Capacity Strengthening Officer

Women Activities & Social Service Association (WASSA) was established in 2002 in Afghanistan as a non-governmental organization, committed to seeking ways for women's empowerment in Afghanistan. WASSA aims to promote women's equal participation in socio-economic sectors of the country. WASSA works directly with communities to bring change in the social attitude of the community regarding women.

An envision “Equal participation of women & men in all sectors of the country.

• Equal Opportunities: WASSA is dedicated to offering equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified candidates, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, ethnicity, age, or disability.
• Safeguarding and Conduct: WASSA will contact previous employers to inquire about any history of sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment during the candidate's employment, including incidents under investigation at the time the candidate left. Job offers are conditional on satisfactory reference checks. By applying, candidates confirm they understand and accept these procedures.
• Final Selection: The selected candidate must pass a background check and reference check. They will also be required to sign WASSA's Code of Conduct, PSEA (Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse), Safeguarding, and other relevant policies before receiving a final job offer/contract 

WASSA is implementing a SIDA-funded project in Badghis Province aimed at strengthening community resilience, protection mechanisms, and sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable populations, including IDPs, returnees, and host communities.

The Capacity Strengthening Officer will play a key role in enhancing the institutional and technical capacities of Community-Based Structures (CBS), local stakeholders, and project staff to ensure quality implementation, sustainability of interventions, and long-term community ownership of project outcomes.

2. Purpose of the Position

The Capacity Strengthening Officer is responsible for designing, implementing, monitoring, and documenting structured capacity-building initiatives that improve governance, accountability, climate resilience practices, protection mainstreaming, and sustainable livelihoods at community level.

The position ensures that capacity development interventions are aligned with project objectives, donor requirements (SIDA), and international standards including accountability and safeguarding principles.

3. Scope of Work

The Capacity Strengthening Officer will:

• Lead capacity needs assessments and develop tailored strengthening strategies.
• Build technical and organizational capacities of CBS and relevant stakeholders.
• Integrate protection, gender equality, inclusion, and climate resilience principles into all trainings.
• Promote sustainability and community ownership mechanisms.

4. Key Responsibilities

A. Capacity Development Planning and Implementation

1. Conduct comprehensive Training Needs Assessments (TNA) for CBS, project staff, and key stakeholders.
2. Develop an annual and quarterly Capacity Strengthening Plan aligned with the project workplan.
3. Design and contextualize training modules, manuals, guidelines, and IEC materials.
4. Facilitate participatory trainings on:
   • Community governance and leadership
   • Organizational management and financial transparency
   • Climate resilience and environmental sustainability
   • Livelihood sustainability and market linkages
   • Protection mainstreaming and safeguarding
   • Gender equality and social inclusion
5. Apply adult learning methodologies and participatory approaches during trainings.
6. Organize refresher trainings and follow-up mentoring sessions.
7. Provide on-the-job coaching and mentoring to CBS members and facilitators.

B. Community-Based Structure (CBS) Strengthening

1. Support the establishment, registration (if applicable), and functional strengthening of CBS.
2. Develop and support CBS internal governance tools (bylaws, action plans, record-keeping systems).
3. Strengthen accountability, transparency, and community participation mechanisms.
4. Promote inclusive representation of women, youth, persons with disabilities, and marginalized groups.
5. Support CBS in developing sustainability and resource mobilization strategies.
6. Facilitate linkages between CBS and relevant government departments and service providers.

C. Institutional Strengthening and Coordination

1. Coordinate with local authorities, community elders, and sectoral stakeholders to align capacity initiatives.
2. Support harmonization of capacity-building efforts with other actors in the province.
3. Represent WASSA in relevant coordination meetings when delegated.
4. Ensure capacity development approaches are consistent with national and donor standards.

D. Safeguarding, Accountability and Protection Mainstreaming

1. Ensure safeguarding and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) principles are integrated into all capacity-building activities.
2. Promote awareness of community feedback and complaint mechanisms (CFRM).
3. Ensure do-no-harm principles are applied in all trainings and community engagement.
4. Identify and mitigate risks related to exclusion, conflict sensitivity, and protection concerns.

E. Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Documentation

1. Develop training monitoring tools (pre/post tests, evaluation forms, follow-up checklists).
2. Coordinate closely with the MEAL team to measure capacity development indicators.
3. Document success stories, lessons learned, and best practices.
4. Maintain organized training records and attendance sheets.
5. Prepare monthly, quarterly, and ad-hoc reports as required by the Project Manager.
6. Contribute to donor reports (SIDA) by providing accurate capacity-building data.

F. Compliance and Quality Assurance

1. Ensure all activities comply with WASSA policies and donor requirements.
2. Maintain proper documentation and filing systems.
3. Ensure ethical conduct and professional standards in all engagements.
4. Perform any other related tasks assigned by the Project Manager to ensure successful project implementation.

. Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Education, Social Sciences, Development Studies, or related field (Master’s degree preferred).
• Minimum 3–5 years of experience in capacity building, training facilitation, and community development.
• Experience working with community-based structures in humanitarian or development settings.
• Strong knowledge of participatory training methodologies.
• Familiarity with safeguarding, gender equality, and protection principles.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills.
• Fluency in local languages and good English reporting skills preferred.

6. Core Competencies

• Strong facilitation and coaching skills
• Strategic thinking and planning ability
• Community engagement and negotiation skills
• Documentation and reporting capacity
• Cultural sensitivity and integrity
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines

7. Acknowledgment

This Terms of Reference (ToR) outlines the responsibilities and requirements for the Capacity Strengthening Officer role. Additional duties may be assigned as necessary to ensure successful project implementation.

• Interested, qualified candidates should submit their information/request through the link (https://airtable.com/appgQzKSHAtUIAVbN/shrFi89cGDZlHGHGu)
• Academic certificates or references do not need to be submitted at this time. These will be requested if an interview is called for.
• Only short-listed candidates will be invited for the written test and interview upon project approval.