Program Overview
Legal empowerment is at the heart of what Open Society Foundations (OSF) stands for: confronting asymmetries of power, elevating people’s voices and providing concrete avenues for people to change their own lives and societies, claim rights, improve livelihoods, resolve problems and hold their authorities accountable. It directly grapples with the increasing consensus that justice and development cannot be narrowly advanced by technical fixes, but is about shifting power relations. Legal empowerment is defined in different ways, and the parameters of the term are different according to the perspectives of those who seek to use it. It is, broadly, what happens when poor and marginalized people are able to make the law work for themselves, to find concrete solutions to justice problems.
In light of this problem and related issues, the overarching goal of an OSF shared framework on legal empowerment is to scale community based justice services to a sustainable, national level in nine different countries: Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Ukraine, and United States.
Job Profile
The Strategy Specialist will support the assigned implementing lead, the Advisory Group, and the Strategy Unit Senior Program Manager by facilitating and coordinating work that will be implemented by participating OSF programs, foundations and offices. The Strategy Specialist’s overall mandate is to ensure that all OSF colleagues engaged in the shared framework have the information, resources, and knowledge that they need to effectively execute their on-the-ground and/or advocacy work.
The Strategy Specialist’s primary role will be to facilitate and coordinate work among OSF staff involved in the shared framework at the country and regional level. Reporting to the shared framework lead, as well as the Senior Program Manager of the Strategy Unit, the Strategy Specialist will serve as a liaison between the various OSF programs, offices and foundations engaged in the shared framework including facilitating substantive connections between participating units; organize meetings and calls; assemble and disseminate information through the creation and management of a centralized and coordinated repository; develop and execute internal and external communication strategies to keep OSF staff and partners updated on developments in the shared framework’s priority countries as well as at the regional level; and generally provide support, coordination, and assistance to enable the smooth logistical, administrative, and programmatic functioning of the shared framework.
The Strategy Specialist’s secondary role will be to work with the Strategy Unit team to assist in the development of guidance, tools, policy, and reporting for the broader shared framework effort. This will entail the tracking and recording of lessons learned through the ongoing facilitation and coordination tasks that could support the effectiveness or the creation of standards for future shared frameworks.
The ideal candidate will be a highly organized, self-motivated, poised individual with exceptional communication skills. He or she will have the ability to work with individuals and teams from diverse geographical, cultural, and political contexts; outstanding flexibility and problem-solving skills; be a deft navigator of large and complex institutions and processes; and be able to maintain a mature and calm presence under pressure.
Typical Duties and Responsibilities
- Building and coordinating a community among OSF actors on the ground, external groups and OSF programs that may not have worked together in the past
- Communicating, recording, analyzing and synthesizing information coming from the ground in an efficient and timely way
- Developing a communications process to keep the members of OSF and the shared framework community informed
- Mitigating day to day issues that arise, and exercising personal judgement on which issues should be brought to the attention of the implementing lead and governance team
- Assessing dynamics and relationships within the shared framework and managing those relationships
- Assisting in the analysis of trends, developments , opportunities, and challenges in the programmatic and operating context, and help the working group identify ways to mitigate risks and maximize results
- Managing intranet site (KARL) as a platform for documenting the work and visualizing results
- Assisting in the development of evaluation and learning tools
- Assisting in the assessment of progress on goals and objectives
- Gathering narrative and budget updates from participating programs, foundations and offices, and draft regular assessment reports for the shared framework; work with the Strategy Unit, Budget Team and Communications staff, and consultants, to document these results; assist the implementation leader and Advisory Group to provide information, as needed, to the OSF Global Board, the President’s office, and other key partners/collaborators on efforts undertaken and progress achieved
Skills and Abilities
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including active listening and communication with sensitivity to cultural differences, facilitation and conflict resolution skills
- Clarity in writing and good note-taker with exceptional ability to synthesize and communicate relevant information
- Experience in network building; knowledge of complex international organizations and ability to respond to the needs of multiple actors
- Ability to identify connections and opportunities for collaboration in different but related bodies of work
- Highly organized, flexible, able to prioritize, and willing to work simultaneously on a wide range of tasks and projects
- Excellent analytical, problem solving and critical thinking skills
- Professional and diplomatic yet with a warm, engaging “people person” demeanor
- Understanding of OSF structure and relationships (preferred)
- Experience in evaluation and learning (preferred)
- Some international travel
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study or equivalent experience/education; graduate degree desirable.
- 3-5 years of progressively responsible experience in a situation relevant to the duties of this role
Term End date: January, 2018, with a possible extension
Application Instructions: Please upload a cover letter and resume when submitting an application.
Application Deadline: February 12, 2016
Work Environment and Physical Demands: Essential functions are typically performed in an office setting with a low level of noise. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
The Open Society Foundations are strengthened profoundly by the diversity of our network and our differences in background, culture, experience, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and more. We actively seek and welcome applications from people of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, women, LGBTI persons, and persons with disabilities.
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