| Position | Program Officer- Women's Rights and Sexuality and Reproductive Health & Rights |
| Date Posted | 18 Sep 2009 |
| Application Deadline | 02 Nov 2009 |
| Location | Nairobi, Kenya |
Summary Description
The Program Officer will be responsible for implementing, monitoring, and coordinating grant making activities to advance the goals of two lines of work in East Africa: Protecting the Rights of Women and Girls and Addressing Social and Cultural Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. The overall aim of the Protecting the Rights of Women and Girls portfolio is to support efforts to fully implement laws and international commitments that address gender inequality and discrimination; build effective women’s networks and human rights organization that address structural causes of inequalities and gender discrimination; and strengthen the leadership capacity of marginalized women and girls to engage in transformative politics and to be effective advocates—articulating the problems that affect their lives and crafting solutions to help solve them. The Sexuality and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) portfolio will support work that helps young women to realize their sexual and reproductive rights and health by addressing underlying social, cultural and economic factors which limit young women’s abilities to protect and promote their sexual health and well being, including HIV/AIDS.
Under the supervision of the Representative in Kenya and the Directors of the Human Rights, and Sexuality and Reproductive Health and Rights programs in New York, the Program Officer will develop grant making approaches to Protect the Rights of Women and Girls that include: developing resources to support strategic advocacy on women’s priority concerns through development of national and regional women’s rights funds; supporting effective advocacy on a range of women’s rights issues; building capacity of key national and regional multi-focus women’s rights groups; supporting national and regional men for gender equality movements; supporting training for national and regional women’s rights networks to develop resource pools and identify the next generation of women’s rights activists; and developing and expanding national, regional mandates and the use of UN instruments to address and enforce women’s rights issues. Additionally, under the line of work focused on Sexuality and Reproductive Health, the Program Officer will develop grant making approaches that include: conducting research to analyze women’s priority concerns and emergent trends in socio-economic factors that make young vulnerable to poor SRHR/HIV/AIDS outcomes and identifying what contributes toward their resilience; support experiments that address the intersections of HIV/SRHR and economic and gender inequities, including livelihood programs that address gender biases, early marriage and sexuality issues; advancing the role of communities, leaders and young women themselves, in particular young women living with HIV/AIDS, in addressing these issues; mobilizing existing evidence to shift the perspective of key donors, policy makers, social and political leaders in favor of interventions that address socio-economic factors, social norms and cultural values that support young women’s empowerment and SRHR; and developing effective civil society advocacy programs that impact government SRHR programs and budget allocations.
Specifically, the Program Officer will review the current status of the field and the status of the grants in the Foundation’s existing portfolio; formulate plans to implement grant making in the new program strategies; solicit, review, and respond to grant proposals; prepare recommendations for foundation funding. S/he will be expected to provide intellectual leadership in the field of women’s rights and sexuality and reproductive health and to work closely with other Foundation Program Officers whose work relates to the portfolios’ central missions. S/he also is expected to collaborate broadly with scholars, practitioners, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other donors. The Program Officer will contribute both to the office’s strategic direction for East Africa, and to the foundation’s overall goals related to women’s rights and sexuality and reproductive health worldwide.
Learn more about our work in Eastern Africa
Qualifications
Significant professional experience (ideally over 10 years) in the field of human rights advocacy and with gender equality movements in the global south, particularly East Africa. Demonstrated experience conducting action research on women’s rights, sexuality and reproductive health/rights and HIV/AIDS and linking new knowledge to inform advocacy and policy in support of women’s empowerment. Direct work experience with rights-based youth organizing, advocacy and empowerment. A broad understanding of human rights, specifically women’s human rights issues and the intersection between SRHR and HIV/AIDs. Demonstrated capacity to analyze, research, conceptualize, design and lead innovative program strategies. An advanced degree in sociology, anthropology, gender studies, law or other relevant discipline is required. Demonstrated field experience and expertise in East Africa and/or other regions in the global south. Grant-making experience is an advantage. A strong desire to achieve impact; a proven track record of achieving change; strong communications capabilities, including a clear ability to convene, build strong partnerships with NGOs, CBOs and other funding agencies, and drive a group to action; and the proven capacity to work in teams.
Salary
is based on experience and on the Foundation’s commitment to internal equity. A generous benefits package is provided.
Equal employment opportunity and having a diverse staff are fundamental principles at the Ford Foundation, where employment and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/affectional preference, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under law.
Apply for this Position