Sample Job Description

Sample Job Description for Social Mobilizers

Below is a sample job description for Social Mobilizers to be recruited for community mobilization activities throughout all phases of an emergency. It is intended to guide you in developing your own job description relating to the needs of your situation.

Background: In a few sentences provide an overview of your intervention, its objectives, its scope, any relevant stakeholder and how the social mobilizer’s role relates to the intervention.

Essential Job Duties: Provide a brief description of the main duties of the mobilizers such as initiating and developing social activities, engaging community members, promoting collective analysis of community needs and collective action to address those needs. You should also include any supervisory and support structures associated with the role and any remuneration.

Specific Tasks: The following tasks will need to be revised depending on the requirements of individual organizations, however, it is likely that many of the tasks listed will be relevant to most situations

Coordination:

Liaise regularly with the local/subnational/national communication cells and support them in implementing all activities related to community participation in their community. This includes but is not limited to: selection and training of volunteer/peer educators, identification and engagement of local stakeholders, delivery of awareness-raising activities and events, facilitation of group discussions.
Liaise with health services and other relevant providers.
Coordinate community and opinion leaders to ensure uniformity of messages relating to the emergency.
Maintain contact and coordinate with relevant local authorities and other partners in the area to ensure coordinated activities and messages.
Liaise with local organization in the area to support harmonization of messages and activities.

Community Mobilization

Engage in community entry processes with community leaders to discuss community mobilization activities, and gain support and buy-in.
Promote trust, tolerance and cooperation among community members.
Initiate action to mobilize and engage the local community and assist community members to identify needs and generate solutions.
Assist communities in obtaining information and knowledge that will support them in changing risk behaviors.
Promote participation by community members, with special consideration for at-risk populations and those who are often excluded from decision-making processes and from activities.
Motivate and encourage potential local leaders and other key influencers in the community to become involved in community mobilization activities related to the emergency.
Share key messages about the issue causing the emergency, signs and symptoms, and protective behaviors with the community. Inform communities of where support can be obtained should any risk signs be detected.
Form and facilitate groups of community members to discuss the problem.
Mobilize community members into taking protective actions.
Facilitate small group activities with community members to address barriers to behavior change, and develop community action plans.
Design, organize and implement community based activities to attract community members and engage with the subject matter being addressed.
Depending on the type of emergency and if appropriate, set up and coordinate large-scale entertainment education activities such as concerts, film screenings and other events to raise awareness of services and key messages and promote discussion.
Identify and liaise with potential leaders and community members who could influence behaviors in positive ways.

Capacity Building

Equip community and opinion leaders with the necessary skills and knowledge to foster protective behaviors to address the emergency.
Support leaders, peer educators and other influential individuals to divulge the desired messages.
Contribute to equipping community members with the skills and knowledge that can empower them to face the emergency. Support local organizations to deliver key messages and activities in the community.

Monitoring & Evaluation

Support continuous needs assessment in the community by organizing and leading participatory activities to highlight areas of importance.
Monitor actions being implemented and share resulting data with relevant parties, such as supervisors, the communication cells, other stakeholders and the community members themselves.
Compile reports as required.

Requirements

Ability to speak and listen well in the relevant local languages and the national language
Ability to write and read in the national language
Ability to talk to small and large groups without showing fear or arrogance
Ability to learn mobilization skills that bring people together
A commitment to the cause being addressed Honesty, transparency and respect
Motivated and able to work on own initiative
Ability to observe and analyze situations
Desire to acquire further training and skills