Senior Technical Advisor, USAID Transform Digital Spaces to Reflect Feminist Democratic Principles (Transform) Activity

**This is a remote-based position and will be a part-time position.**

About IREX:

IREX is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to building a more just, prosperous, and inclusive world by empowering youth, cultivating leaders, strengthening institutions, and extending access to quality education and information. Founded in 1968, IREX has an annual portfolio of over $100 million, offices in 20 countries, and a global staff of 600. We work in more than 100 countries worldwide.

Summary of Position:

IREX seeks a qualified Senior Technical Advisor (STA) candidate for the USAID Transform Digital Spaces to Reflect Feminist Democratic Principles (Transform) Activity. This activity, which will be part of an Associate Award (AA) under the USAID Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG)’s Civil Society and Media-Strengthened Together and Advancing in New Directions (CSM-STAND) Africa and MENA (Middle East Nort Africa) LWA, is designed to implement a global approach to addressing technology facilitate gender-based violence (TFGBV) against women in politics and public life.

Transform will pilot practical approaches to preventing, mitigating, and responding to TFGBV in a set of countries with diverse development contexts, including internet penetration, language, religion, regional and language diversity, and will then analyze, synthesize, and share learning from the pilot activities with a broader community of practice working to address TFGBV. The pilot initiatives will aim to strengthen and increase resourcing and capacity, as well as coordination mechanisms, for and between initiatives and organizations implementing digital rights and/or TFGBV activities affecting women in all diversity, sexual and gender minorities, and other marginalized vulnerable groups impacted by the digital divide and will serve two mutually reinforcing goals: (1) mitigation, prevention, and response to TFGBV, including towards women in politics and public life, at the country level, and (2) gaining practical, comparative knowledge into what types of programming are effective to inform global efforts to combat this problem.

The STA will support the Chief of Party in the management of the program and provide high-quality technical inputs to achieve all program objectives.

This position is contingent on funding. This remote-based position will be a part-time position.

Summary of Responsibilities:

• Support and advise the Chief of Party and other project staff on various technical tasks related to the project, including following relevant USAID and IREX guiding practices (e.g., Do No More Harm, Inclusive Development, Locally Led Solutions, Digital Principles for Development), as well as other innovative and adaptive program implementation approaches (e.g., Systems Thinking, Collaborative Learning and Adaptation) that engage a wide range of stakeholders while effectively meeting donor deliverables
• Design, develop, and manage activities related to addressing technology facilitated gender-based violence and ensure these interventions are intersectional, human-rights based, inclusive, survivor-centered, conflict sensitive, and follow a systems approach
• Support trainings for civil society organizations on topical trainings on gender-based violence, violence against women, and TFGBV
• Advise on data analytics best practices and activities that lead to an increase in data collection and prevention, mitigation and response strategies for TFGBV, including towards women in politics and public life.
• Responsible for the design and implementation of country level Small Innovation Grants that provide direct assistance and support to help civil society organizations, women’s rights and human rights organizations, and activists pilot new approaches, build capacity, or seek technical assistance on TFGBV
• Advise women’s rights organizations, associations and other groups assisting women in politics and public life, with the design and implementation of relevant capacity building and training activities meant to develop their digital skills and competences (e.g., digital identity, digital use, digital safety, digital security, digital rights, digital wellness)
• Advise relevant resource partners at local or regional level with the creation of relevant social behavior change and communication (SBCC) campaigns targeting leaders in politics, technology companies and/or civil technology organizations to increase their awareness and response to TFGBV.
• Mapping existing digital tools that help mitigate the negative psychological effects of TFGBV on its target and society more broadly (e.g., automated alerts and messaging, gamification, technology localization, digital skills and competences solutions)
• Liaise with relevant technology companies and contribute and advise to the creation of relevant datasets or databases of language specific lexicons related to online hate speech and TFGBV, particularly targeting women in politics and public life.
• Lead Testing of existing online violence assessment tools and provide technical recommendations that contribute to design improvements that incorporate TFGBV requirements.
• Advising on relevant Data Protection and Privacy laws (e.g., COPPA, HIPAA, GDPR) relevant to the context and country, as well as other Information and Communication Technology policies, regulations, laws, relevant to the prevention, monitoring and reporting of TFGBV. Assist with liaising and convening of a variety of stakeholders from government, private sector, civic technology, GBV organizations, CSOs, academia etc. to discuss potential solutions or mitigation strategies for TFGBV. Ensure the program adaptively responds to changes in the operating environment to meet the desired objectives
• Manage and supervise a team of technical support staff
• Develop and maintain relationships with relevant external stakeholders from private sector, government, academia, beneficiaries, advisory groups, regulatory bodies, policymakers etc. in partner countries Oversee technical activities of local partner organizations, provide coaching to ensure a focus on relevant activities and achieving outcomes
• Contribute to monitoring, evaluation, and learning; project communications; and project reporting
• Other duties, as assigned

