Background
Spotlight Initiative is the UN High-Impact Initiative to end violence against women and girls (VAWG). Launched in 2017 with over USD 530 million in seed funding from the European Union, alongside additional contributions from Portugal and Albania โ the Initiative represents the largest global investment to eradicate violence against women and girls as a precondition to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Initiative has demonstrated that a comprehensive theory of change and an innovative whole-of-society, whole-of-government, system-wide approach can yield transformative results. Spotlight Initiative prioritizes a new way of partnering with civil society and womenโs movements, embedding their participation at every stage of the programme cycle to enhance both sustainability and impact. The holistic programming model has been shown to be 70 โ 90% more effective than traditional, project-based or siloed approaches.
Between 2017 and 2023, Spotlight Initiativeโs first portfolio comprised 34 country, regional and grant-making programmes, which officially concluded on 31 December 2023. In 2024, the Initiative entered a new phase, launching Spotlight Initiative 2.0 with a new generation of programmes that draw on the lessons learned and proven strategies from its first iteration. Key results from the first iteration include: 13-fold increase in national budgets to address GBV, conviction rates for perpetrators of GBV doubled across 13 countries; nearly 550 laws and policies were passed or strengthened to end violence against women and girls; USD 195 million were delivered to civil society organizations; nearly 3 million women and girls accessed GBV services; among other critical results.ย
Building on these results, Spotlight Initiative 2.0 continues to apply its integrated approach, implementing activities across the four outcomes of its Theory of Change: (1) laws, policies, institutions, and data, (2) prevention, (3) response, and (4) womenโs movements and civil society.
The Spotlight Initiative Programme in Sierra Leone is looking for a Civil Society Officer to support civil society engagement and liaise with womenโs rights groups, civil society organizations specifically grassroots and local organizations and womenโs movements in the Sierra Leone. They will work under the direct supervision of the Spotlight Initiative Programme Coordinator and will also work closely with implementing UN agencies and other key programme stakeholders. The Civil Society Officer will provide support to the programmeโs Civil Society Reference Group members, grantees and implementing partners and coordinate UN agency engagement with civil society.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Project Specialist, the core functions of the Advocacy and Civil Society Analyst will include the following:
a) Develop a comprehensive mapping and analysis of the civil society landscape in the Sierra Leone, including key organizations, strengths, challenges, and opportunities:
Conduct comprehensive mapping of the civil society landscape of organizations focusing and working on EVAWG including women's rights organizations, international, national, grassroots and local organizations; Analyze the current state of the feminist movement and local organizations to identify key players, strengths, challenges, opportunities and needs; Update regularly the database of civil society organizations and feminist movements working on EVAWG operating in the region; Develop a strategy of supporting womenโs movement building to enrich the programmeโs activities;ย Assess organizational strengths, sectoral focus, geographic coverage, key challenges, and emerging opportunities. Produce regular analytical reports to inform strategy and programming.b) Establish the civil society reference group with regular meetings, clear terms of reference and code of conduct guidelines, workplan and budget:
Support the establishment of an Interim CSRG during the inception period of the programmeย Coordinate a selection process for the establishment of the formal CSRG to ensure meaningful and robust civil society engagement; Support and coordinate the CSRG with the implementation of the Groupโs workplan including its advocacy, communication, shadow reporting and monitoring work and manage the groupโs budget and expenditures; Contextualize and implement the compensation guidelines and policies for robust and meaningful engagement; Prepare and provide the necessary support and guidance to the civil society participation in the governance bodies; Organize regular calls, annual retreats, gatherings, and other meetings with strategic partners;c) Deliver of capacity-building workshops, seminars, and training sessions tailored to the needs of civil society organizations.:ย
Coordinate in-person regional, national, and global gatherings of civil society partners including the civil society reference group to share best practices and lessons learned from Spotlight Initiative and broader EVAWG programming; Develop and roll out capacity building tools for civil society partners to continue advising and partnering with the UN on EVAWG programmes;ย Implement and contextualize the Specific Spotlight Initiative Protection Approach (SSIPA) to ensure protection and mitigation of risks for Women Human Rights Defenders in their engagement with Spotlight Initiative. Identify capacity gaps and develop learning pathways for organizational and leadership strengthening. Support peer learning and knowledge exchange among CSOs.d) Contributes to strategic Advocacy and Policy Engagement:ย
Support CSOs in designing impactful advocacy strategies aligned with national development priorities. Facilitate their engagement in policymaking processes at national and local levels. Build bridges between CSOs, government entities, and international partners to amplify civil society voices Guide CSOs in formulating structured advocacy plans with clear objectives, target audiences, messaging strategies, and timelines. Promote coalition-building around shared policy goals.Institutional Arrangement
Under the overall guidance of the RCO, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative and the Team Leader of Governance and through the direct supervision of the Programme Specialist, the Advocacy and CSO Analyst will be tasked to deliver distinct outputs of the project, to ensure quality implementation--from activity design, budgeting, monitoring, and organizing events. This position will work with admin Logistics Assistant in the WPS project.
Competencies
Core
Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline. Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements. Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback. Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible. Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident. Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships. Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination.Cross-Functional & Technical competencies
Partnership Management:ย
Knowledge and understanding of partnership strategies, processes and systemsย Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.Communication:
Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.Negotiation and Influence:
Events management (including retreats, trainings, and meetings):
Ability to manage events, including venue identification, accommodation, logistics, catering, transportation, and cash disbursements, etc.ยSocial Medial Management:
Ability to represent and promote the spotlight initiative in communities and network.ยKnowledge Facilitation:
Ability to animate individuals and groups, internally and externally, and to design and facilitate activities, to share and exchange knowledge, information and ideas.ย Knowledge of tools and approaches to stimulate active participation, contribution, and exchange.Relation management:
Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust, and mutual understanding.Required Skills and Experience
Education:
Advanced University degree (Masterโs degree or equivalent) in Social Sciences, Political Sciences, International Development, Public Policy, Human Rights, Gender/Women Studies or another related field is required Orย A first level university degree (Bachelorโs degree) in any of the above fields with additional 2 years of experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.Experience:
A minimum of 2 years (with Masterโs degree) of (with Bachelorโs degree) of relevant work experience with Civil Society organizations, advocacy networks or in governance and civic engagement projects or 4 yearsโ (with bachelorsโ degree) of relevant experience; Experience in in developing and delivering capacity-building programs or training for civil society actors; Experience working with feminist movements and local organizations.Required Skills
Proven ability to engage and balance diverse stakeholder needs and priorities; Proven ability to draft, edit and produce written results-based reports; Familiarity with multi-stakeholder coordination, especially working with grassroots organizations, government, and development partners; Excellent analytical and communication skills. Previous working experience in the UN would be an advantage.Desired Skills
Experience in the use of corporate software for reporting, budgeting;ย Experience using participatory technologies or platforms to enhance civil society coordination or advocacy is a desirable; Experience in project management in an international organizational setting preferably in access to justice for survivors of SGBV, GBV policy formulation, knowledge management generation is an advantage; Proven track record in coordinating calls for proposals and supporting capacity-building initiatives; Excellent facilitation and training skills, with the ability to engage diverse participants; Experience in digital campaigns, social media advocacy, and media engagement strategies; Familiarity with results, monitoring and evaluation frameworks and knowledge management.Required Language(s):ย
Excellent written and verbal English language skills is required.ย Fluency in any Sierra Leonean Languages is desired.Equal opportunity
As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.ย
UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.
Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority
UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.ย
Right to select multiple candidates
UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.ย We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
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