Position Title: Technical Documentation and Program Standards Officer
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (with potential for occasional travel within the region)
Employment Type: Full-Time
Reports To: Program Manager
Application Deadline: February 28, 2026
Start Date: March 15, 2026 (or as soon as possible thereafter)

About Our Organization

Positive Peace Ethiopia (PPE) is a youth-led civil society organization built on a strong commitment to peace, justice, digital rights, and human rights. Registered in September 2021 under the Ethiopian Authority for Civil Society Organizations with Registration No. 5821, PPE operates through its 17 regional chapters across Ethiopia, actively involving youth and women in peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and social integration activities. Our regional chapters, supported by the core team in Addis Ababa, include locations such as Jimma, Adama, Bule Hora, Mizan Aman, Welkite, Assosa, Dessie, Samara, Ari-Jinka, Arbaminch, Jigjiga, Dire Dawa, Bahir Dar, Mekelle, Gondar, and Raya.

Vision: Creating a just, inclusive, and sustainably peaceful Ethiopia.

Mission: Empowering youth and women with the skills and tools for peacebuilding and conflict resolution.

Social Objective: To strengthen the capacity of communities to withstand challenges and ensure inclusiveness by equipping women and youth with necessary peacebuilding approaches, encouraging peace and reconciliation, and advocating for solving conflicts by focusing on their sustainable causes.

Our core values guide all our work: Sustainability, Partnership, Inclusivity, Resilience, Empowerment, Integrity—focusing on long-term peace and development, collaborating with local and global stakeholders, prioritizing youth, women’s, and persons with disabilities’ (PWD) voices, empowering communities to overcome challenges, upholding transparency and accountability, and building leadership skills for change-makers.

PPE’s focus areas include Youth Digital Rights, Youth Peace and Security, Women Peace and Security, and Media Literacy and Fact Checking. We implement key peacebuilding initiatives by youth, such as:

• Digitalise Youth: Equipping journalists and digital content creators to debunk misinformation trends while mitigating hate speech.
• HaqSemi: Fact checking, conflict resolution, hate speech mitigation, peace journalism, and MIL (Media and Information Literacy).
• Women Economic Empowerment: Equipping women entrepreneurs in the digital economy with long-term hybrid mentorship.
• Peace Ambassadorial Programs and Youth Dialogues: Community, university, and school-based programs.
• #defyhate now.Ethiopia: Countering hate speech and misinformation, knowledge transfer, community engagement, and building a peace network.
• Peace Weavers: Trauma healing, art for peace, and peaceful conflict resolution.

Current programs highlight our impact:

• Digitalise Youth: A major two-year pan-African project launched in January 2025, aimed at empowering young activists and civil society organizations (CSOs) through digital literacy and civic technology. Funded by DANIDA, with the consortium led by the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) in partnership with the French Media Development Agency (CFI). This initiative covers three regions of Ethiopia and Addis Ababa, promoting digital rights, ethical rights, and peace journalism.
• The #defyhate now Project: An EU-funded initiative focused on mitigating misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech, in collaboration with the Berlin-based r0g agency.
• The HaqSemi Project: Implemented in partnership with ELiDA Ethiopia and Search for Common Ground, building upon prior experience. Currently executed with the Life & Peace Institute.
• The National Peace Weavers: Started in Tigray as Peace Weavers of Tigray, now expanded nationally in partnership with ActionAid Ethiopia.

Our impact includes directly affecting over 3,600 youth, training 390 community leaders, preparing 1,200+ university peace ambassadors, and supporting 56 women entrepreneurs.

Youth matter profoundly at PPE because, in Ethiopia’s future, they are at the forefront, often facing challenges in conflict and migration. Youth have been both victims and perpetrators in conflicts, recruited by armed groups due to lack of employment and education opportunities. Their role in peacebuilding initiatives and conflicts has been influential, and involving them is crucial as they represent a large portion of the population and are key to sustaining long-term peace.

Recent developments underscore our growth: PPE has joined the Global Forum on Media Development (GFMD), the largest global community of media development and journalism support organizations. Additionally, we are partnering with CFI on the “Digitalise Youth” initiative.

We aim to expand youth peacebuilding programs to more regions and integrate more youth into the process. PPE invites international organizations, governments, and civil society to collaborate in empowering youth for peace and sustainable development in Ethiopia. Our partnerships include organizations such as VSO, CIPE, Ministry of Peace, CFI, ELiDA, ActionAid, Life & Peace Institute, SCPS, Digital Democracy Initiative, UNICEF, GFMD, UNOY, IPHRD, and various higher educational institutions like Wollo University, Adama University, Mekelle University, Bahir Dar University, and Hawassa University, among others.

For more information, visit www.ppeth.org.

