Advocacy Coordinator (South Asia) At Access Now

The Organization and Role

About Access Now

Access Now is a growing international human rights organization dedicated to defending and extending the digital rights of users at risk around the world, including issues of privacy, security, freedom of expression, and transparency. Our policy, advocacy, technology, and operations teams have staff presences in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East/North Africa (MENA), North America, and South/Southeast Asia, to provide global support to our mission.

About this role

As Advocacy Coordinator (South Asia), you will help advance the cause of human rights in the digital age and aid in devising advocacy initiatives, communications and campaigns to support our position on policy discussions broadly affecting privacy, surveillance, data protection, content governance, digital security, internet shutdowns and cybersecurity in South Asia. The role has a primary focus on India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with a substantial portion of work mainly on India; secondary focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan; and tertiary focus on the rest of the region on an as-needed basis.

This role focuses on advocacy, press and communications, campaign support, policymaker outreach and engagement, community engagement initiatives, social media engagement and communications, including branding and design, and capacity enhancement initiatives. The role is suited for people who have demonstrable experience increasing an organization’s impact through communications, public outreach, targeted engagement of stakeholders, and managing public affairs projects.

This fixed-term contract role – expected to run through March 2024 – reports through the Asia Pacific Policy and Advocacy Director, working closely with Asia Pacific policy counsel leading on South Asia and our Asia Pacific team and colleagues in our global advocacy arm, our global communications team, as well as other verticals.

What you will do

• Identify, develop and implement key strategic advocacy and campaigning initiatives in alignment with our regional strategy and priorities
• Develop materials for diverse stakeholders and audiences including campaign content, presentations, articles, press releases, op-eds, long and short-form content like blogs and explainers, social media content etc.
• Liaise with colleagues in the Asia Pacific team, and Communications and Engagement team to align priorities, timelines, and deliverables for content launches and other time-sensitive projects in South Asia
• Manage and respond to media requests on issues relevant to the region and accordingly coordinate with staff members, assisting the communications team as needed
• Support the team in developing talking points on specific issues and campaigns
• Nurture new relationships with journalists, and work with relevant colleagues to develop individual media relationships into organizational ones
• Pitch stories to news outlets on Access Now and the digital rights community’s work in South Asia
• Develop and maintain contact with key decision-makers, policy-makers and their offices; identify opportunities for proactive and reactive engagement, and prepare material as necessary in coordination with the team
• Liaise with colleagues to ensure that Access Now website is updated with South Asia related outputs
• Project-manage all communications and engagement deliverables from South Asia together with the Asia Pacific Advocacy director and Policy Counsel
• Work with the design team to create multimedia content adapted to various platforms
• Expand our reach beyond the digital rights community, developing communities of action to impact decision makers, building an intersectional partner network, and connecting directly with the at-risk individuals and human rights defenders we aim to serve, as well as media, private sector, parliamentarians, and other key stakeholders who can help advance our advocacy goals
• Participate in and organize events that facilitate coalition building, strategic partnerships, and direct connection with relevant decision makers
• Support and contribute to our existing global campaigns such as #KeepItOn, #WhyID, and #BanBS, as well as others, in furtherance of the organization’s global and regional strategies
• Work closely with colleagues in the Communications and Engagement, Campaigns and Rapid Response teams in addition to those in the Policy and International Program team, to collaborate on advocacy and campaigning initiatives aimed at achieving regional and global goals
• Contribute to RightsCon programming and arrange meetings with regional stakeholders
• Work closely with the Digital Security Helpline to map strategic growth and opportunities for deepening our work in support of communities at serious risk throughout the region, and in response to regional developments that impact the global digital rights landscape

Skills, education, and mindset you will bring

• Experience in advocacy, journalism, communications, campaigning, movement building, or community organizing
• A good understanding of digital trends and communications strategies; and the ability to apply these towards complex and concurrent advocacy and policy goals
• Ability to meet and prioritize multiple deadlines and work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a fast-paced environment
• Experience working on complex projects involving many people across cultures and time zones, and enthusiasm for working within a diverse team
• Knowledge and experiences involving running social media campaigns, maintaining and updating website content, managing and using press engagement tools like Engaging Networks, and creating long and short-form consent for online platforms and print. Familiarity with tools such as Buffer, WordPress, and others is preferable, but note that in-house training from the organization will also be available.
• Passion for Access Now’s mission, with understanding of the digital rights issues; and familiarity with developments in technology and its impact on human rights
• Experience having worked with civil society or human rights organizations, particularly within South Asia. Work experience in roles with policymakers, public offices, or media organizations involving close work with civil society and human rights defenders is also valuable
• Knowledge of the human rights and geopolitical environment, as well as nuances of culture and communication styles, in countries throughout the region
• Understanding of digital threats to human rights in the region, and a firm grasp of strategies for supporting affected individuals and communities
• Excellent persuasive writing and speaking skills, and the ability to distill complex issues into simple, compelling messages
• Ability to communicate effectively with a diverse range of stakeholders
• Ability to work well as a team member and facilitate a congenial and productive working environment
• Experience working with a distributed team, and effective project management and internal communication in that context
• Fluency in English

It’s very helpful if you have

• Experience working or engaging with decision-makers within the policy ecosystem
• Working knowledge of a second language actively used in South Asia, including but not limited to Hindi, Bangla, Urdu, or Tamil
• Strong copywriting skills
• Basic knowledge of design tools such as Canva, Adobe Photoshop etc.
• Basic familiarity with platform-native analytics tools, and tactics needed to drive engagement across social media, newsletters, media, and web channels for a global, multidisciplinary network

The Details

Location

While preference is for applicants located in New Delhi, India, applications from across South Asia will be equally considered. The successful candidate must possess the right to work in the location in which they will be based. At this time most Access Now Team Members are working through hybrid office arrangements, combining remote at-home work with intermittent use of offices and/or co-working spaces.

Remuneration

Access Now offers competitive compensation and benefits packages that align competitively with locations and regions around the world. Compensation is anticipated at $1,800 USD per month, through March 2024.