Plan International is a global organisation that works side by side with communities in 50 developing countries to end the cycle of poverty for children and their families. Plan works at the community level to develop customized solutions and ensure long-term sustainability. Our solutions are designed up-front to be owned by communities for generations to come and range from clean water and healthcare programs to education projects and child protection initiatives. Across program areas, Plan's activities are guided by a Child-Centered Community Development (CCCD) approach, which is rights-based, holistic, gender sensitive and inclusive.

As a partner on the USAID/Ghana Systems for Health project, Plan Internal is seeking candidates for a Community Mobilization Specialist position. The purpose of this project is to strengthen Ghana's health systems to improve access and quality of family planning (FP) maternal, newborn and  child health (MNCH), nutrition, malaria prevention and treatment, and interventions to improve the management and performance of health systems that support these services.

This will be accomplished by improving the technical and organizational performance of existing facilities to expand coverage of Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) zones, strengthening the interaction between  Ghana Health Service (GHS) staff and community volunteers, and providing quality assurance for these different health interventions throughout their respective catchment areas. The project will be implemented in the following five Greater Accra, Western,Central, Northern, and Volta.

Responsibilities:

•   Provides technical leadership for strenghtening engagement and linkages between regional, district, sub-district health management teams; health facilities; CHOs; community leaders and community groups in planning, implementation and management of health services
•   Support and strengthens community-level health campaigns to build demand for key health services through gender-sensitive interventions and promotion of respectful care and male involvement, among other interventions
•   Builds capacity and provides leadership for monitoring of community-based results based on quality improvement and performance-based management approached adopted by the project.
•   Supports the design, promotion, implementation and monitoring of community-based activities to promote community/house hold education / awareness on FP, Maternal Child Health (MCH), nutrition, and malaria prevention and treatment issues.
•   Provides support for development and implementation of strategies to motivate and retain health workers, particularly CHOs,
•   Strengthens community-level advocacy efforts tor educe gender inequality and discrimination
•   Performs any other duties that may be assigned from time to time

Travel requirements:
This position entails 80% traveling to the field to support communities, staff and partners in the Program Units.

Level of Contact with Children:
High contact: The responsibilities of this position require the post holder to have frequent one-to-one contact with children. It is expected that extra care shall be taken to protect children at all times,

Qualification Required & Experience

•   Masters degree in public health, international development or related field;
•   At least six (3) years of experience mobilizing communities effectively and leading advocacy efforts
•   Demonstrated ability in program design and integrated approaches to community-level health service delivery
•   Demonstrated experience working effectively with program staff, implementing partners,civil society organizations, community leaders and local government authorities to implement community-based health services and locally-led community engagement initiatives
•   Proven ability to carry out local level advocacy, capacity building and social empowerment initiatives
•   Proven ability to create and maintain effective working relationships with national and local level government officials stakeholders NGOs, and implement partners.
•   Excellent management and interpersonal skills
•   Exceptional English (Oral and Written) communication skills required.

Location: Volta and Central Regions

How To Apply For The Job

Interested applicants should submit the following documents to addition to a cover letter:

•   Detailed Curriculum Vitae stating current and latest posts  (WITH DATES) as well as summary of job responsibilities
•   Certifies photocopies of relevant certificates of highest academic qualification
•   Names, e-mail addresses and  telephone numbers of three (3) Referees (work-related)
•   Applications should reach the following address not later than 5th September, 2014

The Country Human Resource Manager
Plan Ghana
Private Mail Bag
Osu Main Post office, Accra.

OR to

Plan Ghana Country Office
No. 10 Yiyiwa Street, Abelemkpe,Accra

Closing Date: 05 September, 2014

Qualified Ghanaian nationals, especially female candidates are encouraged to apply. Only shortlisted candidates would ne contacted.