Assignment title: FBA scholarship

Host entity: Kvinna till Kvinna

Assignment category: Scholarship

Duty station, country: Bukavu/Eastern DRC

Duration (in months): 12 months

Expected starting date: 2023-03-01 or according to agreement

(application is open 20 Dec 2022 - February 15, 2023).

Organizational context and brief description

Kvinna till Kvinna is a non-profit, civil society organization, that started its operations in the Western Balkans in the 1990s. Since then, the organization has grown and today it has programmes in four conflict-affected regions: Western Balkans, South Caucasus, Middle East and North Africa, and Africa South of Sahara. In total the organization supports more than 130 women’s rights organizations and has a presence in over 20 countries.

Kvinna till Kvinna has been working in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 2009, with an office in Bukavu, Eastern DRC, since the end of 2011. Kvinna till Kvinna are supporting women’s rights organizations e.g. working with media/women journalists, youth and community groups with activities related to the reduction of gender-based violence, improvement of women's and girls' access to sexual and reproductive health, and the increase of women’s participation in in South Kivu.

In addition, Kvinna till Kvinna also supports the movement Rien Sans Les Femmes (Nothing without women), which is a nation-wide movement which consists of more than 160 organizations, that contributes to increase women’s representation in decision-making positions at all levels in the DRC.

The Kvinna till Kvinna Bukavu Office consists of an all female, diverse and dynamic team. Kvinna till Kvinna are conscious to have a conflict sensitivity/do no harm-perspective when selecting the candidate in order to keep a diverse team. The team has a Swedish ‘fika’ together every week, eat lunch together every day and enjoy interesting conversations. The office has a garden where the staff grow vegetables to have their own fresh and healthy products.

Visit the Kvinna till Kvinna website.

Description of tasks

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Kvinna till Kvinna Programme Officer or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the selected candidate will attend to the following activities:

• Supporting the daily work of Kvinna till Kvinna’s programmes in the DRC, including supporting reporting and proposal reviews, the organization of capacity development events etc;
• Monitor issues related to the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda in the DRC;
• Preparing the basis for e.g. a gendered conflict analysis and take part in the development of briefs and results reports, both internal and external;
• Supporting the mapping of youth organizations and other key actors working with women’s rights in South Kivu;
• Take part in the preparation work and coordination of Kvinna till Kvinna led activities, events related to GBV workshop, intergenerational exchange and regional component;
• Support the Kvinna till Kvinna’s communication teams to promote success stories of women in the WPS framework in the DRC;
• Map key events in the DRC for women human rights organizations and actors within WPS to be informed about the current development, key stakeholders involved and potentially attend these events;
• Participate in and prepare notes from internal and external meetings including internal capacity building events.
• Pending on the background and interests of the selected candidate, participation in the activities above will be assembled into a personal action plan. Other related tasks may be required or assigned by the supervisor.
• Furthermore, the selected candidate is encouraged to integrate the capacity-building and training provided by FBA on the 1325 resolution and WPS agenda with the hosting organization’s work. As such, the selected candidate is encouraged to dedicate part of their time to some of the following suggested activities:
• Strengthen knowledge and understanding of the 1325 resolution and WPS agenda;
• Continuous contact with team members of the FBA bilateral strategy project;
• Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on FBA scholarship period, including results and opportunities;
• Contribute to articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for FBA publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc;
• Contribute to and assist with the Scholarship Network.

Requirements

All applicants are required to fulfil the following requirements:

• Two years of relevant experience from the local context (not having been employed by the hosting organization the last two years);
• A confirmed strong dedication to the women, peace and security agenda and/or working for gender equality;
• Legal permit of residency and/or current settlement in the context and national connection/link (citizenship is not required but the applicant shall have the intension to continuously operate as an agent of change in the context after the scholarship).

Special requirements for the assignment

As Kvinna till Kvinna is a women’s organization, this assignment welcomes women applicants and/or people who self-identify as women.

Qualifications

a) Education, qualifications, skills, experience, areas of expertise

• University degree in a relevant area, such as gender studies, political science, international relations, development studies, peace- and conflict studies or human rights;
• At least two years of professional work experience at the national and/or international level in international development cooperation, gender, women human rights or diversity, or other relevant programmes; experience working with civil society organizations is an asset;
• Computer skills and working with the Microsoft Office package is considered an asset.

b) Competencies and values

• Proven analytical and critical thinking skills
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• A cooperative attitude and ability to do independent work
• The ability to join the team or partners for ‘field work’ in disadvantaged/ poorer/ more conflict prone areas

c)  Language skills

• Working knowledge of spoken and written English is required;  
• Working knowledge of spoken and written Swahili is considered an advantage.

Conditions

The scholarship lasts for the period indicated above. As this is a national assignment, the scholarship recipient will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials and travel to and from duty station, but will be provided with allowances compensating for his/her expenses. The allowance package consists of the following:

• Living allowance provided to sustain a basic, adequate and safe lifestyle;
• Settling-in-grant to meet initial expenses upon arrival at the duty station and preparation ahead of the given period;
• Family-visiting grant that is paid on case-by-case basis depending on location.

Extended allowances in the form of an accommodation supplement and a well-being differential are decided by FBA in consultation with the hosting organization if the placement is located in areas where rental markets are distorted or to account for added risks to health and security.

The FBA will organize and cover costs that are related to introduction and capacity-building activities.

Supervision, induction and duty of care

The scholarship recipient should be provided equal duty of care as extended to all host entity personnel. Host entity support to the recipient includes, but is not limited to:

• Introductory briefings about the organization and office-related context including security, emergency procedures, good cultural practice and orientation to the local environment;
• Support with arrival administration and official processes as required;
• Structured guidance, mentoring and coaching by a supervisor including a clear activity plan and performance feedback;
• Access to equipment and tools required to complete the activity plan;
• Access to shared host entity corporate knowledge, training and learning;
• Provision of all necessary security measures as per host agency and FBA policy;
• Leave management;
• DSA/similar for official travel, when applicable.

Changes to the assignment are to be formalized with the FBA.

Kvinna till Kvinna contact for this scholarship:
Lola Ramón Bruquetas
Head of Office
Kvinna till Kvinna DRC
Email: drc@kvinnatillkvinna.se

Contacts at FBA:
Isa-Li Axberg
Programme Officer
Folke Bernadotte Academy
Email: 1325scholarship@fba.se