Project Coordinator

Job Description

MUJEJEGUWA LOKA WOMEN DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (MLWDA)

Organizational Profile - MLWDA

Mujejeguwa-Loka Women Development Association (MLWDA) is a pioneering, women-led Ethiopian charity legally registered with the Ministry of Justice in 2002. Founded in 1996, MLWDA began as a grassroots initiative to address the critical health needs of Gumuz women in Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State. Today, MLWDA has grown into a leading non-religious and non-political nonprofit organization working to advance women’s rights, gender equality, and eliminate gender-based violence (GBV).

MLWDA is implementing a UNICEF-funded integrated child protection and GBV response project in three intervention woredas (Mandura, Dangur, and Guba) of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region. The project supports protection services and safe, accessible, survivor-centered, and child-centered responses in targeted communities.

Organization: Mujejeguwa Loka Women Development Association (MLWDA)

Position: Project Coordinator

 Location: Gilgel Beles, Benishangul-Gumuz Region with frequent travel to field areas

Technical Supervisor: Program Coordinator

Administrative Supervisor of the Position: Project Coordinator MLWDA Gilgel Office

Deadline:  10 November 2026

Job Summary

The Project Coordinator will oversee the overall planning, strategic implementation, management, monitoring, and reporting of the UNICEF-funded integrated child protection and GBV response project. The incumbent will ensure all activities align with project objectives, donor compliance guidelines, and MLWDA quality standards, while supervising the project team—including the Assistant Project Coordinator—to deliver effective, timeline-driven protection interventions in field locations.

 Key Responsibilities

• Project Management & Planning: Oversee the development and execution of annual, quarterly, and monthly project workplans, ensuring programmatic milestones are achieved on time and within budget.
• Team Supervision & Leadership: Serve as the administrative and technical supervisor for project staff, including the Assistant Project Coordinator, social workers, case managers, and Child-Friendly Space (CFS) facilitators.
• Financial Oversight & Budget Monitoring: Monitor project burn rates, review financial forecasts, and authorize expenditures in strict accordance with the approved budget line items and MLWDA financial policies.
• Monitoring, Evaluation, & Reporting: Partner with MEAL teams to analyze indicator trends, perform quality control on program field data, and compile comprehensive, high-quality narrative reports for UNICEF and relevant government signatories.
• Stakeholder Coordination: Represent MLWDA at regional, zonal, and woreda-level coordination platforms, child protection/GBV sub-clusters, and maintain robust working relationships with the Bureau of Women, Children, and Social Affairs (BoWCSA) and local authorities.
• Technical Quality Assurance: Ensure that all GBV case management, psychosocial support, and child preservation programming follow strict international survivor-centered, child-safe standards and protocols.
• Risk & Operations Management: Proactively identify operational bottlenecks, security threats, or access constraints across Mandura, Dangur, and Guba woredas, formulating rapid mitigation strategies to minimize program disruptions.
• Procurement Support: Lead project procurement planning, supply tracking, and asset validation to ensure key emergency protection and dignity kit distributions happen efficiently.

Safeguarding and Accountability

MLWDA is deeply committed to safeguarding children and adults at risk. The successful candidate must strictly comply with the organization’s Code of Conduct, child safeguarding, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), confidentiality, anti-fraud, and conflict-of-interest policies. Safeguarding concerns must be transparently reported through approved organizational channels. All populations served must be treated with unwavering dignity, respect, and zero discrimination.

Employment Conditions

Salary will be determined according to MLWDA’s competitive structural salary scale and the candidate’s direct professional qualifications. Employment type, contract duration, benefits packages, probation regulations, and specific terms of service will be formally issued by MLWDA in alignment with the approved project budget provisions and internal organizational human resource policies.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Education: Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Gender and Development Studies, Sociology, Human Rights, Law, Development Studies, or a highly related social science field.
• Experience: Minimum of 5 years of progressive professional experience for BA holders, or 3 years for MA holders, in humanitarian project coordination or management. Direct implementation experience in Child Protection, GBV response, or emergency protection sub-sectors is highly desirable.
• Sector Knowledge: Proven background working with international UN donor compliance rules (preferably UNICEF), civil society frameworks, and government reporting mechanisms inside complex or conflict-affected environments.

Required Skills and Competencies

• Technical Skills: Strategic project planning, portfolio monitoring, budget oversight, and advanced emergency program evaluation tools.
• Soft Skills: Outstanding multi-disciplinary team leadership capabilities, advanced negotiation mechanisms, and constructive problem-solving skills.
• Communication: Exceptional verbal and written English communication capacities alongside professional grant and technical report writing skills.
• Language Proficiency: Fluency in English and Amharic is required. Understanding local regional languages spoken in Benishangul-Gumuz is a major asset.
• Computer Skills: High proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and virtual communication platforms.

Interested applicants who fully meet the stated requirements are invited to submit a one-page application cover letter and an updated CV through Ethiojobs.

Applicants must indicate the exact position title followed by their full name in the email/submission subject line, utilizing the following precise format: Project Coordinator – [Applicant’s Name].

MLWDA strongly encourages qualified female candidates to apply.

Please note that only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted due to the large number of applicants.