Job Posting Template

Basic Job Information

Job Title: Senior Community Engagement Officer                      Location: Pristina, Kosovo
Position Type: Employee                                                                 Job Stage: Currently Open
Category: Local (CCN)                                                                      Number of positions available: 1
Employee Status: Full-time                                                              Close Date: 6/16/2024

Job Summary

USAID’s Social Contract Activity in Kosovo is a five-year activity that began in 2022 and is implemented by Democracy International (DI). The Activity works with local governments and local communities to build sustainable practices for public participation in order to improve citizens’ quality of life and strengthen their partnership with the municipal government. This year, the Activity will expand to an additional five partner municipalities, among them two Serb-majority municipalities.   

DI is looking to hire a Senior Community Engagement Officer to work primarily with Serb-majority communities. The Senior Community Engagement Officer will work with communities to build relationships, implement technical activities, facilitate partner coordination, and conduct regular site visits to monitor implementation of interventions of the USAID’s Social Contract Activity.

This is a full-time position based in Pristina, Kosovo but involves considerable local travel into two or more municipalities with Serb-majority populations. 

Key Tasks and Responsibilities of the Consultant

The Senior Community Engagement Officer will be responsible for the following:

• Facilitate community dialogue between citizens and municipal institutions in the implementation of planned activities in assigned municipalities; 
• Work with the Governance team to strength cooperation of municipal institutions with community groups for addressing community issues; 
• Train and coach community groups to engage constructively in local matters;  
• Supervise and support grantees and subcontractors in carrying out community mobilization; 
• Oversee the work of the grantees and subcontractors on drafting and implementing their work plans or action plans; 
• Provide strategic planning to the team for engaging women, youth and less represented group in public matters; 
• Develop networks and maintain relationships with other INGOs, local NGOs, donors and government working on similar interventions; 
• Prepare and conduct awareness sessions and presentation of materials for beneficiaries on community empowerment and active political participation; 
• Assist with outreach campaigns aiming to spread the understanding of local government and encourage best practices in public participation; 
• Assist in preparing and launching mass media campaign targeting municipal governance. 

Monitoring and Reporting

• Prepare periodic progress reports outlining project field activities; 
• Report data for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) indicators to track performance; 
• Oversee information and shared learning across teams and ensure that monitoring and evaluation results are documented and understood as the basis for improved programming; 
• Ensure meeting agendas, participation sign-in sheets, and minutes are recorded and circulated in a timely fashion. 

Qualifications  

• A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, Law, or related field. 
• Master’s degree preferred. 
• Substantial community development experience or in civil society for five or more years. 
• Fluency in Serbian and English required; fluency in Albanian preferred. 
• Experience in community development or local government. 
• Experience with USAID projects preferred. 
• Experience working with Gracanica/Gračanica Municipality and Community in Gracania/Gračanica preferred.
• Experience conducting trainings and capacity building workshops. 
• Ability to carry out trainings, needs analysis and develop capacity building of community actors. 
• Good communication skills, ability to convey complex information in a straightforward manner. 
• Strong interpersonal skills to establish and maintain effective working relations with multicultural and multiethnic teams, including working with partner organizations. 
• Mentoring and coaching skills. 
• Ability to synthesize and analyses data. 
• Proven experience in networking, influencing and negotiation skills. 

Reporting 

This position reports to ​the Deputy Chief of Party.​

Application Process:
Interested applicants must submit a cover letter and a CV by June 16, 2024. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. DI is dedicated to attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent, and the position will be filled as soon as a qualified candidate is identified. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Application Link: 

https://recruitingbypaycor.com/career/JobIntroduction.action?clientId=8a78826757e082f20157e44efef80218&id=8a7885ac8e68044f018e803320732706&source=&code=&fromAggregate=false&qToken=&applicant_guid=

About the Organization:DI provides technical assistance, analytical services and project implementation for democracy, human rights, governance and conflict mitigation programs worldwide for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. State Department and other development partners. Since its founding in 2003, Democracy International has worked with civil society organizations, political parties, election-management bodies, government agencies, legislatures, justice-sector institutions, and others in 80+ countries.

DI welcomes and supports a diverse and inclusive work environment. We are committed to equal employment opportunities (EEO) for all applicants seeking employment and for DI employees. DI makes employment decisions based on organizational needs, job requirements and individual qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, personal appearance, military status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, political affiliation, educational status, unemployment status, place of residence or business, source of income, or reproductive health decision making. Additionally, harassment or discrimination based on these characteristics will not be tolerated at DI. To perform the essential functions of this position, reasonable accommodations are available to qualified individuals with disabilities.