Program Summary:
The Community/Business Development & Livelihoods Specialist will be responsible for overseeing the technical quality and delivery of our results-oriented program activities that engages the community, private sector, and government to develop partnerships aimed at withdrawing and preventing adolescent girls’ from child labor, increasing girls’ access to acceptable work and quality training opportunities, increasing livelihoods opportunities for vulnerable women, raising awareness on child labor and gender equality, and increasing collaboration between government and private sector actors to promote acceptable work for girls and women in Zambia.
Essential Responsibilities:
The Community/Business Development & Livelihoods Specialist will be responsible for developing a strategy and overseeing program activities to engage the private sector and government in increasing appropriate economic opportunities for vulnerable women and girls in a way that prevents child labor and increases gender equity in Zambia. The Specialist will work closely with the Project Director to ensure that project activity deadlines are met and targets are achieved; coordinate and maintain working relationships with project stakeholders, particularly the government and private sector; and lead collaborative initiatives with private companies.
- Oversee the engagement of the EMPOWER Zambia project activities with the government and private sector stakeholders which includes developing annual planning; ensuring timely, high quality implementation of activities; and monitoring and evaluation of project implementation and deliverables;
- Provide technical assistance and support to local partner NGOs and CSOs on engaging with the government and private sector;
- Provide technical assistance and support to private sector partners on engaging with adolescent girls and vulnerable women to increase their economic opportunities;
- Provide technical assistance and support to national and local government officials on engaging with adolescent girls and vulnerable women to increase their economic opportunities, through micro-lending, village savings and loans programs, financial literacy programs, among others;
- Work with the Project Director to develop strategies for engaging with local government and the private sector on prevention of child labor for vulnerable women and girls;
- Assist the Project Director in the development of technical reports for the US Department of Labor or others in line with the project’s communication strategy;
- Other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS AND BACKGROUND:
Successful candidates will have strong technical and relevant experience in engaging the government or private sector partners on child labor prevention, empowerment programs, and livelihood interventions, preferably in East Africa. Specific experience and specialization in the areas of child labor; creating/maintaining partnerships with private sector companies; and working with government partners; and knowledge regarding gender disparities and girls’ and women’s empowerment is strongly desired.
Education: Bachelor’s degree (Master’s degree would be a distinct asset) in international development, economic development, education, gender policy/empowerment, political science, or a relevant social science discipline
Technical:
- Minimum of three years of experience in a leadership position responsible for developing livelihood interventions and the technical aspects related to the applicant’s proposed strategy, including life skills training, micro-lending, savings programs, micro-insurance, micro-franchising, village savings and loan programs, financial literacy, adult literacy, employment generation, alternative/additional income generation, job placement support, modern job search methods training, entrepreneurship, OSH training, and labor market analysis.
- Minimum three years of experience in consultative/advisory position responsible for building public private partnerships to achieve common goals, identify problems and challenges, develop focus strategies, lay out actionable plans and recommendations, and define and identify roles and responsibilities.
- Experience in the East Africa region is required, and Zambia strongly preferred.
Skills/Knowledge:**
- Knowledge or understanding of social, economic, and political context governing youth, education, livelihoods, and workforce readiness policy issues in developing countries, particularly in Zambia.
- Proven success in establishing partnerships, with the significant ability to develop networks, build alliances, collaborate across boundaries to build strategic relationships and achieve common goals.
- Strong knowledge in private sector and government engagement in development programs
- Knowledge of US Government regulations, policies, and procedures or those of an equivalently complex international government funding organization.
- Demonstrated effective interpersonal skills, creative problem solving, conflict, and ethical management skills.
- Fluency in English is required.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- Computer literate in word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software (Microsoft).
HOW TO APPLY:
