Community Engagement Specialist

Job Description

Scope and Objectives

The Kaizen Company is seeking a Community Engagement Advisor for the upcoming Mitigating Local Disputes in Liberia III Program (MLDL III) funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). Kaizen is currently implementing MLDL II where we work to build the institutional and human capacity of local government officials and citizens to manage disputes and security concerns by focusing on developing and expanding County Security Councils (CSCs), District Security Councils (DSCs) and Community Forums (CFs). Kaizen is supporting structures at multiple levels in Liberian society to give citizens the ability to bring disputes to authority figures as easily as possible with the aim of preventing minor disputes from becoming large scale conflicts. The project fosters peace by applying alternative dispute resolution and mediation techniques to supplant violence. This builds citizens’ trust and confidence in the government’s ability to fairly and rapidly respond to issues that are (or could become) larger security concerns. MLDL III will expand upon the work of MLDL II, with an added focus on enhancing the capacity of the current Early Warning-Early Response mechanism and coordinating with local NGO’s.

The Community Engagement Advisor will be responsible for the training and development of the project’s CF, DSC, and CSC program staff and for the design of the project’s community engagement practices and counties’ financial sustainability plans through community donor support and self-support.

Minimum qualifications:

• A Master’s Degree or higher from a U.S. accredited institution or equivalent;
• At least 7 years international experience in a wide range of community engagement programs;
• At least 7 years international experience in fundraising, donor acquisition, NGO financial management, or other non-profit financial sustainability experience;
• Experience living and working in rural areas of the developing world, preferably in West Africa/Liberia;
• Superior negotiation and interpersonal skills;
• Ability to build and maintain key relationships in a culturally diverse environment and negotiate the resolution of conflicting views to enable the implementation of policies and programs;
• A working knowledge and demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint;
• Local knowledge will be beneficial in order to assist in the identification of structure members and expansion to new counties;
• The candidate will be a US or Third Country national (not Liberian national);
• Must be able to communicate in English with accuracy and fluency in order to participate fully and effectively in conversations on a variety of topics in formal and informal settings from both concrete and abstract perspectives;
• Must be able to discuss their interests and special fields of competence, explain complex matters in detail, and provide lengthy and coherent narrations, all with ease, fluency, and accuracy;
• If a verification of English competency is requested by INL, candidates must receive a superior level rating from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

About the Organization

The Kaizen Company (www.thekaizencompany.com) is an incubator for innovative, scalable solutions that address emerging market challenges and opportunities. Our proven solutions catalyze locally driven organizational and institutional performance improvements and establish communities of practice that facilitate peer-to-peer learning and the achievement of shared goals.

We leverage existing knowledge, technology, and new media, and local peer networks to support local reforms. Since our inception, we have provided support to more than 100 government, private-sector, and non-profit organizations in markets worldwide. We have created solutions that achieve outcomes across a broad range of sectors including education, governance, economic growth, environment and water, energy, and global law enforcement.