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Master’s degree in International Development, Gender Studies, ICT4D or Digital Development, or a related field is preferred and minimum of eight (8) years of experience, or a bachelor’s degree with at least 10 years of relevant experience
• A deep and demonstrated understanding of issues related to GBV, VAWPP, particularly those happening in digital spaces – TFGBV or Online Gender Based Violence – such as Doxxing, Cyberstalking, Gender targeted dis/misinformation, online harassment, hate speech, spyware, etc., and familiar with existing evidence-based approaches to address these issues. Demonstrated understanding of the landscape of solutions (including digital) to help with monitoring, prevention, response, mitigation of TFGBV or Online Gender Based Violence or just GBV.
• Familiar with the technologies and key stakeholders behind, that are at the center TFGBV or Online Gender Based violence, from Internet to mobile phones, core (e.g., Voice, USSD) and internet-based information and communication channels (e.g., WhatsApp, Messenger, Viber), to social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and AI related technologies (e.g., Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing, Image Classification, etc.) integrated in a variety of products, services and platforms use by women and other marginalized groups in digital spaces.
• Experience managing local partner relationships, and supervising small grants ideally focus on piloting innovative approaches to issues related to GBV, including TFGBV.
• Demonstrated experience in training on gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) best practices; demonstrated experience implementing programs utilizing GESI approaches, digital development best practices, gender-based violence, online safety, and/or cyber hygiene programs, with the ability to demonstrate outcomes
• Demonstrated understanding of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) analysis and integration of GESI related approaches in program activities ideally related to GBV or TFGBV.
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating training and advise to digital development practices that involved digital divide issues, particularly related to localization of technology (or digital relevance), and digital readiness/skills/competences (e.g., digital safety, digital security, digital rights, digital identity, cyber hygiene)
• Understanding of USAID’s Digital Strategy and related equity-focused digital development initiatives preferred, including familiarity and understanding of Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA) framework
• Demonstrated ability to understand, interpret and advise on relevant Data and/or Information and Communication Technologies legal, policy or regulatory frameworks, laws, etc. relevant to the monitoring, prevention and reporting of TFGBV issues.
• Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills including conflict resolution abilities
• Ability to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders, including developing and fostering relationships and engaging actors across sectors including private sector (e.g., Communication Service Providers), Government, Civic technology, GBV groups, Human rights organizations (e.g., Digital Rights), democracy and governance organizations (e.g., Digital Democracy), and other organizations led by marginalized populations
• Strong representational and organizational skills
• Commitment to inclusive programming that encourages full participation of individual regardless of gender, disability status, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or other marginalized status
• Familiar with the work by other organizations and initiatives in the space of TFGBV, Online Gender Based Violence, hate speech, weaponization of social media, etc. (e.g., NDI, Mercy Corps, Policy, End Cyber Abuse, NORC, UN women, etc.)
• Excellent written and spoken English is required