Job
description
Overview of
the Program
The Association for
Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) is an international feminist organization
working to strengthen the voice, impact and influence of women’s rights
advocates, organizations and movements internationally.
Recognizing that
religious fundamentalisms are gaining ground all over the world with
particularly negative consequences for women’s rights and gender equality, the
Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms (CF) thematic area aims to contribute to
greater strategic thinking, dialogue and advocacy on religious fundamentalisms
by women’s rights and other social justice organizations and movements.
Launched in 2007, the CF initiat
ive has three main areas of focus:
- Ensuring
that women’s rights activists and allies have access to high quality and
strategic information on emerging trends, developments and analysis to
better inform their responses to religious fundamentalisms - Strengthening
the capacity of women’s rights activists, groups and allies to understand,
analyse and develop more effective strategies to challenge religious
fundamentalisms - Opening
up spaces for dialogue and strategizing on the issue of religious
fundamentalisms that cut across generations, contexts, regions, issues and
religious contexts
Overview of
Position:
The Challenging
Religious Fundamentalisms – Communications and Knowledge BuildingProgram
Coordinator is a full-time position reporting to the CF Manager, who will
support the strategic objectives of CF with an emphasis on religious
fundamentalisms and the international human rights system. The Program
Coordinator will be responsible for the following main functions:
- Knowledge-Building
and Exchange: Produces well-written and
timely analysis of the use of religion, culture and tradition to undermine
the universality of rights and violate women’s human rights. Conducts
research, writes updates, articles, briefs, urgent action statements, develops
advocacy tools and produces short publications. Supports capacity building
initiatives/activities. Takes a lead in the development an online platform
to monitor the impact of religious fundamentalisms in the human rights
system. - Partnerships,
Collaborations and Alliance-Building:
Participates in efforts to expand and deepen AWID’s engagement and
collaboration with actors from women’s rights, human rights and other
social movements working on issues of religious fundamentalisms
particularly those engaged in the international and regional human rights
processes. Strengthens collaborations and alliance-building through
proactive formal and informal communications with external stakeholders
and key allies. - Convening
Dialogues and Strategic Conversations:
Engages in external dialogues and convenings; facilitates working groups,
consultations or caucuses as needed. Contributes to CF strategic
convenings by developing presentations and supporting written materials.
- Advocacy
and Action: Strengthening advocacy,
exchange and action for positive change with regards to women’s rights,
human rights and religious fundamentalisms in international policy spaces - Organizational
Processes: Contributes to the monitoring
and evaluation processes of the program and contributes to funder reports
and internal reporting processes.
Work
Location of the Position:
- Work
location is open - AWID
offices are located in Cape Town, Mexico City and Toronto but applicants
may apply to work from home in other locations - Applicants
from the Global South are strongly encouraged to apply
Responsibilities:
Knowledge-building
and Exchange
- In
collaboration with AWID partners, produce regular monitoring reports on
the use of arguments based on religion, culture and tradition to undermine
the universality of rights and violate women’s human rights in the
international human rights system - Drafts
written position statements, briefs, short analytical pieces, reports and
papers on issues of religious fundamentalisms, women’s rights and human
rights. Provides strategic inputs and analysis in reaction to relevant
documents produced by others or developments in this area - Takes
a lead in developing a virtual platform to monitor and track the impact of
arguments based on religion, culture and tradition to undermine the
universality of rights and violate women’s human rights in the
international human rights system, which will include providing timely
analysis, maintaining a repository of materials and other functions - Support
capacity building activities & initiatives as required to disseminate
the knowledge generated by the initiative
Partnership,
Collaborations & Alliance-Building
- Provides
support and works in close collaboration with AWID partners, maintaining
regular communication, soliciting input and advancing common objectives - Participates
in efforts to expand and deepen AWID’s engagement and collaboration with
actors from women’s rights, human rights and other social movements
working on issues of religious fundamentalisms particularly within the
international human rights system - Participates
in relevant meetings, working groups and engages in formal and informal
communications with external stakeholders and key allies - Liaises
with stakeholders (partner organizations, consultants, etc.) to discuss
collaborative initiatives, provide information or follow-up on commitments
and deadlines - Maintains
regular communication with allies and other actors relevant to AWID’s
advocacy objectives
Advocacy and
Action:
- Contributes
to defining priorities, objectives and strategies to advance advocacy on
religious fundamentalisms and women’s rights particularly within the
international human rights system - Represents
AWID in select international or regional venues identified as relevant for
advocacy purposes or alliance building - Drafts
AWID’s responses and urgent actions including letters, solidarity messages
and statements that support women human rights defenders challenging
religious fundamentalisms - Works
with communications team to develop mechanisms for appropriate actions
including using social media and other tools to strengthen advocacy
Convening
Dialogues and Strategic Conversations
- Engages
in venues, in particular those relevant to international human rights
processes to effectively advance the strategic goals of the initiative
(i.e. knowledge building, advocacy, alliance-building and partnerships) - Makes
public presentations on research results or other CF analysis/resources in
strategic venues, represents the initiative in relevant dialogues and /or
facilitates small working groups, consultations or caucuses as needed - Supports
convenings of the initiative including preparation of meeting-related
documents, background reading, agenda, concept papers, presentations,
post-meeting reports etc.
