TITLE: Regional Representative - West Africa

REPORTS TO: Director Africa

MATRIX: Thematic Global Leads

LOCATION: West Africa

REMUNERATION: In Equality Now we strive for global pay parity and offer a competitive salary in line with the candidate's experience and location. The salary for this role in New York City would be in the region of $76,320 to $99,216. The salary for candidates in other locations will be set using a UN Cost of Living calculator that endeavours to generate a local salary that offers the same standard of living reflected by the NYC salary.

CONTRACT TYPE/HOURS: Full-time

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: Sunday, January 15th 2023

ABOUT EQUALITY NOW

Founded in 1992, Equality Now fights for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls around the world through legal advocacy. Working with grassroots women’s and human rights organizations and individual activists, Equality Now documents violence and discrimination against women and mobilizes national and international action to support efforts to stop these abuses. The organization’s work is focused on four main program areas: Legal Equality, End Sexual Violence, End Harmful Practices, and End Sex Exploitation.

With a presence in the US, UK, Lebanon, Kenya, and Georgia to name a few, Equality Now has a staff of 60 and is governed by a 10-member US Board of Directors, a 5-member UK Trustees group, and a 6-member Africa Board

The organization had an ambitious 2017-2021 strategic plan which resulted in enhanced presence and work in MENA, Eurasia, and LAC regions. In 2020, in response to the pandemic, we restructured the organization to become a dispersed organization. The organization released a strategic refresh, Future Proofing Equality, in April 2022. Current priorities include expanding programs in MENA, the Americas, and Eurasia as well as capacity building with an emphasis on development and communications activities. The 2022 budget is $13 million.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Profile :

• You will be immersed in the regional women’s movement and an active leader in bringing together vibrant cohesive networks.
• You will have experience in developing and leading multi-country programs/campaigns.
• Your understanding of gender justice issues in the region will have inspired you to develop and implement innovative solutions and effect change for women and girls.
• You will have the head of a lawyer and the heart of an activist.

Scope of Work:
The Regional Representative’s work is guided by Equality Now’s strategic plan and organizational policies.

West Africa - In the initial phase of this role the primary focus will be on supporting the ending FGM campaign. Other work will include supporting the End Sexual Violence campaign in Sierra Leone and exploring opportunities for our campaign to end sex trafficking in Nigeria and the region with the Global Lead.

Purpose:
To further our mission to achieve legal and systemic change that addresses violence and discrimination against all women and girls around the world, especially in the region.

To secure our presence in the region as a supportive international actor engaging in partnerships and facilitating movement building at national and regional levels to further legal advocacy and strategic litigation to advance legal equality and end sexual violence, harmful practices, and sexual exploitation, and as an organization that seeks to foster opportunities for survivors, local and regional organizations to benefit from protections and opportunities supported by international law.

To ensure Equality Now is working with women in the region to develop and deliver effective campaigns that bring about positive systemic change for women and girls.

To enable Equality Now to be efficient and effective in the provision of advice and support on legal advocacy and change processes that result in better laws and legal processes that bring about gender equality, prevent gender-based harms, and enable access to justice for victims and survivors of gender-based discrimination and abuse.

The focus of the Role:

Contextualization of Equality Now’s strategy in the region - Staying abreast of significant developments and trends in the region and in the field of women’s rights and sharing these internally with relevant colleagues.

Partnership and movement building: Cultivating partner relations and regional networks to ensure we have our finger on the pulse of the women’s movement and that we are listening and learning as we develop joint interventions; working with the programs team to ensure our programs respond and adapt to the context to achieve the best impact.

Campaign development and implementation in the region - Working closely with the Global Lead(s) to develop and implement legal advocacy campaigns that aim to bring about systemic change for women and girls in the region.

Representation - Serving as spokesperson for Equality Now, including through interacting with the media and representing the organization at high-level meetings and conferences; Representing Equality Now in the region.

Responsibilities:

Leadership:

• With the Global Leads, contextualise short and long-term legal advocacy and change strategies for the region, including country-level interventions, and develop Campaign concepts and strategies
• Work with partners and the Global Leads to research, design, and resource Campaigns
• Identify and work together with local partners to better understand adolescent girls’ vulnerabilities and incorporate those experiences into advocacy campaign development
• Oversee the successful implementation of the Campaigns in the region in close collaboration with the relevant Global Lead
• Engage with the relevant Global Lead and Director of Communications to respond to urgent women’s rights issues as they arise
• Work with the Global Leads and their Legal Advisors to draft submissions to regional and international human rights bodies
• Work with partners to identify potential cases of violations, particularly of adolescent girls’ rights, for strategic impact litigation and/or advocacy campaigns using Equality Now’s criteria for selection of cases and make recommendations as appropriate;

Learning:

• Provide oversight and analytical insights into Campaign design, progress, and adaptations and ensure these are tracked and documented
• Working with the Global Leads and MERL, ensure high-quality monitoring, evaluation, learning, and reporting. This will require the establishment of clear outcomes and milestones for each campaign and close tracking of progress towards those milestones, analysis, reflection, and adaptation on a quarterly basis.

