Zimbabwe Health Interventions (ZHI)
DUE: 22 SEP 2023
Title
Technical Officer – School and Community Linkages
Location
Harare
Type Of Contract
Fixed Term Contract
Deadline
22/09/2023
About
Zimbabwe Health Interventions (ZHI) is a not-for-profit human development organisation which is registered as a Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO 17/22). ZHI’s mission is to develop and deliver innovative and sustainable high-impact, integrated health interventions to the communities we serve, while working with and strengthening existing institutions.
The Re-Ignite Innovate Sustain and Empower (RISE) program aims to disrupt the main drivers of HIV risk for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Zimbabwe using a proven approach called Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe women (DREAMS). The program goal is to contribute to the reduction of new HIV infections amongst AGYW 10-24 by 2026 in Zimbabwe by strengthening HIV and sexual violence prevention. The program is currently being in eleven priority high HIV burden districts in Zimbabwe (Beitbridge, Bulawayo, Bulilima, Gwanda, Gweru, Insiza, Mangwe, Matobo, Mazowe, Gokwe South and Mberengwa). These districts are in the following provinces: Mashonaland Central, Midlands, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South provinces. ZHI’s primary role is to deliver a comprehensive curriculum on HIV prevention, gender norms and social asset building targeted at AGYW in school, out of school and their sexual partners at community level. ZHI’s core thrust in the DREAMS-RISE Program is to keep girls and young women HIV Free through supporting them to: • Stay in school • Prevent early pregnancies • Prevent sexual violence• Access Post violence care • Reduce child marriage. DREAMS-RISE provides a comprehensive, multi-sectoral package of core interventions to address key factors that make girls and young women particularly vulnerable to HIV. These include structural factors, such as gender-based violence, exclusion from economic opportunities, and a lack of access to secondary school. DREAMS layers multiple interventions at once so that AGYW are surrounded with critical support to keep them safe from HIV and other risks.
Basic Function
The position holder will provide overall technical leadership and guidance towards implementation, monitoring and reporting of the Community School Education Partnership (COSEPA), a school block grant initiative aimed at; Strengthening community/school linkages, improving education, health, and general well-being outcomes of the AGYW under the DREAMS-RISE Program. S/he will facilitate establishment of strong linkages and partnership (both formal and informal) between key Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ) line ministries and departments, development partners, schools, communities, and families to allocate available resources towards addressing key barriers to learning, access to health and assure better education and health and outcomes.
Job Description
Provide overall technical guidance towards implementation of the COSEPA initiatives across all the implementation districts; Support the school community to develop realistic milestones, provide technical assistance for timely milestone implementation, monitoring, and reporting. Identifying strategic partners, forging collaboration, and synergy to improve program efficiency and outcomes, including working with both formal and non-formal education systems/structures within the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MOPSE) and create linkages between school and community, development partners, and with other key line ministries and departments; Design effective strategies to establish and nurture long term school – community linkages and relationships for better health and education outcomes; Support schools to develop child-sensitive School Development Plans (SDP); Facilitate the local leadership to mobilize communities to identify and locate locally available resources towards achievement of school developmental needs; Through the person-centered approach, support parents/caregivers and families to take an active role to address barriers to learning, enhance healthy development, and strengthen families to assure better learner outcomes; Participate in education-related activities and meetings, including participation in strategic platforms; Work with program staff to design integrated education activities that will keep vulnerable girls and boys in school, improve educational outcomes and build agency; In consultation with the SIE team, ensure that the school, community, and families monitor the effectiveness of the COSEPA initiative under community led monitoring (CLM) approach.
Knowledge, Skills And Abilities
Ability to translate program vision into action; Proactive, creative, and thought leadership capable of translating technical guidance and rallying program staff, school, and community leadership to action; Strong skills in participatory methodologies for community development. Excellent organizational and coordination skills, and strong track record in meeting deliverables and deadlines; Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with strict timelines; Strong facilitation and training skills; Must have excellent interpersonal and communication skills; Ability to quickly adapt to new program changes; Ability to develop detailed workplans to guide activity implementation; Strong supervision and mentorship skills. Proficiency in MS Office applications (i.e., MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel etc.).
Qualifications And Experience
Bachelor’s degree in social science or education with 3-5 years’ experience in social/development work, preferably working with children and young people; Experience in implementing and managing donor funded education programs is an added advantage. Experience in community mobilization and engagement; Must be fluent in English (both written and spoken) as well as local language(s).
Application Procedures
Step 1: click here to complete the job application form.
Step 2: Submit your CV and application letter via email to recruitment@zhi.co.zw clearly indicating the position you are applying for on the subject of the email.
During the application process, ZHI will not charge any fee nor will it require any payment for an application to be considered. ZHI is an equal opportunity employer and employs personnel without regard to race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, language, citizenship, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, physical handicap or financial ability.