***IMPORTANT ELIGIBILTY CRITERIA:
- Be a Canadian Citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
Crossroads International is a leading Canadian international cooperation organization, advancing equality for women and girls and eradicating poverty in some of the world’s poorest countries in Africa where women and girls face great adversity: unequal access to resources and economic opportunities, gender-based violence and limited participation in political and public life. Crossroads International works in partnership with local organizations in 9 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, to draw on the skills, expertise, and resources, from the North and the South, required to enable people, particularly women and girls, to overcome poverty and defend their rights.
Crossroads is a registered charity supported by government and non-government funders, and many individual donors around the world.
OUR VISION
ONE WORLD where poverty is eliminated, equality prevails, and the rights of women and girls are fulfilled.
Project description and context:
Crossroads International’s 2020-2027 Volunteer Cooperation Program (VCP) entitled Championing Gender Equality Together, funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC), will engage Canadian women and men, Canadian stakeholders, Crossroads staff and volunteers, local partner organizations and women and men in sub-Saharan Africa to become Gender Equality Champions. Collectively these Gender Equality Champions constitute a global community of strong change agents and advocates for the advancement of gender equality both in Canada and overseas.
The Project aims to reduce gender inequalities and alleviate poverty by addressing gender-based violence, inequalities in access to resources and economic opportunities, and barriers in exercising strategic forms of choice, voice, and influence, which are the culmination of unequal and discriminatory power relations entrenched in society. Crossroads will address the root causes of gender-based inequalities and discrimination through a multidimensional holistic approach in the VCP that will, 1) promote women’s rights; 2) advance access to justice and the reduction of gender-based violence (GBV), 3) promote equal representation of women and men, and 4) target inequalities that limit women’s ability to participate in and benefit from economic activities. Crossroads applies a rights-based approach to programming, which extends to promoting, protecting, and defending women’s rights, including strengthening the capacity of women’s rights organizations to participate in and influence policy formulation and hold accountable those who have a duty to act.
Description of the partner
Crossroads collaborates with Prolink, a non-profit community-based organization established in Ghana in 1993 but started full operations in 2000. Pro-Link aims at making people at the grass-root the main authors of their own development. Pro-Link now has 10 physical project District offices in ten regions of Ghana namely Ashanti: Central, Volta, Oti, Eastern, Western, Bono, Ahafo and Northern with its head office in Accra. Pro-Link has worked in partnership with Ghana Health Service, Government institutions, key stakeholders and other development partners in many Districts/communities of Ghana using bottom-up approaches such as Social and Behavior Change communication(SBCC), capacity building, social engagement, community mobilization, partnership & networking, advocacy/rights based approaches (RBA, livelihood empowerment to promote maternal health and child survival; fight HIV/AIDS/TB; prevent malaria; promote family planning, Adolescent Reproductive health, sexual reproductive health rights, restore livelihoods among women and girls and promote gender equity and equality.
Description the volunteer mandate
The volunteer we are looking for should contribute to the achievement of Pro-Link’s Strategic Plan for the period 2021 to 2025 to redirect Pro Link’s programming for the next five years by retooling existing policies to strategically address the emerging trends such as environment and climate change to position the organization in a position to fulfil its duty to achieving the broader sustainable development goals.
Main responsibilities
In collaboration with Pro-Link’s staff in Accra and rural areas, the volunteer for this mandate will:
- Develop tools and techniques that support the organization’s environmental sustainability agenda.
- Plan and deliver sustainable strategies and working practices to be incorporated across the organization’s programs and operations.
- Train staff members to have a deep understanding of the best practices for environmental sustainability.
- Increase Pro-Link’s management, staff and partner’s capabilities in the review of organizational policies for future programming.
- Increase PROLINK management and staff ability to produce a simplified Environmental sustainability plan.
- Work collaboratively with the Communications Teams to share the organization’s sustainability efforts story to external stakeholders and employees
- Lead in the design of a sustainable networks management system
Qualification criteria for selection include:
- Completed studies or currently studying environment, geography, climate change and sustainability or related fields
- Must have a knowledge of the scientific and legal issues concerning climate change
- Professional or demonstrable experience in devising new ways of living and working sustainably.
- Experience working with not-for-profit organizations
- Analytical and information-seeking skills, effective and proven writing skills
- Oral, presentation, and communication skills
- Computer Skills: Microsoft applications and internet research, including fact-finding skills
- Training experience
- Knowledge in HIV/TB/Malaria/Girls Education an asset
- Knowledge of sexual and reproductive health rights within a gender equality framework an asset
- Completed studies or currently studying business development, Public Administration, commerce, or related fields, an asset
Eligibility criteria
- ***IMPORTANT: Be a Canadian Citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
- Willing to conduct fundraising and public engagement activities before, during and after the placement
- Share the commitment of preventing and addressing sexual misconduct
- In good physical and mental health (medical examination required)
- The volunteer needs to bring their own computer.
- The volunteer must be available to attend an online pre-departure trainings: May 25th to June 1st.
Personalized support before, during and after the mandate provided by an experienced and welcoming team. The Crossroads’ experience includes the following:
- Daily living allowance (depending of the country of assignment)
- Plane ticket and local transport
- Medical insurance and vaccinations
- Pre-assignment online training.
Crossroads International is committed to addressing gender-based violence by supporting the innovative work our partner organizations in ending violence against women and girls.
APPLICATION
To apply for this position, we kindly ask that you fill out Crossroads’ online application form.
Please contact our volunteer mobilization team if you have any question: volunteer@cintl.org
We thank all applicants but only those selected for interviews will be contacted.
