YOUTH CHALLENGE INTERNATIONAL | ADRA CANADA

Role: Technical Coordinator – Knowledge Management
Position Type: Pro-Innovator Volunteer
Project: EMBRACE
Partner: ADRA Cambodia
Supervisor: EMBRACE Project Manager and Monitoring and Evaluation for Learning Coordinator
Location: Rovieng District, Preah Vihear province, Cambodia
Travel: Position includes daily travel within the project’s 168 villages and to the ADRA Cambodia head office in Phnom Penh up to a once a month
Duration: 10 months
Start Date: January 2018
Eligibility Requirements: Volunteer must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
Application deadline: November 30, 2017.

Youth Challenge International

Youth Challenge International (YCI) is a leading global youth development organization that promotes youth innovation to drive positive change. Over the past 25 years, YCI has supported youth-led initiatives and volunteer engagement with over 250,000 youth in 13 countries around the world. YCI’s programs are a unique and effective opportunity for individuals to participate in development programming. By combining the energy and skills of volunteers with local youth and partners, YCI provides volunteers with the opportunity to contribute to innovative programming while developing personal and professional skills.

The EMBRACE program

EMBRACE (Enhancing Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health through Revitalized Health Services and Community Engagement) is a four-year program designed to improve the maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) of vulnerable women, girls and boys in Cambodia, the Philippines, Rwanda and Myanmar. The program is funded by the Government of Canada and is being implemented through a consortium led by ADRA Canada in partnership Youth Challenge International (YCI) and the Hincks-Dellcrest Centre (HDC). The project is currently in the second half of its second project year.

Position Details:

The EMBRACE Cambodia project is seeking a results-oriented Documentation Research Specialist with proven skills in process analysis and documentation of community development and behaviour change interventions for sharing with a broad audience. The volunteer will work collaboratively with the Senior Project Manager, Project Managers and Program Director to document processes, practices and new knowledge in key components of this maternal, newborn and child health project. Key components to be documented and analysed include, but are not limited to, participatory Positive Deviance/Hearth (PD Hearth) nutrition promotion and MCH safe delivery community development approaches as well as water and sanitation (WASH) and home gardening diversification methods within a maternal and child health framework. The volunteer will be placed in the EMBRACE project office and will be working and living in the field for the duration of their placement.

Key Responsibilities:

Working in coordination with the Cambodia team, the ideal candidate will:

• Develop a documentation and dissemination plan that corresponds with the professional skills and interests of the volunteer;
• Conduct field observations and data collection to analyse and document the key project interventions of PD Hearth, Safe Delivery, WASH, home gardening for dietary diversity, other participatory methods.
• Identify new knowledge and best practices and support project-wide knowledge sharing across 3 project district areas;
• Champion the integration of new knowledge into project interventions and develop additional monitoring and evaluation plans as needed;
• Promote knowledge sharing through the project’s different interventions by strengthening links between different project sites, improving integration and facilitating training of teams to implement new changes;
• Ensure the cross-cutting themes of gender, environment and governance in the project proposal and baseline planning documents are effectively integrated into project implementation and are accurately documented in the outputs and outcomes;
• Work collaboratively with local Project Managers to jointly document project results and ensure synergy and coherence across all project sites;
• Work closely with the Project Manager and other key staff to provide insight on technical strategies, contribute to work planning, project reporting and provide oversight of knowledge management to ensure the project is implemented with tangible success;
• Perform other duties as designated by the Supervisor as needed to support the implementation of the project based on the skills and interests of the Technical Coordinator.

Essential Professional Background/Competencies

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Demonstrated experience effectively documenting processes;
• Excellent written & verbal communication skills with well-developed interpersonal skills;
• Highly motivated and self-directed;
• Team-player;
• A passion for social justice and community service;
• Flexible and adaptable to a challenging and high-pressure working environment and unpredictable workload;
• An ability and willingness to work in rural areas and new cultural and professional settings;
• Experience living, working or volunteering abroad.

Desirable Academic Qualifications

• Master’s degree in health or social sciences with an emphasis on international development or business administration;
• Certification or studies in public health, rural development, community development or project monitoring and evaluation.

Desirable Professional Background/Competencies

• Experience implementing health projects, with specific MNCH experience considered a strong asset;
• Health promotion, service delivery, or other relevant community development programing;
• Strong research, evaluation and documentation skills;
• Planning and report writing experience;
• An awareness of gender sensitive behaviour change strategies;
• Demonstrated experience conducting successful training and coaching, particularly in a developing country context;
• A strong understanding of process workflows and operating controls.

Important Information for Candidates

This is ten-month subsidized skilled volunteer placement. YCI will provide the following for the volunteer:

• Pre-departure training and debrief in Toronto (including travel and accommodation)
• In-country orientation
• Return airfare and visa/permit fees
• $300 CDN vaccinations allowance
• Emergency medical and evacuation insurance
• $1,200 CDN/month stipend to cover accommodation, food, work-related communication and transportation

YCI does not cover the following:

• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance (recommended)
• Social activities
• Personal travel

Application Instructions

Applications will be received on a rolling basis until the deadline. To apply for this position, please complete our volunteer application form. We thank all applicants for their interest, but will only contact those that have been selected for an interview. We will not accept any phone calls about this position.