Call for Applications: Advocacy Organizational Capacity Expert for CSOs in Jordan

Sawt Advocacy Partners Program targets CSOs and will encompass capacity building, technical assistance, and financial support with objective of bringing about measurable improvements in the performance and capacity of CSOs to serve their constituencies, build sustainable networks, and lead impactful advocacy and citizen engagement efforts.

The Strengthening Civil Society and Media Systems (Sawt) Activity is implemented by Internews in partnership with Mercy Corps and the International Center for Non-Profit Law (ICNL). Sawt aims to foster sustained civic engagement in Jordan through civil society and digital media innovations through two objectives: 1) Good, Trusted Knowledge-Building Resources: Citizens and civil society build knowledge through accessing and engaging critically with accurate and fact-based information and 2) Participation & Advocacy: Citizens and civil society organizations (CSOs) in Jordan effectively participate in civic spaces and advocate for policies through knowledge-based collective action.

Scope of Work

• The Advocacy Organizational Capacity Expert’s scope of work encompasses a range of duties and interventions aimed at empowering partner organizations to better integrate and improve advocacy portfolio within their organizations.
• The Advocacy Organizational Capacity Expert will be engaged in identifying specific support and organizational needs based on the results of conducted advocacy and institutional assessments and working with organizations to identify specific areas of intervention within the assessment deduced priorities. The expert will also plan and execute interventions that aim to build the capacities of partner organizations through providing mentorship and coaching on advocacy.
• The Advocacy Organizational Capacity Expert will also provide ongoing support and mentorship to the CSOs to ensure institutional practices that maintain and sustain advocacy efforts, and effective in achieving organizational advocacy goals.
• Noting that CSOs scope of work cover the areas of civic space, including freedoms of association, assembly, expression, public participation, and academic freedoms; environment and climate change; marginalized groups focusing on women, youth, and persons with disabilities (PwDs); and community development.

Duration

• The duration of this program is May 16th, 2024 – April 30th, 2025, subject to extension if needed.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• The contracted expert will be responsible for undertaking the following tasks:
  • Designing and developing a high-quality mentorship plan focused on advocacy skills and strategies, tailored to meet the needs and context of CSOs in Sawt Advocacy Partners Program building on the results of conducted assessments. The Advocacy Organizational Capacity Expert will be required to review results of advocacy capacity assessment conducted by Sawt, further probe into needs and priorities of each organization and create a comprehensive support plan based on their evaluation.
  • Launch co-design sessions for advocacy development plan with each of the 45-organizations based on the selected priority areas (3 areas per organization). this can include:
    • Providing guidance and support for CSOs on strategy development and implementation.
    • Engaging with partners on how to conduct evidence-based advocacy especially with regards to gathering evidence, generating evidence as well as its utilization and dissemination.
    • Introducing partner organization to policy research basics and its utilization for advocacy and influencing purposes. This includes mentorship on policy advocacy for partners with existing traction in this area.
    • Following up with partner organizations in creating advocacy communications plans and providing support during their implementation. This includes providing support for the creation and implementation of communication plans for advocacy campaigns.
    • Enhancing the capacities of organizations to create partnerships, participate and lead coalitions, as well as network effectively. This includes support in stakeholder mapping and building engagement plans with organizations and supporting efforts in this area.
    • Supporting partner CSOs in developing fundraising strategies to support and sustain advocacy interventions.
    • Supporting CSOs in developing monitoring and evaluation frameworks and tools to assess and measure the impact of advocacy efforts.

Deliverables

• A detailed plan and timeline for the implementation of the proposed scope of work and below mentioned deliverables.
• A baseline report verifying and validating the results, findings and documentation collected under the conducted advocacy and institutional assessments.
• Meetings and field visits to 45 partner CSOs to communicate with the focal persons from 45 organizations to discuss the findings of the conducted advocacy and institutional assessments to agree on priority areas tackled during the lifetime of the technical assistance.
• Advocacy development plans including a detailed report with the intended support, priorities, and response measures for the 45 partner CSOs.
• A monthly report on mentorship activities conducted, highlights of partner CSOs achievements, and upcoming steps.
• Endline advocacy assessment to measure improvement of areas tackled in the development plans.
• Final Report outlining efforts carried out by the expert and the progress achieved by the enrolled partners.

Eligibility Criteria

• Required Qualifications
  • Educational Background: The expert must hold a relevant degree or equivalent qualification in Law, Communications, Community Development, Social Sciences, or a relevant field.
  • Experience in Advocacy Organizational Capacity building: demonstrated understanding and knowledge of organizational advocacy capacity development. Ability to design and implement plans to develop organizational capacities and processes to implement evidence-based advocacy interventions.
  • Experience in Advocacy Campaign Design and Implementation: Possesses strong understanding and knowledge of advocacy campaign design and demonstrated experience in implementation of advocacy campaigns in Jordan based on clear need identification and understanding of local context and supporting organizations with varying capacities in doing so. Demonstrated ability to build consensus and buy-in among local organizations and local or national governments.
  • Professional Experience: Possesses professional experience in working with community and advocacy initiatives and organizational development. Ability to design organizational advocacy capacity-building plans and strategies based on clear need identification and understanding of operating context, and experience working with CSOs, NGOs, or CBOs.
• Preferred Qualifications
  • Local Advocacy and Policy Landscape: Understanding of legislative and political processes in Jordan, local and national advocacy context, and public policy influencing methods. Demonstrated understanding of civil society, rule of law, human rights, governance, gender, and vulnerable populations.
  • Networking Abilities: Capacity to build relationships with CSOs, local partners, and stakeholders to encourage collaboration and support ongoing capacity-building efforts.
  • Coaching and Mentoring Abilities: Capacity to provide mentoring and coaching to organizations to enhance their performance and deliverables. This includes strong skills in issue identification, goal setting, constructive and effective feedback provision, and following up throughout the process.
  • Communication Skills: Strong communication and presentation skills to effectively convey complex concepts and engage partners from diverse backgrounds.

For more information, visit Internews.