REGIONAL CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST WANTED

REGIONAL CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

This is a Consultant Role based in West Africa. Applicants must be citizens or have authorization to work in the sub-region. GFC will not cover relocation costs or the cost of living. We strongly encourage qualified women to apply.

*BACKGROUND*
Global Fund for Children collaborates to build a world where all children and youth are safe, strong, and valued. We pursue this mission by investing in innovative, locally led organizations, helping them deepen their impact and build their capacity for social change. To further advance and protect the rights of children and youth, GFC supports its partners to engage in grassroots advocacy initiatives to effect policy and social norm change from the local level. Since our founding nearly 25 years ago, GFC has invested nearly $40 million in over 600 grassroots organization around the world. Our work advances the rights of children and youth across four focus areas: education; gender equity; youth empowerment; and freedom from violence and exploitation. GFC will launch a two-year initiative to fund, support, and strengthen the capacity of locally based partners committed to addressing the causes of violence experienced by girls and young women, while also seeking to empower them to act as agents of change to lead safer, more protected, and healthier lives in West Africa. Based on learning from this initial phase, GFC hopes to continue and expand this initiative. This initiative will aim to strengthen 6-8 partners' capacity and programs, which target sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

*OVERVIEW*
We are seeking a Capacity Development Specialist with experience supporting community based organizations to work with the cohort of grantee partners, to collaboratively identify and strengthen priority areas within their organizations. The Capacity Development Specialist will also strengthen the network of current and alumni partners in the region, linking and leveraging this group with relevant regional technical and funding resources to ensure a strong GFC value add to regional initiatives and investments. Because of this role’s unique geographic location, the Capacity Development Specialist will also provide substantial leadership and support all along the grant making and institutional donor/fundraising processes for initiatives in that region, beginning with this new SGBV Initiative. The Capacity Development Specialist will be GFC’s external face and internal resource on the ground in the region.

The Capacity Development specialist will work remotely from West Africa (Liberia, Senegal or Sierra Leone), closely with other headquarter-based staff and report to the Regional Program Director for Africa based in Washington D.C.

*ESSENTIAL DELIVERABLES* Organizational Capacity Development:
( Build constructive and collegial relationships with local organization partner leaders as the foundation for peer-to-peer capacity development and support, from an empowering partnership approach that challenges traditional donor-grantee relationships
( Perform joint participatory organizational capacity assessments with partners to identify areas for organizational strengthening and progress over time
( Co-design with partners discrete organizational development activities that may be funded; field and recommend opportunities for professional development and participation in conferences that may be funded by opportunity grants

( Co-design with partners, outcomes that measure interventions focused on changing knowledge, attitudes and practices around gender-based violence

( Build and maintain a resource list of quality organizational development consultants, training firms, and professional development opportunities relevant to partners, particularly local/regional service providers

( Provide direct mentoring and coaching to partner leadership and staff as needed and in alignment with personal expertise and experience
( Build an understanding of the effectiveness of partners programs through one-on-one discussions and other means (Share relevant technical and organizational development resources, contacts, news and information with partners through regular email communication and newsletters. Use field observations, content review, periodic site visits, and regular communication with partners, and partner feedback surveys, to collect data on partner progress against defined overarching indicators for the project;

( Lead and support partners in critical thinking and learning processes such as reflection and review processes, TOC development and clarification, log frames and results frameworks where applicable.

( Contribute to creating, nurturing and documenting the initiative’s community of practice;

( Advise on and contribute to the development of a learning agenda for grantee partners. Grant making:

( Advise on selection of new local partners via dissemination of calls for new partners, referral of organizations, scouting visits and vetting of potential partners, and preparation of written recommendations for internal grant making committees and official grant making cycles.

( Work with potential and renewal partners on preparation of annual primary grant proposals and budgets, and manage grant making process from approval to disbursement utilizing GFC’s GIFTS online system.

( Process supplemental grants through GFC’s internal decision-making processes and through GFC’s grant making online platform from approval to disbursement.

( Ensure partners are informed and equipped to meet grant monitoring requirements, including internal GFC grant reporting and relevant institutional donor/project requirements.

( Provide direct assistance to partners who may need assistance to meet these requirements. Knowledge Sharing and Networks:

( Design and implement regional and national convenings to bring partners together for knowledge exchange, group trainings, network-building and catalyzing of joint advocacy efforts, including setting themes and agendas, and coordinating with additional facilitators and local service providers to ensure effective events.
( Represent GFC on issue-specific affinity groups, coordinating networks and coalitions; (Leverage personal expertise on national issues relevant to GFC’s strategy to support advocacy efforts and educate relevant external networks to support positive social change for children.

Communications and Reporting
( Ensure timely and effective fulfillment of grant deliverables and reporting to donors
( Contribute brief, original content for program sections of GFC’s blog, website, annual report, and other communications materials, as well as for external publications.
( Contribute to creation, editing, and dissemination of regional and issue area briefs.

*CONSULTANT QUALIFICATIONS*
( Extensive experience working with grassroots and/or community-based organizations in Africa particularly within Liberia, Sierra Leone, and/Senegal;
( Experience working with children and youth issues, particularly issues affecting adolescent girls’ education, empowerment, gender equity and freedom from violence and exploitation;
( Demonstrated understanding of strategic, programmatic, and operational challenges that local organizations face, particularly in their nascent and transitional stages of development;
( Existing bank of resources—tools, professional contacts, personal experience and knowledge—to support partners in facing and resolving organizational challenges.
( Proven skills in organizing and facilitating dynamic meetings and group learning opportunities with grassroots leaders, particularly young women leaders;
( Full professional proficiency in English and French; proficiency in one or more local languages such as Krio or Wolof is an asset;
( Authorization to reside and work in Liberia, Senegal or Sierra Leone. This consultancy is expected to be a local hire in one of these countries;
( Experience working with gender-based violence facing young girls with familiarity of safeguarding procedures in institutional settings;
( Excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills;
( Willing to travel within and across Africa particularly the three countries of interest up to 40% of the time;
( High emotional intelligence and the ability to work collaboratively with humility across multiple cultural contexts;
( Motivated to grow in diverse environments with people of all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, gender identities, and sexual orientations.

This consultancy is for a two-year gender-based initiative across Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. To apply: Please send a cover letter, including your compensation preferences, and a resume or curriculum vitae, all in English, to careers@globalfundforchildren.org, with Africa Capacity Development Specialist in the subject line. The Consultancy is open until filled and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Check us out at www.globalfundforchildren.org. for more information about our organization.

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