Legal and Civic Engagement Director At Pact

Pact is an international nonprofit that works in nearly 40 countries building solutions for human development that are evidence-based, data-driven and owned by the communities we serve. Founded in 1971, Pact works with partners to build resilience, improve accountability, and strengthen knowledge and skills for sustainable social impact.

Department

Programs – Pact strives for a world where all people are heard, capable, and vibrant. The Programs Team helps realize this objective by bridging program management, technical support, and business development, enabling Pact to achieve its global strategy. We ensure program excellence through continuous learning, monitoring and evaluation and provide organizational and industry-wide thought leadership by leveraging a complementary set of cross-functional, multi-disciplinary skills, expertise, and experiences. The Programs team: influences progressive change through the development and implementation of global and regional strategies and business plans; supports advancement of innovative solutions; pursues new business opportunities; and drives effective internal and external engagement to maximize Pact’s impact across the globe. Across all aspects of its role, the Programs Department adheres to and promotes a culture of inclusion, accountability, and respect.

Position Overview

Pact seeks a Legal and Civic Engagement Director for the Strengthening Youth and Women’s Civic Participation project in Sudan. The project aims to increase collaboration, sustainability, and resilience of civil society and independent media to advance the inclusion, participation and leadership of youth and women in Sudan. The activity will apply locally led, problem-driven, adaptive approaches. This is anticipated to be a five-year activity and the position will be based in Khartoum, Sudan.

The Legal and Civic Engagement Director will provide strategic guidance, vision, and management for activities of the project that will improve an enabling environment that fosters the active and inclusive participation of civil society in public discourse and government oversight; strengthen legal services networks to provide high-quality and responsive legal aid, including legal representation, to civil society; increase legal advocacy; enhance community- and national-level civic participation; and bolster cooperation among investigative journalists and civil society to increase accountabilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain and strengthen a network of relationships with high-level officials in the Sudanese government and other key actors within the Sudanese and international community; civil society and other community-based organizations; and the press.
• Convene meetings with the project’s partners, grantees, local actors, and other stakeholders to identify critical gaps and develop legal and policy recommendations for increased legal aid and legal advocacy.
• Analyze needs, design, and oversee implementation of programs to develop appropriate advocacy strategies to strengthen legal aid and protections for civil society.
• Contribute high-level expertise to the design of activities that will enhance civic engagement and political activism and strengthen and mobilize public support for civil society organizations.
• Oversee the process for mapping, soliciting, vetting, and selecting a pool of independent investigative journalists to receive small grants for ongoing mentoring and coaching, facilitating connections between journalists and civil society actors to build trust and partner on joint advocacy campaigns.
• Manage a team of Khartoum- and regional-office based staff and advisors.

Basic Requirements

• Master’s degree in a relevant course of study in addition to substantial practical experience – a minimum of (ten) 10 years’ experience relevant to legal aid, access to justice, and legal policy and advocacy. Ideally some of that experience would be with the Government of Sudan (national, regional, or community level) supporting governance-related issues.
• Experience collaborating with civil society organizations or other national advocacy or community-based Sudanese institutions.
• Substantial background in developing and implementing advocacy strategies.
• Thorough understanding of Sudanese political processes.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with a diverse group of local actors, including women’s and youth’s groups with various partner organizations.
• Previous management and supervision experience.
• Fluency in Arabic and English.
• Excellent written, research, presentation, and oral communications skills.
• Ability to travel within Sudan when health and safety concerns regarding COVID-19 allow.

Preferred Qualifications

• Sudanese nationals are encouraged to apply.

Pact is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, citizenship status, genetic information, matriculation, family responsibilities, personal appearance, credit information, tobacco use (except in the workplace), membership in an employee organization, or other protected classifications or non-merit factors.