Job title: Birches Global Peacebuilding Fellow.

Status: 35 hours per week, non-exempt; specific term.

Location: Remote/Global (Mexico, Eastern Europe, Middle East).

Application Deadline: Resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis through March 10, 2024.

Duration: 1 year

Salary: $28,000 stipend to cover salary and housing expenses.

For consideration, please attach your Cover Letter and Resume to the online application in addition to answering the Application Questions.

The Birches Global Peacebuilding Fellow will work closely with the International Program staff to provide programmatic, administrative, and organizational support to further the peacebuilding goals articulated in AFSC’s strategic plan. This includes core support for AFSC’s Just Peace thematic work, and possible support for the Global Civic Space Initiative and global peacebuilding convening through the Dialogue and Exchange Program (DEP).

The Just Peace goals include a vision for high-impact peacebuilding, to change the narrative around militarism and violence, the development and popular acceptance of alternatives to violence, influencing key decision‐makers and non‐traditional allies globally to choose peaceful transformation of conflict, protecting civic rights, amplifying civil society, and building social cohesion.

For more information about this new Fellow position, please see further information at https://afsc.org/global-peacebuilding-fellowship.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES 

The Fellow will be placed in key geographical locations in Mexico or Central America, Eastern Europe, and/or the Middle East. Current approved countries include the following: Mexico and Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize), Middle East (Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Israel), and Eastern Europe and Baltics (Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia, Czech Republic), pending security review.

The Fellows will support country and regional offices in keeping up with best practices and innovation around peacebuilding and civic rights. The fellow will also support the international program unit in various capacities as AFSC starts to implement its 10-year strategic plan. The Fellow also will develop a project related to their location in consultation with the Regional Director and other international or local organizations based in the work site.

Key tasks may include: 

1. Develop project in consultation with the Regional Director and local and international organizations located at the work site, to be completed in one-year.
2. Track and monitor existing and emerging resources, innovations and best practices around peacebuilding and civic rights and building a resource management system.
3. Develop case studies, online tools, events, learning sessions and presentation with IP staff.
4. Work with IP Peacebuilding Director, IP Associate General Secretary, Global Civic Space project manager and unit team, Regional Directors and program staff to support information, knowledge management (via Star Café and SharePoint), and training activities around AFSC’s peacebuilding goals.
5. Support the IP team to design and develop content for communications.
6. Develop tools and best practices for the methodologies named in strategic plan related to peacebuilding.
7. Take notes during team meetings and share key points and actions items discussed.

FELLOW LEARNING GOALS 

The Fellow will gain capacity in the following areas: 

1. Enhance skills for developing tools and research that produce high quality, actionable and shareable information. 
2. Learn essential skills for operationalizing strategic goals in a nonprofit program management context. 
3. Develop an understanding of the challenges and opportunities present in designing effective peace and civic rights programs for the transformation of systems of oppression around the world. 
4. Drafting and finalizing professional reports and presentations.
5. Qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis, and presentation.
6. Program approaches in peacebuilding thematic areas: migration, political and organized violence, business and peace, election violence prevention, and overall approach on changing the narrative on militarism.
7. Cross-cultural communications with staff.
8. International non-profit program management and culture. 
9. Innovative international peacebuilding initiatives and strategies. 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Recently graduated college or university students (by June 2024), preferably from the U.S., will be prioritized for this fellowship. Other recent graduated B.A. or M.A. students also will be considered. In a cover letter (2 pages maximum), please specify your background and interest, preferred country, language skills, and what kind of projects you are interested in undertaking with AFSC and partners and what you seek to learn and gain if you are hired as an AFSC Fellow. Eligible countries for the 2024 cohort include: Mexico and Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize), Middle East (Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Israel), and Eastern Europe (Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia, Czech Republic), pending security review. Resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis through March 10, 2024.

EXPERIENCE:

1. Strong reading, writing, and analytical abilities.
2. College Degree in Peacebuilding, International Relations or equivalent field. Competitive GPA required.
3. Strong research skills and the ability to distil key points/themes out of large amounts of information.
4. Strong skills using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and web-based platforms.
5. Ability to work both independently and in a team. 
6. Excellent oral and written English language skills, including the ability to clearly document work and write reports.
7. Ability to prioritize workload and yet remain flexible to shifting needs. 
8. Strong attention to detail. 
9. Understanding of and commitment to the principles, concerns, and considerations, of AFSC in regard to issues of race, class, nationality, religion, age, gender and sexual orientation, and disabilities.
10. Demonstrated ability to work and communication with diverse staff and demonstrated cultural sensitivity.

OTHER REQUIRED SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

1. Fluency in one other United Nations language desirable. Preference for candidate with language skills in country of placement.
2. Familiarity with qualitative and quantitative research and analysis a plus. 
3. International non-profit experience a plus. Experience living and working in the Global South.
4. Experience in designing or facilitating trainings (in person or online) a plus. 
5. Ability to prioritize workload and adapt easily to changing situations and priorities. 
6. Commitment to Quaker values and testimonies. Understanding of and compatibility with the principles and philosophy of the American Friends Service Committee including non-violence and the belief in the intrinsic worth of every individual.

AFSC maintains a deep commitment to a mandate of care for our staff and communities, and thus recommends vaccination and have at least one booster shot for COVID-19; as well as adherence to social distancing, masking, and office occupancy protocols.

AFSC’s Central Office and some of its offices in the U.S. are unionized workplaces. This position is not represented.

The American Friends Service Committee is a smoke-free workplace.