Scope of Work (SOW) - Social Mobilizer - Karachi

The Sindh People Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF) is undertaking the development of a Climate Resilient Settlement Development Plan (CRSDP) for Village Haji Ibrahim, an informal waste-picker community near the Jam Chakro landfill in Karachi. SPHF will act as the executing agency, with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) providing technical and implementation support, including recruitment and project team management. This initiative aims to create practical, evidence-based options for in-situ settlement upgrading, prioritizing minimal re-blocking only when technically necessary and socially acceptable. The Social Mobilizer will play a key role in ensuring inclusive community engagement, representing vulnerable groups such as women, waste pickers, persons with disabilities, older persons, youth, and tenants throughout the planning process.

Key Responsibilities

- Facilitate community entry and maintain ongoing coordination with community leaders, households, waste pickers, business owners, and local stakeholders.
- Develop and update a stakeholder and community-group map, highlighting groups requiring targeted engagement.
- Mobilize participants for household surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, participatory mapping, design consultations, and validation meetings.
- Conduct inclusive consultations in local languages, ensuring participation is voluntary, respectful, safe, and accessible.
- Support community verification of settlement boundaries, infrastructure, public spaces, livelihood zones, hazards, and priorities.
- Document community concerns related to land, services, safety, livelihoods, environmental and public-health risks, and potential impacts of proposed improvements.
- Clearly explain in-situ upgrading and partial re-blocking options, record feedback, and promptly flag any displacement risks.
- Manage consultation documentation including attendance, consent records, photographs, issue logs, feedback, and follow-up actions.
- Communicate survey schedules, project updates, feedback mechanisms, and grievance referral processes to the community.
- Coordinate closely with the Urban Planner, Architect, Engineer, Data Enumerators, environmental and safeguards personnel, and CRS Project Manager or Technical Lead.
- Support community and government validation of draft findings, planning options, and the final CRSDP.

Required Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, Sociology, Anthropology, Community Development, Development Studies, or a related field.
- Minimum of four years’ experience in community mobilization, participatory planning, stakeholder engagement, social inclusion, or settlement-level programming.
- Proven ability to facilitate focus group discussions, community meetings, and participatory mapping exercises.
- Strong understanding of protection, safeguarding, informed participation, confidentiality, conflict sensitivity, and do-no-harm principles.
- Excellent communication, facilitation, negotiation, documentation, and interpersonal skills.
- Fluency in Urdu is mandatory; proficiency in Sindhi and other local languages is highly desirable.
- Basic English skills for record-keeping, summaries, and coordination.
- Willingness and ability to work extensively in the field and engage with diverse community and institutional stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications and Additional Information

Experience working with informal settlements, low-income urban communities, or marginalized groups such as waste pickers is strongly preferred. This is a fixed-term, full-time position for three months, combining office work in Karachi/Clifton with authorized field visits to Jam Chakro. The role requires adherence to occupational health and safety protocols, including the use of provided safety gear. Official transportation and security arrangements will be facilitated by the project. Pre-approved field expenses will be reimbursed according to organizational policies.

Payment will be made monthly based on verified attendance and satisfactory performance, with no payments linked to individual deliverables. Candidates currently employed in government roles must disclose their employment and provide a valid No Objection Certificate (NOC) with their application. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and early submission is encouraged as the position may be filled before the closing date.