Youth Civic Action Associate At Institute for Strategic Dialogue

The Youth Civic Action Associate will support the delivery of ISD’s youth empowerment programmes, Young Cities and the Youth Civil Activism Network (YouthCAN). Working closely with an international team, the Associate will help build the capacity of young P/CVE activists globally, facilitate youth-led initiatives to address extremism and disinformation and will be crucial in the communication of successes and the positive impact of our programmes.

Young people are vital to preventing and countering violent extremism. ISD works to empower these young actors to become leaders in their own communities. YouthCAN has been pioneering new models to support young people and advance their place in P/CVE since 2015. Currently, YouthCAN hosts a global community of more than 1,800 young activists and provides direct support through capacity-building programmes in Pakistan and Australia. Young Cities brings YouthCAN’s model for youth engagement to the Strong Cities Network (SCN) in order to work with youth, municipal stakeholders and civil society in target cities in Africa, Europe, South Asia and the NENA region for a community-wide approach to preventing extremism, hate and polarization.

Responsibilities

1. Supporting youth activists & their projects globally

· Support the capacity building of youth activists through workshops, webinars, and campaigns.**

· Work directly with youth activists in Pakistan in Australia to deliver youth-led campaigns and initiatives, both online and offline. Support these activities in other Young Cities locations in Europe, Africa and the MENA region.**

· Contribute to building the capacity of civil society actors to engage with youth and policy makers in the field of P/CVE **

· Contribute to the development of best practices for youth engagement in P/CVE **

2. Communications and campaigns

· Responsible for managing the online presence for YouthCAN and Young Cities, including social media, websites and youth blog.

· Responsible for facilitating YouthCAN’s global community of youth activists.

· Working with key content creators – such as photographers, film-makers, web developers and graphic designers – to ensure that quality content communicates our work effectively.

· Contribute to communication strategies for Young Cities and YouthCAN, as well as for ISD’s youth empowerment work globally.

· Contribute to the creation of resources and campaigns for youth and those who work with youth to enhance youth-led work in P/CVE.

3. Support programme management & delivery

· Contribute to the management of the programme, including budgets, timelines, and logistical support

· Support research activities and contribute to reports, both internal to inform project development and external to further best practice in youth engagement for P/CVE

· Support the M&E coordinator to evaluate Young Cities and YouthCAN, including for the youth-led campaigns in all locations

· Local stakeholder management, including local partners and service providers

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Expectations

We expect all staff, consultants and volunteers to:

· Commit to ISD’s vision, mission and Guiding Principles

· Foster diversity, inclusivity and equality of opportunity at ISD

· Demonstrate respect for others and safeguard those who are vulnerable

· Carry out their duties in accordance with ISD’s policies and procedures

· Adhere to risk management and security instructions at all times

Competencies

These reflect ISD’s Guiding Principles which we expect all members of the team to embody, regardless of seniority and role. How these competencies are assessed is outlined in ISD’s Performance Review Process.

Guiding Principles

Competencies

Integrity

· Personal integrity

· Focus on quality

Collaboration

· Respect for others

· Commitment to the team

Agility

· Efficiency and effectiveness

· Growth mindset

Courage

· Strategic thinking

· Passion for driving change

Specific Requirements

These are a priority for this specific role, and form part of our assessment during recruitment, probation and ongoing performance management. They are also a framework for focusing continuing professional and personal development.

For each listed requirement, tick whether this is an essential or desirable requirement.

Essential

Desirable

Knowledge, training and qualifications

· Relevant experience or relevant education in Conflict Studies or a related field

· Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)

· Strong knowledge of Project management

· Understanding of, and application of Monitoring & evaluation tools and practices

· Good understanding of Research methodology

· Knowledge of Graphic design (Adobe or other)

Experience

· Working directly with youth

· Experience and exposure to working in P/CVE or a related field

· Sound experience with social media or communications

· Working with Civil Society

· Experience with strategic communications or social activism

· Experience with project or campaign management

· Experience working in Pakistan

Skills

· Good Stakeholder management skills

· Proven Social media and online communication skills

· Familiarisation of, and involvement of Counter-narratives and campaigning

· Excellent Research skills

· Strong training and facilitation skills

· Proven record of professional writing

· High level of Public speaking and presenting

· Excellent Copy-editing skills

· Able to engage in event organisation and management

· Professional proficiency and working knowledge of Urdu