Wellbeing Coordinator – Civic Defenders Project

Background

A just and equitable world where communities and ecosystems can thrive is possible. But social injustice, democratic backsliding, and the climate crisis threaten us all. The courageous people and communities daring to speak out face attacks and reprisals from powerful vested interests. Many pay the ultimate price.

Open Briefing is a vital part of the response. We build resistance and resilience among the people and communities challenging power. And we are answering more calls for assistance across more countries than ever before. Last year, our international team provided over 4,600 hours of direct support to activists and advocates under threat of physical, digital, and psychological harm across 93 countries.

Alongside this local support, we provide consultancy and advisory to help nonprofits and foundations supporting and resourcing grassroots change to take the right risks. We ensure that these international partners are equipped and empowered by enhancing their security risk management, information security and data protection, and staff care and wellbeing. Our work in this area frequently involves being both a trusted ally and a critical friend.

Our team protects many high-profile activists and well-known organisations. But much of our work is behind the scenes, with ordinary people and communities who are targeted for challenging power. For 13 years, we have worked together towards a better future. And we are just getting started. We are expanding our diverse, inspired, and purpose-driven team; will you join us as our new wellbeing coordinator, Civic Defenders project?

Role description

Open Briefing is an implementing partner on a new five-year project designed to support local civil society, independent media, and human rights defenders worldwide to better prevent, mitigate, and respond to digital repression in their own contexts, particularly in closed and closing civic spaces. Open Briefing will lead the Mental Health and Psycho-social support designed to increase access to high quality psychosocial support for these activists and movements. Open Briefing will mentor a network of wellbeing, mental health and psychosocial support providers to design and co-deliver a framework of wellbeing support interventions for practitioners and local partners to reduce their risk of burnout, trauma, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and stress as both a preventative and resilience-building measure.

For this project, we are looking for a MHPSS specialist with strong management skills. You will play a key role in designing, managing, and implementing wellbeing and resilience activities as part of this complex five-year global project. Under the direct supervision of the wellbeing and resilience director, your primary responsibilities will include:

Wellbeing services delivery (50%)

• Leveraging wellbeing expertise during the design of project activities involving psychosocial support.
• Conducting or coordinating individual, collective, and organisational wellbeing needs assessments and tailored support.
• Delivering remote counselling and psychological support (including psychological first aid after critical incidents).
• Providing collective healing and reflective groups sessions, and leadership support in managing wellbeing in teams
• Implementing group sessions and remote training or webinars on wellbeing management, and other key wellbeing concerns and strategies to project recipients and coalition partners.
• Supporting individuals to develop wellbeing and resilience plans.

Project management (40%)

• Maintaining strong relationships and collaboration with regional, international, technical, and local partners within the consortium.
• Managing and tracking project activities, ensuring transparent communication processes and protocols, smooth day-to-day operations, and effective project management.
• Ensuring project compliance with all grant and cooperative agreement rules, requirements, and regulations as well as with Open Briefing internal policies and procedures.
• Managing the project budget, ensuring all costs charged to the project are allowable, reasonable, and correctly allocated in compliance with all grant and cooperative agreement requirements.
• Compiling qualitative and quantitative information and leading on internal and external reporting to support monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning objectives.

Knowledge management (5%)

• Documenting, archiving, and socialising project documentation.
• Leading lessons learnt discussions with the project team and other internal stakeholders.
• Liaising with the development team to develop impact stories based on free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) and other learnings that will serve the wider ecosystem.
• Developing materials and resources on wellbeing responsesfor communication with the consortium and service recipients under the project to help foster a strong community of practice.

Other (5%)

• Engaging fully as a member of the Open Briefing team, including participating in team and organisational meetings and other events.
• The role will require occasional international travel (at least once a year).

Person specification

Essential

• You will be a qualified, experienced, accredited, and supervised mental health professional.
• You will be familiar with the data protection requirements of your professional body.
• You will have extensive experience in managing large-scale projects across multiple countries and working effectively within large partner consortiums to represent the strategic objectives of your organisation.
• You have experience working with territorial and/or social communities and understanding community wellbeing.
• You will have experience in managing or coordinating government-funded projects, most notably USAID contracts.
• You will be sensitive to the progressive and rights-based missions and diverse profiles of our clients and other stakeholders.
• You will have excellent written and spoken English.
• You will be based in a time zone that is UTC +/- 3 hours.

