Stakeholder Engagement Specialist

Job Description

1. Assesses the nature, extent and quality of relationships with at least two of the following stakeholder groups: (a) trial participants and their partners, (b) local communities, (c) research colleagues and other staff members of the research enterprise, (d) policymakers and (e) service providers or program implementers

2. Identifies and explains enabling factors and barriers that are affecting the stakeholder engagement process — and makes recommendations for strengthening the enabling factors and removing the barriers.

3. Develops, implements and evaluates strategies for (a) developing new relationships and (b) enhancing existing relationships for at least two of the above stakeholder groups during each phase of the prevention science research continuum (PSRC) — conceptualization stage, clinical trial stage and application stage.

4. Develops, maintains and contributes to a database of “promising practices” in stakeholder engagement.

5. Identifies and develops opportunities for the testing of promising practices — and the subsequent identification and description of “best practices in stakeholder engagement.”

6. Develops strategies for ensuring that best practices in stakeholder engagement are (a) identified and (b) become institutionalized.

7. Collaborates closely with the communications manager.

8. Provides training and guidance on all aspects of stakeholder engagement.

9. Remains abreast of the current literature on stakeholder engagement — and assesses its applicability for HIV prevention research.

10. Participates in an online community of practice for stakeholder engagement and maintains contact with colleagues who are also working in this area.

Qualifications:

Education:

• Minimum advanced university degree in social sciences, sociology, development, socio-economy, agro-economy, natural resource management, sustainable development or related field from a recognized university.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in the field of stakeholder’s engagement, local community mobilization, capacity building, negotiation, and community socio-development
• Experience with project development, implementation, or demonstrations at local, national and/or international levels involving stakeholders engagement and mobilization
• Knowledge of National communities and Institutions is highly desirable; experience in similar previous role is a strong asset
• Experience with stakeholders in the public health sector is highly desirable
• Experience with USAID is highly desirable
• Experience in Ethiopia is preferrable

Language:

• Fluency in English
• Fluency and/or professional in local Ethiopian languages such as Amharic and Oromo are highly desirable

About the Organization

The QED Group, LLC, is a full-service international consulting firm committed to solving complex global challenges through innovative solutions. QED has a 20 years history of evidence based development, which includes more than $3.5 billion in programs evaluated and work in 96 countries around the globe. We are determined to provide all our clients with best-value services so they increase their efficiency, learning capacity, and accountability to the public in an ever more complex and interconnected world.

The purpose of the Ethiopia Electronic Health Information System (e-HIS) project is to support the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) in strengthening and modernizing the national Health Information System of Ethiopia. The project will involve supporting the government of Ethiopia to develop and bring to scale priority electronic health information systems, instill a culture of data use, build capacity and governance for the improved HIS, and ensure integrated systems by fostering stakeholder collaboration.

The stakeholder engagement specialist is responsible for building, supporting and sustaining positive and productive relationships with the stakeholders in research trials conducted by (insert name of research institution).