Publish What You Pay Africa Coordinator

JOB BACKROUND/SUMMARY:

Catholic Relief Services, an international non-governmental agency specializing in relief and community development, and Publish What You Pay (PWYP), a global civil society coalition that helps citizens of resource-rich developing countries hold their governments accountable for the management of revenues from the oil, gas and mining industries, are seeking a highly qualified individual to help drive and facilitate the PWYP campaign in Africa in collaboration with national coalitions, the PWYP International Coordinator, and other NGO partners.

Publish What You Pay (PWYP) is an international coalition of civil society organizations that campaigns for transparency in the payment, receipt and management of revenues from the oil, gas and mining industries. Oil, gas and mining revenues – when properly managed – can serve as a basis for poverty reduction, economic growth and development. Citizens who know how much money is earned from these resources are better able to hold companies and governments accountable. Lifting this veil of secrecy is crucial to ensuring that natural resource wealth benefits the country as a whole, and not just a powerful few. It provides citizens with the information they need to demand more investment in education, health care and social services. PWYP consists of a wide range of human rights, development, environmental and faith-based groups around the world. There are also PWYP national coalitions in roughly 30 countries. For more information, visit: www.publishwhatyoupay.org.

The PWYP Africa Coordinator is part of the PWYP International Team and will help drive and facilitate the PWYP campaign in Africa through coalition building and advocacy, support for national coalitions, and coordination at the regional level. The PWYP Africa Coordinator will report to a Management Committee and work under the close supervision of the PWYP International Coordinator based in London.

The position is based at the Catholic Relief Services office in Accra, Ghana (other locations may be considered) and requires frequent travel.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Communication and coordination

• Facilitate the flow of information and lessons learned in campaign implementation and strategy among African coalitions and international PWYP partners;
• Draft briefings, internal newsletters, and any other information material in conjunction with the PWYP International Coordinator, the PWYP Information & Advocacy Officer and African coalitions;
• Provide regular updates to the PWYP International Coordinator and the PWYP Information & Advocacy Officer about campaign activities and coalition members in Africa;
• Organise and participate in regular coordination calls with other PWYP staff and the PWYP national coordinators and focal points in Africa;
• Update and maintain database of coalition members in Africa and related information.

Coalition management and capacity-building support

• Help national coalitions and partners create strong frameworks for engaging in the PWYP campaign;
• Support and respond to new members and disseminate relevant tools and resources, including campaign toolkits and best practice guidelines for coalition members, so they are fully involved in the campaign;
• Support and advise coalition members and national coalitions on work plans, PWYP projects and activities, donor relations and fundraising;
• Support the good governance and effective functioning of national coalitions, (i.e. Advise coalitions on internal governance/management mechanisms and help mediate conflicts and disputes within coalitions and identifying needs for new policies/refinements);
• Support national coalitions and member organizations to effectively participate in national Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) processes by sharing best practices, monitoring country implementation, and identifying and finding solutions to challenges facing civil society in EITI countries;
• Where applicable, help coalitions build new issues, themes or sectors into their existing work;
• Organise campaign seminars/workshops and strategy meetings to promote, support and strengthen coalition members and national coalitions;
• With other members, and where required, help facilitate inter-coalition exchanges, peer-to-peer learning and capacity-building, within and across regions.

Advocacy support

• Facilitate the implementation of regional advocacy goals by drafting position statements, letters and press releases on issues of regional relevance;
• Identify opportunities for conducting regional advocacy and organise lobby trips in conjunction with African coalition members;
• Help organise events including regional and international strategy meetings in conjunction with other members of the coalition in Africa and internationally;
• Coordinate strategies to anticipate and/or address intimidation and harassment of activists in coordination with African coalition members, international partners and other allies.

Donor relations and budget monitoring

• Monitor and manage the core budget supporting the PWYP Africa Coordinator’s work and activities;
• Produce donor narrative and financial reports in collaboration with other staff;
• Draft new proposals and renewal requests as needed;
• Identify and do outreach to new donors in collaboration with the PWYP International Coordinator;
• Advise key donors on needs and capacities of national coalitions and member organisations in Africa.

Line management

• Hire and supervise interns as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

• Experience in and understanding of civil society coalition-building and outreach activities;
• Experience working within complex coalitions and addressing issues of internal governance and management, dispute resolution, and fair and transparent decision-making;
• Experience working in Africa and broad knowledge of political, economic and development issues in Africa;
• Experience in advocacy with a variety of stakeholders (e.g. NGO, government, international financial institutions, and the private sector) at local, national and/or international levels;
• Effective project management and organisational skills in order to prioritize competing requests, meet deadlines and manage a complex workload;
• Excellent inter-personal skills and ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of people, situations and languages;
• Ability to patiently and diplomatically forge consensus between diverse stakeholders on campaign issues;
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage a complex workload and deadlines;
• Excellent communications, writing, editing and presentation skills;
• Ability to assimilate and understand complex technical data;
• Highly effective administration skills including computing, word processing and internet use;
• Pro-active, fast-thinker, with ability to work with minimal supervision;
• Ability to travel approximately 25 percent of the time;
• Computer literate in Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Excellent written and spoken English and French;
• Minimum 3 years of professional experience in related area.

Desirable

• Familiarity with the global extractive industry transparency and accountability movement;
• Familiarity with the basic structure and operations of the extractive industries, the corporate sector and international financial institutions;
• Post-graduate degree in relevant field (e.g. development, political science, international relations);
• Ability to communicate in Portuguese and/or Spanish.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

• Salary commensurate with experience.
• Standard CRS benefits package.
• This is a one year post that is renewed on an annual basis, subject to availability of funding. There will be an initial probationary period of 6 months.

TO APPLY
Please apply through CRS’ online application system

Please include your CV and a statement describing, as specifically as possible, your background and relevant skills and experience for this position. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applications should be in English.

This position will be filled as soon as an appropriate candidate is identified.

DESIRED START DATE
Immediate

Please note:
Due to the large volume of applicants expected, only those candidates selected for interview will receive notification. No phone calls please.

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