Desirable

• You may have a second language.
• You may have experience of monitoring and evaluation skills.
• You may be familiar with digital and information security risks and their wellbeing impact on local civil society, independent media, and human rights defenders.

Terms and remuneration

We are remote first and digital-nomad friendly. We encourage flexible working. This is a home-working role. We are looking for someone who wants to become part of our close-knit team and develop a long-term working relationship with us and our clients. You will be properly onboarded and continually supported by empowering managers and highly-experienced colleagues. Your line manager will be our wellbeing and resilience director, Camille Gallie.

This is a full-time employed role. This is a fixed-term contract for 12 months, renewable depending on funding. We will offer you a remuneration package made up of fair pay, sector-leading benefits, and progressive leave policies, including:

• Salary of £45,000 per annum.
• 7% employer pension contribution.
• Family private medical insurance.
• Employee Assistance Programme, including welfare counselling.
• Unlimited professional coaching.
• Enhanced annual leave of 25 days plus local public holidays.
• Additional leave days for annual closedown.
• Enhanced sick pay.
• Flexible working, including flexitime and remote and home working.
• Access to local coworking spaces.
• Support for climate action:
  • Personal carbon emissions offsetting.
  • Up to two additional leave days for sustainable travel.
  • Up to two additional leave days for climate activism.
• Apple MacBook and peripherals.

If you are based outside the United Kingdom, you will be offered comparable compensation through our local employer of record, Remote. For parity, we contribute 4% above the local statutory requirements into the personal pension plans of staff members employed outside the UK. We will contribute 7% into the personal pension plans of staff members employed in counties where there is no local statutory provision.

As part of our duty of care, it is our policy to identify and communicate any risks associated with specific roles and set out how we mitigate them. We have identified the following risks associated with this role: stress, vicarious trauma or secondary trauma, and compassion fatigue. These risks are mitigated through proper line management, education, identifying and monitoring signs, and the specific organisational measures detailed in our wellbeing framework.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

Open Briefing values diversity. We are committed to being equitable and inclusive, and to being a place where all can be their authentic selves. We welcome applications from all who may meet the person specification. This includes candidates with protected characteristics or currently underrecognised in our team, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour; people from countries in the global majority; and women and/or non-binary people. Please read our diversity, equity, and inclusion policy for more information.

Open Briefing is neuroinclusive, positive about mental health, and a Disability Confident Employer. We welcome applications from all candidates who meet the person specification. Please let us know in your cover letter how we can be the recruiter and employer that you need us to be.

We are an accredited Living Wage employer. We voluntarily follow the UK government’s reporting requirements for the gender pay gap and executive pay gap. We have also checked the text of this advert using the Gender Decoder tool.

Safeguarding

Open Briefing is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of safeguarding, ensuring a culture of respect and protection for both our internal and external stakeholders. Our approach encompasses preventative measures and a strong response mechanism to any safeguarding concerns, guided by a survivor/victim-centred ethos. We enforce a strict no-tolerance policy towards any violations of safeguarding policies, ensuring that all concerns are addressed promptly and appropriately. Our safeguarding policy is available here.

How to apply

To apply, please email your CV to our office manager, Lauren Smith, at lauren.smith@openbriefing.org. Please also include a cover letter of no more than two pages setting out:

1. What excites you about Open Briefing and the role of wellbeing coordinator, Civic Defenders project?
2. How you meet the advertised person specification.
3. An example of when you managed a multi-year project across multiple countries.

Please note the following dates:

• Closing date: 5 January 2025
• First round interviews: 20-24 January 2025
• Second round interviews: 27-31 January 2025
• Desired start date: February 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Please let us know in your cover letter if any of these dates are problematic and we will try to accommodate. The successful applicant will need to complete a reasonable vetting process before engagement.