Partnerships:

• Mapping and engaging with the key organizations, networks, and thought leaders in the region working on women's and girls’ rights and keeping up to date with their priority issues, and keeping Equality Now informed.
• Identify and develop strategic partnerships to advance and strengthen our impact in the region and target countries.
• Convene women’s rights groups to determine the value added to existing efforts and networks and home in on strategic priorities in the region
• Develop and maintain relationships with local, regional, and international NGOs and key stakeholders to advance the implementation of Equality Now's strategic plan.
• Engage with relevant government officials and key influencers on Equality Now’s active campaigns in the region
• Provide leadership and strengthen collaboration with and represent Equality Now on international, regional, and national women’s groups and networks

Visibility:

• Increase and develop Equality Now’s presence and legal advocacy in target countries and the region, including representing Equality Now in networks and coalitions, regional and national platforms (civil society and government), meetings, and events, as required
• Serve as Equality Now’s representative and spokesperson in and on the region
• Build on and strengthen regional and global campaign relationships and presence in regional bodies
• In close collaboration with the Communications Department, develop and implement Campaign communications strategies to increase support and visibility from key audiences in the region.

Fundraising:

• Support fundraising activities and proposal development for Campaigns in the region

Management:

• Oversee the delivery, monitoring, and evidencing of restricted grants and their impact in the region, and provide the MERL and Global Leads with the content for them to develop the associated narrative and financial reports required.
• Facilitate and monitor the work of Equality Now subgranted partners (including through the Generosity of Girls’ Fund) or Associates working in the region, ensuring that they deliver on agreed activities and deliverables on time and that we are learning from their interventions.
• Provide timely and accurate reports on activities, including learning, to inform future activities and achieve campaign objectives.
• Liaise with Finance and Administration staff on matters related to finance and operations.
• Oversee, in collaboration with the relevant Global Lead, the hiring of any Associates for work in the region and supervise their delivery of contributions to the relevant Campaign.
• Provide input to the Communications Department on the hiring of local communications support to support a Campaign and in relation to developing communication platforms for movement building and expert exchanges.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND COMPETENCIES

Knowledge and experience

• Significant knowledge of the region and the context for women and girls’ rights;
• Knowledge of international and regional human rights framework and relevant human rights instruments and experience with regional and international human rights treaties and mechanisms
• A history with broad network of influencers and organisations in the region, including civil society and bar associations, useful to advancing work on women and or human rights
• Experience working with social movements, activists and lawyers
• Advocacy experience

Skills

• Strong representation, networking and facilitation skills
• Keen analytical skills
• Ability to articulate complex ideas simply to a range of audiences and take ideas from development through to fruition;
• Clear and concise communication style
• Strong writing and communication skills
• Fluency in local language(s)
• Financial management experience

Competencies

• Integrity and a strong sense of purpose, and a passion for gender justice
• A flair for networking, collaboration, and bringing people together in a common cause
• Ability to work well as a member of a geographically dispersed team
• A self-starter with the maturity to operate in a variety of environments
• Excellent interpersonal skills -to lead the Campaign teams and Associates, engage with international staff and cultivate excellent relations with women’s movement actors, other partners, and donors, and most importantly engage with those most affected by the issues we seek to address
• Integrity in representing the organization and its work to all partners.
• A sense of humor is much appreciated and often needed

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Graduate qualification in a relevant area (such as law, public policy, human rights, or gender issues) or proven experience in a related field. A Law degree is strongly preferred.

• At least 6 years of experience working in the legal, human rights, or women’s rights field; or equivalent experience that would enhance Equality Now’s a contribution to the protection and promotion of women and girls’ rights in the region.

APPLICATION PROCESS

To apply: Use the form on this page.

No calls, please. This is a home working/remote position based in West Africa.

Deadline for applications - Sunday, 15th January 2023. Due to the volume of applicants anticipated for this role, only shortlisted candidates will be informed and contacted for an interview.

Equality Now is an Equal Opportunity employer. Equality Now is strong because it is diverse. We actively seek a diverse applicant pool and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. Equality Now does not discriminate on the basis of disability, age, gender identity and expression, national origin, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. We welcome all kinds of diversity. Consultants are selected on the basis of ability, in accordance with all country and location-specific laws.

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