Summary
Date Posted: Friday, April 22, 2022 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Position: Citizen Engagement/GESI Specialist
Period of Performance On/About (From-To): On/or Around May/June 2022
Maximum Level of Effort: Long-Term Technical Assistance
Base of Operations: Lusaka
Position reports to: Citizen Engagement Advisor

Project Background
The five-year (2020-2025) United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Local Impact Governance Project (Local Impact) supports the Government of the Republic of Zambia’s (GRZ) decentralization agenda by strengthening local governance and service delivery and by supporting transparency and responsiveness to citizen needs. Local Impact is implemented by Development Alternatives International (DAI) Global, and is partnering with national and sub-national authorities, along with local businesses and civil society organizations (CSOs), to achieve the following objectives:
• Citizens improve their collective skills to effectively assess service delivery needs and performance and constructively engage with government.
• The sub-national governance system becomes more responsive to citizen needs, generates, and accountably spends revenue, and improves service-delivery outcomes.
• The program generates learning and facilitates problem-solving that supports the development of an effective, financially viable sub-national governance system for devolved services, capable of being scaled up throughout Zambia
Local Impact is initially working in eighteen districts in Central and Muchinga Provinces to expand the capacity of district authorities to perform core functions, including strengthening the delivery of essential services, deepening citizen and private sector involvement in development planning and monitoring, improving public administration and public financial management, and increasing locally generated revenues. In the third year of implementation, the project will work in nine additional districts in a third province to be determined in consultation with USAID and the GRZ. Local Impact looks to hire for the following position.
Purpose
The Citizen Engagement /GESI Specialist will support Local Impact’s work empowering communities to effectively engage local authorities. This position will support the Citizens Engagement team to ensure that citizens have substantive roles to play in local planning and decision-making, specifically related to the implementation and monitoring of community development projects and the delivery of essential services. To accomplish this, the Citizen Engagement/GESI Specialist will focus on the following areas.
Promoting gender and social inclusion (GESI): S/he will lead in the implementation of Local Impact’s Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) Plan, including mainstreaming GESI in activity planning, implementation, and reporting. The Civic Engagement/GESI Specialist will work closely with Local Impact colleagues in Lusaka and two field offices, along with government, civil society, and private sector partners, to ensure program activities align with the GESI Plan.
Empowering civil society: The Citizen Engagement/GESI Specialist will provide technical assistance to CSO grant partners to develop and effectively use formal and non-formal civic engagement mechanisms to facilitate citizen participation in local decision-making. S/he will also provide technical support to build Local Impact CSO partner capacity, informed by the results of organizational performance assessments conducted by the project.
Developing and disseminating of data for local decision-making: S/he will support the Citizen Engagement team and Local Impact sub-contractors tasked with conducting service delivery mapping and the administration of citizen perceptions surveys. The data from the maps and surveys will enable citizens to productively engage local authorities identify, implement and monitor community development projects and the improved delivery of essential services.

Duties and Responsibilities
• Ensure for the implementation of the Local Impact GESI Plan, working closely with Local Impact colleagues and partners.
• Manage the development and implementation of GESI activities (both stand-alone and mainstreamed).
• Develop tools and protocols for technical teams to use in the development, implementation, monitoring and documentation of GESI-related activities.
• Contribute to the development of strategies to improve civil society relationships and engagement with local authorities, to address issues of transparency, accountability and effective citizen participation in local decision making.
• Assist in the management of civil society grants, including solicitation design, monitoring of grantee performance and oversight of required reporting requirements.
• Ensure that men and women of vulnerable groups benefit equally from program activities.
• Work with the Communications and Outreach Coordinator to document partner project successes, through pictures, videos, success stories and content for social media platforms.

Other Duties
• Provide leave of absence coverage for staff as required
• Escalate emerging issues and/or challenges his/her supervisor immediately.
• Performs any other duties as assigned.
Place of Performance and Reporting
• The position will be based in the Local Impact Project’s main office in Lusaka, Zambia and will report to the Citizen Engagement Advisor.
• There will be travel to provincial offices and Local Impact partner districts.
Minimum Education Qualifications, Experience and Competencies
• B.A. Degree in social sciences, gender studies, public administration or relevant field required, MA preferred.
• 8+ years of relevant experience in gender mainstreaming, social analysis, indigenous peoples safeguard policy application and in social development planning and implementation, including international development experience.
• Strong multidisciplinary competence combined with substantial experience in developing and applying safeguard policies, social development, and related capacity building
• Working knowledge of the operations of international development organizations and the GRZ.
• Strong understanding of the civil society sector is required including experience in designing and implementing civil society or organizational capacity-building activities.
• Demonstrated knowledge of decentralization and local decision-making is desirable .
• Prior experience with advocacy campaigns, influencing public policy and monitoring government performance.
• Well-organized and self-directed individual with sound technical skills, analytical report writing skills and good judgment.
• Experience working on USAID or other donor-funded projects preferred.
• Proven interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work with diverse and multidisciplinary teams.
• Oral and written fluency in English
Mode of Application:
To apply send your CV and Cover Letter to LIrecruitment@dai.com by 17:00hrs on Friday April 29, 2022. No telephone inquiries. Please note that applications not meeting the above application guidelines will not be considered. Finalists will be contacted.
DAI Global LL Inc. celebrates and embraces diversity, respects cultures in which we work, and treat everyone, everywhere with professionalism and dignity. We are committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourage qualified candidates to apply irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic background, including persons with various disabilities, to apply and become a part of the organization.

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 96

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Job application procedure
To apply for this job email your details to LIrecruitment@dai.com

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