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Program Officer: Engaging with Faith

Vacancy name: Program Officer: Engaging with faith (Free to be Me)
Reports to
: Free to be Me Program Manager
Period:
1/1/2022- 1/12/2025. Starting with a one-year contract, with the possibility of extension for the full program period.
Scope: Global; Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia
Location: Virtual.
Hours: fulltime
Staffing level: middle, salary range ZAR 325 000 – 364 000 / Euro 18 500 – 21 900 per annum

About GIN and Free to Be Me

GIN is a global network of LGBTIQ++ people of faith who use their faith traditions as a source of insight and energy to advocate for the human rights of LGBTIQ++ people globally.  GIN has a specific focus on what we call Key Affected Contexts, places where violence and power collude with religion, culture and tradition most viciously to instigate homophobic and transphobic discrimination, many of which are in the Global South. Our Secretariat is based in South Africa, and we have approximately 420 members (both individuals and organisations) worldwide.

Free to Be Me is a HIVOS-funded program that will help build and maintain a vibrant LGBTIQ+ movement that is confident and capable to lobby and advocate for their human and economic rights. The program is led by an alliance of three consortium members – Hivos (the lead party), ILGA World and Positive Vibes – and three technical partners – Sogicampaigns, The Global Interfaith Network (GIN) and Workplace Pride. Together the alliance will coach, accompany, fund and train LGBTIQ+ persons and organizations to influence norms and attitudes, generate (public) support, and promote laws, policies and regulations that recognize, respect and protect LGBTIQ+ people’s human and economic rights.

GIN’s portion of the program, which this position will oversee and implement, will engage with LGBTIQ+ activists in 5-8 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia to support them to develop their capacity to engage with religious leaders with a view to changing faith-based attitudes in order to influence social norms towards LGBTIQ+ people positively .

Job context

The Program Officer is a trainer, public speaker, and they together with the Program Manager will implement the GIN components of the Free to be Me program, and are responsible for the delivery and quality of the program results, for sound financial management,

The overall components of the Program Officer job are as follows:

  • With the Program Manager, convene thematic sub-working group around ‘dialogue with religious leaders’ in the Free to Be Me in-country Community of Action group,
  • With the assistance and participation of the in-country working group and the Program Manager,
    • Source facilitators, and an in-country co-ordinator, and, over time, recruit allies
    • Develop and review in-country faith-focused strategy
    • Develop contextualized faith-focused training material
    • Pilot faith-focused workshops and dialogue methodologies
    • Roll out faith-focused workshops and dialogues

They are accountable to uphold both GIN and Free to be Me values and principles. They represent the program with regard to the results in implementation, expertise & learning, both internally and externally. They will be called up on to perform in congruence with the expectations of multiple stakeholders, document and disseminate their work products, and actively participate in the technological, educational, strategic, and financial aspects of GIN. They report to Free to be Me Programme Manager, who reports to GIN’s Executive Director, who in turn reports on the programme to the Free to Be Me Steering Committee and HIVOS.

Expectations of Competency

  • Program management capacity that extends to curriculum development, financial management, volunteer supervision, and successful implementation on-site or online of deliverables
  • Strong facilitation skills, and a demonstrated capacity to develop facilitation skills in others
  • Strong speaking and written communication skills that marry political analysis with community-oriented education;
  • Comfort, curiosity, and cultural competency in engaging in LGBTIQ+ organising and/or communities;
  • Comfort, curiosity, and cultural competency in engaging in faith-based organising and/or spiritual communities;
  • A commitment to cultivating faith and spirit-based narratives as central to our strength and uniqueness;
  • Ideally, a theological qualification, in either Christianity or Islam, but definitely a familiarity with and commitment to the practice and development of inclusive understandings of faith traditions.
  • Highly developed, demonstrably excellent, written and spoken communication skills in English (other languages, especially Bahasa, French, Portuguese, Arabic or Swahili will be an advantage);
  • Facility in documentation, and reporting on deliverables, expenditures, and qualitative measurables (stories, quotes, videos, and/or photos);
  • Skills in implementing an online communications strategy;
  • Ability to develop the leadership of others through training, networking, and resourcing;
  • Engaging partners, stakeholders and colleagues on a one-to-one and one-to-many basis to create a sense of relationship, accountability, and belonging.

Responsibilities

Leadership and team player

  • Upholds Free to be Me values, including on local ownership, and reflects these into the way of working of the communities of action and other stakeholders.
  • Leads, motivates, trains, supports and guides other team members. Enables effective teamwork towards agreed objectives.

Program planning & delivery of results

  • Supports effective, participatory program planning processes with local rightsholder partners (individuals and organisations).
  • Together with the Program Manager, implement the GIN components of the Free to Be Me programme, in collaboration with partners (individuals and organisations) in the programme countries:
    • With the program manager, convenes thematic sub-working group around ‘dialogue with religious leaders’ in the Free to Be Me in-country Community of Action group,
    • With the program manager and the assistance and participation of the in-country working group;
      • Sources facilitators, and an in-country co-ordinator, and, over time, recruit allies
      • Develops and reviews in-country faith-focused strategy
      • Develops contextualized faith-focused training material
      • Pilots faith-focused workshops and dialogue methodologies
      • Rolls out faith-focused workshops and dialogues

Program accountability

  • Ensures compliance of GIN and partners with agreements made in terms of the programme, and promotes dynamic accountability.
  • Ensures transparent and accessible reporting against results framework and planning, including financial and progress reports and evaluations.

Program knowledge, learning and quality improvement

  • Maintains and updates learning across the program, stimulates internal and external knowledge exchange and integrates learning into practice.

International level LGBTIQ+ advocacy and campaigning

  • Provides leadership in and ensures visibility of LGBTIQ+ people of faith and issues.

External positioning

  • Applies partner management with stakeholders; promotes GIN and Free to be Me’s agenda in professional forums and local contexts by sharing and profiling practice-based results and experiences and meets the quality standard, proposes and delivers sustainable solutions.

Requirements

  • 3+ years’ knowledge/experience in program management, preferably in LGBTIQ+ programs.
  • Believes in / embodies what GIN and Free to be Me stand for, acknowledges the importance of local ownership, and is inspired by and willing to be accountable to its values and principles;
  • Professional expertise and up to date knowledge on LGBTIQ+ programs, inclusive faith (preferably across multiple faith traditions), marginalization, and lobbying and advocacy;
  • Proven leadership skills, based on inspiration, trust and influence rather than
  • Highly skilled in external relationship management, including with LGBTIQ+ communities, organisations and partners;
  • Strategic thinker, able to link operational learning to wider program outcomes;
  • Sense of humor, brings good energies and positive vibes, dynamic;
  • Imaginative, able to make unorthodox connections to solve challenging problems;
  • Able and willing to travel regularly.
  • Qualification (or equivalent demonstrable experience) in theology, community development or another relevant field;

We particularly welcome applications from women, trans and/or intersex people (in the broadest sense of each of these terms). We offer a contract based on South African local labor conditions, with a remuneration commensurate with the experience and expertise requested. We would prefer to employ someone from either South East Asia or the African continent, as these will be the locations of the work.

Want to Apply?

Kindly submit your resume and motivation letters to hr@gin-ssogie.org by 26 November 2021

 

Explore our programmes

The Family & Traditional Values Seminar series

The Religious Dialogue Partners’ process

The Speakers’ Bureau

If you’re interested in working on religious dialogue in your
region or country get in touch with us

Don't just take our word for it