Employment Opportunity – Program Officer, MENA region

Be a part of positive social change

Imagine working for an organization that’s core mission is to advance equality, social justice and respect for human dignity. Imagine your work aligning with your personal values and being a part of creating positive social change every day through transformative human rights education programs. Alongside 55 liked-minded employees based in Canada, you could contribute to the empowerment of people to address inequalities and discrimination, and work to build more inclusive and rights-respecting communities with Equitas.

The Opportunity

Reporting to the Senior Program Officer, MENA, the Program Officer is accountable for the planning, implementation, evaluation, and reporting on the project(s) under their responsibility. They are responsible for bringing together team members, partners, stakeholders and ensuring effective collaboration between all actors to realize project outcomes.
The Program Officer is a member of the Program Unit and a member of assigned Project, Program and Learning Teams and works in close collaboration with colleagues in the Program, Education, Finance and Administration, and Communications and Fund Development teams. They manage relationships with key partners and stakeholders and are the first and main point of contact for all aspects of the project(s) managed. They have an overview of the project and are accountable for overseeing the project from conception to completion.

Tasks and main Responsibilities

Program/Project Development

• Leads the development of the project in line with the Equitas strategic and annual plans
• Leads the annual planning and budgeting process related to projects responsible for
• Leads the process of project conceptualization: facilitating organizational input throughout the development process; conducting research; consulting with contacts;
• Builds and manages a network of relationships: liaising with actual and potential partners, government officials, NGO’s, resource people, funders, and other allies and other key stakeholders.
• Ensures a contextual watch (human rights, socio-political context, security, situation of defenders, stakeholders …) in the country(ies) or region(s) under responsibility.
• Builds and maintains in-depth knowledge of partner needs, goals and realities, and shares this information with project team members so that everyone can do their part to respond to these needs the best of their ability.
• Contributes to the development of other projects through participation in project teams as assigned.

Fundraising

• Establishes and maintains good relationships with existing funders and actively explores new funding opportunities, for the program under his/her responsibility.
• Develops and implements a fundraising strategy and secures funding for her/his area(s) of geographic/thematic responsibility.
• Drafts concept papers in line with the overall program strategy; drafts and negotiates funding proposals; develops project budgets; etc.
• Leads fundraising activities for the program for which they are responsible.

Project Implementation

• Participates in the relevant Project and Program Team(s) and Learning Team(s)
• Works closely with the Education Unit, other program staff, interns, volunteers, outside consultants, and in consultation with partner(s), on all aspects of the design and delivery of projects
• Responsible for identification and risk monitoring, including security issues for the projects under his/her responsibility
• In a spirit of co-construction, promotes partner and stakeholder interests and works with other teams at Equitas to ensure their needs are understood and met.
• Provides contextual analysis and input to inform the development of educational material
• Collaborates with the Education Specialist on the analysis of evaluation data and on the preparation of activity reports.
• Is responsible for the preparation and delivery of program evaluation / progress reports, and accountable for its finalization and delivery to stakeholders including funders
• Ensures maintenance of electronic and paper files (proposals, contracts, plans, budgets, reports, correspondence, etc.) related to the program.

Financial Management

• Develops annual program budget, activity budgets and budgets for funding proposals in close consultation with the Finance team and with input from the Project Team (especially the Education Unit regarding the education components)
• Participates in negotiation of the allocation of human resources for the project as an integral part of developing the budgets
• Monitors/controls the budgets, including the tracking of the human resources being charged to the project and negotiates adjustments as required
• Keeps the Senior Program Officer and the Director of Programs informed as soon as budgetary changes may be required
• Reviews reports from regional staff and partners and when applicable, deals with financial issues arising

Support Communications and Knowledge-Building and Sharing Activities

• Works with the Communications team to develop communications strategy and plans for the project under his/her responsibility.
• Contributes to the implementation of knowledge-sharing strategies and documenting good practices
• Contributes to the content creation, sustainment and management of different online Equitas community, website and online platforms established for specific projects or programs
• Represents Equitas when on missions, in meetings, in networks, at conferences, and in other venues

Organizational Support

• Actively participates in and supports Program Unit processes (reflection/learning processes, planning and monitoring meetings, team-building activities, etc.) and organizational processes (planning and budgeting processes, staff meetings, etc.)
• Participates on an ad-hoc basis in meetings of the Board Program Committee.
• Performs other duties as determined in consultation with the Senior Program Officer or the Director of Programs.

Required Qualifications

• Commitment to Equitas’ mission and values
• Undergraduate degree in a related field such as Political Science, Social Studies, International Development, etc., combined with a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in program/project development and implementation and partnership development. Another combination of experience and education may be considered.
• Knowledge of human rights – including human rights education and/or social justice issues
• Proven experience developing project proposals, securing funds and managing relationships with donor agencies
• Experience working in the NGO sector an asset
• Ability to communicate orally and read and understand documents in both English and French, and excellent writing skills in at least one of them, depending of the country or region in which the program takes place.
• Depending on the program(s), a third language may be required.
• Strong skills in information management (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
Language requirements:
• Ability to communicate, speak, and write in both official languages (English and French).
• Knowledge of Arabic is an asset.

Other Considerations

• Travel may be required; frequency, duration and destination depends on the assigned project.
• Availability to work flexible hours during peak periods of activity.

Join us!

Given the nature of our work, Equitas strongly encourages applications from any candidates who have experienced marginalization, in particular, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, LGBTQ2I people, and people living with disabilities. Candidates who wish to do so may self-identify in their application.
At Equitas, we do not tolerate harassment, discrimination, violence, or abuse of any form. All employment offers are conditional of the signing of Equitas’ Human Resources Policy, our Policy on Preventing Sexual Violence, Harassment and Discrimination and satisfactory references.
Equitas thanks all applicants for their interest. However, only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.
For further information about Equitas consult the Who we are/Home section of our websites at equitas.org and Speaking Rights.ca

How to apply?

Please send 1 attachment (cover letter and C.V.) with your name and title of the position Program Officer, MENA region in the subject line by January 13, 2023. (Applications analyzed upon receipt) to: rhequitas@equitas.org