Company Description

EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT CENTER (EDC)

Education Development Center (EDC) is a global nonprofit that advances lasting solutions to improve education, promote health, and expand economic opportunity, with a focus on vulnerable and under-served populations. Since 1958, we have been a leader in designing, implementing, and evaluating powerful and innovative programs in more than 80 countries around the world.

EDC promotes equity and access to high quality education and health services and products that contribute to thriving communities where people from diverse backgrounds learn, live, and work together. We support an inclusive workplace culture that embraces many perspectives and broadens our understanding of the communities we serve, enhancing and enriching our work.

EDC is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Project Description

The USAID Youth for Empowerment Activity will reach 25,000 South Sudanese youth in 13 counties across five states (Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, and Western Bahr el Ghazal) over a four-year period. This community-based intervention will establish a vibrant Youth Corps and support local organizations enhance youth-friendly service offerings. The USAID Youth for Empowerment Activity will tailor its intervention to meet the realities of each implementation area and to best support a diverse group of youth with varied capacities and aspirations to reach their full potential.

Job Description

Position Description

The Public Health Specialist functions in a leadership capacity, providing high-level technical oversight of the project’s health and behavior change components. Together with the Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party and EDC home office technical staff, s/he guides strategies for the sexual and reproductive health and gender-related technical requirements of YEA and provides technical expertise to ensure the fulfillment of project deliverables.

The Public Health Specialist is responsible for the technical objectives relating to fostering behavior change among youth to make positive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) choices and cultivate gender norms. S/he is specifically responsible for: Sexual and Reproductive Health formative research and youth led mapping and analysis; Cultivating a supportive environment for youth health and well-being through community-based Social and Behavior Communication Change (SBCC) campaigns and activities; youth and private sector engagement training on SRH and Gender; internal and external collaboration, information and coordination sharing; strengthening the linkages between youth and trusted, community-based health services and increasing demand for youth-friendly SRH information and services; and oversight of community-based Gender-Based Violence (GBV) referral networks, advocacy and training. The Public Health Specialist will also support the adaptation and validation of the SRH curriculum and the training of master trainers.

The Public Health Specialist has a proven ability to understand and apply a highly technical body of knowledge and applicable laws. S/he must be able to perform complex and time sensitive duties with minimal supervision. S/he is responsible for managing very complex and high-level processes and providing input on strategic initiatives.

S/he builds relations with key stakeholders (community leaders, Anchor Organizations (AOs), Youth-Led and Youth-Serving Organizations (YLSOs), Youth Corps Leaders, GBV Health Agents), and actively collaborates with the USAID/South Sudan AOR and Education Office to effectively support program implementation and address operational and programmatic questions and challenges. S/he demonstrates an understanding of best practices in SBCC, adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health, youth friendly health services, positive youth development, gender norms and gender-based violence, and training and facilitation. S/he contributes to knowledge capture and dissemination of key learnings to key stakeholders within the YEA Activity and promotes innovation, improved methodologies, and project implementation through the USAID Collaborating, Learning, & Adapting (CLA) approach. This position reports to the Deputy Chief of Party.

Specific Essential functions include (but are not limited to):

• Provide overall strategic guidance and technical oversight to advance the activity’s SRH and gender approach related to curriculum adaptation and delivery, community-based Social and Behavior Communication Change, and linking youth to available SRH and GBV services and support
• Design, train, and support youth to implement a youth-led community mapping to identify youth perceptions, attitudes and behaviors around SRH), as well as knowledge gaps related to sexual and reproductive health or harmful gender norms affecting different target communities
• Build relationships with key stakeholders including Anchor Organizations, Youth Corps Leaders, GBV Health Agents, private sector and other humanitarian and development organizations and promote effective collaboration and cooperation
• Develop community-based Social and Behavior Communication Change strategy using a socio-ecological model to reinforce healthier behaviors and more positive gender norms
• Train existing GBV Health Agents, Youth Health Actors and private sector partners on SRH, psycho-social support, and the community protection model
• Enhance and scale the integrated community protection and referral model
• Support AO (Anchor Organizations) and YLSO (Youth Led and Youth Serving Organizations) partners to introduce community dialogue that begins to shift the narrative on SRH and harmful gender norms, particularly among adolescent girls and young women
• Create strategies and linkages and develop partnerships with community-based health services and private sector SRH service providers such as local pharmacies to improve access to youth-friendly SRH information, products and services
• Build community and government awareness regarding the importance of sexual and reproductive health and gender topics
• Work with home office experts and local partners to ensure activity cultural relevance, acceptability and quality
• Other duties, as assigned

Qualifications

The candidate for the position of Public Health Specialist shall have at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education:

• Master’s degree in medicine, public health, international development, Social Sciences or other related field required OR comparable number of years of professional experience.

Skills and Experience:

• A minimum of 7-8 years of progressively responsible and relevant experience developing and managing programs around Sexual and Reproductive Health, gender norms and social and behavior change communication
• Experience with monitoring program implementation using qualitative and quantitative approaches;
• Strong experience identifying and working with traditional gatekeepers and community leaders;
• Substantive knowledge and practical experience in SRH programming in emergency and post-conflict recovery settings;
• Experience and capacity in development and delivery of SRH training components to community level partners and participants;
• Demonstrated leadership, facilitation, and team working skills and ability to establish harmonious working relations in an international and multicultural environment.
• Excellent computer literacy (windows environment, MS office applications including Word, Excel and Power-point and Internet skills);
• Strong organizational, communication, computer, leadership, and interpersonal skills;
• Good technical writing skills;
• Willingness to travel to provinces covered by the project;

Language:

Advanced proficiency in written and spoken English and Arabic. Knowledge of and proficiency in at least 2 local languages spoken in Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, and Western Bahr el Ghazal highly preferred.

Additional Information

Job closing date: November 30, 2022

To apply, Applicants are encouraged to visit the Careers Page at: https://go.edc.org/SouthSudanJobs

Or hand deliver applications, enclosed in an envelope, to the Security Desk of River Camp/AFEX addressed to the attention of The Chief of Party, Education Development Center, (EDC), USAID Youth Empowerment Activity. Indicate on the envelope the position applied for.

Applications will be progressively reviewed as they are received. Applications submitted without a resume or CV will not be reviewed.

Due to the volume of applications submitted, only finalists will be notified. No phone calls, please.

EDC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to enhancing the diversity of its workforce and ensuring an equitable and highly inclusive work environment. EDC is a smoke-free workplace, and offers a supportive work environment, competitive salary, and excellent benefits. Women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Apply at: https://bit.ly/3U28Tbg