Jobs and Careers

JOB DESCRIPTION : 

Democracy International (DI) is seeking to hire a Social Protection Specialist for the multi-year USAID-funded Protection, Inclusion, and Empowerment Activity in Armenia. Based in Yerevan, Armenia, the Social Protection Specialist supports local officials, civil society leaders, private sector actors, and marginalized groups in addressing legislative gaps, enhancing collaboration among local stakeholders in policymaking and implementation, increasing resources, and strengthening their responsiveness to unforeseen events.
This will be a full-time position based in Yerevan, Armenia. This position is only open to Armenian citizens.

The Social Protection Specialist will manage the project’s social protection interventions, provide oversight and guidance, plan and implement priorities for the technical areas, and liaise with relevant partners and stakeholders.

RESPONSIBILITIES : 

Essential Job Duties:
- Support for comprehensive social protection governance and coordination based on development-related structures;
- Consult on policy priorities in social protection and possible research gaps in social protection in coordination with and cooperation of different ministries/ departments, including inter-sectoral coordination;
- Build linkages with allied sectors and providing a policy forum to address cross-cutting issues – specifically on education, health, nutrition, and climate change, assisting policy evaluation of program design features and their coherence with other sector strategies;
- Support social protection analysis and research within wider policy circles, national and international think tanks, universities, and training institutes;
- Assist in the maintenance of a standing database on social protection programs, which will be compatible with other government databases and accessible to all stakeholders; developing capacity in appropriate areas to establish, update, access, and use the database;
- Support the development of downstream planning and program coordination linkages, being informed by management information and monitoring systems;
- Engage with best international social protection practices for learning and experience sharing;
- Overall knowledge management through a policy research facility in support of social protection policy and delivery analysis, drawing from best international practices and providing guidance to program and system development;
- Provision of impact assessments for ex-post policy analyses; synthesizing key lessons; provision of micro-simulation model for ex-ante policy analysis;
- Facilitate nationally authored research reports and policy notes, based on empirical evidence, to inform public dialogue and policy and program decision-making based on new evidence;
- Engage with relevant Parliament sub-committees, as well as form a group with a special focus on social protection, with members of both the governing party and opposition; providing advocacy materials and tools developed and published for dissemination in Parliament;
- Support civil society organizations to implement grievance systems and other rights-protection mechanisms, particularly linked to the management information system;
- Together with the Communication & Outreach Specialist Officer and the MEL Officer facilitate the dissemination and communication of policy briefs, research reports, and lessons learned in the field of social protection;
- Establish a policy and innovations network for learning and lesson sharing: via twinning arrangements, international/ regional study visits, and national and international conferences;
- Ensure a feedback loop of project experience and actively engaging in feeding information to DI on project lessons with implications for social protection strategy and policy;
- Improve the equitable provision of services to vulnerable populations while also elevating their voices publicly to advocate for needed reforms;
- Incorporate Positive Youth Development approaches across the program to ensure that youth are meaningfully considered and engaged;
- Document and disseminate program successes and challenges to local stakeholders;
- Oversee partner technical work as applicable;
- Provide training and technical assistance to partner organizations;
- Perform other duties as assigned by the Chief of Party.

- This position reports to the Chief of Party.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS : 

- A master’s degree in economics, Social Science, or other relevant discipline from a recognized university;
- Minimum 10 years of work experience in the development sector, with at least of 7 years in the field of poverty reduction, social protection, and related issues;
- Deep understanding of the best practices, approaches, and methodology in programming related to social protection and social systems;
- Familiarity with USAID guides and principles in the field of project intervention and experience within USAID-funded projects preferred;
- Experience working with Government of Armenia, focusing on serving marginalized or vulnerable populations;
- Experience in policy support and advocacy; commitment to involving CSOs and community-based actors in development programming;
- Experience on programs related to social protection, inclusion, or empowerment of vulnerable populations preferred;
- Understanding of poverty dynamics, social protection principles and their application to current national economic and development issues; proven capacity to deal with complex policy analyses and poverty research;
- Proven understanding of, and ability to produce reports and/or research papers with a good command of poverty and social protection issues;
- Knowledge of national planning processes, including related to five-year plans;
- Demonstrated experience in transfer of know-how;
- Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and other relevant management software;
- Language Requirements - excellent communication, both verbal and written;
- Strong interpersonal skills to effectively coordinate with a wide range of stakeholders and other team members;
- Professional fluency in English and Armenian is required;
- Excellent computer skills.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES : 

Interested applicants must submit a cover letter and CV. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position will be filled as soon as a qualified candidate is identified. DI will only contact candidates of interest.

Applications must be submitted with the following link: https://recruitingbypaycor.com/career/JobIntroduction.action?clientId=8a78826757e082f20157e44efef80218&id=8a7885ac8a9126b6018a998cd44d539a&source=&code=&fromAggregate=false

Please clearly mention in your application letter that you learned of this job opportunity through Career Center and mention the URL of its website - www.careercenter.am, Thanks.