Empowering Youth Through Communication Join CARE as a Communication Expert. 2024

June 21, 2024

4 minutes read

Empowering Youth Through Communication Join CARE as a Communication Expert. 2024

Job Opportunity: Communication Expert in Bangladesh

About CARE

CARE is a leading international humanitarian and development organization committed to improving the lives of people in poor communities and alleviating poverty. Operating in over 100 countries, CARE has been active in Bangladesh since 1949 and is one of the largest programs in the CARE confederation. CARE’s work in Bangladesh focuses on implementing programs with long-term impacts that result in sustainable changes for the extreme poor and marginalized communities, with a particular emphasis on the empowerment of women and girls.

The Context in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has made impressive strides in its social and economic development, achieving lower middle-income status in 2015 through stable macroeconomic conditions and substantial poverty reduction. The nation adeptly navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining positive real GDP growth through prudent macroeconomic policies and effective stimulus measures. However, challenges persist, particularly for its youth population.

With an overall unemployment rate of 8.9% among those aged 15-29, around 27% of this group is labeled as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). Notably, this NEET issue is predominantly a gender concern as approximately 90% of NEET youth are female. Social norms emphasizing women’s household roles and movement restrictions contribute to these disparities which is evident in the significantly lower female labor force participation.

The EARN Project

The Economic Engagement of NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) Youth project in Bangladesh aims at economic engagement of the NEET youth, especially women, in rural and semi-urban areas of the country. The project offers education and skills development with a focus on women-centric facilities, employment and enterprise development support, enhanced employability through creating employer linkages and upskilling of Socio-Emotional Behavior (SEB) and Entrepreneur Development (ED) skill, incubation support for employment and entrepreneurship.

In order to ensure participation of women and other underserved segments, the project will promote an enabling environment, especially for the women, through targeted awareness raising and communication programs, family-based planning, counseling and involving the communities and families in planning and monitoring of implementation.

In the case of Bangladesh, a country particularly vulnerable to climate change, there are several potential benefits, and specific conditions, including youth-centric ones, that can enhance climate co-benefit advantages. The project is designed for addressing climate change impacts and disasters. Bangladesh, in general, is increasingly being exposed to climate change-related hazards.

The location of the project would be spread over many sub-districts, including extreme precipitation and flooding. Education and training programs have been severely affected by flooding in particular. The potential risks to education/climate resilient training facilities covered by the project due to flooding would be significantly reduced by the design of these facilities and the inclusion of soft components (e.g., training and awareness programs), which take flood risk into account.

The project will undertake climate resilience programs and enhance institutional capacity to improve the understanding of the responsiveness to disruptions from climate change and geophysical hazards. All skills development training will incorporate climate sensitization courses that will include adaptation and mitigation measures. The proposed competitive innovation funds will also be used to customize the new climate responsive awareness among the beneficiaries.

The Role of Communication Expert

The Communication Expert will play a crucial role in the EARN Project by developing and implementing effective communication strategies to engage and empower NEET youth, especially women, in rural and semi-urban areas of Bangladesh. The role will involve working closely with project partners, stakeholders, and communities to raise awareness about the project, promote an enabling environment for women’s participation, and facilitate communication between different stakeholders. The Communication Expert will also be responsible for developing and disseminating project materials, organizing events and workshops, and monitoring and evaluating the impact of communication activities.

Responsibilities and Tasks:

Supervisory oversight within Childcare Centers and providing guidance to caregivers and parents.
Providing training to the Child caregivers.
Developing different programs and events to foster the physical, emotional, behavioral, and social skills of children.
Providing guidance to ensure safeguarding children from violence, abuse, and exploitation.
Adhering to and supporting CARE Bangladesh’s Safety and Security policy and systems.

As part of this role, the job holder will be expected to adhere to and support CARE Bangladesh’s Safety and Security policy and systems as part of their day-to-day duties, and comply, at all times, with safety & security protocols and directives, including reporting. Staff must maintain situational and self-awareness and be aware of the safety-security related consequences of their actions upon themselves, their team, and the organization as a whole.

Qualifications and Experience:

At least 10 years of relevant work experience in any reputable national/ international NGO/relevant agencies in a similar position.
Master’s Degree in Sociology, Social Work, Anthropology, Women’s Studies, early childhood development, or other related disciplines.
Have at least 5 years of experience as a Childcare Professional, demonstrating expertise in offering supervisory oversight within Child Care Centers and providing guidance to caregivers and parents.
Proficient in the development and implementation of educational and recreational programs, with a focus on fostering the physical, emotional, behavioral, and social skills of children.
Knowledge and expertise in safeguarding children from violence, abuse, and exploitation.
Possess specialized professional training in the field of early childhood development/childcare.
Demonstrating proficiency in comprehending the sophisticated structure of child caregiver training and proposing enhancements to the system, aiming for improved child development outcomes and increased female workforce participation.

Application Deadline

Interested candidates meeting the above requirements should apply through CARE Bangladesh’s e-recruitment site on or before May 11, 2024.

Note

CARE Bangladesh is an equal opportunity employer.
Women are particularly encouraged to apply.
Any personal persuasion/phone-call will result in disqualification of candidature.
There is no cost involved with applying for positions with CARE Bangladesh.