October 12, 2020
Afronomicslaw.org, the leading blog on international economic law and justice issues in the Global South seeks to fill the position of a Coordinator for its African Debt Justice Initiative (AfSDJN). The AfSDJN seeks to establish and galvanize members of the ASDJN to undertake contemporary research, advocacy and tactics around the changing nature of debt, globally and in Africa, which threatens economic development, social cohesion and a number of gains made in building social contracts in the recent years. It seeks to do this in a number of ways with a particular focus on Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria and Senegal through by producing research outputs, including toolkits, which enhance the advocacy interventions of these actors; creating awareness on and elevate the priority given to sovereign debt and other economic justice issues on the African continent and beyond, through its network activities which include public webinars, written symposiums and high-level interventions at important political events taking place on the African continent and beyond over the next 12 months; and increasing research engagement in the area of sovereign debt and other economic justice issues on the African continent by building human capacity and technical expertise on these issues. The work of the Network will press private and sovereign creditors to write-off, restructure or postpone debt owed by African countries and to focus the conversation on sovereign debt on the responsibilities of the lenders and not merely sovereign borrowers. It will also mobilize critical stakeholders who can influence policy on the debt question at the international, regional (African) and national levels with the select African countries aforementioned. The project will also support the institutional and administration needs of Afronomicslaw.org.
Main Duties and Responsibilities: Working remotely, the African Sovereign Debt Justice Network Coordinator, supports the Editors of Afronomicslaw in coordinating and driving publicity and managing communications of the African Debt Justice Initiative.
Core Function 1 – Leading Afronomicslaws’s Partners within the African Sovereign Debt Justice Network by organizing and coordinating meetings and activities including drafting, editing and facilitating outputs from each Network Partner and helping achieve the Network's outreach projects. Regularly liaising with external project stakeholders.
Core Function 2 - Spearheading development of the African Sovereign Debt Justice Network's Communication Strategy together with Network Partners and in the process ensure that Network activities have a broad outreach and that they keep generating coverage for the Network. This will include project management and the co-ordination of multiple aspects of work to meet deadlines; Leading efforts to maintain a constant public profile (blogs, social media, short reports, etc.Building relationships with a view to engage them as partners in the Network
Core Function 3 – Communications and media relations Monitoring media outlets for news relating to the mandate of the African Sovereign Debt Justice Initiative; working with the Editors and the Afronomicslaw Communications Coordinator to tweet regularly (either directly or through the Editors) about dissemination events, African Sovereign Debt Justice Network-relevant conferences and meetings, and related events; assisting Network Partners with the rolling out of social media in their operations; preparing reports: quarterly, annually; and working closely with the Editors
Core Function 4 - Monitoring and Evaluation Ensuring that all African Sovereign Debt Justice Network's communications are captured and Monitored and Evaluated; Maintaining an awareness of key project deadlines and helping to steer the team towards them; Preparation and writing of research publications, chapters, summaries and reports; helping maintain dissemination, press releases and report calendars; analyze the effectiveness of Partners’ work in communications to assess the need for coaching and follow-up; and preparing regular update reports to the funder and other collaborators.
Core Function 5 - Stakeholder management and partnership building Proactively identifing opportunities for African Sovereign Debt Justice Network and its partners to; injecting data into emerging and ongoing policy debates by tracking current events in the project countries, engaging with relevant policy actors and media; building and strengthening partnerships with stakeholders, policy actors, and potential donors at local, national, regional, continental, and global levels.
Core Function 6 - Duties and responsibilities to Afronomicslaw and the African Sovereign Debt Justice Network: providing editorial support; writing articles for posting on the blog; providing media representations on behalf of the Network with the prior approval of the editors; helping strengthen Afronomicslaw and the African sovereign debt justice network’s social media presence; provides communication support to specific projects.
Minimum experience and desirable knowledge & skills
- Bachelor’s degree in social sciences/political science and preferably postgraduate studies or degree in journalism/communications and/or sovereign debt/international financial law
- Five to eight years of related work experience, or a combination of education and experience that would provide for the following knowledge, skills and abilities.
Experience in networking with policymakers such as members of parliament and local government leaders; experience developing and implementing national communications strategy; thorough knowledge of media relations strategies; thorough knowledge of electronic and print media systems; strong interpersonal and communications skills and demonstrated ability to work in a multinational environment are essential; excellent written and verbal communication skills; strong presentation and analytical skills; demonstrated capacity to continuously develop knowledge and skills related to use of rapidly changing technology; strong time management skills; ability to handle multiple “priority” projects simultaneously and set and meet deadlines, and use communications skills to ensure that Network Partners and senior leaders do the same; must have demonstrated ability to manage own work without supervision; must have built relationships among NGOs, advocacy organizations or political parties; skilled in the use of personal computers including Microsoft Office Suite; G-suite; experience in SPSS is desirable but not required; experience with Final Cut pro or other video editing software is an advantage but not required; some experience with and much enthusiasm for Twitter, Facebook and other social media ability to communicate fluently in English is required; French/Portuguese proficiency is a strong advantage, but not required; have access to strong internet connectivity (minimum 4G) and be able to work virtually on multiple platforms including Zoom, Cisco Webex Meetings, GoToMeeting, Google Hangouts Meet, join.me, BlueJeans Meetings, Cisco Jabber, TeamViewer and Adobe Connect; short-listed applicants will be asked to complete a writing, presentation and basic numeracy test.
Desirable
- African citizenship or heritage
- Knowledge of survey research and the design of infographics
- Multilingual, ideally fluent French, Portuguese and African languages
Personal qualities
- Alignment to Afronomicslaw core values including equality, diversity, and inclusion
- Attention to detail and persistence to ensure thoroughness and accuracy
- Self-starter with the ability to set priorities, meet deadlines, and manage multiple tasks
- Highly organized, with the ability to deal with lots of information
- Diplomatic with a cooperative, problem-solving, and positive ‘can-do’ attitude
- Ability to build rapport with both leadership and other colleagues
- Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
- Ability to maintain privacy and confidentiality
The main duties and responsibilities, person specifications and the technical/functional competencies that are included here are not intended as an exhaustive list of all functions, responsibilities, skills, and abilities pertinent to the post. Additional functions may be assigned as circumstances require.
Salary
The salary for this post will be competitive with the market and based on the skills and experience of the successful candidate.
Documents to include in your application and how to apply:
- An up-to-date curriculum vitae with contact details (your email, phone, postal and Skype address)
- A personal statement describing:
- your interest in the post and in working with Afronomicslaw
- specific and detailed evidence of how your skills, experience and knowledge meet the Selection Criteria and why you are the right person to execute the main duties and responsibilities of this job. Make sure to show how your background demonstrates that you meet the minimum experience and desirable knowledge & skills for this job.
- Your availability for the post (notice period in your current role)
Please send your to Afronomicslaw@gmail.com by the end of the day in your time-zone on Friday October 23rd, 2020. Include your name and position title in the subject field of your email. Example: “Subject: [YOUR NAME] AfSDJN Coordinator”