The role of gender and community coordinator is responsible for creating a positive and inclusive environment for all community members, addressing discrimination and harassment, and ensuring equal participation and welcomeness for all genders.
The post holder: Will work closely with communities, districts, zonal Water offices, coordination forums, partners, the private sector, and the OWDA zonal team.

Organization for Welfare and Development in Action (OWDA) was established in December 1999 to help provide humanitarian assistance to the affected population. OWDA started its operation by providing relief programs aimed at supporting the most vulnerable segment of the people. However, the organization reshaped its strategic focus to go for long-term development programs intended to strengthen local capacity to bring about durable solutions for the marginalized pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities in the Somali region of Ethiopia.
In line with Agency for Civil Society Organizations (ACSO) Proclamation No. 1113/2019, the organization was registered by the Agency for Civil Society Organizations as a national NGO with registration No. 0421. OWDA is an active national humanitarian organization dedicated to bringing sustainable human development in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Through its cooperation with donors and stakeholders, OWDA build the capacity of its target community through financial and technical empowerment to help them lead their livelihoods, OWDA consider them as a key stakeholder.
OWDA places special emphasis on investing and building the resilience of vulnerable pastoral and agro-pastoral communities, mainly children, women, youth, elderly and people with special needs to help them survive with natural and made shocks. The organizational age, geographical reach and the local knowledge made it possible to gain outstanding experience to deliver effective, appropriate and timely responses to target communities. OWDA’s main thematic programing are Health and Nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH), Education, Food Security and Livelihood programs mainstreamed with gender and protection.
Over its life span, the organization has grown substantially in the number of projects implemented, districts covered, staff numbers and budgets managed. OWDA implements both development and humanitarian programs in partnership with international NGOs, Donors like USAID, DFID, Norway Development Fund, EU, GFFO, GIZ, UN agencies. Likewise, OWDA is one of the few national NGOs that get direct access of Ethiopian Humanitarian Fund. OWDA is operational in all zones in Somali Region, namely: Afder, Dawa, Dollo, Fafan, Erer, Jarar, Korahe, Liben, Nogob, Shebele, and Siti zones. Since its establishment, the organization through its work in emergency and development interventions supported millions of people, saving lives and providing skills, opportunities, employment for improved livelihoods. Similarly, it has achieved great development in its organizational capacity and management of programs. OWDA has over 270 staffs and manages 8-10 Million USD annually.

DIMENSIONS:

• Ensure that overall project planning, implementation, and management.
• In collaboration with woreda line offices and NGO partners, conduct need assessment and select project intervention sites/kebeles.
• This position will be responsible for gender and community engagement related activities under the CR-WASH project.
• Carry out project activities and prepare progress reports.
• Identify project implementation challenges/problems that hinder project performance and solve it timely manner.
• Advises decision-making for specific programme contexts.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Project design & implementation

• Mainstream crosscutting issues properly and in participatory manner with relevant stakeholders in proposal development in line with OWDA and donors’ standard requirements and guidelines.
• Makes sures that women and other vulnerable groups are meaning participating project
• Take part in any assessments in project area and develop tools for Gender and other cross cutting issues.
• Ensure all projects are including community GBV prevention activities, including engaging men and boys.
• Capacity building activities with government entities, OWDA staff as well as NGO actors, to improve their knowledge on GBV prevention and response.
• Demonstrate gender equality awareness and gender sensitivity into tasks and activities.
• Provide induction on all crosscutting issues and different policies of the organization for new employees, volunteers, contractors and other partners who are in contact with OWDA.
• Provide technical support & Advise to Project Managers on Gender and community development process.
• Ensure the marginalized and at-risk groups to be included in Programme design.
• Provide capacity building training and technical support related to community development to staff and CBO leaders and local partners working with OWDA.
• Monitoring & Evaluation
• Participate on program design/proposal development and provide technical support to ensure gender sensitive activities & indicators are designed.
• Develop/update appropriate monitoring data collection tools for crosscutting issues in close technical support of the MEAL and Gender team both at all level.
• Ensure regular monitoring and modification of ongoing programming as required.
• Reporting
• Support project learning reviews and donor reports, as require
• Prepare relevant activity donor reports as per agreed-upon schedules (monthly, quarterly, and/or annually) on activities, indicators, and achievements.
• Compile and submit community development and Gender CHS, HIV and other crosscutting issues reports generated from different programs/projects as per their format periodically.
• Develop case studies and good practices that can be shared with other internal and external stakeholders.
• Advocacy and Networking
• Play active role in forums, task forces, core group meetings and under the project office related to cross cutting issues for learning, experience sharing and joint action implementation.
• Jointly organize and implement campaigning events to influence decisions as needed.
• Participate on the preparation of joint action plan and activities among different projects of the target woredas.
• Support and coordinate efforts with stakeholders/Partner organizations to achieve the intended objective of the programme area.
• Perform other duties appropriate to the position and/or assigned by the line manager.
• Safeguarding
• Ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation by working on the adherence of OWDA Code of Conduct and PSEA code of conduct.
• Ensure program participant Protections by adhering standards of the safeguarding policy when program participants be in contact with OWDA during different trainings, meetings, workshops and contractual works.
• Assess the safety and security of different meeting, workshop and training venues in collaboration with project HR unit Provide technical support &Advise to Project Manager Follow up & Monitor Strategic Implementation of OWDA Safeguarding Issues collaborating with Gender & Safeguarding team in OWDA.
• Accountability
• In line with OWDA ’s commitments under the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS).
• Actively promote meaningful community participation and consultation at all stages of the project cycle (planning, implementation, M&E).
• Work with relevant colleagues to ensure that the Complaints and Response Mechanism (CRM) is functional and accessible, that feedback and complaints are welcomed and addressed.
• Work with relevant colleagues to ensure that information about CRM, safeguarding and expected staff behaviour is disseminated among programme participants and communities.
• Gender Equality
• Carry out gender analysis and gender related assessments
• Oversee the development and monitoring of gender sensitive indicators.
• Regularly monitor, review and evaluate the implementation of programs on gender mainstreaming, take appropriate and timely action and extract lessons learned for future program development and implementation.
• Document best practices on the implementation of gender mainstreaming.
• Perform other duties assigned by the line manager.

KEY DELIVERABLES:

Documented work plans for the projects supported, with regular written reports demonstrating progress against targeted activities in coordination with the WASH Coordinator and Project Coordinator.

Job Requirements

SKILLS AND COMPETENCE:

• Essential minimum qualifications and capacities: MA/BA degree in social science such as Sociology/Social work, Gender studies Developmental studies and other relevant fields of studies with over four years of experience for BA and more than 2 years for MA in gender-responsive development work.
• Clear understanding and experience in directly implementing primary quantitative and qualitative data collection, analysis and reporting.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience of workforce development and gender issues.
• Excellent facilitation and communication skills in multi-stakeholder environment.
• Experience of working with local partners, including government agencies, development partners and civil society organizations.
• Demonstrated experience on documentation and reporting.
• Good interpersonal skills, team player with sensitivity to cultural diversity and working in dependably.
• Excellent communication skills in English and Somali and ability to work under pressure.