Conflict Thematic Manager
Location: ACORD Headquarters, Nairobi, Kenya with significant travel within Africa and internationally
ACORD is seeking a Conflict Programming Expert to coordinate and
lead its overall Conflict Prevention and Peace Building programming.
This is a unique opportunity for a confident policy, advocacy
and programme worker to get high-level exposure and experience in conflict
prevention and peace building issues in Africa from grassroots level through to
policy and advocacy work at national, regional and continental levels as well
as being a member of a dynamic and multi-cultural team in a Pan African
organisation with strong international links.
Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD) is a Pan-African Organisation working for Social Justice and Development in Africa.
Our response to the challenges of Africa is firmly based on a
belief that people themselves are the agents of change and actors of their own
development.
People’s ability to take action on the causes of poverty is what
will transform Africa’s future. This belief underpins ACORD’s practical work,
its research methodologies and policy advocacy.
ACORD works in partnership with local civil society and
communities and in alliance with other organizations in Africa and the rest of
the world. In particular, we support the development of Pan-African citizen’s
advocacy.
Strengthening of African civil society, citizens’ movements and
governance is a cross-cutting theme in all ACORD’s work.
ACORD participates in several relevant conflict advocacy and
policy processes at regional and international levels such as Fragile and
Conflict Affected States, International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and
Statebuilding and the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region
(ICGLR) Conferences and Summits.
As part of post Busan process, ACORD will be engaged in country
level implementation of the New Deal, to accelerate support for State-Society
Relations and effective Peacebulding and Statebuilding.
Conflict Prevention and Peace Building is one of ACORD’s core areas of expertise and the organisation has developed award winningi methodologies for community level peace.
As defined in its global strategic plan 2011-2015 we aim to:
“facilitate an enabling environment where marginalised communities become
effective agents of peace-building and conflict transformation, to contribute
to inclusive stability and development in the continent.”
Pillars in ACORD’s conflict prevention and peace building work is capacity building of civil society and awareness raising at the grassroots, to promote a shared vision of justice, fair system for resolving disputes and commitment to oppose misuse of power.
In this, emphasis will be given to participation by marginalised
women and young people. In strategic alliance with others we will also engage
in dialogue at higher levels, sharing experiences and best practices.
In its Pan Africa Programme, ACORD has defined as one of its priority objectives to support the rural poor, in particular women, to have equitable access to and control of natural resources essential for their livelihoods and employment ensuring the protection of natural resources critical to peace and development in Africa.
In its Pan Africa Programme, ACORD has defined as one of its priority objectives to support the rural poor, in particular women, to have equitable access to and control of natural resources essential for their livelihoods and employment ensuring the protection of natural resources critical to peace and development in Africa.
ACORD will work towards ensuring that “communities previously in
tension or active conflict over land or water resources are in dialogue
processes with reduced tensions”.
This will be done through activities such as promoting regional
initiatives to address cross border tensions over access to land and water and
the piloting of the Community Social Peace Model to non-political conflicts
such as natural resources management and land disputes.
Currently, ACORD is in the process of launching a new Dutch government funded programme entitled ‘Pan Africa Programme for Community Peace Recovery and Reconciliation (CPRR). This is a 4 year Programme (July 2012-July 2016) covering 7 countries in sub Saharan Africa.
The overall goal of this programme is to “facilitate an enabling
environment where marginalised communities become effective agents of conflict
prevention and peace building, to support inclusive stability and development
on the continent, ultimately contributing to the achievement of MDG1 and the
restoration of peace and security in Africa”.
This programme will contribute to:
- Increased
community consciousness and observance of citizenship demonstrated in
social cohesion and co-existence in 7 target countries emerging from
conflict
- Community
level peace solidified and peace dividends obtained through jointly
executed peace projects
- Innovative
models of conflict prevention adopted by governments, institutions and
partners involved in conflict prevention and response where there is
prevailing (or risk of) conflict
The Conflict Thematic Manager is based in the ACORD head office,
managing ACORD’s overall peace building and conflict transformation work,
reporting directly to the Head of Policy and Advocacy.
The conflict thematic manager will also support mainstreaming of
conflict sensitivity into all ACORD’s work and cross-thematic linkages to
livelihoods, gender justice and HIV and AIDS thematic – in line with ACORD core
value that as an organisation that “we will contribute to the prevention and
resolution of conflicts affecting the communities with which we work, aware
that social justice and equality are the basis of meaningful peace”.
The Conflict Thematic Manager will be a member in ACORD’s Pan Africa programming team, collaborating closely with the other thematic leads in livelihoods, HIV/AIDS and gender justice.
The Conflict Thematic Manager will also work closely with the
Conflict leads and focal points in ACORD’s 18 country offices across the
continent as well as other colleagues at Secretariat level and in partner
organisations at the regional and Pan African levels.
A vacancy exists in ACORD for this position. If you are interested to work with us, please visit our website www.acordinternational.org for a detailed advert and Job Description.
Job Summary
- To
coordinate the development and implementation of the conflict thematic
programmes in line with the overall ACORD Strategic Plan, the Pan-African
programme, Conflict thematic strategies and Programming guidelines
- To
provide technical and methodological support to ACORD’s country and area
programmes across Africa in relation to peace building and conflict
transformation work
- To
actively contribute to define strategies advancing peace building and
conflict transformation work at regional and Pan-African levels through
research, partnership, alliance building and advocacy initiatives.
- To
provide leadership in cross-learning and knowledge generation for thematic
alignment in relation to ACORD’s peace building strategic priorities
across the organisation.
Competencies and skills requirements
- Masters
in Social Sciences or Sustainable Development, Conflict prevention and
Peace building or similar field
- Five
(5) years working experience in conflict work with an International
Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO) at Management level and very good
understanding of conflict and peace building issues at the level of Policy
influence in the Pan-Africa scene
- Strong
experience in strategic planning, policy formulation, lobbying and media
work
- Strong
experience in conflict programme management, coordination and oversight
- Experience
in popular mobilisation and policy advocacy at international level,
alliance and partnership building
- Bilingual:
English-French spoken and written
- Excellent
Communication (written and oral) and Public Relations skills
- Highly
conversant with Civil Society and Social Movement approaches on conflict
prevention and peace building work at Pan-African level
- Good
organisational, research, negotiation and analytical capabilities
Remuneration:
A competitive international package
To apply, please complete an application form available athttp://www.acordinternational.org/silo/files/application-form-for-job-advert.doc and e-mail it with a detailed Curriculum Vitae and cover letter to recruit@acordinternational.org with the Job Title in the Subject Box.
Closing Date: 27th July 2012
