Community Facilitator / HEKS EPER Moldova

Job title: Community Facilitator (CF)

Duty station: Chisinau, Moldova

Starting date: ASAP

Contract duration: 6 months (with a possibility of extension)

Contract type: Full time

Reports to: Program Officer (PO)

Coordinates with: Emergency Response Coordinator (ERC), Finance & Admin Manager, HEKS/EPER Partners.

Direct line manager of: N/A for the time being

Submit the Application by: September 10, 2023 (end of the day).

GENERAL CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND

HEKS/EPER is a Swiss INGO founded in 1946. HEKS/EPER is supporting local partner organizations with around 200 projects in 34 key countries worldwide. HEKS/EPER Moldova Office cooperates with NGO active in the field of development cooperation and humanitarian aid.

HEKS/EPER was active in the Republic of Moldova from 2004 to 2020 and the latest Country Program 2016-2020 was aiming at improving the living conditions for people in the rural areas of the Republic of Moldova. The focus on the rural areas addressed the disparities and inequalities in development of urban and rural areas in Moldova.

The conflict in Ukraine has created a regional humanitarian crisis. Moldova is one of the main refugee-hosting countries and a transit country for onwards. Moldova is Europe’s poorest country, with the lowest per-capita GDP, populated mainly in rural areas and economically unable to respond to such a big number of refugees without external aid. As of 15 June, 498’896 people have entered Moldova from Ukraine, of which 85’948 Ukrainian refugees and 3’873 third-country nationals have remained in the Republic of Moldova. The number of persons arriving from Ukraine into the Republic of Moldova has fluctuated since the escalation of the war in Ukraine.

Due to such a context and knowing that HEKS/EPER has a previous strong experience in the country by supporting local partners, it has been decided to open again the Country Office (CO) based in Chișinău. HEKS/EPER is planning to implement projects through well-known partners, local and national NGOs with strong expertise and experience.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Community Facilitator is the front-line for implementation of the project portfolio, working on-site with the local community, partners and stakeholders. The role is focused on building relationships and facilitating opportunities and delivery of services to support the implementation of the project. Community facilitator works collaboratively as part of the team on site and local stakeholders, promoting communication between partners, the community and service providers.

MAIN TASKS 

Project Implementation

• Working closely with the PO (ERC and Country Director (CD) occasionally) for contributing to the project implementation.
• Developing and maintaining strong, functional relationships with all parties across the project portfolio (communities, partners and service providers). If needed, establish/facilitate the formation and the communication with a Community Advisory Group (local administrative authorities, key personalities, community representatives).
• Facilitate and support implementation of activites: provide logistic and administrative support, organize activities, support communities in addressing capacity gaps.
• Community Facilitator’s presence in the field provides means for program monitoring to ensure maintenance of the quality of implementation according to national & international protocols as well as an independent layer of accountability (ensure the implementation of safeguarding lines, facilitate experiential learning approach, develop accountability mechanisms)
• The Community Facilitator will develop work plans and project plans to deliver the core elements of the project and liaising with key partners to ensure activities and initiatives are progressed as planned. 
• S / He will be responsible for supervising the day-to-day implementation of activities across the implementation sites. Thus, the Community Facilitator needs to engage with project beneficiaries (UKR refugees and host communities) to build strong community support for the proposed activities.
• S / He will also supervise and facilitate regular roundtable, sessions, and meetings with UKR refugees and Moldovan communities. This will help the Community facilitator to establish a practitioner network on site to promote communication.
• Undertaking Community Data Analysis and baseline site implementation planning and contributing to regular reports on site progress. This means the Community Facilitator will be responsible to ensuring quality data collection and reporting with regular travel to implementation sites.

Skills and Abilities

• Exceptional people skills, ability to work alongside vulnerable community members and beneficiaries, as well as partners, in a collaborative and constructive manner.
• Well-developed stakeholder management and engagement skills.
• Exceptional communication skills – verbal and written, able to tailor communication methods and styles to suit the audience.
• Genuine concern and passion for the improving the well-being and opportunities available to families (Moldovan and refugees) and communities.
• Ability to assemble training modules, learning materials and roundtable curricula to be used for the training, roundtables, sessions, and meetings.
• Ability to come up with a clear training plan, methodology, expectations & outcomes to demonstrate what beneficiaries will be trained on & how they will be trained & what can be achieved at the end of the program.
• Ability to prioritise competing interests and deliver outcomes in a fluid and changing environment.
• Project management skills, with a “can do” approach.
• Continuous improvement mindset, always seeking to find better ways to achieve better outcomes.

Experience/Qualifications

• Experience working in the education sector (early childhood / schools / adult learning) health, or community sector
• Experience working in diverse settings, engaging with multiple service providers
• Qualifications in community development / education / social cohesion or other relevant qualification

Safety and Security

• Together with ERC and PO, asses and consult other partners to ensure security situation of planned locations is ensured; Ensure risk assessment and share security information.
• Assist in putting in place appropriate security and prevention measured during any distribution and implementation of project activities.
• Assist team members to produce timely incident report to the line manager and advice on taking corrective measures, if needed.

How to apply:

Interested applicants are invited to send the CV and cover letter in English to: olesea.badia@heks-eper.org

Deadline for applications: September 10, 2023 (end of the day). Please note that applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the closing date may be brought forward if needed. We encourage early application.