Advisor, Regional Government Cooperation & Community-Based Activities Full Time

Vacancy Announcement #133/2025​

“Advisor, Regional Government ​Cooperation & Community-Based Activities”

Support to Transitional Justice – S2TJ; Improving the prevention of FGM in the Horn of Africa (FGM Prev)

Brief and attractive description of the project/ unit

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a German public-benefit federal enterprise. GIZ works worldwide in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and has over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas. We work to shape a future worth living in over 120 countries around the world.

The Project “Support to the Transitional Justice Process in Ethiopia” (S2TJ) is accompanying the transitional justice process (TJ), that has been initiated by the Ethiopian Government. This process is an essential element in the national peace process to secure reconciliation and long-lasting and sustainable peace. The project aims at advising and strengthening key government institutions as well as Civil Society Organisations to ensure that the TJ process is conducted in an inclusive, gender responsive, survivor and victim-centred manner and according to international human rights standards.

The Support to Transitional Justice (S2TJ) project will be implemented in selected regions of Ethiopia. The regional implementation includes a focus on:

Implementing capacity development and networking activities on TJ and gender for and with local civil society organisations.

Strengthening the capacities of regional governments, especially the Bureaus of Justice, Bureaus of Women, Bureaus of Social Affairs and Bureaus of Health with regards to TJ, peacebuilding and gender equality for their involvement in the national TJ process. This includes advising regional governments on the provision of holistic mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS) to conflict-affected communities.

Providing holistic, gender-responsive and community-based MHPSS to IDPs, marginalised groups and survivors of conflict and grave human rights abuses, such as conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

The GIZ Regional Project “Improving the Prevention of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the Horn of Africa” aims to support national, regional, and local actors working on the prevention of FGM and other forms of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the Horn of Africa. The project’s target groups are girls and women at risk in selected regions of Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, where FGM is particularly prevalent. This includes Afar region in Ethiopia. At the heart of its efforts, the project works closely with public institutions and civil society organisations to systematically transform harmful social norms and strengthen the prevention of FGM and GBV. From information and awareness raising campaigns to embedding prevention measures into national policies, the programme ensures that FGM and GBV remain firmly on the political agenda. Equally important is the programme’s close collaboration with community-based organisations through the Community Initiative Fund (COIN Fund). By challenging patriarchal norms and power imbalances, these organisations play a key role in dismantling the roots of FGM and GBV, paving the way for safer and more equitable communities.

Contract duration: until November 30, 2027

Responsibilities and Duties

• You are facilitating capacity development and networking activities for and with local civil society organisations on TJ, gender and SGBV incl. FGM and child marriage, in line with the responsible team members based in Addis Ababa.
• You are responsible for implementing the activities of the project output on the strengthening of capacities of regional governments (training and networking events), especially the Bureaus of Justice, Bureaus of Women, Bureaus of Social Affairs (BoWSA) and Bureaus of Health with regards to TJ, peacebuilding and gender equality for their involvement in the national TJ process. This includes technical support and advisory services.
• You are responsible for implementing the regional project activities around community-led initiatives on MHPSS, community activities, and peacebuilding for survivors of war, conflict, and conflict-related SGBV (especially women, youth, IDPs) in Afar.
• You are facilitating the roll out of a funding mechanism for community-led activities around MHPSS, peacebuilding and dealing with the past in the project regions, including setting up and accompanying financial agreements with local government bureaus, CSOs and community-based organisations.
• You support the identification of suitable medical- and community-based MHPSS providers in the selected regions of the project.
• You prepare financing, local subsidy and consulting contracts and supervise their implementation for both GIZ projects
• You support the implementation of the capacity development strategy on how to strengthen community initiatives on peacebuilding and transitional justice, such as local mechanisms of dealing with the past and community healing. This also includes income generating activities for livelihood and economic empowerment where necessary.
• You anticipate potential push backs and elaborate strategies to deal with them jointly with partners on the ground
• You facilitate the monitoring and mitigation of unintended, negative consequences of project activities in the area of MHPSS and peacebuilding in cooperation with S2TJ team and partners and you contribute to the project monitoring and evaluation system in cooperation with the S2TJ M&E expert
• You are in charge of general cross-cutting support activities in your area of responsibility, e.g. knowledge management and documentation, communications and administrative processes if requested.
• You are in charge of coordinating and supporting the joint steering with BoWSA of the Community Initiative Fund (COIN Fund) in Afar, and of providing technical and monitoring advice to the partner CSOs.

Required qualifications, competencies, and experience.

Qualifications

• University degree in Psychology or Social Work, Public Health, Political Science, Peace and Security/ Conflict Studies or similar
• Profound understanding of the situation of conflict survivors in Afar, especially women, youth and children and other marginalised population and their intersection with traditional harmful practices such as FGM and child marriage
• Good connections with and knowledge of the civil society organisations who work on peace, MHPSS, gender and TJ in Afar.
• Profound expertise of the holistic MHPSS concept and implementation at community level in post-conflict settings in Afar.
• Knowledge of MHPSS and psychological service providers in Afar, understanding of traditional MHPSS and community healing approaches, as well as knowledge of gaps and opportunities of psychological service provision in Afar are an asset.
• Knowledge of and connection to survivor associations in Afar is an asset.
• Sound understanding of the concept of transitional justice and the role of regional governments in its implementation in the Ethiopian context.
• Proven organizational and coordination skills as well as experience in project management, incl. M&E
• Knowledge of GIZ internal structures is an asset.

Professional experience

• A minimum of 5 (five) years of experience in working on: MHPSS, conflict prevention or peacebuilding, transitional justice and traditional harmful practices against women and girls.
• Multiple years of work experience in donor-funded projects, including managing grants and sub-grants.
• Multiple years of experience in cooperating with and advising Afar regional bureaus on peace-, gender- and/or MHPSS-related issues.
• Multiple years of experience in implementing projects at community level in Afar region on peace, MHPSS and/or livelihood/income generating activities.
• Multiple years of implementing projects, trainings and networking events with Afari civil society organisations on peace, MHPSS and gender.
• Working experience in conflict affected areas in Afar, proven experience in working with a do-no-harm and conflict-sensitive approach.
• Proven experience in the field of MHPSS and peacebuilding interventions for and with victims of sexual gender-based violence and other post-traumatic stress disorder related issues.
• Working experience in the area of economic empowerment and livelihood support for survivors of human rights violations, war, conflict and conflict-related sexual violence.

Other knowledge, additional competencies

• Very good analytical skills, self-reflective, empathetic, and non-judgemental attitude.
• High gender competence, intercultural competence and resilience, emotional stability to cope with human suffering.
• Strong commitment, team spirit, reliability, conflict sensitivity, gender competence and intercultural competence
• Ability and willingness to travel to conflict affected regions.
• Sensitivity to accommodate survivors of human rights violations.
• Excellent training competences
• Excellent written and spoken skills in English and Afar language. Fluency in other Ethiopian languages (Amharic) is an advantage.
• Very good working knowledge of ICT technologies (related software) and computer applications (e.g. MS Office)
• Exhibits conscientiousness, integrity and loyalty