Regional Project Manager Francophone Africa and an illustration of an ackee fruit.

Open Vacancy: Regional Project Manager Francophone Africa

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Join us to manage and maintain our regional DDP team in Francophone Africa. Deadline: January 7, 2024.

  • Region: Francophone Africa.
  • Location: Remote; starting A.S.A.P. as a consultant for 1 year, with the possibility to extend.
  • Hours: 32 hrs/week.
  • Deadline: 7 January 2024.
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Do you have experience working in protection, safety, or digital and holistic security? Are you committed to defending human rights offline as well as online? Do you have working experience in the Francophone Africa region, and have full working proficiency in French? Have you been managing teams and projects? The DDP team would love to have you as a colleague.

The Digital Defenders Partnership (DDP) was initiated in late 2012 by the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) to advance Internet freedom and to keep the internet open and free. DDP provides emergency response and sustainable protection funding to human rights defenders and organisations; strengthens rapid responders and local protection networks and capacities, and contributes to long-term organisational safety through accompaniments. DDP is hosted by the international NGO HIVOS. The DDP team currently comprises of 40 people spread out over 20 countries based in regional teams in Latin America, Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia and Europe region.

DDP carries out the Field Building Project (FBP), which offers capacity building in digital protection – from a holistic perspective – to local digital protection trainees. DDP accompaniment aims to engender sustainable change within human rights organisations, networks, and movements through between six and 12 months of engagement, based on a needs assessment, and carried out in a manner which recognizes the interconnected and interdisciplinary nature of security capacity building. Through the traineeship, trainees from Chad, Mali, Niger Republic, Burkina Faso and Benin Republic will be able to accompany human rights organisations at risk.

We are recruiting a Regional Project Manager Francophone Africa (consultant), to manage the Francophone Africa team, be responsible for the DDP Francophone Africa activities (grants, accompaniment and networking), and proceeds with the field building activities geared towards the region, together with the Regional Manager for Anglophone Africa and the Community Building Lead. Your enthusiasm, expertise and input can help frame and develop DDP’s (future) operations in Francophone Africa.

Your Responsibilities

This person aims to build regional capacity and contribute to the overall DDP strategy and vision in the following ways;

Team Management of the Francophone Africa Team

  • Manage a team of 7 people (5 trainees, 1 digital protection lead and 1 Project Officer Grants and Contracts). The trainees will transition towards becoming a Digital Protection Facilitators.
  • Facilitate regional team-building and planning sessions (online and face to face), based on collaborative decision-making.
  • Capacity management, set-up regular check-ins with regional team members.
  • End responsible for safety and security management of the regional team members.

Project Management of regional DDP Activities

  • General project management tasks of regional activities (keeping track of the budget/actuals, annual strategic planning, contribute to quarterly DDP reporting).
  • Responsible and accountable for the regional DDP grants implementation (developing call for proposals, approval of grants, decide on grants outreach).
  • Responsible and accountable for the regional accompaniment programme (support DPF’s in activities, networking with local human rights organisations, ensure implementation of DDP accompaniment quality standards).
  • Develop and maintain a network with regional and local human rights organisations, funders and other relevant stakeholders.

Project Management of DDP’s Field Building Projects Activities in Francophone Africa

  • End-responsible for the implementation of DDP Field Building activities in the Francophone Africa region as defined in the project plan towards the donor (arranging training curriculum and activities according to the DDP approach, coordinate the organizing of regional network events, communication).
  • Coordinate with relevant DDP team members on the content and logistical set-up of the Field building activities (specifically Community Building Lead and RPM of Anglophone Africa).
  • Contribute to donor management (communication with the donor, reports, networking with Embassies)
  • Contribute to the DMEAL process of the Field Building project (end responsible for this is the DMEAL lead).

Other

  • As member of the DDP management and implementation team, provide ad hoc support to the overall DDP project management.
  • Attending the weekly DDP coordination team meeting (cross-regional decision making) .
  • Attending the monthly online all DDP team meeting, as well as the annual face to face DDP All-Team meeting.
  • Contribution towards DDP Global strategy and fundraising efforts (input into strategy drafts, providing regional data for global fundraising proposals), while providing regional insights on trends and contextual shifts the project.

Your Profile

  • You preferably have knowledge of issues related to internet freedom, digital security, protection, NGOs, organisational security, and working directly with human rights defenders under threat.
  • You are an excellent communicator (written and verbal) in English and French.
  • You preferably have a nationality from the Francophone Africa region and are based in the region.
  • You have working experience with human rights defenders in the Francophone Africa region.
  • You have team management and project management experience.
  • Your experiences include working from a feminist, intersectional, decolonial and cross-cultural approach.
  • You are a good organiser, and able to work in different time-zones and with people from different (cultural, religious) backgrounds.
  • You are an independent team player; you can work remotely and independently on programme elements, as well as in collaboration with the DDP team and partners in the field.
  • You are an open communicator; you can communicate clearly, and you are not afraid to address any ambiguity or insecurity.
  • You preferably are tech-savvy, being able to use encryption and secure communication channels, as well as having a talent for using technical tools for management and administration.
  • The position does require several international travels per year. You have the availability to attend international gatherings and meetings.
  • You agree to the DDP values (as addressed in our 2020-2023 strategy plan1 (new plan forthcoming)) and will sign the HIVOS Safeguarding Policy2 and non-disclosure agreement of DDP. It is especially important to be in full acceptance towards LGBTQIA+ work and the DDP feminist approach.
  • In case you feel your experiences do not fully match this profile (yet), but you are motivated to take this position on, fit well with our vision and values, feel passionate about the HRD protection field, please feel welcome to reach out and we can explore what is possible. Also, if you are fluent in French, but you do not feel confident in English, feel free to reach out and we can explore a possible interview in French or provide for interpretation. In that case you can provide your motivation and CV in French (and translate them with Deepl).
  • DDP is dedicated to strengthening diversity in the field of digital and holistic protection, and in this regard, women and LGBTQIA+ people, persons with disabilities, as well as others traditionally under-represented in the field, are encouraged to apply.

What We Offer

A consultant contract for 32 hrs/week is offered A.S.A.P. for 1 year, with the option to extend. DDP differentiates consultant salaries per region. Consultant rates offer will depend on your location, but will be not less than 3,000 EUR for the 32 hrs. Travel costs are compensated in accordance with HIVOS Regulations.

Want To Apply?

Please apply latest January 7, 2024. We will consider closing the procedure before this date in case we receive a lot of applications and/or have found the matching candidate before this date.

Both a letter of motivation and resume need to be submitted in English or French to the DDP Project Officer Operations, Pauline Bon, pbon@hivos.org, via e-mail with subject: DDP Regional Project Manager Francophone Africa

Interviews will take place between Jan 15 – 19, 2024 and will take place over secure online communication means.

Background Checks For Final Candidates

If you get selected for the final stage of the selection process, please note that professional references and background checks will be conducted due to our Safeguarding Policy3. We may check social media -unless applicants states they do not wish us to do so. Accuracy of information in the curriculum vitæ will also be checked.

1See our website https://www.digitaldefenders.org.

2https://hivos.org/integrity.

3https://www.hivos.org/who-we-are/our-organization/integrity/.