Community Officer - Tetra Tech

The Ghana Fisheries Recovery Activity (GFRA) aims to prevent the collapse of the small pelagic fishery sector in Ghana while improving supplemental livelihoods, resilience, and food security. This Activity seeks to improve supplemental livelihoods and resilience measures for fishing communities, particularly for women and youth; facilitate private sector engagement and market linkages in the fishing sector; strengthen government capacity in policy-making, regulation, and enforcement; strengthen improved science and research, including data for policy and management decisions; and empower key stakeholders to effect change. 

The Community Officer will work closely with District Assemblies, local authorities, traditional leaders, fisheries associations, fishers, fish processors and other stakeholders along the fisheries value chain in coastal fishing communities located in GFRA focus sites across the four coastal regions of Ghana. The Community Officer will support the GFRA technical team to implement GFRA activities in these fishing communities. 

He/she will propose and implement activities in support of GFRA’s aspirations. The activities cut across all of GFRA’s objectives including fisheries management, social and behaviour change communication, improved fish processing, diversified livelihoods, and addressing gender-based violence and child labour in fishing communities. The Community Officer

will be responsible for ensuring all activities are closely coordinated with Fisheries Commission and other government stakeholders at the regional and district level and with GFRA partners that need to be involved. 

RESPONSIBILITIES AND MAIN TASKS

• The Community Officer will play a major role in ensuring the quality and timeliness of GFRA community level interventions. Specifically, he/she will:
• In close collaboration with GFRA staff and partners, organize events, meetings, workshops, trainings and other activities at the regional, district or community level.  
• Support community sensitization and mobilization activities and interventions across all GFRA focus sites.
• Initiate partnerships, strengthen relationships, and maintain cordiality with fisheries constituencies, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and traditional authorities, in support of GFRA objectives. 
• Analyze community contexts, provide critical information on changes and propose proactive measures to address emerging challenges. 
• Support fisheries communities to initiate and implement local actions to address inequities in fisheries management
• Identify risk factors and support the implementation of GFRA’s community engagement plan.
• Support technical staff in the development of activity plans and budgets and the reporting on activities once they have concluded.  Initiate community-level implementation of activities.
• Support monitoring, evaluation and learning of GFRA project performance and progress.
• Prepare technical reports on GFRA community fisheries interventions.
• Perform any other duties as directed by the Supervisor and the GFRA Chief of Party 

PRODUCTS (AMONG OTHERS)

• Activity plans, budgets and reports.
• Contributions to GFRA work plans, quarterly and annual narrative reports, fact sheets and other communications products
• Provide updates on the implementation of GFRA community engagement plan. 

Required Skills or Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Community Development or related fields. There will be a preference for candidates with a fisheries or marine-related degree with experience engaging coastal communities.  
• Three to five years of relevant professional experience working to engage and mobilize communities.  Preference for candidates that have experience with communities in the coastal regions of Ghana. 
• Experience in mobilizing communities, community leaders and other stakeholders to participate in development programs.
• Experience implementing development projects, preferably those funded by USAID or other large donors.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to work effectively and independently in a fast-paced environment.

  LANGUAGES: Advanced level in English. Proficiency in coastal languages is added advantage.