Programme Intern/Officer Community Health

Position Overview

Based in Madagascar, this position will work across SEED’s Community Health Department including maternal and child health, SRHR and food security. We use community-led, participatory approaches, working with local communities to identify and implement projects that meet their needs and priorities. It is a superb opportunity for an early career development professional to be part of a team of national and international staff supporting the development, funding, reporting and evaluation of our community health programme. 

Primary responsibilities include the writing of donor reports and proposals, providing additional support to the project team surrounding project management and monitoring and evaluation. The role is predominantly office-based with some bush travel. The diversity of activities undertaken will provide a wide-ranging experience for an early career development professional who can effectively and efficiently deal with a comprehensive range of tasks related to the complex world of overseas development. 

It is essential that the post holder is able to work in English to a high standard and have at least intermediate French. Candidates who do not meet these criteria will not be considered.

Title: Programme Intern - change of title and responsibilities to Community Health Programme Officer subject to passing 3-month probationary review.

Location: Fort Dauphin, Madagascar

Probationary Period: Three months

Contract: Voluntary for 12 months, with stipend of 800,000 MGA per month towards accommodation and a contribution of £650 towards insurance

Duties and Responsibilities 

1. Write project reports, to a high standard of English, that clearly demonstrate the successes and challenges of our community health projects and provide clear budgetary information
2. Compile funding proposals based on past evaluation, team discussion and International best practice in an engaging and professional manner 
3. Conduct internet searches and searches through SEED’s funder database for potential donors to fund projects
4. Take a leading role in gathering statistics and ensure that all existing statistics relating to the projects are accurate
5. Work alongside the Communications and Media Officer to build a communications plan for the community health projects, writing regular Facebook, blog posts and website copy
6. Support the development of projects that fulfil local need and sit within the aims of SEED taking into account research findings, local needs and constraints, government objectives and SEED’s previous experience 
7. Conduct research into international best practices with regard to SEED’s community health programme and take the lead in discussing these with the team
8. Monitor and update project trackers according to project activities, ensuring the project is on track to meet project indicators and objectives
9. Take an active role in project management meetings, leading these where appropriate 
10. Take an active part in international team meetings and support to other members of the team
11. Work with national staff in increasing their skills and capacity, providing mentoring or training where appropriate 
12. Assist in data collection and basic analysis where required and where there is an Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Specialist in post assist them in developing monitoring and evaluation tools and completing MEL reports for projects 
13. Work alongside the Head of Project Development and Head of Finance in developing and managing the budgets relating to projects 
14. Maintain a database of projects and funders alongside the UK and remote team  
15. Form part of the team representing projects or SEED when required. 
16. Liaise with the UK team in London ensuring clear communication at all times. 
17. Ensure all of SEED’s policies and procedures are evident throughout the work of the department, including those for safeguarding, whistleblowing and anticorruption, and undertake continual training to ensure these are promoted at all times
18. Complete other ad-hoc tasks as required by the Senior Programme Officer, Head of Community Health Programmes or Director of Operations and Heads of Departments to further the aims and work of the organisation. 

Person Specification

• Hold an undergraduate in or relating to community health, general development or have transferable skills or equivalent experience
• Minimum of 1-3 years professional experience of securing funding, project management, donor compliance and donor reporting 
• Demonstrate strong writing skills. Previous experience in grant-writing is an asset. 
• Demonstrate sound knowledge and keen interest in Community Health and its interface with international development
• Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to SEED’s ethos and approach and be a good ambassador for SEED at all times
• Have passion, curiosity and motivation for the job and the ability to enthuse others
• Have the ability and desire to work with teams from different economic and cultural backgrounds and across multiple language barriers
• Have the ability and desire to build capacity and share skills across cultures and work with teams from different economic and cultural backgrounds and across multiple language barriers
• Intermediate French is essential and be able to hold meetings and read reports in French
• Demonstrate proven ability to recognise and appropriately deal with challenging situations 
• Demonstrate an awareness of and comfort with increased social and professional responsibility, working at all times with cultural sensitivity and respect
• Demonstrate the ability, social skills and confidence to give clear guidance and support to other members of the team in respect of the philosophy and procedures of SEED in order to protect both their safety and the reputation of the NGO
• Be able to work to and advocate for all of SEED’s policies and procedures, safeguarding those that SEED works with and reporting any concerns appropriately
• Be punctual and be able to work to tight deadlines in an organised manner and to a high standard
• Have a flexible and patient attitude
• Have excellent problem-solving skills
• Be able to work both independently and as part of a team

About the Organisation

SEED Madagascar is a British Charity working in partnership with communities in the southeast of Madagascar. We integrate high quality community health, sustainable livelihoods; education infrastructure and conservation programmes to support long term, sustainable change and add to international best practice through research and publication across all of our programmatic areas. We are now looking for entry level interns and officers to work alongside national staff and expand our team. 

Application Procedure

Interested applicants should send a CV and covering letter in English outlining why they wish to take up this position and how their skills and experience match the requirements in the job description criteria to SEED Madagascar Director of Programmes and Operations, Lisa Bass by email on lisa@seedmadagascar.org.

Please note: AI generated cover letters and recruitment exercises will not be processed. 

Application Deadline: Monday 21st October 2024 at 23:59 GMT. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis throughout this period.

Candidates will complete an exercise, long-listed applicants will have an initial informal interview with Madagascar based staff and short-listed applicants will then be offered an interview with the London team.

• Please note that the expected in-country start date for this position is 13th January.

SEED Madagascar actively encourages equality, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace and aims to create a working environment free of bullying, harassment, victimisation, and unlawful discrimination, where individual differences and the contributions of all staff are recognised and valued.