Civil Society Officer - Country Programs / P.4 (Eight positions)

TGF/08/FT773

10/09/2008 – 01/10/2008

Regional Team Leader

Country Programs Cluster/ Regional Team

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a global public/private partnership dedicated to raising and disbursing large amounts of additional finance to prevent and treat the three pandemics. The Global Fund has so far committed more than US$10 billion to over 520 programs in 136 countries.

The vacancy is in the Secretariat of the Global Fund. The Secretariat manages the grant portfolio, including executing Board policies, disbursing money to grant recipients and implementing performance-based funding of grants. The Secretariat is also tasked with resource mobilization; providing strategic, policy, financial, legal and administrative support and overseeing monitoring and evaluation. It is based in Geneva and has no staff located outside its headquarters.

The Country Programs Cluster is divided into Eight Regional Teams. One Civil Society Officer will be assigned to each Regional Team, and work collaboratively with the Civil Society Team in the Partnerships, Communications and Resource Mobilization Cluster on thematic areas, bringing regional and country-specific knowledge where necessary. 

The regional Civil Society (CS) Officer will support regional CS engagement in Global Fund processes and facilitate capacity development, problem solving, demand creation and information flows between CS organisations and the Global Fund.   The primary objective is to support Regional Teams in developing effective relationships with CS organisations with the ultimate goal of enabling their contribution to the mitigation of the impact of the three diseases.

Under the overall guidance of the Regional Team Leader, the CS Officer will:  

1. Develop and enhance partnerships with CS organizations;
2. Leverage skills, knowledge and experience of CS organizations to support implementation of GF financed programs;
3. Strengthen meaningful CS engagement in Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs); and
4. Participate in the development and implementation of Global Fund strategies and policies on CS

Key results expected:

• Delivery of country overview for each country and grant before grant signing
• Regular and timely communication with CS in the region
• Increase in grants utilizing CS organizations in internal and external technical assistance
• Increase in CS membership in CCMs
• Increase in CS participation in Regional Meetings
• Increase of number of grants with CS as PRs  
• Increase in share of non-CS/PS managed grants that include CS in an advisory or support capacity

The Civil Society Officer will:

1. Develop and enhance partnerships with CS organizations
   • Develop strong and effective working relationships with CS organisations at country and regional levels.
   • Act as direct liaison with in-country technical partners.
   • Work with CS organisations to provide balanced analyses to support FPMs.
   
   
2. Leverage skills, knowledge and experience of CS organizations to support implementation of GF financed programs;
   • Identify implementation gaps, problem areas and bottlenecks;
   • Facilitate and identify technical support needs for CS implementers with an emphasis on sourcing in-country support providers
   • Provide recommendations to FPMs to strengthen CS involvement in both CS-managed and non-CS-managed grants
   • Contribute, as part of the Regional team, to the grant specific contextual analysis for Phase 2 reviews
   • Ensure and facilitate visibility of CS as key participants at Global Fund Regional Meetings.  
   
   
3. Facilitate engagement of CS in Country Coordinating Mechanisms
   • Work with the CCM Team to increase CS representation in  CCMs. Participate in discussions with CCMs that have less than 40% representation of NGOs in order to reach this target.
   • Work with technical partners and in-country NGOs and CBOs to increase participation of vulnerable groups in line with Global Fund strategic milestones for 2008.
   • Ensure in-country understanding and communication regarding CS involvement, requirements and responsibilities in CCMs and other Global Fund-related processes.
   
   
4. Participate in the development and implementation of Global Fund strategies, policies and approaches on CS
   • Contribute region-specific input into the development of the Global Fund integrated partnership strategy
   • Facilitate and monitor implementation of Global Fund policies and approaches on CS
   • Contribute region-specific information to the Global Fund  Website
   • Work with Civil Society Partnerships Team and other relevant teams on CS issues, events and activities

Qualifications and Membership

Essential:

• Advanced university degree in public health, public policy, development studies or other relevant area .

Essential:

• Seven to ten years experience working in projects or initiatives involving multiple stakeholder groups, including non-governmental organizations
• Experience working in developing country contexts
• Demonstrable knowledge of development and/or global health issues

Desirable:

• Knowledge of HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria
• Experience working for or in an NGO
• Good understanding of issues and NGO environment in a region
• Knowledge of Global Fund and its policies, processes and its governance structure

Skills:

Analytical Skills:

• Innovative thinker and solution-oriented – ability to develop practical and realistic solutions to identified issues

Managerial Skills:

• Self starter able to work under pressure, tight deadlines and deliver timely and high quality work.
• Focused on results and pragmatic outcomes
• Ability to coordinate across various projects and teams in a dynamic environment
• Strong project management skills
• Ability to lead working groups and project teams

Communication Skills:

• Ability to develop and maintain  partnerships and relationships at all levels
• Ability to effectively communicate with civil society
• Comfortable and capable public speaker

Computer Skills

• High proficiency in Word, PowerPoint and Excel

Core Competencies:

• Gathering information
• Solution-Oriented Analysis
• Building Relationships
• Demonstrating Accountability and Commitment
• Communicating Effectively
• Understanding Others

Fluency in written and spoken English; knowledge of one or more official UN languages, including Portuguese, an advantage.

A covering letter not exceeding one and one half pages must accompany all applications. The letter should describe your ability to meet the essential requirements set out in the vacancy notice.

APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY VIA THE GLOBAL FUND WEBSITE www.theglobalfund.org/en/jobs

CLOSING DATE FOR THE RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS: 01 October 2008.