Community Engagement Officer

Who we are

Girl Effect is an international non-profit that creates media that girls want, trust, and need. From chatbots and chat shows to TV dramas and tech, our content helps adolescent girls in Africa and Asia make choices and changes in their lives. We create safe spaces for girls to share facts and answer questions about health, nutrition, education, and relationships, empowering them with the skills to negotiate and redefine what is possible "for a girl."

Our reach is 60 million and counting, and we leverage technology to reach girls at scale, so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, health, learning, and livelihood. When a girl unlocks her power to make different choices that change her life, it inspires others to do so, too. She starts a ripple effect that impacts her family, community, and country. That’s the Girl Effect.

Context of the role Jiki’zinto 2.0

South Africa continues to experience extremely high levels of gender-based violence (GBV), particularly against adolescent girls and young women. Despite significant investment by government and civil society, responses remain fragmented, with limited coordination between prevention initiatives, service providers, and community actors.

Girl Effect South Africa’s new strategy, Jiki’zinto 2.0, aims to address this fragmentation by positioning the organisation as a systems orchestrator within the GBV ecosystem.

Rather than implementing isolated interventions, Girl Effect seeks to convene, align, and amplify existing actors, linking community-based organisations, service providers, digital platforms, media, and government institutions into a coordinated response.

Central to this approach is the establishment of Ubomi Hubs, youth-centred safe spaces that function as local ecosystem anchors, connecting girls and young women to services across four core domains:

• Gender-Based Violence prevention and response

• Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)

• Mental Health and Wellbeing (MHWB)

• Economic Empowerment (EE)

The Ubomi Hub model integrates physical infrastructure, community programming, and digital engagement platforms, including the Big Sis chatbot and Jiki’zinto media ecosystem. The 2026 programme year will test this integrated model through a demonstration pilot in Cape Town, while restructuring existing CBO partnerships that previously supported the broader Jik’izinto programme.

Role Overview

In support of Jiki’zinto 2.0, Girl Effect South Africa is looking for an experienced community engagement professional based in Cape Town, to develop and maintain relationships with existing organisations in the identified communities that the Ubomi Hubs will operate in. In addition, the Community Engagement Officer will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Ubomi Centres once established.

What you will do

Partnerships / Ecosystem Orchestration

• Develop and maintain relationships with existing organisations in the communities that the Ubomi Hubs operate in.

• Consistently engage with additional organisations for partnerships.

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with community gatekeepers, civil society organisations, government officials and government facilities.

• Maintain an up-to-date partnership tracker which includes organisations the team has currently partnered with and pipeline.

• Ensure the new organisational strategy is embedded in communities and be proactive in identifying opportunities for growth and gaps for intervention in communities.

• Participating in relevant government and partnership engagements that are relevant to Girl Effect’s work and scope.

Day-to-Day Operations

• Ensure a steady flow of activities at the Ubomi Hubs (activities should be aligned with the programme's four thematic areas).

• Oversee the maintenance of the Ubomi Hub infrastructure (cleanliness, structural integrity, security).

• Report on any maintenance issues and ensure that issues are adequately addressed.

• Work closely with partnering organisations to attract young people to the Ubomi facilities.

• Provide monthly reports on the Ubomi Hub’s performance, noting challenges with operations, partner organisations and providing high-level impact numbers (i.e number of young people at the facilities over the month period).

This list should not be considered exhaustive; you will be expected to deliver other duties relevant and appropriate to this position.

Deliverables

• Weekly operational and partnerships updates.

• Quarterly engagements with the government at local and municipal level.

• Well-maintained partnerships tracker and pipeline.

• Monthly activity schedule for the Ubomi Hubs.

• Larger quarterly activations at Ubomi Hubs to attract young people to the facilities.

• Monthly Ubomi Hub performance reports.

Who you are

• 2-4 years of experience required in a facilitation, community engagement, partnerships, community development or development role, within the NGO sector (experience of health programme areas such as GBV and SRH highly beneficial)

• Demonstrated experience in building and maintaining relationships with community organisations, civil society actors and local stakeholders

• Strong stakeholder engagement and facilitation skills with the ability to work with community leaders, NGOs and government representatives

• Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in Social Work, Development Studies, Sociology, Public Health or Social Sciences

• Excellent organisational, written and oral communication skills, with a proven ability to engage and influence a diverse stakeholders

• Experience in coordinating and producing timely and accurate basic programme reports

Fluency in English essential, isiXhosa and Afrikaans preferred

What Else You Should Know

As we continue to scale and grow - we are hugely ambitious for our future and we are looking for people who are driven to change the world for girls. Our teams are a diverse mix across sectors (non-profit and commercial) and specialisms (from Creative through to Gender and Insight). You’ll learn and grow in an environment that will challenge you to think and work with a fresh perspective. In turn, you can expect to work somewhere where you will be stretched and developed in your role, a place where you can build your career and work with talented, engaged people committed to our cause.

Girl Effect is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, or gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

We are committed to building an organisation that is increasingly representative of the communities that we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to recruiting candidates with diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.

Furthermore, Girl Effect is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare and rights of all individuals, particularly the adolescent girls and young women we support. We have zero-tolerance for safeguarding violations, including sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH). All employees are required to adhere to our safeguarding policies and successfully complete relevant background checks, including reference and criminal record checks where applicable.

This role is being recruited for on a 12 month contract basis.

Applications closing date will be Tuesday, 31st March 2026