Open Society Foundations seeks Program Officer; apply by June 11th!
Open Society Foundations
Program Officer
Community Health and Criminal Justice – Public Health Program
Apply by June 11, 2015T
The Public Health Program (PHP) aims to build societies committed to inclusion, human rights, and justice, in which health-related laws, policies, and practices are evidence-based and reflect these values. The program works to advance the health and human rights of marginalized people by building the capacity of civil society leaders and organizations, and by advocating for greater accountability and transparency in health policy and practice.
The Community Health and Criminal Justice Division works to promote health and human rights and to minimize violence, service restrictions, coercive treatment and other harms related to criminalization and pathologization. We work to reform laws and law enforcement practice; to increase access to justice and to health services; and to support community-based networks and programs. We prioritize approaches that meaningfully engage sex workers, people who use drugs and their allies, and that do not make abstinence, exit, or mandatory “rehabilitation” a precondition for support. More information on PHP’s work on harm reduction and drugs can be found here. More information on PHP’s work on sex worker health and rights can be found here.
Open Society Foundations
The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant societies whose governments are accountable and open to criticism, whose laws and policies are open to debate and correction, and whose political institutions are open to the participation of all people. We seek to strengthen justice and the rule of law; broaden respect for human rights, including the rights of minorities; encourage pluralism and a robust diversity of opinion; deepen democratic practice and participation; expand economic equity; support effective governance; and invest in individuals, public and private organizations, and social movements that advance these goals.
We are a global network of foundations committed to local knowledge and national expertise. Our network includes national foundations, regional foundations, and other geographic programs operating in more than one hundred countries. At the same time, many programs with global reach operate from our four headquarters in Europe and the United States, including programs on digital information, drug policy, criminal and civil justice, education, fellowships, fiscal governance, human rights, international migration, public health, scholarships, think tanks, and women’s rights. In addition to making grants to organizations and individuals, the Open Society Foundations engage in policy advocacy, legal advocacy and litigation, program-related investing, and public communications, as well as provide direct assistance to governments. Most programs and foundations in the network are governed or advised by their own boards. The Open Society Foundations are the global philanthropies of George Soros, who, as chairman, plays an active role in the work of the foundations.
Job Profile
PHP seeks a full-time program officer on policing and law reform in its New York office. The program officer will work in collaboration with other PHP staff, as well as the staff of the OSF network. The geographic focus of this work will be Eastern Europe and Asia, with additional activities in Africa and the Americas, particularly Latin America.
The Program Officer will be responsible for grant making, technical assistance, and advocacy strategies to reduce police abuse of people who use drugs and sex workers, and to sustain approaches to policing and legal reform that increase these group’s access to integrated and high quality health services, including for HIV, TB, Hepatitis C, and drug dependence. The Program Officer works as part of a team of using grant making, technical assistance and advocacy to increase the responsiveness of state systems to the needs of criminalized groups, increase the capacity and involvement of community-based organizations in the national or local response, and engage international mechanisms to meaningfully support change within countries. While working with the Community Health and Criminal Justice Division of the Public Health Program the PO will work with the staff of relevant OSF programs and national/regional foundations.
Essential duties and responsibilities include the following:
Program Management and Grant Making
• in collaboration with other PHP and national foundation staff, develops calls for proposals and coordinates grant competitions to support improvements to law enforcement, and laws and policies, impacting the health of sex workers, people who use drugs and other criminalized groups
• identifies strategic opportunities to support monitoring, training, and advocacy in support of police reform, reduction of police abuses, and removal of barriers posed by law and law enforcement to effective health services for sex workers and people who use drugs
Technical Assistance
• provides technical assistance, and/or identifies appropriate technical assistance resources for grantees to support monitoring of police practices, and targeted training of police
• supervises technical advisors and consultants providing assistance in these areas, in coordination with other IHRD program officers, and staff of the Public Health Program (PHP) and National Foundations
Policy and Advocacy
• documents and publicizes best practices from the region in police reform and retraining, for PHP use in regional and international forums and publications
• synthesizes accounts of barriers to effective services posed by law enforcement for advocacy purposes
• convenes key stakeholders and opinion leaders as appropriate to explore alternative approaches to policing at international and regional conferences
• engages with international mechanisms and actors, including donors and norm-setters, to influence funding, policy and practice around police behavior and access to health for criminalized groups
Program support
• contributes to the development and implementation of harm reduction and sexual health and rights related programing, strategy and work plans
• contributes to the general administration of the program, including helping oversee interns, consultants and support staff
• helps organize conferences and events to highlight promising practices, draw attention to abuses, or strengthen PHP work on policing, decriminalization, drug policy reform and vulnerable populations
Qualifications
• minimum of 5 years relevant work experience in issues related to policing / law enforcement, harm reduction, sex work, and HIV
• direct experience in working with community groups on the development and implementation of advocacy strategies and campaigns with demonstrable impact on law enforcement practices
• proven ability to inspire local actors to strengthen their monitoring of law enforcement and advocacy for policy change, and to equip them with the appropriate tools and knowledge to do so
• knowledge of and commitment to harm reduction, drug policy, and human rights principles
• familiarity with international funding, training mechanisms and advocacy relevant to law enforcement practice. Familiarity with efforts to improve policing for vulnerable groups preferred.
• ability to listen and communicate effectively with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds
• excellent oral and written English language skills
• proficiency in a language other than English required; proficiency in Russian, Spanish or Swahili preferred
• willingness to travel internationally on a frequent basis
Application instructions: Please follow this link to apply by June 11th: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/jobs/jr-0000050/program-officer
