- Background
Forus is a global network empowering civil society for effective social change. It brings together 69 National NGO Platforms and 7 Regional Coalitions from Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Pacific.
Forus’ mandate is to connect its members – national and regional platforms – to build common actions, learn from each other and fight for an enabling environment for civil society organizations.
Forus seeks a Member engagement & Network management officer to foster member engagement, promote network vitality, implement Forus’ membership strategy and assist the Director in the management of the network. The Forus Member engagement & Network management officer will report to the Forus Director and work closely with the other colleagues of the Forus Secretariat. As a member-led network, Forus is committed to working closely with its members in all activities.
Please note: Excellent proficiency in English, as well as very good command of French & Spanish in speaking and writing are required. Applications that do not meet this criterion will not be considered.
- Responsibilities
Main responsibilities
- Strengthen engagement of Forus members in the network’s activities.
- Nurture strong links and communications with and across members, develop network membership.
- Assist the Director in various tasks, support outreach to members and partners, as well as governance and strategy.
Detailed responsibilities and tasks
Member engagement
- Promote Forus’ activities, events and products in order to maximise engagement across the network during design, implementation and dissemination.
- Stimulate members to have regular engagement with the Forus Secretariat and with each other, identify opportunities, synergies and areas for cross-learning.
- Work closely with team members to gather and analyze members’ information and engagement data, propose and implement actions to strengthen engagement.
- Offer tailored accompaniment for members who are less engaged, to ensure that they clearly identify opportunities to leverage their participation in the network and to learn from their peers.
- In partnership with colleagues focusing on key thematic areas, contribute to the convening of peer-sharing spaces ensuring regular opportunities for members to dialogue and learn from each other.
- Coordination and/or contribution to evaluations, proposing adaptations to activities when necessary.
Membership strategy and network development
- Develop the Forus membership strategy with focus on less covered regions, on retaining existing members and recruiting and cultivating new members.
- Evaluate and implement changes to Forus membership structure as the needs of the organization and its members continue to evolve.
- Ensure the member journey is relevant and adapted to members’ needs.
- Regularly check member compliance with membership criteria (due diligence).
- Coordinate Forus’ mediation mechanism with inactive/non-compliant members. Support the Director and governance with taking measures as needed.
- Serve as the contact point for prospect members. Respond promptly to inquiries and ensure timely follow-up.
- Recruit and onboard new members. Offer tailored accompaniment for new members.
- Create and update membership materials.
Member relations management
- Lead member relations, identify and build synergies among Forus members, support exchange and peer-learning between members.
- Gather and systematize Forus’ understanding and knowledge of member organisations and their specific context.
- Maintain and develop Forus member database as well as other internal tools.
- Coordinate the implementation of a user-friendly member-to-member communications system.
- In coordination with other team members, coordinate member-related internal communications, membership fee collection and other membership-related tasks.
Support to the Director
- Support the organisation of Forus events and governance meetings (Council meetings, General Assemblies, committee & advisory body meetings, etc.).
- Support the Director in daily tasks, including drafting emails and documents, managing schedules, preparing and coordinating meetings, etc.
- Contribution to MEAL, donor reporting and funding proposals
- Any other tasks within the scope of the role as directed and agreed.
Expériences / Formation
Education/Training & Minimum Professional Experience required:
- Master’s degree (or equivalent work experience) in NGO management, communications, project management, international development, or another relevant field.
- At least 5 years of working experience in an international setting with member organisations or networks, in a member relations or member outreach function.
Skills and knowledge:
- Proven experience of member relations and outreach in multinational settings.
- Experience working in a network or collaboration of NGOs in developing and developed countries.
- Expertise in member outreach and management.
- Knowledge of constraints and challenges affecting the ability of civil society organizations to operate in different contexts and regions/countries.
- Ability to forge close collaboration and trusted and equitable relationships between civil society organizations from diverse geographic and socio-economic backgrounds.
- Commitment to Forus’ mission, vision, and values with solid understanding of global development issues, and understanding of the socio-cultural, historical, political and economic global context.
- Demonstrated experience and skills of working with diverse stakeholders, and facilitating platforms of cooperation, networking, and building partnerships across a large spectrum of topics, cultures, and tactics.
- Great ease in communicating in a formal way with stakeholders at local, national, and international level.
- Full professional proficiency in English. Proficiency in French and Spanish in speaking and writing required. Knowledge of Portuguese is a plus.
Personal qualities/interpersonal skills:
- Thrives in cooperative work environments in which the collaborative pursuit of shared objectives is the priority.
- Prioritizes and manages multiple projects simultaneously and follows through on issues in a timely manner with excellent attention for detail.
- Proactively seeks and provides feedback, strong emotional intelligence.
- Creative thinker with a “can-do”, outward-looking and problem-solving attitude, willing to guide others with confidence and take risks when appropriate.
- Highly organized independent worker, including in remote work settings with a decentralized team.
- Clear and sharp communicator able to bring across often complex and conceptual ideas in a down-to-reality and simple manner. Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with highly diverse stakeholders and excellent cross-cultural sensitivity and ability to work effectively taking into account different socio-cultural contexts and time zones.
- Ability to work under pressure and towards tight deadlines maintaining effective performance in high pressure environments.
- Ability and willingness to travel occasionally.
Salaire
- Starting date: March 2024
- Contract type: Full time position, employment contract (under French law) or service contract.
- Location: flexible, the position can be located in Forus’ offices in Paris or work remotely.
- Salary/compensation: dependent on experience.
Comment postuler
- The application documents must be submitted as soon as possible per email to the following address: recruitment@forus-international.org.
- The application must be in English and include a motivation letter, CV and 3 references.
- Please send attachments in PDF and include the position (“Member engagement & Network management officer”) and your name in the subject of the email.
Please note: Excellent proficiency in English, as well as very good command of French & Spanish in speaking and writing are required. Applications that do not meet this criterion will not be considered.
The position will be open until filled, and interviews will take place on a rolling basis. Only candidates who are shortlisted for interviews will be contacted.
Forus is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to make positions accessible to all regardless of nationality, ethnicity, race, age, disability, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation or identity, religion, marital or parental status, etc.