Director of “Free Them All: The Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners”

Director of “Free Them All: The Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners”

Freedom House

Washington, D.C., United States

POSITION SUMMARY

Freedom House is looking for an enterprising and entrepreneurial leader to direct Free Them All: The Fred Hiatt Program To Free Political Prisoners, an initiative aimed at freeing political prisoners in authoritarian countries and understanding the systemic causes that lead to political imprisonment. This work is done through a combination of advocacy, emergency support, and research and analysis. Authoritarian countries are increasingly constricting civic space, arresting activists, journalists and human rights defenders as part of their campaign to cement control of their countries. There is an urgent need for greater focus, coordination, and energy devoted to freeing prisoners and increasing global attention and engagement on the issue.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead the “Free Them All” Program team:

• Manage a team of 3 focused on supporting ten political prisoners and their families through advocacy, emergency assistance, researching and analyzing political imprisonment and other restrictions to freedoms, and liaising with key internal and external stakeholders.

Develop a strategy and workplan:

• Working closely with colleagues across Freedom House, develop an updated strategy and workplan to grow the Program since its 2022 launch.

Advocate for the release of political prisoners and provide support to their families:

• Advocacy work for this Program has historically been directed at policymakers in the US, EU, and governments with leverage on key cases. The director will update existing bespoke advocacy strategies for each political prisoner case as needed by adjusting to new case developments, changes in global trends impacting advocacy targets inside and outside of government, etc. This will include undertaking an ongoing landscape analysis of organizations and campaigns focused on political prisoner work and the variety of approaches taken by different organizations to feed into existing case strategies for the political prisoners supported under this Program;
• As needed, develop and maintain partnerships and workplans with law firms, communications firms, and other NGO partners to do pro bono work/collaborative campaigns on prisoner release and advocacy;
• As appropriate and based on available funding, identify and begin work on additional cases;
• Coordinate the execution of the strategy in close cooperation with other regional and subject matter experts across Freedom House and with relevant external partners.

Oversee research and analysis on trends in political imprisonment:

• In close cooperation with Freedom House’s Research Team, oversee research and analysis in key trends in political imprisonment around the world, including other tactics used to restrict human rights defenders’ freedom such as travel restrictions, physical and digital monitoring, blacklisting, and asset freezes;
• Research products advance Freedom House’s policy recommendations and may include policy briefs, special reports, and other materials.

Liaise with Key Internal and External Stakeholders:

• Keep PPI Advisory Board members up to date on key achievements and developments;
• Connect with key external activists and advocates working on political prisoner issues to maintain a strong network of partners and an understanding of the experts engaged in this area;
• Coordinate all case, research, and advocacy work with other departments at Freedom House as relevant, including the Policy & Advocacy, Research, Programs, and Communications Teams;
• Serve as a focal point within Freedom House for global political prisoner issues, not just on the Program’s existing political prisoner cases but also for external inquiries on political prisoner issues and for political prisoner issues that arise in other Freedom House reporting, programmatic, and advocacy work;
• Work with Freedom House’s Development Team to engage and update the program’s donors and potential supporters and update and execute strategies to raise funds for the Program.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in international affairs, political science, human rights, or related;
• Advanced post-graduate degree preferred.

Experience:

• 12+ years of experience working in institutions in government relations, democracy studies, human rights, law, advocacy, or justice issues;
• Senior leadership role in leading campaign, movement, or program in the human rights, democracy, or justice fields;
• Experience in managing and leading a team;
• Significant experience with advocacy, government relations, or communications, with demonstrable track record of advocacy success;
• Significant experience in multistakeholder or multilateral efforts;
• Understanding of effective research for advocacy;
• Familiarity with emergency support work;
• Knowledge of international law a plus.

Technical Skills and Abilities:

• Strong ability to communicate effectively in English, both verbally and in writing;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including ability to effectively interact with people holding a wide range of political and social views;
• Deep commitment to nonpartisanship and working in a cross-partisan fashion;
• Deep commitment to the mission and work of Freedom House;
• Skilled in establishing trusted partnerships, maintaining and managing highly-confidential information, using expert judgment when dealing with internal and external constituents, and maintaining unquestionable integrity and honesty;
• Strong ability to balance individual and team responsibilities;
• Strong ability to work collaboratively with Freedom House staff at all levels, external partners, and funders, while driving work forward;
• Ability to raise funds, with track record of fundraising success a plus;
• Superb attention to detail, balanced against consistent production of timely, high-quality work;
• Strong ability to plan, organize, and prioritize under pressure to meet tight deadlines;
• Ability to respond promptly to stakeholder needs and solicit stakeholder feedback to improve service quality;
• Ability to assess own strengths and weaknesses, pursue training and development opportunities, and strive to continuously build knowledge and skills;
• Commitment to good stewardship in the use of Freedom House resources;
• Commitment to comply with all Freedom House policies and procedures.

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