Vacancy Announcements (6 Positions)

ARIDLIFE Development Agency (ARIDLIFE) is a national NGO in Somalia implementing humanitarian and development programs that support vulnerable and underserved communities. Its work focuses on child protection, livelihoods and resilience, food security, climate-smart agriculture, community engagement, accountability, and evidence-based programming. ARIDLIFE works closely with communities, government institutions, donors, and development and humanitarian partners to strengthen resilience, protect vulnerable groups, and improve access to sustainable opportunities and essential services. We are inviting applications from qualified individuals for a project anticipated to start in September 2026.

1. Child Protection (CP) Project Officer

Department: Program

Reports To: Program Manager

Direct Reports: Field CP Social Workers, Community Mobilizers and Volunteers

Duty Station: Baidoa, with Ocational travel to Afgoye and other operational areas

Contract type and Duration: Full-time (6 months) with a high possibility of extension.

Minimum Experience Required: 4+ years of progressive project management experience in humanitarian child protection programs.

Education: Bachelor's degree in Social Work, Social Sciences, Development Studies, or Project Management.

Position Summary

We are seeking a dedicated and proactive CP Project Officer responsible for leading field implementation, team management, and day-to-day operational delivery for active child protection and other grants, ensuring activities align with international humanitarian standards, donor rules, and project targets.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

•      Operational Execution: Develop and drive monthly implementation plans, procurement requests, and activity schedules to hit key performance indicators (KPIs) on time.

•      Team Leadership and Capacity Building: Supervise, mentor, and evaluate field social workers and CFS facilitators, conducting regular performance reviews and technical refresher trainings.

•      Financial and Spending Control: Track project line-item expenses through monthly Budget vs. Actual (BVA) reviews, with the aim of zero budget overruns or unallowable spending.

•      Sector Coordination: Represent Aridlife at local Child Protection Sub-Cluster, GBV, and Protection Working Group meetings to coordinate field coverage and prevent duplication.

•      Quality Assurance: Ensure all child protection interventions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPMS).

Key Skills & Competencies

•      Experience managing donor-funded budgets and compliance requirements (NORAD, ECHO, UN, or similar)

•      Proven people-management skills, including performance reviews and technical coaching

•      Working knowledge of the CPMS and Sphere standards

•      Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and standard project management tools

•      Fluency in English; working proficiency in [local language(s)] an advantage

2. Child Protection (CP) Social Worker

Department: Program

Reports To: Child Protection Project Officer

Duty Station: Baidoa and Afgoye

Contract Type & Duration: Full-time (6 months) with a high possibility of extension.

Minimum Experience Required: 2+ years of direct field experience in child protection case management. Fluency in [local language(s)] required.

Education: Degree or diploma in Social Work, Psychology, Sociology, or Human Services.

Position Summary

The CP Social Worker delivers direct, child-centered case management and frontline protection services to vulnerable children, unaccompanied minors, and child survivors of abuse, exploitation, or displacement.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

•      Case Management Lifecycle: Lead individual case assessments, Best Interest Assessments (BIA), Best Interest Determinations (BID), personalized case planning, referrals, and follow-up visits.

•      Confidential Data Management: Enter and update accurate, confidential case records in real time using the CPIMS+ / Primero database, in strict compliance with data protection protocols.

•      Community-Based Operations: Facilitate and monitor child-centered safe spaces (CFS) and partner with local Community Child Protection Committees (CCPCs) to strengthen referral pathways.

•      Family Tracing and Reunification (FTR): Conduct family tracing, assess alternative care and foster placements, and carry out post-reunification follow-ups for separated children.

•      Immediate Protection Response: Serve as first responder to child protection emergencies, delivering rapid assessment and crisis stabilization within 24 hours of notification.

Key Skills & Competencies

•      Direct experience with CPIMS+/Primero or a comparable case management database

•      Sound judgment in high-stress situations involving children

•      Demonstrated understanding of best-interest procedures and family tracing and reunification

•      Ability to travel regularly to field sites, including remote or insecure locations

3. Psychosocial Support (PSS) Counselor

Department: Health & Protection

Reports To: CP Project Officer

Duty Station: Baidoa and Afgoye

Contract Type & Duration: Full-time (6 months) with a high possibility of extension.

Minimum Experience Required: 3+ years of clinical counseling experience with trauma survivors, children, and conflict-affected communities. Valid professional practice license required where applicable.

Education: Bachelor's or master's degree in Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, or Psychiatric Social Work.

Position Summary

The PSS Counselor provides clinical psychological assessments, individual therapy, and structured group interventions to children, caregivers, and families experiencing severe trauma, grief, or psychosocial distress.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

•      Clinical Assessment and Intervention: Conduct intake evaluations and formulate individualized, evidence-based treatment plans for complex trauma cases.

•      Individual and Group Therapy: Facilitate individual therapy, trauma-informed art or play therapy for children, and structured group sessions for parents and youth (for example, positive parenting or life-skills groups).

•      Crisis Stabilization and PFA: Provide Psychological First Aid (PFA) and clinical crisis intervention following major protection incidents or acute distress episodes.

•      Capacity Building: Deliver training on mental health identification, basic PFA, and safe referral steps to frontline community workers, teachers, and health staff.

•      Specialized Referral Pathways: Identify cases requiring psychiatric intervention and coordinate confidential secondary referrals to specialized health institutions.

Key Skills & Competencies

•      Training in at least one evidence-based, trauma-focused modality (for example, TF-CBT, EMDR, or narrative exposure therapy)

•      Experience facilitating group therapy with children or caregivers

•      Working knowledge of PFA and referral protocols for severe psychiatric cases

•      Fluency in English; working proficiency in [local language(s)] an advantage

4. Grant Officer

Department: Business Development & Quality Assurance

Reports To: Grants Management assistant / Business Development officer

Duty Station:Mogadishu

Contract Type & Duration: full-time (6 months) with a high possibility of extension.

