Career Development Office Blog

The Center for Reproductive Rights Seeks a Program Associate who will support the Director of Government Relations as well as other program staff. Draft materials, including fact sheets, for use in advocacy activities and conduct research.

Deadline:             May 9, 2014 

Location:             Washington, DC 

Organization:      Center for Reproductive Rights 

Founded in 1992, the Center for Reproductive Rights (the Center) is a non-profit organization that promotes women’s equality worldwide by securing reproductive rights in constitutional and international human rights law. Its mission is straightforward and ambitious: to advance reproductive health and rights as fundamental rights that all governments are legally obligated to protect, respect and fulfill. The Center is unmatched as a reproductive rights organization in its expertise in U.S. constitutional law, comparative law, and international human rights law.

The Center works across the globe on issues including access to life-saving obstetrics care, contraception, abortion services, and comprehensive sexuality information. It has brought groundbreaking cases before national courts, U.N. committees, and regional human rights bodies, and has built the legal capacity of women’s rights advocates in over 50 countries. The Center’s groundbreaking litigation and advocacy have transformed how reproductive rights are understood by courts, governments, and human rights bodies, and its undivided focus on reproductive rights has given it unparalleled expertise in the use of constitutional, international, and comparative human rights law to hold governments accountable for failing to ensure women’s access to critical reproductive healthcare services.

National-level courts, regional human rights courts, and United Nations bodies have increasingly recognized that a woman’s right to reproductive autonomy and reproductive healthcare are basic human rights that must be protected. The Center for Reproductive Rights has played a key role in securing these legal victories and works with attorneys and advocates in the U.S., Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. In addition to its headquarters in New York, the Center has offices in Washington, DC, Nairobi, Bogotá, Kathmandu, and Geneva.

The Center’s Government Relations Program, based in Washington, DC since 2009, focuses on both U.S. domestic and foreign policy, providing leadership within the community of reproductive rights allies. The Center informs the policy debate at the federal level by producing legal analysis of legislation, comments on regulations, polling data, and other materials to policymakers in Congress, the Administration, and the White House. It works to vigorously defend and expand access to a full range of reproductive healthcare; counter abortion stigma as it is reflected in federal policy; and ensure U.S. foreign policy reflects the full range of women’s health needs around the globe.

The Program Associate will be joining the Center at a critical time for reproductive rights globally. As opponents of women’s rights are mounting a scorched-earth campaign to turn back decades of hard-won progress, the Center is fighting back with short-, medium-, and long-term strategies, to reverse the erosion of reproductive rights protections across the U.S. and establish the right to affordable reproductive healthcare in the U.S. A key component of our strategic plan is to restore heightened protections for abortion rights, as promised to American women in the landmark decision of Roe v. Wade (1973).  

Qualifications:  

While no one person will possess all of the qualities listed below, the ideal candidate would have the following professional and personal characteristics:

• Strong commitment to the Center’s mission, purpose, and values
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills
• Flexibility and ability to work professionally in a fast-paced environment
• Working knowledge of Word, Excel, Outlook and Internet
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Self-motivation and the ability to work independently, while also collaborating in a team setting
• The ability to complete assignments in a timely manner, often under considerable time pressure, and to manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Bachelor’s Degree required
• Minimum 2 years of similar or related experience required 

Deadline for applications: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply by May 9, 2014.

To learn more about responsibilities and how to apply, please visit the website.

The Director is responsible for fostering learning and evaluation within and across Initiatives, and collaboration and communication among US-based staff and with Representatives and program officers in the Foundation’s overseas offices. 

Deadline:            May 30, 2014 

Location:            New York 

Organization:     Ford Foundation 

Summary Description:

The Ford Foundation seeks a dynamic, creative and innovative leader to serve as its Director of the Democratic Participation and Governance unit. Building on Ford’s rich legacy in and longstanding commitment to promoting democratic participation globally, the Director will manage the Foundation’s activities and oversee the programming on increasing civic and political participation, promoting electoral reform and democratic participation, and fostering transparent, responsive and accountable governance systems.

The Focus of The Work:

Lasting social change depends upon the ability of people to help shape the policies that affect their lives. The Foundation’s work focuses on increasing public participation in this decision-making, primarily through supporting robust and inclusive civic organizations that bring diverse people together and give them a voice in the democratic process. The global work focuses on promoting transparent, responsive and accountable governments and strengthening the right of people to assemble and advocate, including strengthening civic organizations and the infrastructure and regulatory environments on which they depend. The Foundation supports policy development to create a legal and fiscal framework through which civil society can flourish and hold governments accountable, particularly in relation with the rights of the historically marginalized.

In the United States, through initiatives on Increasing Civic and Political Participation, Promoting Electoral Reform and Democratic Participation, and Promoting Transparent, Effective, and Accountable Government, the focus is on increasing the participation of historically marginalized communities at all levels of civic and political life and on ensuring that governments are responsive to their interests. This work includes strengthening organizations and networks that build and mobilize the grassroots base for social change and advancing systemic reforms that protect every individual’s right to participation in the political process, from ensuring an accurate census count and fair redistricting to full access to voting. This works also includes efforts to ensure that government policies and resources are sufficient to promote equity and opportunity.

Role and Responsibilities:

Reporting directly to the Vice President of the Foundation’s global Democracy, Rights & Justice program, who manages annual grant-making of more than $140 million in the U.S. and the Foundation’s 10 overseas offices, the Director is a senior program leader of the Foundation, responsible for program development and grant making activities. As part of a matrix organization, the Director manages a set of thematic Initiatives with staff in New York and in the Foundation’s overseas offices. S/he supervises a unit that includes a team of program officers and administrative staff. The Director is responsible for fostering learning and evaluation within and across Initiatives, and collaboration and communication among US-based staff and with Representatives and program officers in the Foundation’s overseas offices. The Director represents the Foundation externally to a diverse set of global stakeholders and communities. S/he will partner with other Directors to advance the Foundation’s mission and objectives.

Qualifications:

• Substantial professional experience working on issues of governance, political equality and participation
• Advanced graduate degree in law or public policy, or other relevant fields
• Record of leadership, planning, and management success
• Experience working with a range of individuals in civil society, government and the private sector in the U.S. and globally
• Familiarity with the use of new technologies to promote social justice
• Demonstrated experience working effectively as part of a team and with colleagues of diverse backgrounds and perspectives
• Excellent analytical, oral presentation, writing and interpersonal skills
• Fluency in English, and a fluency in a second language is preferred
• Familiarity with philanthropy and nonprofit sector issues in the U.S.

For more information and to apply, visit the website.