SRHR & EVAWG Officer (REF: FNT/EOI/03/2023)

EXCEPTIONAL CAREER OPPORTUNITY

As a feminist, pan-African women’s rights network with over 800 individual and institutional members in 50 countries in Africa and the diaspora, the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) continues to inform and amplify African women’s voices and advance women’s rights in policy and practice. Since 1988, FEMNET has continued to make remarkable strides toward promoting the meaningful and structured participation of women in Africa to influence the design, implementation, and monitoring of development frameworks and policies at local, national, regional, and global levels to ensure the realization of women’s and girls’ rights. At the heart of FEMNET’s work is the commitment to progressively push for and sustain a strong and vibrant women’s movement in Africa that catalyzes social and gender justice. FEMNET remains at the fore of mobilizing and enhancing the capacities of women’s rights advocates to challenge inequalities and dismantle negative power structures and push for accountability for gender equality and women’s human rights.

FEMNET’s vision is ‘African women and girls thrive in dignity and well-being, free from patriarchal and neoliberal oppression and injustices. In line with this, FEMNET’s mission is to ‘mobilize African women for the achievement of gender equality and the realization of women’s and girls’ rights at all levels through policy advocacy, strategic communication, strengthening of capacities and feminist movement building.

1.Background.

FEMNET seeks to recruit an inspired, innovative, and bold SRHR & EVAWG Officer to support FEMNETs implementation of its 2020-2029 Strategic Plan that prioritizes SRHR&EVAWG as a thematic area of focus. FEMNET believes that addressing the SRH needs of women and girls is thus very critical as it directly impacts on improving individual health outcomes. Together with its members, FEMNET will focus on key areas that need to be addressed including pushing for progressive regulatory frameworks; strengthening health systems; improving efficiency and quality of reproductive health services; and targeting vulnerable groups such as women and girls with disabilities, teenagers, sex workers, sexual minorities, internally displaced persons, elderly persons, and people living with HIV.

SRHR & EVAWG Officer (REF: FNT/EOI/03/2023)

2.Job Purpose.

Working closely with the FEMNET SRHR Lead and team, Finance officer, MERL officer, as well as with the consortium Coalition of Action facilitators within the African region, the officer will coordinate activities in the field of capacity strengthening, lobbying and advocacy of SRHR with FEMNET members, implementing partners, women rights organizations, local organizations, and other stakeholders. This is a remote based position to be based in Mozambique.

Functionally Reports to SRHR & EVAWG Lead

3.Terms of Reference.

Main duties and responsibilities

Program design.

• Supports and guides local organizations in the development of their individual or joint plans and proposals for SRH-R lobby and advocacy and including activities on capacity strengthening. Contributes to the development of FEMNET’s’ overarching planning, particularly to the design of innovative elements of the program, Implementation of work plans, and realizes successful implementation by the specific goals, working methods, and budgets of the projects.
• Supports and guides Women’s Rights and youth organizations in the development of their individual or joint plans and proposals.
• Coordinates projects with FEMNET members, implementing partners, and FEMNET secretariat around capacity strengthening and advocacy activities. Ensures FEMNET’S activities are implemented according to partner work plans and the strategic plan.

Monitoring and Evaluation.

• Monitors progress towards established goals of FEMNET Projects. Relates progress to the overarching program plans.

Coordination and collaboration.

• Throughout the process of project design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, the PO plays a proactive role in coordinating with relevant internal and external stakeholders. Actively contributes to and supports activities at the national and regional level, such as research, advocacy campaigns, learning events, etc.

Sharing, learning, and quality improvement.

Identifies, analyses, and highlights success and good practices, as well as potential risks and problems. Proposes solutions for identified problems and follows up on those.

• Contributes to identifying the most significant change stories from projects and sharing positive stories.
• Collaborates with relevant stakeholders including the African Union, members, and implementing partners in the design and realization of exchange and learning events where appropriate.
• Contributes to reflection and learning on both the national and regional level, as well as on the wider programmatic level.

Minimum Academic Qualifications and Requirements.

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Development Studies, Law, Social Sciences, Public Health, Political Science, Humanities Gender, and Law or any other relevant disciplines.

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• A minimum of 3 years experience working with the Women’s Rights Movement or civil society organizations, in Human Rights with a focus on project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and working in international teams.
• Expertise in working on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRH-R) or with one or several of the rightsholder groups.
• Keen on ensuring ownership by local organizations and finding innovative and creative solutions to realize goals.
• Work experience in a regional or international environment.
• Flexible attitude, creative, supports FEMNETs’ values, has a progressive and positive view on SRH-R and the leadership of rightsholders.
• Solid technical knowledge of/expertise in SRHR programming and advocacy using a feminist frame of analysis.
• A critical understanding of and deep commitment to feminism, social justice, and human rights issues facing women and girls within the continent.
• Demonstrated commitment to the Charter of African Feminist Principles.
• Willing to travel across Africa Continent.
• Bilingual – English – Portuguese

Competencies

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills,
• Excellent writing and public engagement skills
• Ability to organize and work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively in English and Portuguese.
• A high level of self-awareness, sound judgment, self-care, passion, and flexibility.
• Ability to multi-task and work under limited supervision.