Wellbeing and Social Inclusion Lead, USAID New Primary Education Activity | Ethiopia | 2024

The anticipated USAID New Primary Education Activity will work in areas affected by crises in Ethiopia, while deepening interventions to promote holistic foundational learning for children in these areas. This activity will target primary school age children and include out-of-school children who may be suited to those grade levels. This may include overage children, based on the understanding that many children will enter primary school late. As this activity will focus on strategies to target the significant portion of children who do not gain foundational skills on time, within these grade levels and age ranges, the activity will target the lowest performing students and/or those children who have dropped out or who are at risk of dropout. The anticipated USAID New Primary Education Activity will support areas severely affected by conflict, drought and other natural disasters, and where learning outcomes are lowest. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Chemonics seeks a Wellbeing and Inclusion Lead for the anticipated New Primary Education Activity based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Wellbeing and Inclusion Lead will be responsible for integrating and overseeing inclusion considerations and mental health and psychosocial support interventions. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Responsibilities Include:

• Leads the development of activities to provide psychological support and services for children and their communities within the primary education stage 
• Leads the development of activities to provide specialist support for severe psychological issues including mood disorders (depression), stress disorders (PTSD and phobias), Hyperactivity disorder, attention deficit, autism, and more. 
• Assess and analyze psychological needs and gaps, and develop plans to address these gaps
• Support psychosocial activities conducted in child-friendly spaces, and coordinate with Safeguarding team in schools to ensure a comprehensive response for children and their families. 
• Support and conduct targeted research to program evidence based MHPSS interventions, including training and supervising staff and evaluate the pilot of interventions.
• Extend pillars of support for children’s learning and wellbeing beyond activity interventions
• Operate and collaborate with various ongoing and forthcoming programs in the education sector
• Incorporate gender transformative programming within education systems stereotypes, attitudes, norms and practices by challenging power relations, rethinking gender norms and binaries, and raise critical consciousness about the root causes of inequality and systems of oppression.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Chief of Party

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Psychology, Psychotherapy, Psychological counseling, or similar field required.
• Seven years of experience in MHPSS, psychological health or psychotherapy
• Experience on USAID or other international donor-funded projects in Ethiopia strongly preferred. 
• Excellent organizational and supervisory skills and ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Detail oriented, and ability to prioritize tasks.
• Proficiency in English required.
• Qualified applicants from Ethiopia highly encouraged to apply.