Community Engagement Assistant, FSM WASH

## JOB DESCRIPTION Job Title: | Community Engagement Assistant, FSM WASH Division/Programme and Section/Project (if any): | Geoscience, Energy and Maritime (GEM) Division, Disaster and Community Resilience Programme (DCRP) Location: | Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (with regular travel to Chuuk, Yap and Kosrae)- Micronesia Regional Office (SPC) Reporting to: | Project Manager, FSM WASH Number of Direct Reports: | 0 Purpose of Role: | The Community Engagement Assistant (CEA) is responsible for planning and implementing all community-level engagement, communication, awareness, and behavioural change activities under the FSM WASH project. The role ensures that WASH governance reforms and policy development are informed by — and accessible to — communities across all four states, with particular attention to outer island, rural, and marginalized populations. The CEA is the primary interface between the project and communities, civil society organisations, traditional leaders, and local champions, and serves as a critical link for embedding community voice into national policy processes. Date: | September 2026 ### Organizational Context and Organization Chart SPC is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, proudly supporting development since 1947. We are an international development organisation owned and governed by our 27 country and territory members. SPC is deeply committed to gender equality and the meaningful inclusion of all Pacific peoples in development processes. The FSM WASH project is funded by the European Union under NDICI-Global Europe and scored as a Significant Objective under the EU Gender Marker system. Gender equality is therefore a core accountability of the project, not merely a cross-cutting principle. The Community Engagement Assistant plays a central role in community engagement, communication, awareness, and behaviour change initiatives to ensure that communities across FSM, particularly rural, outer island, and marginalised groups, actively contribute to and benefit from the development of WASH governance reforms and the National Water and Sanitation Policy. The Community Engagement Assistant sits within the Micronesia Regional Office. Key Result Areas (KRAs): KRA 1: Community engagement and outreach support across all four FSM states (35%)KRA 2: Support communication, awareness and Behavioural change programming (25%)KRA 3: Community consultation support for national policy and governance processes (20%)KRA 4: Traditional leader and civil society engagement assistance (15%)KRA 5: Monitoring, reporting and knowledge management contribution (5%) The performance requirements of the Key Result Areas are broadly described below Jobholder is accountable for | Jobholder is successful when KRA 1:Community engagement and outreach support across all four FSM states (35%) - Support community consultations and outreach activities across FSM, covering all four states, with dedicated plans for outer island communities. - Build and maintain relationships with community groups, village councils, church networks, women's groups and youth organisations across Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap and Kosrae. - Assist with travel and logistics for community engagement activities. - Collect and share community feedback with the project team. - Support partnerships with state utilities (PUC, CPUC, DOTU, YSPSC) and environmental | - Community consultations and outreach activities are delivered as planned. - Strong working relationships are maintained with community stakeholders. - Community feedback is captured and shared with the project team. - Outreach activities include participation from remote and outer island communities. agencies to conduct outreach in rural and outer island communities. | KRA 2: Support communication, awareness and behavioural change programming (25%)- Prepare and distribute communication and awareness materials (including radio programmes, print materials, social media content and audio-visual resources) that are culturally appropriate. - Support WASH awareness campaigns, community events and media activities to promote behavioural change. - Assist with identifying and supporting community champions. - Coordinate with national media outlets and community radio stations to disseminate WASH messages. - Develop materials for the National Water Forum and support its communication strategy | - Communication materials are produced and shared on time. - Awareness activities are delivered according to the workplan. - Communities receive clear and accessible WASH information. - Community champions actively support outreach activities. KRA 3: Community consultation support for national policy and governance processes (20%)- In collaboration with the National Capacity and Facilitation Adviser and GESI Assistant, assist with community consultations and public engagement activities. - Record and report community views and priorities. - Maintain consultation records and participant information. - Support the PMU in maintaining disaggregated consultation records by state, sex, disability and community type. | - Consultation activities are well organised and inclusive. - Community inputs are accurately captured and reported. - Participation records are complete and maintained in line with project requirements. KRA 4: Traditional leader and civil society engagement assistance (15%)- Support engagement with traditional leaders, civil society organisations and community groups. - Assist with community meetings and stakeholder events. - Support the Mapping of traditional leadership structures and civil society organisations in all four states during the inception phase. - Contribute to maintaining an active network of NGO, community and faith-based organization partners to support project outreach and implementation. - Document traditional leader engagement activities, including attendance, topics discussed and outcomes. | - Stakeholder engagement activities are delivered effectively. - Positive relationships are maintained with key partners. - Traditional leadership mapping is completed for all four states. - Civil society and NGO partners are formally enrolled in project outreach. - Traditional leader perspectives are demonstrably integrated into WASH policy consultations. KRA 5: Monitoring, reporting and knowledge management (5%) | - Maintain accurate records of all community engagement and communication activities. - Contribute community engagement data to the project's MER framework - Participate in reporting. - Document lessons learned from community engagement activities and share these with the broader project team. | - Community engagement data is submitted to the MER system quarterly and on time. - Semi-annual report sections are accurate, evidence-based and submitted to the PM on time. - A lessons-learned log for community engagement is maintained and updated after each major activity. The above performance requirements are provided as a guide only. The precise performance measures for this job will need further discussion between the jobholder and supervisor as part of the performance development process. **Most Challenging Duties Typically Undertaken (Complexity):** - Reaching outer island and geographically remote communities across FSM's 607 islands within budget and logistical constraints. - Navigating multiple local languages (17 across FSM) and culturally diverse community settings across four states, each with distinct governance structures. - Embedding community voice meaningfully into the project. - Identifying and sustaining WASH champions in communities with high population mobility and limited institutional infrastructure. - Coordinating with traditional leadership structures that operate outside formal government channels. **Functional Relationships & Relationship Skills:** Key internal and/or external contacts | Nature of the contact most typical ExternalKey external conta