Feminist Knowledge Leadership Coordinator

Organisational profile

Urgent Action Fund-Africa (UAF-Africa) is a feminist and pan-African Rapid Response Fund committed to transforming power relations through resourcing African feminists and womn human rights defenders and their formations as an act of solidarity. Recognizing the need to move resources rapidly on a continent where opportunities and threats arise and decline quickly, UAF-Africa uses a Rapid Response Grantmaking mechanism to support unanticipated, time-sensitive, innovative, and unique initiatives that promote womn’s agency in peace and political participation, social and economic power building as well as natural resources governance and stewardship. The Fund works to support African Womn Human Rights Defenders (AWHRDs), particularly in the feminist and womn’s rights movements, in their actions, which enable them to support and sustain themselves, each other, and their work before, during, and after urgent situations.

UAF-Africa mobilises resources from a broad base of international and increasingly local funders committed to protecting and advancing womn’s rights and feminist agendas in Africa. Our primary purpose is to provide funding to AWHRDs and their groups, organisations and movements to help them prepare for and navigate urgent situations with appropriate actions.

UAF-Africa is registered in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Operating as a virtual organisation, the Fund boasts of strategic physical presence in East Africa: Nairobi, Kenya and Kampala, Uganda; Central Africa: Douala & Yaoundé, Cameroon; Southern Africa: Harare, Zimbabwe; Lilongwe, Malawi; Johannesburg, Pretoria & Cape Town, South Africa; Gaborone, Botswana; Antananarivo, Madagascar and West Africa: Abuja, Nigeria; Parakou, Benin and Lome, Togo.

Position Overview

UAF-Africa seeks a Feminist Knowledge Leadership Coordinator to consolidate learning from its work and that of its constituencies: inter alia WHRDs, feminist and women’s rights formations, feminist and women’s rights students and academics as well as feminist and social justice practitioners contributing to the struggle for women’s rights. Being a feminist learning organisation, UAF-Africa values different ways of knowing and different forms of knowledge: theoretical, conceptual, practical, and experiential. Through connecting theory and practice, the Knowledge Leadership Coordinator will lead the development, facilitation, and oversight of UAF-Africa’s Knowledge Leadership strategy, knowledge production processes, and deliverables. They will drive UAF-Africa’s quest to produce and publish justly researched and written, relevant, and contemporary knowledge from the ground, and from African women and their communities.

Documenting the contexts, lived realities, and the organising, activism, and work of feminist activists; development of research that makes the case for the work and wellbeing of feminist activists; pilot and incubate special projects (currently the African Feminist Republik Registry) to apply learning and meet the needs that emerge through our work and the work of movements.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for ensuring the strategic coherence, collaborative development, and timely production and dissemination of UAF-Africa knowledge products.
• Oversight and management of the knowledge leadership portfolio staff and consultants.
• Managing knowledge development planning, including defining priorities and assessing key knowledge needs and opportunities.
• Tracking the resulting knowledge development projects, including staying in touch with each process, ensuring projects are on target and time.
• Managing Research and Feminist Knowledge products, including coordinating with an internal UAF-Africa team on overall direction and key editorial and content decisions, conceptual design, and organization of materials.
• Coordinating, facilitating, and supporting dedicated transnational learning across UAF-Africa’s key constituencies and stakeholders from which key thematic threads and trends are uplifted, distilled, and systematically tracked and documented as part of UAF-Africa’s Trends Analysis Reports.
• Facilitating deeper cross-functional integration and conceptual coherence across UAF-Africa, especially in collaboration with the Sustaining Defenders, MEAL, Communications & Media, and Transformative Partnerships & Philanthropy programmes using shared learning and language, impact stories, and knowledge consolidation.
• Developing feminist knowledge production tools that enable WHRDs to document their experiences using multi-media and creating dissemination methodologies that are just and security focused.
• Coordinating UAF-Africa’s contribution within the UAF Sister Funds network and other consortium’s collaborative research initiatives that sustain WHRDs worldwide.
• Oversee knowledge production of the Feminist Republik platform.
• Support the planning of the Feminist Republik Festival, including the thematic focus, development of concept notes and agenda, selection of consultants to support the planning process, and selection of healers, among other tasks.
• Flexible and willing to perform other tasks as assigned, in a fast-paced, team-oriented work environment.

Other Responsibilities

• Support the development of periodic strategic reports for internal/external communications to the team and other stakeholders.
• Assist with programmes, public outreach, press releases, and public presentations of UAF-Africa’s work, especially on collaborative initiatives.
• Develop partnership packages and presentations.
• Any other responsibilities as assigned by the Programmes Director.

Academic Qualifications

• Master’s degree in social sciences, Women’s Studies, Political Sciences, International Development, Law, or related fields.
• Professional qualification in a related field

Role-specific Skills and Experience

• A minimum of 7-9 years’ experience in women’s studies, research, and academic skills in feminist ideology.
• Minimum 2- 3 years in a supervisory role.
• Sound Research experience, knowledge of feminist documentation methodologies, coordination skills
• In-depth knowledge of women’s rights issues, particularly within the context of Africa.
• Progressive gender equality/women’ rights and or social justice experience and knowledge at the international level, particularly work experience in developing countries.
• Sound understanding of the politics of providing feminist and women’s rights strategic resourcing support.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English, French or Arabic linguistic skills are an added advantage.
• Database Management skills.
• Knowledge of feminist holistic security and care.
• Interest in and passion for advancing feminist documentation and knowledge generation.

General Skills & Experience

• Excellent interpersonal, written, presentation, and communication skills
• Good analytical, problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
• Teamwork and the ability to work with diverse, virtual teams.
• Strong Flexibility, adaptability, multi-tasking, and attention to detail.
• Strong team coordination and supervisory skills.
• Demonstrate high levels of integrity and confidentiality.
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of UAF-Africa’s core mandate and vision.
• Passionate about UAF-Africa’s mission, committed to teamwork, and achieving results.
• Activist with an unwavering commitment to feminist individual and organisational principles and values.
• Experience working in a multicultural team.
• Strong activism and feminist conceptualization and analytical skills.
• Excellent time management skills and ability to work quickly and efficiently (under pressure), especially when facing tight deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal, public speaking, and negotiation skills.
• Balanced and intuitive decision-making.
• Good understanding of electronic communications and standard office computer software.

Work Environment

This is a regional position that involves some national, regional and international travel. UAF-Africa is an equal-opportunity employer that does not discriminate in its hiring practices. To build the strongest possible workforce, UAF-Africa actively seeks a diverse applicant pool. The Fund is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. The position will be based in the selected candidate’s African country of legal residency.

How to apply

How to Apply

Candidates interested in applying for this role need to register on the UAF-Africa website & apply for this role using the below link:

http://uafahrrec.peopleshr.com/

No phone calls please.

We thank all those who apply, but only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. To learn more about UAF-Africa and our programs, please visit our website at http://www.uaf-africa.org/