Empowered Communities Network (ECN) Coordinator

Organization Overview

Tostan is a US 501(c)(3) organization that was founded in Senegal in 1991 in order to educate and empower Africans who have had little or no access to formal schooling. Tostan’s community-led program, the Community Empowerment Program (CEP), has achieved results including: declared abandonment of the practices of female genital cutting and child/forced marriage by thousands of villages; increased enrollment in formal education for children; increased use of problem solving and literacy skills to generate income and further develop local economies; and increased access to healthcare.

Roles & Responsibilities

Through its Community Empowerment Program (CEP), Tostan has trained over 2,000 Community Management Committees (CMCs) at the grassroots level in eight countries in Africa. CMCs develop and implement specific action plans to improve the well-being of their entire community through subcommittees focused on the environment, community health, social mobilization, education, income generating activities and child protection. In 2006, Tostan created the Empowered Communities Network (ECN), joining CMCs together, in order to reinforce members’ capacity to lead the sustainable development of their communities. Tostan facilitates contact and partnerships between these empowered communities and trusted NGOs, service providers, and decentralized government authorities to support the realization of their development priorities.

The Empowered Communities Network Coordinator is in charge of partnership development, CMC capacity development, networking, and project implementation, data management, and ECN staff coordination and oversight across Africa.

• Work with the Head of the Development Support Department (Chef de Département Appui au Développement) in Senegal and designated Tostan staff members in other countries to develop scalable strategies for Tostan’s offices in West Africa to reinforce the networks of Tostan-trained community based organizations and create a West Africa regional Empowered Communities Network
• Identify potential partners (NGOs, UN bodies, microfinance institutions, governmental agencies, etc.) and sources of funding for CMCs
• Develop relationships and partnerships with external organizations, in collaboration with Tostan’s Strategic Development Department
• Oversee implementation and monitoring of microfinance activities (community solidarity funds, microcredit program, Saving for Change, partnerships with Microfinance Institutions)
• Coordinate the organization of training cycles for CMCs and improve the pedagogic tools for the trainings
• Assist Tostan National Coordinators in the creation of new Federations of community-based groups
• Maintain a ECN database in collaboration with Tostan country staff allowing Tostan in order to increase the visibility of community successes and enhance the organization’s fundraising efforts
• Develop communications materials on CMC projects for potential partners and for external relations
• Collaborate with Tostan’s Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning Department to promote CMC self-evaluation processes and SMS-based reporting systems
• Create platforms and forums allowing CMCs to exchange best practices and successful initiatives
• Oversee other staff activities at local level (E.g. project implementation, CMC Market Place Event organization, local partnership management, etc.)

Through its three-year Peace and Security Initiative, Tostan will engage grassroots communities across West Africa in high-level regional peace building initiatives lead by governments, the UN, NGOs, ECOWAS, and the African Union. The ECN Coordinator will be integral in identifying dynamic CMCs and facilitating their partnerships for peace, security, and development with regional and international structures.

• Identify ten dynamic CMCs amongst the sixty participating in the pilot phase of the new peace and security module and facilitate their partnership with external partners for the implementation of development activities/projects
• Identify dynamic women CEP participants to attend mediation trainings offered by external partners
• Help organize cross-border summits amongst CMCs and communities participating in the pilot phase of the peace and security module
• Oversee the ECN's collaboration with the Diaspora for the implementation in grassroots West African communities of five Diaspora-led development projects selected for funding through Tostan France’s market place event

Location

Tostan Headquarters in Dakar, Senegal with travel to Thiès, Senegal and other countries (20%)

Key Qualifications & Selection Criteria

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, business, management, or related field required
• Ideally, a Master’s degree in International Development, Education, Gender Studies, Non-Profit Management, or Monitoring & Evaluation

Language Proficiency

• Strong written and spoken French and English

Knowledge & Experience

• At least 2 years of professional experience either with a non-governmental organization / non-profit in Africa OR other developing region
• Ideally, at least 3 years experience with microenterprise development and community development in Africa or similar business experience in non-African context
• Strong computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite, knowledge of the Google Suite preferred

Characteristics

• Shared values with Tostan’s mission and vision
• Capable of working with external stakeholders on planning and program implementation
• Ability to be persistent and diplomatic, and to establish mutual respect among a multicultural staff, project partners, and local community members
• Ability to work independently, self-motivate, and to manage multiple tasks at once
• Strong communication and organizational skills
• Flexible to adapt to a multicultural environment, to work in varied conditions, to be considerate of limited resources, and to adapt work priorities to the immediate needs of the project or donor
• Ability to travel independently

How to Apply

Send your CV and Cover Letter via email to hr@tostan.org. Please put ECN Coordinator as the email subject. We are accepting applications on a rolling basis. Please note, incomplete applications will not be considered.

Tostan is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate all applicants without unlawful considerations of race, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.