Senior Manager of Human Rights

About this position

The Canadian Feminist FAFIA is an alliance of women's organizations at the national, provincial, territorial, and local levels. FAFIA-AFAI’s goal is to ensure that governments in Canada comply with their international human rights obligations to protect and advance women’s human rights in Canada.  

Under the supervision of the Executive Director, the Senior Manager, Women’s Human Rights is responsible for leading and overseeing FAFIA-AFAI’s work on ensuring governments’ compliance with Canada’s international human rights obligations as related to women’s equality. This is a 12-month contract position.

The Senior Manager, Human Rights will be a visionary, supportive, and inspirational leader, able to build trust with diverse communities and stakeholders. This role will be a champion for equity and will interact with relevant stakeholders, internal and external, to chair meetings, working groups on substantive-related issues including holding programmatic discussions with representatives of other organizations and institutions. 

Primary Duties and Responsibilities  

The Senior Manager, Women’s Human Rights oversees the efficient and effective operation of FAFIA-AFAI’s human rights program and portfolio including projects, reports and interventions and is responsible for the following tasks and duties.   

• Identify, assess, and advise with the Executive Director and relevant organizational bodies (Human Rights Committee, Councils, Working Groups) on domestic and international issues that affect FAFIA’s human rights work including domestic advocacy opportunities and strategies.  
• Oversee the development, implementation and evaluation of FAFIA programs and projects relating to the promotion of women’s human rights including appropriate work plans 
• Foster effective teamwork between organizational bodies (Human Rights Committee, Councils, Working Groups) as well as relevant stakeholders 
• Oversee the development, implementation and evaluation of domestic advocacy strategies that employ treaty laws to advance women’s equality. 
• Ensure compliance with funders’ project and reporting requirements relating to FAFIA’s human rights projects.  
• Recruit, interview, onboarding and retention of staff within the Human Rights program who have the appropriate skills and abilities for the job using an identified performance management process. This includes monitoring the performance of staff on an on-going basis and conducting an annual performance review as well as annual review of job descriptions 
• Keep up to date on women’s movement actions and campaigns within Canada and internationally and look for opportunities for FAFIA to assist/intervene.  
• Support the work of Government Relations led by the Executive Director by developing women’s human rights public policy positions, participating in government meetings, consultations, roundtables and conferences.  

Knowledge, skills, and abilities  

• Engagement in a self-reflective, ethical & collaborative practice that is non- judgmental and empathic and reflects the vision and mission statements of FAFIA, 
• University degree in a related field (Preferred: Human Rights, Law, International Studies, Public Policy, Women’s Issues)  
• 3-5 years of experience engaging with domestic policy, legislative processes, and in international human rights forums 
• 2 or more years of leadership experience in the not-for-profit sector with a strong intersectional feminist substantive equality analysis  
• Deep knowledge of administration and project management principles 
• Exceptional knowledge of United Nations instruments and forums (CEDAW, CERD, ICCPR, CESCR, CRC, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) 
• Strong knowledge of policy development and legislative processes in Canada  
• Demonstrated experience in grant/proposal/report writing 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English are required; fluency in French1 is an asset  
• Extensive knowledge and use of Microsoft Office and multiple social media platforms 
• Experience working collaboratively with a volunteer board 
• Experience in providing policy advice to high-level officials, preferably in the field of human rights, is highly desirable. 

Competencies  

• Collaboration: Demonstrated ability for collaboration in completing a project or task or developing ideas or processes; including high interpersonal skills, communication skills, knowledge sharing and strategic thinking. 
• Equity: Strong ability to link equity principles and goals to core values of the organization, advocates for equity and creates mechanisms for stakeholder participation 
• Intellectual Curiosity: Animated by complex difficult questions and open to new ideas  
• Relationship Building: Establishes and maintains positive working relationships with others, both internally and externally, to achieve the goals of the organization  
• Leadership: Positively influences others to achieve results that are in the best interest of the organization’s human rights programming 
• Planning and Organizing: Ability to develop clear goals from a comprehensive strategy including identifying priority activities and assignments, adjusting as needed.  
• Professionalism: Good knowledge of the promotion and protection of human rights with the capacity to conceptualize, prioritize, and translate organizational vision into action.

This position can work remotely. The Senior Manager, Women’s Human Rights works a standard work week, including evenings and weekends as required. 

Please forward a cover letter outlining your expertise in the position along with your CV to director@fafia-afai.org by February 12, 2021.

The Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) seeks to contribute to a vibrant and diverse work environment that reflects our commitment to a strong human rights approach. FAFIA encourages applications from all qualified individuals including applicants with diverse racial, sexual and gender identities, ethnic origins, religions, abilities among other groups. We will work to provide accommodations for candidates taking part in all aspects of the recruitment and selection process. 

The Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action acknowledges the location of our office on the traditional, unceded territories of the Algonquin nation. We recognize both our responsibility and obligation to the Algonquin people on whose traditional territory who allow us to work, learn and live on their lands. 

We also acknowledge all Treaty peoples – including those who came here as settlers – as migrants either in this generation or in generations past - and those of who came here involuntarily, particularly forcibly displanted Africans, brought here as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Slavery.