Paid Opportunities | Call for Applications at CIVICUS Youth Co-Design Team 2019

Application Deadline: July 15th 2019

In the past few years, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have been working more and more towards shifting traditional ways of working and testing innovative practices in alignment to the new dynamics of the 21st Century around citizen action. At CIVICUS youth, we are testing a new co-creation and collaboration model between NGOs and individual activists from the Global South, who are not always affiliated to traditional civil society structures.

In the spirit of supporting and continuing to strengthen smaller and more spontaneous formations of civil society, we are calling for a collective five (5) to nine (9) regionally balanced, diverse, creative and dedicated activists aged between 18 and 35 years old to co-design a new programme with CIVICUS that will better resource young changemakers from the Global South. This group will work in a multicultural, international and multi-sectoral team of young activists to co-design a new programme for a period of eight months starting in August 2019.

The co-design team will be a group of young, positive and innovative change makers from the Global South challenging traditional structures, envisioning new ways of working and designing programmes for civil society in a more collaborative and experimental manner. The co-design, co-creation, collaborative (CoCo) team is committed to testing new ways of relating and questioning power dynamics within civil society to enable young people to flourish with their communities.

This co-design team will be a multicultural and multidisciplinary international team working remotely with CIVICUS Secretariat. Through open platforms and virtual conference calls, the co-design team will deliver a protocol for a pilot programme to support the work of ten young fellows/activists coming from different communities and networks across the globe. 

Roles and responsibilities of the co-design team

• Co-create a governance model for the design team, as well as a work plan for the eight months ahead, that includes a decision-making process, team accountability system, roles, timeline, internal communications plan and diversity and inclusion framework.
• Co-draft a research plan and interview guidelines that will capture lessons learned from young activists who have worked with organisations that have delivered similar initiatives to support social movements like the ones in the proposed prototypes: residency programme/ alliance building model.
• Revise the prototype proposal of the programme based on the feedback captured in the interviews and desk research. Present a concept note that includes a summary of the findings.
• Develop a work plan for the pilot project including an updated plan for the testing phase, a plan for the launch and an evaluation framework.
• Advise the identification and consolidation of strategic partnerships with other youth organisations to launch the pilot programme.
• Deliver an external communication plan to launch the pilot programme. Provide advice on the language and format of the call for applications, application form, selection criteria and FAQs. Support the preparation and delivery of a “how to apply” webinar in October 2019.
• Mobilize networks to increase the visibility of the pilot project for more young activists to apply.
• Select the first cohort of 10 fellows/activists in November 2019.
• Design an orientation week agenda.

Eligibility criteria for the group:

• Representation of at least four different regions of the Global South.
• Groups of at least 5 and up to 9 members
• Age of team (preference for 18 – 30-year-old team members; candidates over 35-year-old are not eligible).
• Balanced gender diversity
• Eligibility of all team members (see below)

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Eligibility criteria for team members:
In order to be eligible to be part of the co-design each team member of the group must demonstrate:

• Entrepreneurial spirit with a creative mindset and strong critical thinking skills
• Experience in leading training or learning programmes for young people (fellowships, workshops, conferences)
• Passion for social movements, human rights and social justice campaigns, and grassroots activism
• Fluency in English, good command of other languages is an asset.
• A solid understanding of at least two of the following competencies:      
  • Project management
  • Research, facilitation and writing
  • Artivism
  • Data analysis
  • Online campaigning
  • Learning/ training programmes design
  • Event management
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Monitoring & Evaluation
  • Grassroots activism
  • Social entrepreneurship
  • Creative Graphic Design
  • Governance
  • Fundraising

Selection criteria

• Eligible groups will be assessed against these criteria:
• Full coverage of all the required skills for the co-design team
• Proven successful experience in working together
• Understanding of the assignment and plan to work as a collective
• Availability to working remotely with an international team (strong internet connectivity)
• Availability for up to 30 days during the course of eight months, attend bi-weekly online calls, travel to meetings and work collaboratively.

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How to Apply
All applications must be submitted through our online application form. The form can be accessed here. Please submit only one application per group.
For your reference, we have provided an application template. This document can be found here.
The deadline to submit this application is 15th July 2019 at 12:00 PM SAST.
For More Information
Visit the Official Webpage of the Call for Applications: CIVICUS Youth Co-Design Team