Chimwemwe Teens!

Job Description – Program Officer

About Project Concern Zambia (PCZ)

Project Concern Zambia (PCZ) is a local Zambian Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that was established in 2019.  PCZ work focuses on contributing to the achievement and sustenance of HIV epidemic control and addressing the upstream vulnerabilities that impede progress towards this achievement such as poverty, inadequate access to education particularly among adolescents and young people and addressing emerging epidemics that might further hinder progress such as COVID-19.  PCZ collaborates with grassroot community-led organizations, the local government, and the private sector to serve targeted populations.

PCZ seeks to recruit a Program Officer

Project Summary

Funded by the Neeley Foundation through Global Communities, the Chimwemwe Teens! Program supports complementary activities to the Empowered Children and Adolescents Program—USAID ECAP II. Through this program, PCZ has partnered with Restless Development to integrate into the USAID ECAP II program in Kapiri Mposhi district a youth engagement proof of concept aimed at engaging youths in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of adolescent-focused HIV prevention programs. Youths known as Adolescents Agents of Change are using program data to hold services providers accountable for the quality delivery of HIV prevention programs for adolescents and young people at risk of HIV acquisition.

Job Summary

The Program Officer will directly report to the Program Director and will liaise closely with Restless Development, Government Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS), Ministry of General Education (MOGE) and their decentralized provincial and district offices in Kapiri Mposhi; S/he will be proactive in assisting the Program Director to ensure the program is implementing evidence-based and high-quality adolescent-focused HIV interventions.  The Program Officer will have skills required to write quality project reports and should have good budget management and analytical skills. S/he will also be required to represent the Program Director in high level virtual and in-person meetings, and hence should have good presentation and communication skills and be able to eloquently communicate program achievements and best practices to external audiences.  The Program Officer will be knowledgeable about evidence-based and state-of-the-art HIV biomedical and structural prevention interventions for adolescents and young people and interventions needed to address social determinants of health in these populations.

Job responsibilities

• Provide quality assurance controls and support the Restless Development technical team to ensure program trainings, service delivery protocols and standard operating procedures (SOPs) are in line with set technical guidance
• Sit in Kapiri Mposhi district HIV prevention, and adolescent health technical and collaboration meetings, stay abreast of latest local, global and HIV prevention technical guidance and evidence and rapidly provide technical leadership to ensure the guidance is adapted and integrated into project training, service delivery, monitoring and evaluation protocols.
• Constantly liaise with MCDSS and MOGE and ensure the program is coordinating and linking effectively to Government social protection, livelihood and education support programs for adolescents and young people
• Support the Program Director to ensure the program is leveraging private sector support, manage and maintain relationships with private sector partners.
• Lead the documentation of program success stories, best practices, challenges and lessons learned and disseminate widely to appropriate audiences and through social media platforms.
• Lead the collation of monthly program reports from the field/Restless Development and compile them into one succinct program report.
• Compile annual program reports in liaison with Restless Development and the Program Director and be responsible for widely sharing the reports using different social media platforms
• Represent the Program Director in high level virtual and in-person meetings and eloquently communicate program achievement, success stories, challenges and lessons learned, document meeting notes and share with Global Communities and the Neeley Foundation

Required Skills and Experience

• Degree/Advanced Diploma in public health, Public Administration, Sociology, Development Studies or equivalent
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience working in the area of program management with a focus on adolescent-focused HIV/AIDS programming. Knowledge of private sector engagement will be an added advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in managing, coordinating and supervising adolescent-and community-led HIV/AIDS programs
• Demonstrated experience in applying and integrating quality assurance control systems in program management.
• Demonstrated experience in documenting reports and case studies and disseminating success stories and lessons learned.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in team settings.
• Demonstrated knowledge of HIV epidemic control strategies.
• Strong writing and presentation skills
• Excellent English oral and written communication skills; working knowledge of at least one of Zambia’s main local languages
• Qualified youths and women are highly encouraged to apply