Minimum Experience Required: 4+ years of direct experience in grant writing, donor compliance, and narrative reporting within an INGO or UN environment.

Education: Bachelor's / Diploma in Business studies, CPA, International Development, Project Management, or a related field.

Position Summary

The Grant Officer manages the administrative and strategic lifecycle of project grants, including donor reporting, compliance tracking, and proposal development across technical units.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

•      Proposal and Narrative Writing: drafting / writing and synthesis of donor proposals, technical narratives, concept notes, and logical frameworks (UN, EU, USAID, BHA, or similar).

•      Donor Reporting and Quality Control: Draft, review, edit, and compile quarterly, annual, and final project reports, ensuring full alignment with financial records and project data.

•      Grant Management Lifecycle: Maintain the Grant Tracking Matrix and organize Grant Kick-Off meetings, monthly Grant Review meetings, and formal Grant Close-Out sessions.

•      Sub-Grantee Oversight: Monitor local partner sub-grant agreements, track reporting schedules, review partner reports, and ensure compliance across downstream partners.

•      Compliance Advisory: Serve as the internal resource on donor rules and contractual obligations, advising program teams on allowable costs and contract amendments.

Key Skills & Competencies

•      A track record of proposals or reports delivered to at least one major institutional donor

•      Strong command of logical frameworks, indicator design, and budget narratives

•      Excellent written English; additional donor-language proficiency (French, Arabic, or similar) an advantage

•      Experience managing sub-grantee compliance and reporting cycles

5. MEAL Officer (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning)

Department: Quality Assurance & Strategy

Reports To: MEAL Manager

Duty Station: Mogadishu with frequent travel to Baidoa and other project areas

Contract Type & Duration: Full-time (6 months) with a high possibility of extension.

Minimum Experience Required: 3+ years in M&E/MEAL roles within humanitarian or protection sectors, with advanced proficiency in digital data tools.

Education: Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Quantitative Economics, Demography, Social Sciences, or M&E.

Position Summary

The MEAL Officer builds and runs data collection systems, indicator tracking, community feedback loops, and learning activities so programs stay accountable, evidence-based, and adaptive.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

•      Framework and Indicator Tracking: Maintain project MEAL frameworks, indicator performance tracking tables (ITTs), and data collection schedules across active field sites.

•      Digital Data Systems: Design, script, and manage mobile data collection forms using tools such as KoboToolbox, ODK, or CommCare for field surveys and evaluations.

•      Field Monitoring and Data Quality: Conduct routine field monitoring visits, baseline/endline assessments, and Data Quality Assessments (DQAs) to audit source data accuracy.

•      Accountability and Complaints Mechanisms (FRM): Manage field-level feedback channels (hotlines, suggestion boxes, helpdesks), recording community feedback and handling sensitive PSEAH complaints through secure procedures.

•      Learning and Adaptation: Organize data review sessions with technical teams to turn monitoring findings into program adjustments and written lessons-learned logs.

Key Skills & Competencies

•      Hands-on scripting experience with KoboToolbox, ODK, or CommCare

•      Working knowledge of statistical analysis (Excel at minimum; SPSS, STATA, or R an advantage)

•      Experience running data quality assessments and community feedback mechanisms

•      Familiarity with PSEAH complaint-handling protocols

6. Media and Communications Officer

Department: Communications & External Relations

Reports To: MEAL Manager

Duty Station: Mogadishu with frequent travel to Baidoa, Afgoye, Balcad and other Project areas

Contract Type & Duration: Full-time (6 months) with a high possibility of extension.

Minimum Experience Required: 3+ years of experience in media, communications, or journalism, ideally within an INGO or UN environment.

Education: Bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, or a related field.

Position Summary

The Media and Communications Officer tells Aridlife's program story to donors, media, and the public, producing content that documents impact while protecting the identity and dignity of the children and families we serve.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

•      Content Development and Storytelling: Produce human-interest stories, photography, and video that document program impact for donor reports, proposals, and public communications.

•      Media Relations: Serve as Aridlife's point of contact for local and international media, respond to press inquiries, and coordinate interviews and field visits.

•      Digital and Social Media Management: Manage Aridlife's website, social media channels, and email communications, and track audience engagement.

•      Child Safeguarding in Communications: Secure informed consent, apply age-appropriate imagery standards, and follow Aridlife's Child Safeguarding Policy and ethical storytelling guidelines for all content featuring children.

•      Donor Visibility and Branding: Ensure donor branding and visibility requirements are met across published materials, in line with each grant's communications plan.

Key Skills & Competencies

•      A portfolio of published multimedia content — writing, photography, or video — that demonstrates strong storytelling ability

•      Working knowledge of child-safeguarding-compliant photography, interview, and consent practices

•      Proficiency with a content management system and major social media platforms

•      Experience handling presses inquiries and coordinating media field visits

•      Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, or comparable design and editing tools

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Interested candidates should submit the following two documents in a single email:

•      An updated CV (maximum 3 pages) that includes contact details for three professional references, one of whom must be your most recent direct line manager.

•      A cover letter (maximum 1 page) that states the exact position title you are applying for.

Send both documents to [email protected] with the subject line: Position Title – Your Full Name.

Applications close on 28/08/2026 at 17:00 EAT. Aridlife reviews applications on a rolling basis and may fill a position before the deadline if a strong candidate is identified, so early submissions are encouraged. Incomplete or late submissions will not be evaluated. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.