Consultant(s) - Community Engagement and Communication (CEC) to promote inclusive youth participation in TVET through campaigning
Media / Advertising / Communication
About the Employer
Job Description
Position Title
Consultant(s) - Community Engagement and Communication (CEC) to promote inclusive youth participation in TVET through campaigning
Position locations
East (Batticaloa & Trincomalee), North (Kilinochi, Vavuniya & Mullaitivu)
Reports to
Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Advisor, STRIVE
Application Deadline
October 15, 2026
Contract Period
November 2026 – March 2027 (possible extension)
BACKGROUND & RATIONALE
The World University Service of Canada (WUSC) is a leading Canadian International development organization committed to fostering human development and global understanding through education, training, and economic empowerment. Guided by its vision of a world where every young person thrives and belongs, WUSC works as a facilitator and convener, leveraging partnerships across civil society, government, academia, and the private sector. Active in Sri Lanka since 1989, WUSC strengthens systems and fosters collaboration to expand education, entrepreneurship, and employment opportunities for youth, particularly young women and those from marginalized groups. STRIVE_the Strengthening TVET Resilience and Inclusive Vocational Employment (STRIVE) Project is a new initiative designed to transform the economic prospects of young people especially young women in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Provinces. Over five years, the project seeks to reduce poverty, boost regional competitiveness, and propel sustainable economic growth, giving specific attention to advancing gender equality and strengthening resilience to climate and economic shocks. Using a collaborative approach, STRIVE will drive gender responsive, environmentally sustainable collective action among actors in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) ecosystem. These actors will be supported to increase participation of young people, particularly young women, in enhanced TVET that leads to increased gender equitable employment and self-employment in key sectors facing current and future skills gaps, with emphasis on the green economy. The two priority sectors identified in the North and East include Agriculture, Hospitality and Tourism (H&T), with ICT as a cross-cutting sector for innovation and efficiency. Grounded in WUSC’s Accessibility research and district-based recommendations papers across five target districts (three in the North and two in the East) this assignment applies a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) lens to address systemic barriers restricting equitable access to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and employment. While TVET serves as a critical bridge to economic self-reliance, young women and youth facing entrenched attitudes, cultural norms, and institutional obstacles may be disproportionately impacted. Misconceptions among parents, community leaders, and employers limit participation in market-aligned paths like Agriculture and Hospitality & Tourism, while insufficient ICT training and weak employer linkages restrict graduate hiring and retention.
STRIVE
The STRIVE project aims to strengthen TVET resilience and inclusive vocational employment. STRIVE will drive gender responsive, climate- and economic-shock aware, youth-friendly, and market-relevant programming, while promoting coordinated and sustainable collaboration among actors in the TVET ecosystem in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Provinces. Through a two-consultant model, STRIVE will support two consultants to translate research findings into actionable, community-driven change, scaling up ongoing campaigns and partnerships. The two consultants will work within a common STRIVE framework to promote consistency, cross-regional learning and local ownership.
2. Objectives
The objective of this assignment is to provide ongoing strategic oversight and technical assistance to community engagement partners in Northern and Eastern Provinces to design, execute, and monitor research-informed social marketing campaigns that increase inclusive youth participation in vocational training and employment.
Technical Guidance
Provide continuous technical assistance to Community Engagement partners throughout the design and implementation phases of targeted gender responsive, ECC integrated social marketing campaigns.
Research Operationalisation
Support partners in the respective regions to translate evidence-based research findings into localized, community-driven campaign activities to actively challenge and shift restrictive social norms and entry barriers to cultivate a supportive environment for youth workforce and TVET integration.
Learning and Adaptation
Support CEC partners to monitor campaign reach and behaviour-change pathways, use emerging evidence to adapt campaign approaches, and document learning for sustainability and replication.
Qualifications and Experience
- Demonstrated professional experience in developing campaign activities for community engagement, and BCC focused social marketing activities
- Experience applying gender equality and social inclusion principles, including working with women, youth and/or persons with disabilities.
- Experience facilitating participatory processes and strengthening the capacity of local organizations or community-based partners
- Knowledge of Sri Lanka’s TVET, youth employment or skills-development context is highly desirable
- Excellent communication and written Tamil skills required; Fluency in English is preferred and Sinhala is an asset
- Demonstrated ability to produce clear and concise quality reports and learning documents.
How to apply
Qualified and Interested candidates are invited to submit their application consisting the following details on or before October 15, 2026.
- CVs of the consultant(s), describing the experience in campaign strategy development, and process for community engagement and social marketing
All documents should be submitted electronically via platform.
https://wusc.bamboohr.com/careers/398?source=aWQ9MjE%3D
Any questions can be sent by email to [email protected] with the subject line "INQUIRIES - STRIVE /Consultants- Community Engagement". Please note that questions via phone will not be accepted.
