Program Officer – Social Mobilization at Breakthrough ACTION

Summary

The Program Officer - Social Mobilization Officer will provide technical support to the state project team in the process of planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of social and community mobilization activities. S/he is expected to work in close collaboration with the Community Mobilizers, LGA Supervisors, State and LGA Health Educators, Ward Development Committees, and the State BA-N Team to plan, organize, conduct, report and follow-up social and community mobilization activities related to Malaria. The incumbent will maintain regular communication with State Coordinator, BA-Nigeria Technical Leads and BA-Nigeria Deputy Project Director – Malaria.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities 

In addition to the overall technical inputs to the project as described above, specific duties and responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned:

• Support implementation of social and community mobilization activities in collaboration with the Community Mobilizers, LGA Supervisors, State and LGA Health Educators, Ward Development Committees
• Support advocacy with religious and community leaders to create an enabling environment to improve awareness on the benefits of prompt care-seeking for fever, testing before treatment and adherence to treatment guidelines.
• Organize meetings with religious, traditional and community leaders, village heads, community groups, women’s groups, trade associations and other relevant community segments to improve awareness on prompt care-seeking for fever.
• Support training and supervision of Community Mobilizers and other social/community mobilization agents working under the BA-N malaria project or implementing government-led initiatives.
• Support the BA-N M&E Officer and State Coordinator to effectively collect, collate and report social/community mobilization data as required
• Collaborate with State Coordinator and State M&E Officers to ensure documentation of all community mobilization activities
• Prepare and submit timely and quality activity reports, including field notes and success stories, to effectively capture lessons learnt on the ground from the projects.
• Provide administrative support as needed.
• Carry out other tasks to support BA-N Malaria project efforts as assigned

 Education and Experience Requirements

• HND or a Bachelor’s degree with at least 5 years’ work experience in advocacy, social and/or community mobilization in malaria or any other public health disease area.
• Excellent communication, and organizational skills; and ability to influence and facilitate advocacy agendas at State and LGA levels
• Understanding of local communities and cultures in the State of assignment, and ability to communicate fluently in the commonly spoken local language.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills in English and strong communication in the local dialect.
• Ability to travel and work in difficult settings, including remote rural areas of Nigeria.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint, or similar software
• Well-organized, with ability to track multiple activities and deadlines
• Experience in providing administrative leadership and support to work teams
• Ability to work successfully in cross-cultural, team-based environment