Project Officer (m/f/d) for Peace Education in Davao, Philippines

Start of assignment

Ideally, you are available to start working on May 02, 2022 (preparation courses, followed by at least two years’ work within the project with the option of extension).

Who we are

forumZFD supports people involved in violent conflicts on the path to peace and strives to help overcome war and violence.

forumZFD is currently working with peace consultants in Germany as well as eleven other countries in Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia. Its Academy for Conflict Transformation offers a learning space for professional, international peace work. Through dialogue events, educational work and campaigns, forumZFD actively advocates civil peace policy.

forumZFD is recognized by the German federal government as a member of the Civil Peace Service (CPS) consortium. It finances its work through public and private grants, donations and membership fees.

Background

The island of Mindanao in the Philippines is the theatre of various, intersecting, violent conflicts. One is the conflict between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a group seeking self-determination for the Muslim inhabitants of Mindanao and the Philippine Government. At present, a peace agreement between the MILF and the Government is being implemented. Another is the decades-long communist insurgency of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP), which seeks to transform Philippine society and overthrow the government. Both these major political conflicts intersect with more localized violent conflicts stemming from natural resource extraction, clan feuds, land disputes, among others, shaping the conditions on Mindanao.

One of the key efforts of forumZFD’s team in Davao is accompanying higher education institutions in the integration of peace and conflict related subjects in, for instance, communication studies (conflict-sensitive journalism) and in the social sciences, and the promotion of Mindanao Histories and Studies in the Philippine education system. The team also works with Indigenous communities in the region to resolve local conflicts through non-violent conflict transformation (NVCT).

Your responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the forumZFD Country Director, the successful candidate will be directly accountable to the Davao Project Manager. As part of the team implementing forumZFD’s overall Conflict Transformation Program, she /he will work in direct cooperation and collaboration with and provide support to other team members. The tasks, as listed below, are a combination of independent content-based work on carrying out peace education related projects and contributing to local conflict-transformation activities.

Your tasks in detail

• Lead the conceptualization, planning, implementation, and monitoring of peace education projects such as the integration of peace and conflict topics in the social sciences, and Mindanao histories and studies (MHS), in the education system of the Philippines.
• Accompany an advocacy group consisting of representatives of NGOs, academe and governmental institutions in developing a sound advocacy strategy for MHS;
• Organize and facilitate trainings, workshops, strategic planning sessions, and meetings with partners from the academe, NGOs, and governmental institutions
• Coordinate with and provide technical support to partners for the development of teaching, informational, and advocacy materials to integrate Mindanao histories and studies in the national education curriculum, and peace and conflict topics in the social sciences;
• Document and report on project activities for the aid of planning, monitoring and evaluation;
• Take active role in constant reflection and enhancement of peace education projects through regular team discussions, systemic conflict analysis, and monitoring sessions;
• Perform other project-related tasks as may be assigned by the Project Manager, particularly contributing to the development of a project aiming at conflict-transformation in the Davao Region; and
• Collaborate with other forumZFD project teams in the implementation of the overall nonviolent conflict transformation program in the Philippines.

Qualifications

• University degree (minimum BA, ideally MA/MSC or similar) preferably in the social sciences, community development, Political Sciences, Peace and Conflict Studies, Transitional Justice or related fields;
• Experience in impact-orientated project planning, Systemic Conflict Analysis, Do no Harm, monitoring and evaluation (knowledge in Outcome Mapping, Reflecting on Peace Practice (RPP), or similar methods desirable).
• 2-3 years relevant work experience in peace education related to transitional justice and/or dealing with the past desirable;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English;
• Good networking skills and experience in facilitating networks consisting of a diversity of institutions;
• Ability to work effectively and inclusively with people from different cultural backgrounds, various hierarchical levels, and with different viewpoints;
• Strong personal commitment to nonviolent conflict transformation;
• Proficiency in computer-based word processing, spreadsheet and presentation, preferably also knowledge of open source programs – respectively readiness to acquire the needed skills;
• Willingness and ability to travel within the Philippines and overseas related to work assignments, and to work flexible working hours;
• High tolerance for ambiguity;
• A dynamic and proactive team player on which colleagues can rely on; and
• This job is open only to non-Filipino applicants as it is an international position.

Distinct advantages would be:

• Knowledge of a local language (Visayan, Tagalog, or other) and/or German;
• Knowledge of managing dialogue processes and mediation;
• Experience in working in the Philippines and/or other developing countries;
• Working experience in a (preferably multi-cultural) team environment;
• Familiarity with Philippine history, politics, society, and culture;

Our offer

We offer an attractive position with responsibilities for a minimum of two years in a growing organization. As the position is based on the German Development Aid Workers Act (EhfG), the position is remunerated according to the provisions of this law, including comprehensive social security benefits and financial reintegration assistance upon return. We also offer participation in qualification and professional development courses (among others, at forumZFD’s Academy for Conflict Transformation), a project-based preparation, regular coaching and, where appropriate, participation in a language course.

As a project officer working for forumZFD, you will work within the innovative field of conflict transformation and peacebuilding through contributing your ideas and skills.