Youth & Governance Advisor

ActionAid Liberia (AAL) seeks an experienced individual to provide efficient capacity development to staff of AAL and three Liberian partner organisations within the areas of youth and governance programming.

Governance Advisor in ActionAid Liberia

ActionAid Liberia (AAL) seeks an experienced individual to provide efficient capacity development to staff of AAL and three Liberian partner organisations within the areas of youth and governance programming. The placement is based at the head office in Monrovia.

Overall objectives of the placement is to support the policy engagement and strategic development in the arenas of governance and civic participation; to strengthen the meaningful participation in programmes and interventions from the national level to AAL’s Local Rights Programmes as well as regionally and globally; and build capacity of youth focal people in the region to develop their research and policy writing skills.

The key capacity development of the three partner organisations will focus on strengthening advocacy/campaign; building a strong coordination among Youth groups; support effective program planning and management around youth; strengthen capacity on participatory approaches; and build M&E skill for effective youth monitoring/reporting.

AAL is an International Non-Governmental Organization affiliated to ActionAid International. AAL works directly with people living in poverty and their organizations by mobilizing, strengthening and connecting them to other solidarity platforms; and campaigning with them to challenge the structural causes of poverty and injustice. Currently AAL supports, work with, focus on development of AAL new youth strategy, development of an advocacy plan and strategic lobbying, strategy for government Institutions engagement, case story production on AAL Country youth engagement & new Youth strategy.

Key Result Areas:

• Contribute to a strong Activista Liberia network through strengthening existing partnerships and sensitizing youth on their rights as well as the importance of engaging in national decision making processes
• Strengthened youth participation in governance work by developing a  youth engagement strategy and support accountability and resource monitoring groups
• Support ActionAid Liberia country program team on strategic lobbying and proactively engaging with government institutions and other players in the youth sector
• Develop youth led research into youth inequality
• Media engagement on youth and case stories production

Required qualifications

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in governance, political science, international relations, law, or other relevant fields
• A minimum of 5 years of capacity building experience in youth and governance work, coalition building and issues advancement through advocacy
• Traceable experience of working in a capacity building position in an international organization is a must; preferably 3 years’ experience should be in capacity building initiatives within civil society 
• Demonstrated ability to work well as part of a cross-cultural team is essential
• Ability to develop and maintain a range of mid to high-level working relationships within ActionAid and; among international partners, and with civil society is desirable
• Must have advanced people skills in facilitating/training teams in the use of research and campaign methodologies
• Team building skills
• In-depth knowledge of the socio, political and economic situation in West Africa is considered an asset

Application procedure and deadline:

Forward a letter of motivation and an updated CV of no more than 5 pages by email toadvisor1@ms.dk with a subject line Ref: Liberia – Youth & Governance Advisor.  The application package should not exceed 2 MBs.

Deadline for application submission is: 29th May, 2016

Due to the large number of applications received for these positions, it is not possible to provide feedback to all applications. Therefore, only shortlisted candidates will be notified at each stage of the recruitment process.  If you have not received any reply to your application by June 21st, then should consider yourself unsuccessful for this position.

Contract start

Contract start is subject to approval of work and residence permit, which can be a lengthy process. Therefore, the expected start date is October 1st, 2016. The assignment is for 24 months, with the possibility for renewal.

Proposed Recruitment Schedule

8th June: Shortlisted candidates are contacted13th to 17th June: Skype interviews with shortlisted candidates29th June to 1st July: Final interviews

More information:

A comprehensive job description is available for download at: www.actionaid.org. The job description includes thorough information about the job content, basic salary, and background for the placement. All interested candidates are recommended to go through the detailed job description before applying. For more information on the People4Change program, please visit the ActionAid Denmark website: www.ms.dk For information on ActionAid Liberia, please visit:www.actionaid.org/Liberia

 The Youth & Governance Advisor is placed through ActionAid Denmark’s People4Change program; a people-to-people programme providing development support to ActionAid Country Programs and there partner organisations. As People4Change is a cross-national program, aiming at building tolerance, respect and expertise across cultures and borders, this position is not available for permanent residents of Liberia. If you are a permanent resident of Liberia and find this job interesting, you are encouraged to apply for similar Advisor placements in other countries; and these are regularly advertised at: www.actionaid.org

For practical questions related the advertised position, please contact:

ActionAid Liberia Project Manager, Damowa Biah: Damowa.Biah@actionaid.org