Organization Description:
Vital Voices Global Partnership is a leading international non-profit organization. We invest in women leaders who are tackling the world’s greatest challenges – from gender-based violence to the climate crisis, economic inequities, and more. We are “venture catalysts,” identifying leaders with a daring vision for change and partnering with them to make that vision a reality. What sets Vital Voices apart is that we make long-term, holistic investments in leaders with bold ideas for change — providing them connections, capacity, a network of their peers, financial support, and visibility for their work. We have provided early support for leaders who went on to become Nobel Peace Laureates, US Youth Poet Laureates, Prime Ministers, award winning innovators and breakthrough social entrepreneurs. Over the past 24 years, we have directly invested in more than 20,000 change-makers across 184 countries, who in turn have improved the lives of millions of people in their communities and countries.
Today, Vital Voices has a staff of nearly 80 headquartered in Washington, DC. We’ve recently been working to dramatically scale our impact in accordance with our bold vision. In early 2022, we opened the first ever Global Headquarters for Women’s Leadership, a 30,000+ sq. ft. historic building just blocks from the White House on 16th Street. It is a hub of activity, events, and collaborations — bringing together women leaders and their allies to tackle the world’s greatest challenges.
Summary
Vital Voices is seeking an independent consultant to provide subject matter expertise on gender-based violence (GBV), the situation of shelters and safe housing for women and girls, and access to justice issues for women and girls. The role requires previous experience working with GBV survivors and best practices around safehouses/shelters, especially from crisis-affected countries with a specific focus on Afghanistan.
The Safehouse/Shelter Consultant will work closely with the team working on Afghanistan, Urgent Assistance Funding, and Crisis Response to drive program quality inside of Afghanistan, as well as working in close collaboration with the Vice President of Global Networks and Regional Engagement, the Director of Prevention and Response Initiatives, and Managers for Asian and Afghanistan. The successful candidate will have strong situational and sociopolitical understanding of the Afghan context, will have significant experience working with GBV survivors and women’s rights defenders. The candidate will provide technical expertise and strategic guidance to the project team on safe housing and effective interventions for GBV survivors and women at risk. A major aspect of the role is working with Vital Voices management, participating in conducting, consolidating and reporting on GBV assessments and sharing strategic trends analyses, identifying local partners, and bringing a survivor-centered approach and understanding of GBV best practices to VV’s Afghanistan programs.
Deliverables:
- Weekly assessment of the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan, including the impact of the humanitarian crisis and the Taliban regime;
- Reporting on the GBV situation in Afghanistan and how it affects women, girls, and young boys:
- Thorough assessment of different women’s organizations and shelters operating in the country;
- Participation in different Afghan-related NGO forums;
- Development of training material on how to deliver survivor-centered approaches in the context of Afghanistan; and
- Other assignments as needed
Responsibilities: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Provide expertise to work with the unique social and political contexts to conduct risk analysis whilst maintaining sensitivity to the Women Rights Defenders, GBV survivors’, and VV partners’ shelter-related needs.
- Provides input and guidance for program management to ensure team is aware of and prioritizing local needs.
- Provides technical expertise, strategic guidance, and programmatic support related to Shelter and GBV to improve existing Standard Processes and survivor-centered approaches, especially as it relates to Afghanistan programs.
- Offers subject matter expertise in GBV prevention and promotion to VAV affiliates and external partners, especially in Afghanistan and surrounding countries.
- Supports development and reviews program-specific tools/resources and works with the program team and others to contextualize and adapt country-specific materials and best practices.
- Supports partner relationships and provides technical assistance to implementing partners related to shelters and safehouses, GBV, women and girl’s rights; offers creative solutions to programming difficulties.
- Provides guidance to support the advancement of holistic services and integration of GBV into Voices Against Violence programming, contributing to strategy, grant proposals and program expansion.
- Conducts desk research and implements best practices related to GBV, survivor-centered approaches, human rights, and legal/justice strengthening.
- Liaises with management team and provides consistent resource development and capacity assistance as needed.
- Perform other tasks as assigned.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in gender studies, human rights or a related field, plus 7- 10 years of relevant work experience required, OR Graduate degree in gender studies or a related field, plus 3-5 years of work experience REQUIRED;
- Strong demonstrated experience working on global women’s issues and human rights;
- Excellent oral and written communications skills in English, Dari and Pashto;
- Experience living, working and/or studying in the Central/South Asia region or Muslim-majority country preferred;
- Experience with gender-based violence case management preferred;
- Ability to prioritize tasks, swiftly shift priorities, and work in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines, sometimes under difficult or challenging circumstances;
- Ability to work independently and as part of a dynamic team;
- Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and self-awareness;
- Strong computer skills including MS Office applications (esp. Excel, Word, and PowerPoint), social networking tools, and database software (i.e., Salesforce).
This is a consultancy position either based at Vital Voices Headquarters in Washington D.C. or remote. The salary range for this position is based on a daily rate of $200-$300, and is based on applicant experience. The expected contract duration is through December 31, 2023.
Vital Voices provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Vital Voices complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
Vital Voices expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of Vital Voices’ employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge.
How to Apply:
Questions and applications must be emailed directly to Spouzhmai Akberzai at SpouzhmaiAkberzai@vitalvoices.org.
Applications must be received no later than February 10, 2023 and should be clearly marked “Safehouse/Shelter Consultant – Afghanistan” in the subject of the email.
Elements of Proposal/Application:
A submission must, at a minimum, include the following elements:
- A resume;
- No more than three-page narrative outlining experiences, strengths, and distinguishing skills or capabilities as they relate to the project goals and scope of services;
- Two professional references