Organizational
Processes
- Contributes
to work-planning, monitoring and evaluation and reporting processes to
effectively advance strategic objectives of the program - Ensures
the timely and effective implementation of deliverables linked to
individual work plan, including all activities, reports and evaluations - Participates
and contributes to CF team coordination and planning meetings - Participates
actively in organizational meeting venues (office and staff meetings) and
committees
Qualifications
Experience:
4-6 years
experience:
- Working
for a non-profit organization in a related role:
- writing
and editing a range of high quality products related to women’s rights,
human rights and/or religious fundamentalisms - analyzing
key issues and themes related to women’s rights and human rights - engaging
with international human rights bodies and venues - alliance
building and building collaborative processes and advocating to effect
change (in regional and/or global spaces) - working
in a multi-cultural team and/or one located in diverse locations - working
in or with organizations based in the Global South and/or Central and
Eastern Europe
Required
Knowledge
- International
human rights system and processes particularly in relation to women’s
rights and human rights - Complex
intersections of issues that relate to religious fundamentalisms, women’s
rights and human rights globally - Familiarity
with international and regional women’s rights organizations and networks
working on women’s rights, sexual and reproductive rights, LGBTQI rights,
human rights, and religious fundamentalisms
Academic
Qualifications:
- University
degree in related field: social science, political science, international
relations, development, gender studies, religious studies, human rights,
etc.
Expertise
& Skills:
- Excellent
written and communication skills in English (e.g. articles, analytical
pieces, report writing, position statements) - Experience
conducting advocacy on issues of religious fundamentalisms, women’s human
rights and gender equality - Strong
public speaking and facilitation skills - Ability
to navigate international policy spaces - Excellent
interpersonal and relationship building skills, ability to navigate
complex relationships and work with multiple stakeholders in a coalition
and partnership - Innovative,
flexible, manages change - Demonstrated
capacity to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate a work plan with
multiple deliverables and deadlines - Strategic
& forward thinking abilities - Displays
good judgment, sensitivity and attention to communication - Strong
time management, detail orientation and thoroughness of work - Ability
to prioritize, multi task, and manage stress - Results-oriented,
and takes initiative - Problem
solving and decision making abilities - Superior
knowledge of the MS Office Suite (Word, Excel PowerPoint), internet and
email - Knowledge
of latest ICT’s for raising awareness and advocacy, building online
communities, information sharing - Ability
to work independently and as part of a team - Ability
to work remotely as part of a virtual team
Other
Requirements:
- Able
to travel internationally (at least 5 weeks per year) - Committed
to the principles and values of feminism and anti-oppression
Assets:
- Bilingual
(written and spoken) in French, Arabic or Spanish - Graduate
degree in related field - Courses
or certificates in Women’s/Feminist studies, Political Economy or Human Rights
considered an asset - Proficient
in the use of ICTs, web 2.0 and web utilities to effect change - Trilingual
(English and any combination of Spanish-French-Arabic-Russian)
How
to apply
Please submit in English, a
current CV, along with a cover letter (no more than two pages) that addresses
how you meet the necessary qualifications to:
- Fax:
+416 594 0330 - E-mail:
jobs@awid.org (please include “CF – Communications and Knowledge
Building Program Coordinator” in the subject line)
In addition please
include a response to the following question (no more than 300 words):
“What would
you consider are the key challenges in protecting the universality of human
rights?”
The
application closing date is Sunday, September 21, 2014.
We thank all those
who apply, but only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. No phone calls
please. AWID encourages, promotes and supports diversity in all aspects of its
work. To learn more about AWID and our programs, please visit our website at www.awid.org
