COVAW Program Officer, UNTF to End Violence against Women Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action (ACT) programme

Job title: Program Officer

Location: Nairobi

Reporting to: Programmes Manager

Salary range: A gross salary between Ksh. 120,000-140,000 per month with benefits

About COVAW

Coalition on Violence Against Women (COVAW) is a national Kenyan not-for-profit women’s rights organization. We are committed to advancing women’s rights; and work towards achieving a society free from all forms of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). COVAW was founded in 1995 as a response to the silence of the Kenyan society to addressing VAWG.

COVAW implements projects under five (5) strategic focus areas including: Access to Comprehensive Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) Services; Women’s Economic Empowerment; Women’s Leadership Development; Access to Justice; and Institutional Development.

COVAW’s interventions deliberately address norms, attitudes, laws, policies and practices that affect women and girl’s safety and wellbeing in general. This is done through supporting development and implementation of gender progressive laws, policies and guidelines and consistent engagement with different actors to prevent and respond to VAWG and to hold perpetrators of these violations accountable. Our key actors are the community, civil society, government and private sector.

About the project

Movements led by women with disabilities have often been excluded from mainstream and feminist movements, resulting in their advocacy efforts being seen solely as disability issues rather than being included in the broader women’s and feminist movements. This exclusion has prevented EVAWG movements from tapping into resources, expertise, and collaboration that could bring substantive results in tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the region.

COVAW UNTF funded project aims to ensure that women and girls with disabilities are increasingly at the center of EVAWG efforts, rather than at the margins. COVAW and Disabled Women in Africa (DIWA) will work together to catalyze this change by strengthening the capacity of women and girls with disabilities in Kenya, Rwanda, and Malawi on gender-based violence, supporting, the formation of a sub-regional network that brings together women with disability advocates from these countries towards collective advocacy, and the building bridges between these advocates, feminist organizations and gender equality movements, and the forums where their advocacy is conducted–all supported by practice-based research on violence against women and girls with disabilities in the sub-region and barriers and successes towards their inclusion in EVAWG movements. The project will demonstrate innovative, concrete action to advance the rights and dignity of women and girls with disabilities, including underrepresented groups such as refugees with disabilities who often face sexual violence, abuse, and physical assault during their journeys to escape conflict or economic hardship.

Duties and responsibilities of the Program Officer:

• Lead in implementation of the COVAW UNTF ACT programme in the three counties of implementation in collaboration with the co-implementing partner DIWA. Project activities including capacity building of women with disabilities, regional and global advocacy on EVAWG, supporting EVAWG actors (feminist movements, women rights organizations,states, human rights experts and service providers) to understand the value of and are better equipped to include women and girls with disabilities in their work and advocacy efforts and practice based knowledge production and dissemination.
• Oversee day-to-day coordination and delivery of project activities in conjunction with staff and partners.
• Collaborate with project partners to develop key project planning documents such as Annual Work Plan.
• Lead project activity documentation based on key interventions that are implemented, working with the other project teams.
• Work with the program team in strengthening linkages and networks between key actors at national, regional and international levels.
• Work with the project team in supporting design, production, dissemination and documentation of content and materials for use in lobby and advocacy and capacity enhancement trainings.
• Prepare accurate and timely reports of all program activities. Prepare quarterly narrative reports
• Monitor the utilization of project budgets in adherence to donor and organisational rules and policies
• Support in conducting program monitoring and evaluation, outcome and end of implementation evaluation

Qualifications/Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Sociology or Community Development with seven years of experience in project implementation and management.
• Experience in disability rights advocacy would be an advantage
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work with diverse people and cultures.
• Self-starter, able to work independently but able to consult effectively, prioritize and handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Strong interpersonal and analytical abilities.
• Ability to work in the field, under pressure and to tight deadlines.