Policy and Advocacy Lead at African Women’s Development and Communication Network

Main Duties include:

1. Building Feminist Power: At the core of the FEMNET’s work is commitment to change and shape spaces and policies that advance gender equality. The Policy and Advocacy Lead in collaboration with other thematic leads, partners and allies will:
   1. Create, generate, and collate body of knowledge on advancement of Gender Equality and Womens Empowerment for African women and girls through research, analysis, and documentation.
   2. Lead in creating robust, cutting-edge policy advocacy and influencing strategies to ensure concrete changes are attained in different policy processes and spaces that FEMNET engages with a focus on Africa Union (AU), Pan Africa Parliament, Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD), NGOCSW Africa as well as global process and spaces.
2. Navigate policymaking processes regionally and link them to those at national and global levels to support the needs of African women and girls
3. Convene, support, and make discernible engagement and maintaining exceptional relationships with policymakers (African Union Youth and Gender Directorate, Regional Economic Communities, Africa Commission on Peoples and Humans Rights, etc), counterpart coalitions in both the global North and South, advocates and activists in support of gender equality efforts.
4. Speak trust to power in the most authentically decorated by facts and robust feminist analysis.
5. Represent, where realistically possible, FEMNET in technical communities of practice, and with external partners. This will include building relationships and networks with Governments, AU/UN agencies, the private sector, and women rights and feminist organizations and other civil society organizations working on advancement of gender equality.
6. Strengthening Solidarity: The Policy and Advocacy Lead will
   1. Engage and mobilize FEMNET members across the continent including building relationships with leaders, policymakers, funders, implementers advocates, innovators, private sector leaders, and influencers in pursuit of FEMNET’s advocacy and influencing objectives.
   2. Support Implementation of FEMNETs membership strategy including engaging with members and deepening FEMNET’s relationships with key stakeholders in the region and beyond
   3. Coordinate and nurture a community of African Feminists working on advancing the rights of women and girls in Africa.
   4. Strengthen and nurture the capacities of women’s rights organizations and activists to enhance their knowledge to inform their engagement and action on influencing policies and advocacy for advancement of gender equality.
   5. Design and lead solidarity actions within FEMNET membership and across the broader
   6. Lead in feminist policy research to inform context based advocacy actions and strategies
7. Amplifying voices: FEMNET draws her strength from more than 800 members scattered across 50 African countries. The policy and Advocacy Lead will:
   1. Ensure FEMNET members are equitably represented in both internal and external engagements.
   2. Work closely with the VOICE team to amplify and sustain voices of African women and girls in all their diversities and their demand gender equality.
   3. In collaboration with the VOICE team, popularize knowledge products produced by FEMNET and her members to ensure easy accessibility.
8. Nurturing FEMNET Soul: The Policy and Advocacy Lead will serve at FEMNET’s management platforms and will
   1. Embrace African leadership principles and ensure FEMNET lives and breathes the African Feminist organization principles and values.
   2. Directly manage and lead the advocacy team and ensure their safety and wellbeing as the first point of contact in collaboration with HR and administration team.
   3. Work closely with other thematic leads to ensure cross learning and holistic implementation of FEMNET’s advocacy and influencing work.
   4. Manage development partners relations and ensure all contractual obligations under advocacy and influencing portfolio are served and fulfilled.
   5. Manage any budgets under the advocacy and influencing portfolio while working closely with the finance team to maintain the highest level of financial integrity and compliance. In collaboration with Monitoring and Learning lead, ensure timely and adequate documentation, periodic monitoring, adaptive learning and systematic evaluation of advocacy and influencing programs and or actions across programs. This will include policy analysis, follow up on advocacy actions and tracking of progress made from FEMNET advocacy and policy influencing processes.
   6. Produce timely outcome-based reports for both internal and external use.
   7. Lead and/or support resource mobilization through structured bidding process or fundraising activities

Who we are looking for:

This role offers a unique opportunity for a passionate candidate to lead and shape continental and global debate, policies and spaces. A feminist, gender equality and women’s rights activist with a genuine commitment to work and passion to drive transformative change will have a platform to serve and join a dynamic team working with one of the largest and influential Pan-African feminist networks.

We are looking for someone who espouses:

• Integrity and ethics: High integrity and ethical behavior in all dealings and ensure that own behavior is consistent with FEMNET’s values and standards
• Professionalism: Demonstrates high standards and expertise in all areas of work; managing stress effectively whilst prioritising multiple tasks and competing deadlines
• Result oriented: Conceive, plan and implement events that drive influence and stakeholder engagement; Consistently meet set goals
• Effective negotiator and problem-solver in complex situations, including with partners;
• Team oriented, versatile, personable and flexible with ability to work in collaboratively with colleagues across regions, in a multi-cultural environment and across different time-zones
• Demonstrated commitment to gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights;
• Independent and proactive professional able to contribute to the overall goal of the initiative
• Work and listen actively to the views of those involved

Minimum requirements, qualifications, skills and experience

Education and Experience

• Have a Masters/Bachelor’s degree in social sciences or any other relevant discipline from a recognised university.
• Sound knowledge on gender and integrating gender in programming, leadership, advocacy and influencing
• Understanding of issues that affect women and girls in the continent and experience working at Africa region level
• Experience of policy development and advocacy in any at least two of FEMNET’s strategic priorities that include economic justice and rights, sexual reproductive health and rights, women’s transformational leadership and governance, ending violence against women and girls and climate justice and natural resource governance
• At least 5 years relevant work experience at international, regional or sub- regional level at a Not-for-Profit organization or private sector
• Fluent in English with excellent verbal and written communication skills (essential)
• Strong Information Technology (IT) & Information System (IS) skills, including Microsoft Office packages, ERPs etc.  Strong quantitative and qualitative analytic skills
• Experience in at least two of FEMNET’s strategic priorities that include economic justice and rights, sexual reproductive health and rights, women’s transformational leadership and governance, ending violence against women and girls and climate justice and natural resource governance
• Experience working with different stakeholders including communities, WROs, NGOs, CSOs, government ministries, and government bodies such as EAC, AU, PAP, SADC, EAC, ECOWAS etc to inform and influence policy development would be an advantage.
• Experience working with funding partner and managing donor funded projects and processes

Knowledge and Skills

• Approachable with strong interpersonal & listening skills together with the ability to empower their team
• Highly motivated, result oriented and self-driven person able to adopt FEMNET’s policies, rules and regulations with understanding of due process, financial transparency and accountability
• Knowledgeable of training methodologies and developing easy to use materials and tools such as handbooks and toolkits.
• A team player who promotes of an environment of support conducive to cooperation, collegiality, consultation, and collaboration in all engagements.
• Willing and able to travel mainly in the Africa region.
• A high level of self-awareness, initiative, sound judgement, personal energy, passion and flexibility.
• Must align with values as outlined in the Charter of Feminist Principles for African Feminists
• Knowledge of strategies for women’s movement building and feminist leadership including key regional and global women’s rights policy frameworks