Summary
Date Posted: Monday, December 14, 2020 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Community Engagement Officer (1 position available)
Location: The person will be based at UVRI campus in Entebbe. The position will require travels within Uganda and potentially at the Pan-African level as well.
Working Hours: This is a full-time position (40 hours per week minimum)
Reports to: Target Malaria Stakeholder Engagement Manager at UVRI.
Length of Appointment: Until 31 January 2023 with six months' probation period br/> br/> Background on Target Malaria
The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) is a leading health research institution in Uganda, based in Entebbe. Amongst other projects, it is a member of the Target Malaria consortium. Target Malaria is a non-for-profit research consortium that wants to contribute to saving millions of lives from malaria. It includes African, European and North American scientists with a focus on the most malaria-affected countries - currently working in Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana and Uganda. The consortium includes a diversity of researchers - molecular biologists, medical entomologists, population geneticists, protein engineers, social sciences researchers as well as risk, regulatory and stakeholder engagement experts. Our teams are researching approaches that can reduce the numbers of mosquitoes that spread malaria, which would help complement existing control methods. Our research is at an early stage, and while results so far have been promising, there is still a long way to go. By reducing the population of the malaria mosquito, we aim to combat transmission of the disease. The control method would be a long-term, sustainable, and cost-effective solution to prevent malaria. This project started a decade ago with a funding from the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative and is now receiving funding through a program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .

Job Summary
Target Malaria Uganda is seeking a Community Engagement Officer to join its team. Stakeholder engagement is one of the three pillars of this project, together with regulatory affairs and scientific research. This position will be responsible for planning, coordinating, organising, controlling and budgeting for various stakeholder engagement activities. The Community engagement officer will be responsible for formulation of field work tools, procedures and policies for stakeholder engagement and implementing engagement plans and strategies This position will be responsible for ensuring provision of adequate information on project to stakeholders. He/she will ensure consultation of stakeholders before implementation of activities, communication of key messages and provision of adequate project information to specific stakeholder groups and target audiences in a suitable language. In addition, the officer will develop and maintain a positive working relationship between the team and various stakeholders.
This position will identify, manage and control risks related to stakeholder acceptance of the project. The Community engagement officer will participate in community mobilisation and consortium activities related to stakeholder engagement. A deep commitment to the mission of developing and sharing new, cost-effective and sustainable genetic technologies to modify mosquitoes and reduce malaria transmission is required.

Roles and responsibilities
This role will facilitate dialogue between the stakeholders and the project, promotion of trust and confidence between the communities and the project in following aspects
• Ensure adequate information for community level stakeholders on project activities (whether current or future)
• Ensure appropriate consultation of community stakeholders before the implementation of activities and feedback concerns, suggestions to the project for them to be considered;
• Ensure that the community level dialog is inclusive by mapping key stakeholders;
• Plan, coordinate, organise, document and report on various stakeholder engagement activities
• Provide support function to field entomology team, provide adequate information to stakeholders, seek consent and acceptance for project work from communities
• Develop, consult and maintain positive working relationship between the team and various stakeholders, provide feedback to both the project and stakeholders
• Support the implementation of the grievance mechanism at community level.
As such, the Community engagement officer is responsible for successful implementation of engagement activities, seeking consent and acceptance for the project at field sites.

Strategy activities
• Participate in the formulation and the implementation of a stakeholder engagement strategy at community level in Uganda;
• Participate in the formulation of tools, procedures and policies for stakeholder engagement and documentation of activities,
• Participate in the consortium activities related to stakeholder engagement
• Take part in the risk management of this project for issues related to stakeholders' acceptance of the project,

Reporting activities
• Participate in the monitoring and evaluation of the engagement and stakeholders acceptance level for the project,
• Provide activity report and support the update of tools allowing a follow-up and reporting on engagement activities at community level;
• Report regularly to the Stakeholder Engagement Manager

Essential Requirements
• To be successful in this role you must possess the following:
• Postgraduate qualification in Social Sciences (or similar), or an equivalent combination of relevant knowledge, extensive training and/or experience
• Experience in planning, organising and implementing stakeholder engagement activities Excellent communication, influencing and interpersonal skills with a positive and supportive attitude;
• Ability to communicate with stakeholders in local languages
• Ability to work collaboratively and productively in a team, with colleagues, external consultants, and multiple stakeholders.
• Ability and willingness to travel to field sites within Uganda

Job Education: Not Specified

Job Experience: Not Specified

Work Hours: 8

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Job application procedure
Please note that job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, and the post-holder may be required to undertake other duties, which are broadly in line with the above key responsibilities.

Further Information
All applications must be in English and include a Curriculum Vitae, a cover letter explaining why this position is attractive and why your profile fits, and three references. Interested candidates should submit their applications in a sealed envelope marked: "Community Engagement Officer-Target Malaria" to:
The Director,
Uganda Virus Research Institute
P.O.Box 49 Entebbe. Uganda Email to: targetmalariajobs@uvri.go.ug  OR: hand-deliver to his office at
Plot 51-59, Nakiwogo Road, Entebbe.
This Vacancy is open to Nationals of Uganda.
Closing date for applications is 8 January 2021

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