Human Rights Advocacy Specialist, USAID-funded Promoting Human Rights in Armenia (PHRA) Activity At Counterpart International

Counterpart International is seeking a Human Rights Advocacy Specialist for the upcoming USAID-funded Promoting Human Rights in Armenia (PHRA) Activity. The program will promote human rights and fundamental freedoms in Armenia by preventing and responding to human rights violations and by enhancing rights protection. Responsible for leading and managing PHRA Component 3, the Human Rights Advocacy Specialist will work closely with civic human rights defenders to improve public demand and access to human rights protection. The Human Rights Advocacy Specialist will provide vision and technical leadership for Component 3 and will work closely with other component leads and departments to ensure a holistic, coordinated approach to achieving program objectives. This is a full-time position based in Yerevan, Armenia that will report to the PHRA Chief of Party.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, management, quality control, technical direction and oversight of PHRA Component 2: improving public demand and access to human rights protection.
• Coordinate with Component 1 and 3 leads, to ensure a holistic approach to achieving program objectives, especially around advocacy of human rights legislation and litigation.
• Act as primary program liaison with civil society partners, building and maintaining relationships with civic human rights defenders—individuals, organizations, coalitions, and/or informal groups—to help the program achieve its objectives.
• Coordinate and implement specialized technical events, such as coalition building meetings and coordination meetings with government institutions, to coordinate advocacy efforts and other activities around human rights issues.
• Work closely with the Grants team to manage and oversee the implementation of Component 3 grants to civic human rights defenders to achieve Component 3 results.
• Lead the development of analytical reports related to Component 3 and provide reporting inputs to PHRA’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager.
• Identify obstacles and risks related to Component 3 implementation in a timely manner and recommend appropriate adjustments to the Chief of Party.

Qualifications

• Degree in Law, International Development, Social Sciences, Political Science, Governance and Civil Society and/or other related fields, and deep knowledge of legal issues within Armenia
• Minimum of 8 years of relevant experience in human rights, with a strong preference for experience working on USAID, UN, EU, and other international donor programs.
• Familiarity with the laws, governing bodies, CSOs, and human rights protection mechanisms within area, including but not limited to: HRDO, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Human Rights Action Plan, Human Rights House Armenia Civil Society Organizations, etc.
• Strong experience working with key human rights focused CSOs that focus on thematic areas including, but not limited to, LGBTQ+ rights, anti-torture, disability rights, labor rights, etc.
• Experience designing and managing grants focused on supporting human rights issues.
• Experience monitoring and overseeing the implementation of grants.
• Professional fluency in Armenian and English.

Preferred

• Advanced degree in Law, International Development, Social Sciences, Political Science, Governance and Civil Society and/or other related fields.
• Experience on USAID funded projects.