
• Work with project leadership to support continuous project learning and ensure integration of measurement, evaluation, and research into management decision-making.

Partnership, Networking, and Collaboration

·         Oversee establishment of strategic partnerships and alliances with other youth movements and groups, and build relationships at the national, regional, and city levels;

·         Work very closely with IYA stakeholders including government, private sectors and donors to advocate and influence organizations to be youth friendly and meaningfully engage youth in their organization;

·         At the request of the COP, represent the project in collaborative platforms with the Ethiopian government, UN agencies, Ethiopian civil society organizations, NGOs and private companies working in Ethiopia to promote the project;

·         In collaboration with other directors, promote effective communication and coordination across the IYA organizational structure to ensure integrated youth services;

·         Establish, cultivate, and maintain relationships with the youth ecosystem of project actors, including the public sector, private sector, civil society, community-based organizations, and local governments.

Staff Supervision

• Directly supervise project staff as assigned, and provide ongoing support through coaching, performance evaluations, and feedback for achievement of project objectives and goals.

• Master’s degree in Human Rights, International Development, Law, Social Sciences or related field from a recognized college or university.

• Minimum of five years of experience implementing youth development activities (e.g., economic empowerment, education, health), with at least two years of senior level experience demonstrating strategic leadership;

• Experience in youth program management, particularly in youth mobilization and meaningful youth engagement skills, is desirable; working knowledge of youth civic engagement, economic and health issues, including global and government priorities is a plus;
• Experience cultivating relationships and collaborating with a variety of Ethiopian stakeholders including youth, government ministries and officials, NGOs, donors, the private sector, and community-based institutions;
• Experience developing and implementing effective capacity strengthening models and approaches for organizations and individuals;
• Experience working collaboratively with teams from diverse backgrounds;
• Strong presentation, reporting, and communication skills;
• Spoken and written fluency in English and Amharic;
• Excellent computer skills using MS Office 365 Suite of products including Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and PowerPoint;
• Ability to travel up to 30% to 40% of the time.