About Company

IMPLEMENTATION AREA:               Johannesburg and National 

Send applications to  addres@grassrootsoccer.org

Closing date: 15 August 2023

Reply with the heading Training and Partnerships Coordinator 

JOB PURPOSE

Grassroot Soccer is an adolescent health organisation that uses the power of soccer to educate, inspire, and mobilise young people to live healthier lives and be agents for change in their communities. GRS uses a sport-based peer learning methodology that increases adolescents’ knowledge and positive social connections, builds youth sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and life skills assets, facilitates access to health and social services, and supports adherence to biomedical treatment and positive protective behaviours.

To achieve this, GRS trains community-based male and female mentors aged 18-34 years old, called Coaches to deliver its curricula (SKILLZ), build positive relationships with adolescents and create safe spaces for participants to discuss sensitive topics. 

GRS delivers our SKILLZ programmes directly to youth participants as well as training key CBO and NGO partners to deliver the GRS methodology and curriculum.  Training, mentoring and management of SKILLZ Coaches is a key organizational focus area. As such, GRS seeks to build a strong Coach Development team to ensure that Coaches are both trained and supported. The Training and Partnerships Coordinator is responsible for coach training, the provision of ongoing technical support to programme site staff in Alexandra and implementing partners, and the successful delivery of Grassroot Soccer (GRS)-developed curricula and interventions. The Training and Partnerships Coordinator will also contribute to Grassroot Soccer curricula, progress reporting and monitoring and evaluation processes, as well as site-specific programmes.

THE KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS FOR THIS POSITION ARE:

• Coach and Master Coach Development: 35%

• Implementation Partner Training and Support: 40%

• Curriculum Development 10%

• Programme Management Support (Alexandra Centre of Excellence [COE]): 15%

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

Coach and Master Coach Development

• Develop annual Coach Development plans for GRS in South Africa

• Support GRS and its implementing partners in the recruitment, training, ongoing management, and support of Coaches and Master Coaches

• Support GRS Master Coaches in the planning, delivery, evaluation and reporting of Training of Coaches workshops (ToCs) in line with the Coach Development Toolkit. 

• Identify Coach needs for training on personal, financial and career development and solicit support from GRS functional teams to design relevant training and development courses

• Identify Master Coach development areas and develop and implement relevant capacity improvement plans

• Support Master Coaches in the training, and ongoing support of site coaches

• Perform assessment visits to evaluate the quality of intervention delivery by Coaches

• Perform site visits and deliver ongoing development course interventions

• Conduct assessments of Coach needs as it refers to personal, financial and career development

• Identify opportunities for further employment, and education for outgoing GRS Coaches and Master Coaches

• Collaborate with local youth development partners to expose Coaches to employment, education and entrepreneurship opportunities through events, talks, workshops and mentoring. 

• Lead and coordinate regular progress reporting on Coach and Master Coach Development activities.

Implementing Partner Training and Support

• Lead the planning, coordination and delivery of training for partner Coaches

• Develop and maintain an annual calendar of partner trainings and support activities

• Liaise with implementing partners in the preparation and delivery of training and other support activities as per partner requirements

• Conduct trainings for implementing partners (staff, Master Coaches, etc.)

• Conduct virtual and in person programme support visits with implementing partners in line with grant agreement and contracts

Curriculum Development

• Perform pre-testing of new curriculum content with participants and Coaches

• Support development of all GRS curriculum tools including, but not limited to, Coach’s Guides, training-related curricula, magazines, etc.

• Perform evaluations and write curriculum reports on feedback from youth, Coaches, GRS staff and implementing partner staff, and other community members to inform curriculum improvements

• Contribute to overall programme design, adaptation and implementation of various intervention types

• Support of formative research through by facilitating Focus Group Discussions and in-depth interviews

Programme Management Support (Alexandra COE)

• Provide overall supervisory management of the GRS Coach Development team in South Africa, which includes GRS Master Coaches and Trainers

• Conduct annual performance evaluations for all the relevant team members

• Development and review of weekly and monthly work plans for Master Coaches and other relevant team members

• Hold monthly Coach Development team meetings

• Ensure that Master Coaches are managed to support site Coaches in Alexandra through training, Friday Coach Development sessions, CSV’s, and programme implementation visits.

• Programmatic and staff management support at Alexandra Centre of Excellent as required by 

• Lead or support on any funder or partner reporting requirements as needed

Key Internal Relationships

You will work closely with the following people:

• South Africa Senior Programme Manager

• Alexandra COE Manager

• South Africa Senior Trainer and Global Training Manager  

• South Africa Senior M&E Manager 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND KEY COMPETENCIES 

• Tertiary education required (minimum bachelor’s degree in social sciences, education, public health, or related field)

• 3-5 Years’ experience as a facilitator in a training and development capacity

• Oral and written fluency in English required, other South African national languages preferred

• Computer proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite

• Availability for regular domestic and international travel

• Valid driver’s license and passport  

• Prior work in an NGO or humanitarian organisation strongly preferred

• Understanding of public health issues

• Strong facilitation skills

DAY TO DAY, THEY ARE…. 

• Proactive: can anticipate both opportunities and obstacles and act. 

• Professional: level-headed; ability to de-escalate difficult situations, behave exceptionally, and manage/minimize distractions  

Problem Solvers : comfortable with ambiguity, can creatively unlock bottlenecks and turn problems into opportunities