National Community Outreach Expert- Kitwe/Solwezi

The National Community Outreach Expert will support the design and implementation of community outreach strategies and awareness-raising activities for the project "Skills for Decent Employment in Zambian Artisanal and Small-scale Mining in the Critical Mineral Value Chains." The role involves engaging with local communities, coordinating outreach efforts, and supporting capacity building to enhance skills and entrepreneurship in the ASM sector in Zambia.

Responsibilities

• Support the Lead Technical Advisor (LTA) in the design of the project's community outreach strategy under Output 2.1 for the Copperbelt and North-Western provinces, building on the GESI strategy and inputs from the GESI Expert.
• Plan field visits and community engagement activities in the province, in coordination with the Provincial Coordinator.
• Establish and maintain working relationships with local community networks, traditional authorities and ASM associations.
• Support leading of the delivery of Output 2.1 community outreach and awareness-raising activities, including the design and delivery of sessions and campaigns.
• Engage regularly with target communities and local stakeholders, applying knowledge of local socio-economic conditions, livelihoods, community structures and dynamics to ensure that project outreach is locally appropriate and responsive.
• Identify community priorities, concerns, barriers to participation and emerging issues, and communicate these insights to the project team to support adaptive and inclusive project implementation.
• Carry out frequent field visits across the province to engage ASM communities and build community partnerships.
• Help source and screen profiles of beneficiaries for training and capacity-building packages delivered under Outputs 2.2 and 2.3, in close coordination with the Skills Development and ASM Development Experts.
• Support the Provincial Coordinator with community-level coordination of project activities.
• Help to design and deliver community awareness-raising sessions and campaigns based on the GESI strategy.
• Provide inputs to the preparation of dissemination and awareness-raising material to ensure it is tailored to the realities of the local communities and province’s beneficiary profiles.
• Build and maintain partnerships with local community networks for the delivery of outreach activities.
• Support the dissemination of project results and success stories to external stakeholders at community level.
• Support the identification and mobilization of beneficiaries for training and entrepreneurship capacity-building packages under Outputs 2.2 and 2.3, ensuring alignment with beneficiary selection criteria.
• Facilitate community-level participation in project training and awareness activities, with attention to GESI considerations.
• Support local partners and community networks in strengthening their engagement with project activities.
• Undertake field travel across the Copperbelt and North-Western provinces and, as required, to other project provinces and to Luapula province, to support outreach activities.
• Provide regular updates on outreach activities and community engagement to the LTA and Provincial Coordinator.
• Contribute outreach-related inputs to project progress and annual reports.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the LTA in support of the overall achievement of project objectives.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in social sciences, community development, gender studies, communications, sociology or another relevant discipline is required.
• A first level university degree or an advanced technical college diploma may be acceptable provided it is combined with additional 3 years of professional hands-on experience that is directly relevant to the expertise required by the specific assignment.
• At least three (3) years of professional experience in community outreach, awareness-raising, social mobilization and/or gender/GESI programming is required.
• Experience designing and delivering community-level awareness-raising sessions or campaigns is required.
• Experience in evaluating the needs, conditions and problems of the Copperbelt and North-Western provinces or a similar province/region in Zambia is desirable.
• Experience in working with government and development agencies in the province and in Zambia is desirable.
• Experience working with artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) communities or in the extractives sector is desirable.
• Knowledge of the Copperbelt/North-Western ASM context (including copper, cobalt and emerald mining dynamics) is desirable.
• Experience developing communication or learning/knowledge products is desirable.
• Experience working with UN agencies or international development organizations is desirable.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
• Fluency and/or working knowledge of Bemba is required; working knowledge of Kaonde, Lunda or another language spoken in North-Western province is desirable.

Skills

• Community Outreach
• Public Awareness Campaigns
• Social Mobilization
• Gender Programming
• GESI Programming
• Community Needs Analysis
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Capacity Building
• Communication Product Production
• Knowledge Product Development
• Experience with Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining
• Extractives Sector Knowledge
• Engagement with Government Agencies
• Engagement with Development Agencies
• Project Implementation
• Bilingual Communication
• English Fluency
• Bemba Language Proficiency

Languages

English, Bemba