Position Overview

The Technical Documentation and Program Standards Officer will be instrumental in maintaining the quality and consistency of PPE’s program documentation and standards. This role involves overseeing technical aspects of project documentation, ensuring compliance with donor requirements, and enhancing program efficiency through standardized processes. The ideal candidate is a meticulous professional with strong writing skills, attention to detail, and experience in program management within the development or peacebuilding sector. This position offers the chance to contribute to impactful peace initiatives by ensuring high-quality outputs and strategic alignment.

Key Responsibilities

• Project Lifecycle Management: Oversee the entire project lifecycle from inception to close-out, ensuring all activities adhere to the approved technical scope, timelines, and quality standards. Monitor milestones, identify potential deviations, and implement corrective actions to maintain project integrity. Collaborate with program teams to integrate best practices in peacebuilding and youth empowerment, aligning with PPE’s strategic objectives.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Act as the primary focal point for partners, donors, and internal teams, managing expectations through clear and consistent communication on project progress, challenges, and achievements. Facilitate regular updates, meetings, and feedback sessions to foster strong relationships and ensure stakeholder buy-in. Conduct engagement strategies that promote transparency and collaboration in line with PPE’s partnership values.
• Strategic Writing & Design: Lead the development of Concept Notes and Terms of Reference (ToR) for new activities, ensuring they are technically robust, donor-compliant, and aligned with organizational goals. Incorporate evidence-based approaches from peacebuilding data and lessons learned to create compelling, strategic documents that support funding and implementation.
• Impact Documentation: Synthesize field data, activity outcomes, and qualitative insights into high-quality Narrative Reports that effectively highlight successes, lessons learned, and programmatic impacts. Utilize analytical tools to present data-driven stories that demonstrate PPE’s contributions to sustainable peace and community resilience.
• Technical Quality Control: Review all project outputs, including publications, training materials, reports, and digital content, to ensure they meet organizational standards, donor requirements, and best practices in peace journalism and digital rights. Provide feedback and revisions to maintain consistency, accuracy, and cultural sensitivity across all materials.
• Process Improvement: Develop and implement standardized templates, documentation workflows, and guidelines to enhance the efficiency and consistency of program execution. Identify bottlenecks in current processes, recommend improvements, and train team members on new systems to streamline operations and support scalable peacebuilding efforts.
• Additional Duties: Support program planning by contributing to risk assessments, compliance checks, and knowledge management initiatives. Assist in capacity-building activities for staff on documentation standards. Participate in organizational strategy sessions and undertake other tasks as assigned to advance PPE’s mission in youth and women empowerment.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in International Development, Communications, Project Management, Peace and Conflict Studies, or a related field. A Master’s degree or relevant certifications (e.g., in technical writing or quality management) will be an advantage.
• Experience: Minimum three years of professional experience in program documentation, quality assurance, or technical writing, preferably in the non-profit, development, or peacebuilding sector. Demonstrated experience in stakeholder management, report writing, and process improvement is essential. Familiarity with donor-funded projects and compliance standards is highly desirable.
• Skills and Competencies:
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; proficiency in Amharic or other local languages is a plus.
  • Strong analytical and organizational abilities, with expertise in synthesizing data into impactful narratives.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and documentation tools (e.g., Adobe Acrobat, project management software).
  • Ability to ensure quality control and compliance in diverse project outputs.
  • Interpersonal skills for effective stakeholder engagement and team collaboration.
  • Commitment to ethical practices, cultural sensitivity, and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Personal Attributes: Proactive, detail-oriented, and adaptable with a passion for process optimization. Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment while contributing to team goals. Enthusiasm for peacebuilding and sustainable development.

Salary and Compensation

Salary is competitive and will be determined based on the project’s capacity and the organization’s scale, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

What We Offer

• Comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, paid leave, and professional development opportunities.
• A supportive work environment with opportunities for career advancement and exposure to impactful projects in peacebuilding.
• Flexible working arrangements, including hybrid options where feasible.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit the following documents via email to recruitment@ppeth.org with the subject line “Application for Technical Documentation and Program Standards Officer Position”:

• A cover letter (maximum 1 page) explaining your interest in the role and how your experience aligns with the responsibilities.
• An updated CV (maximum 3 pages) highlighting relevant experience and achievements.
• Contact details for at least two professional references.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews. We encourage applications from women, individuals with disabilities, and underrepresented groups. Positive Peace Ethiopia is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, or any other protected status.

Join Our Team

If you are qualified and interested in contributing to peacebuilding and youth empowerment in Ethiopia, send your CV via recruitment@ppeth.org with the subject line “Applying for Technical Documentation and Program Standards Officer.”

For more information about our organization and ongoing projects, visit our website at www.ppeth.org. We look forward to receiving your application and potentially welcoming you to our team!