Job Title: Partnership Officer
Number of vacancies: 1
Working day: Full time
Duration: 18 months
Location: Guatemala City
Start date: October 15, 2024
Directly Responsible: Senior Program Coordinator
About Protection International
Protection International (PI) is an International NGO that contributes to the improvement of the
protection of human rights defenders (HRDs) throughout the world. PI provides tools to develop
HRDs’ capacities to manage their own security as their struggle against impunity and work in
favour of human rights and democracy in their respective countries or regions. PI seeks to
contribute to a situation where HRDs are recognised as legitimate actors for social change and to
an environment where they can exercise their right to defend universally accepted human rights.
Protection International has its global office in Brussels, but primarily works where the protection
of HRDs is needed. PI has been operating in Guatemala since 2007, PI Mesoamerica (PI MESO)
operates as a Regional Centre with offices in Guatemala and Honduras and occasional work in El
Salvador and Nicaragua, with the aim of bringing our work closer to HRDs and their collectives. PI
Mesoamerica works with HRDs in indigenous and rural communities to defend territorial rights,
biocultural diversity and environmental justice in the face of extractive and agro-industrial
projects. It prioritises and supports women defenders due to their vulnerability to gender-based
violence.
PI leads a consortium of 5 international organisations that will implement the “Protection Civic
Space in Central America” project over the next 18 months in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador
and Nicaragua. The aim is to create an enabling civic space and safer conditions for the defence of
human rights, press freedom and access to justice in an increasingly restrictive operating
environment in Central America.
Job general objective:
To ensure the efficient, effective and collaborative management of the PI re-granting system in
Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua). This role will ensure the
proper implementation of PI procedures and policies for grantees, coordinated with relevant PI
stakeholders and reported to donors in line with their requirements. With a strong focus on the
EU CA grant, this role can work across the Mesoamerica regional hub re-granting portfolio.
Duties & responsibilities
Task I – Re-granting and Partnership of PI in Central America for EU CA
• Support the inception phase of the project and development of tools and guidelines for
the re-granting, in coordination with the global team and consortium members.
• Administer and manage the re-granting process: support the production of the Call for
Proposals, identify possible partners, review grantee proposals (narrative and financial), coordinate the selection committee, due diligence, engagement and contracting of grantees, follow up grantees, closure, reporting, and compliance with donor requirements.
• Support monitoring grants throughout the full grant cycle in coordination with the Project
Management Team.
• In line with agreed finance and global team procedures, reconcile grantee finance report and supporting documents, identify concerns and liaise with the grantee to ensure compliance with donor requirements and accepted international accounting standards.
• With the Finance Unit and the Project Management Team, facilitate the proper execution
of payments to grantees.
• Support capacity assessment of targeted partners and access to capacity strengthening
opportunities as they arise, and in line with Protection International agreed procedures.
• Identify thematic and technical capacity needs of grantee partners, and provide or coordinate capacity strengthening with PI programme, finance or administrative staff or external partners.
• Coordinate within Project Management Team, finance unit and other key units to ensure a good workflow. Coordinate with Global Team to ensure coherence with the global regranting strategy, processes and tools.
• Prepare relevant information in a timely manner for donor reports, monitoring and tracking of indicators, and other donor-related or Protection International documentation.
Task II – Re-granting and Partnership of the Consortium in Central America for EU CA
• Support the coordination with consortium members on the re-granting component and
actively participate in networks with relevant working groups.
• Support monitoring grants throughout the full grant cycle in coordination with the project
management team.
• In line with agreed finance and global team procedures, supervise and reconcile grantee
finance reports and supporting documents, identify concerns and liaise with the grantee to ensure compliance with donor requirements and accepted international accounting standards.
• Prepare relevant information in a timely manner for donor reports.
Job requirements
Education
• Relevant university degree or similar work experience.
• Relevant professional training courses (Partnership, Human Rights Defenders,
humanitarian anddevelopment sector, management, etc.)
Experience
• Minimum 5 years of relevant Experience
• Proven experience in managing a portfolio of sub-grants in the human rights, humanitarian
aid or development sectors.
• Demonstrable experience of budget management and finance reports.
• Demonstrable experience of building skills and capacity
• Experience and familiarity with HRDs and human rights work
Knowledge & skills
• Highly organised/time management.
• Advanced skills in computer productivity applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and
Outlook).
• Enthusiastic, self-starter who is able to work autonomously, under pressure, in
decentralized teams, and think outside the box.
• Detail orientated with strong problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated capacity to orally communicate clearly and effectively to a wide range of –
expert and non-expert audiences.
• Excellent communication and teamworking skills
• Excellent organisational and planning skills
Language
• Fluently spoken and written Spanish
• Other languages: Good knowledge of English
How to apply
Application Process
If you meet the above eligibility requirements and are interested in applying for this position,
please:
- Send your CV and cover letter with salary expectation, to
mesoamerica@protectioninternational.org , mentioning in the subject line: Partnership Officer.
Deadline: 08 October 2024 at twenty four hours. - Include your name in the file name of your application documents, e.g. Maria_Gonzalez
_CV.doc. - Submit the names and contact information for three references with your application. Do not
attach any certificates or references at this stage of the recruitment process.
Professional references will be requested later in the process. The position is subject to a background check and the final candidate will be required to understand and sign Protection International’s Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest.
Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and the position may remain posted until a qualified candidate is selected. We thank all candidates for their interest and will endeavor to forward information where possible, however, due to the high volume of responses and our internal capabilities, we may only be able to contact shortlisted candidates.
Protection International is an equal opportunity employer. The organization will not discriminate and will proactively apply the principles of affirmative action against discrimination in advertising, recruitment and other terms and conditions of our candidate search, preventing discrimination against any candidate on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
Joining Protection International means complying with our Code of Conduct and Ethics, Anti-Corruption Policy, Security Policy, Conflict of Interest Policy, Child Safeguarding Policy, Policy on Protection against Harassment, Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination.
Protection International’s values are:
• Solidarity / Collaboration: We are committed to stand by the defenders of women’s human rights and their struggle for a global solidarity that transcends borders and identities.
• Grassroots ethics: We are committed to identifying the needs of women’s human rights defenders and
their communities, adapting to their realities (cultural, historical, economic, etc.), valuing their work and
supporting their initiatives.
• Commitment to human rights: We believe that respect for human rights will contribute to a more just global society, in which everyone has the right to defend human rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination based on their identity or fear of threats and attacks.
• Participatory decision-making: We promote respect for and participation of all in the decision-making process, and value collaborative decision-making processes. We are committed to horizontal and active listening, recognizing the value of diversity of skills and ideas.
• Accountability and integrity: We are committed to sharing with others (both internally and externally) what we do, as an exercise in transparency that reflects a reliable and credible organization, fostering trust among our partners. We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption.
• Creativity / learning: We are committed to reflect on our individual and co-collective practices; to learn
from our mistakes; to be open to new ideas and ways of working; to share internally to learn; to innovate
and improve our level of understanding; and to implement and share externally to contribute to the work of others.
Additional information: More information about Protection International can be found at
www.protectioninternational.org.