JOB TITLE: Senior Adviser, Governance and Rights
Job Reference: BBC/TP/139984/9498
REPORTS TO: Senior Adviser, Governance and Rights
LOCATION: London, White City then other London location
GRADE: 9
DURATION: 12 months fixed term (maternity cover)
CONTEXT:
BBC Media Action is the BBC’s international charity, working with media to inform, educate and empower people living in poverty to help improve their lives. BBC Media Action has operations in more than 25 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Its work focuses on three main thematic areas: governance and rights, health and humanitarian response and resilience.
The Advisory and Policy team of BBC Media Action is responsible for supporting regional and country teams in the design, development (including strategic business development) and implementation of projects and programmes; on enabling greater strategic clarity, coherence and excellence in thematic portfolios across BBC Media Action; and in representing the thematic work of BBC Media Action to external audiences, including donors, academic institutions, institutional partners and others in relevant sectors.
BBC Media Action’s governance aims to provide access to information and create platforms to enable some of the poorest people in the world to take part in community life, and to hold those in power to account. A focus on supporting inclusive discussion and debate also encourages communication across political, ethnic, religious and other divides in society. BBC Media Action’s governance programming was watched by over 109 million people last year. BBC Media Action’s governance programme comprises three overlapping areas of focus: accountability, peace/conflict and inclusion. A heavy emphasis is placed on research and evidence, and in practice being rooted in sound and current theoretical principles.
JOB PURPOSE:
The Senior Adviser, Governance and Rights works with the other Senior Adviser and an Adviser in the Governance and Rights team to lead development of internal policy and organisational learning on governance and rights, supports the development and implementation of governance projects and represents BBC Media Action externally.
Key Accountabilities
The role has influence across the whole organisation (450 staff). The post will involve external engagement including with a range of development, policy and research actors. Key accountabilities include:
- · Leading in development of internal strategies, theories of change and knowledge resources in governance and rights, ensuring appropriate organisational engagement.
- · Engaging with other teams – particularly Country Programmes, Research and Learning and Communications – to improve the quality of organisation-wide thinking and project delivery.
- · Supporting organisational learning in governance and rights, including through the provision of face-to-face support and training. Support inter-country cooperation and document organisational experience and learning.
- · Working intensively on development of specific projects - including drafting key parts of funding proposals as agreed under the leadership of the relevant Country Director and other parts of the organisation in London.
- · Acting as lead / principal focus point on proposal development that is pan-organisational in nature, or which cuts across different regions, or when proposal development is not easily amenable to management at country or regional level.
- · Representing BBC Media Action externally in thematic areas – including at high-level meetings and public presentations - bringing learning back into the organisation and sharing BBC Media Action experiences within the sector.
- · Forging relationships major external partners, stakeholders and funding bodies, acting as the focal point for the maintenance of these relationships.
- · Producing relevant thought-pieces, articles and policy papers.
SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Essential
- · Extensive experience of working with media and communication to improve governance and human rights.
- · Capacity to exercise intellectual leadership in governance and rights.
- · Extensive contacts and network within the field of governance and rights.
- · Strong understanding of the international development system, particularly of major political and social accountability initiatives.
- · Capacity to understand and engage with relevant external research and policy agendas and a capacity to link these creatively to the programming and thinking of BBC Media Action.
- · Strong project management and leadership skills.
- · Sound editorial judgement.
- · Strong writing skills and attention to detail.
- · Strong interpersonal skills, a capacity to engage with diverse internal and external stakeholders and an instinct/aptitude for creating connections across teams.
- · Strong communication skills and ability to present to large audiences.
- · Understanding of and experience working with monitoring and evaluation frameworks and tools; experience of using the logical framework approach would be particularly advantageous.
- Desirable
- · Experience managing international development projects.
Qualifications
· Degree level education is essential; a post-graduate qualification in public policy, conflict, international development, comparative politics, human rights and/or media and communications is desirable.
RELEVANT COMPETENCIES:
Strategic Thinking – Can identify a vision along with the plans that need to be implemented to meet the end goal. Evaluates situations, decisions, issues, etc. in the short, medium and longer-term.
Analytical Thinking – Able to simplify complex problems, processes or projects into component parts, explore and evaluate them systematically. Able to identify causal relationships, and construct frameworks, for problem-solving and/or development.
Imagination / Creative Thinking – Is able to transform creative ideas/impulses into practical reality. Can look at existing situations and problems in novel ways and come up with creative solutions.
Planning and Organisation – Is able to think ahead in order to establish an efficient and appropriate course of action for self and others. Prioritises and plans activities taking into account all the relevant issues and factors such as deadlines, staffing and resources requirements.
Resilience – Can maintain personal effectiveness by managing own emotions in the face of pressure, set backs or when dealing with provocative situations. Can demonstrate an approach to work that is characterised by commitment, motivation and energy.
Influencing and Persuading – Ability to present sound and well-reasoned arguments to convince others. Can draw from a range of strategies to persuade people in a way that results in agreement or behaviour change.
Communication – The ability to get one’s message understood clearly by adopting a range of styles, tools and techniques appropriate to the audience and the nature of the information.
Applications for part time arrangements may be available.
Application instructions:
Candidates should send their CV and a covering letter (PDF or Microsoft Word format) which outlines their experience and suitability for the role in English to tzrecruitment@tz.bbcmediaaction.org with the name of the position applied for in the subject line.
Please do not send certificates or other attachments. Applicants with no separate covering letter will not be considered. Please only apply if you meet the basic criteria under the person specification. This is a local post applicable to people who have the legal right to live and work in Tanzania. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and only if a donor application is successful.
Please note that the availability of this position is dependent on the success of an outstanding application to a donor.
Closing Date 03 December, 2014
