Peace Brigades International is seeking committee members for project implementation and monitoring in Indonesia
Peace Brigades International (PBI) is an international grassroots NGO that has promoted nonviolence and protected human rights since 1981. PBI uses its international presence and global networks to protect, support and enable the work of human rights defenders and local activists for peaceful social change. Our signature approach is international protective accompaniment. Besides this we support local actors in other ways as well, including through workshops, publications, international speaking tours, information-sharing, networking, contact-building, and other creative approaches developed by PBI’s field projects and a grassroots base of 16 country groups around the world.
For nearly 30 years, we have protected the lives of hundreds of activists, proving that the combination of accompaniment and international pressure deters violence and creates space for local activists to work for peace and human rights.
PBI’s 2012-2017 global strategic plan recognizes the importance of expanding the reach of our work to protect and support human rights defenders, and the need for a broad presence in different regions or continents that will help raise PBI’s global profile and thus our overall capacity to protect. Asia and Africa are specifically named as areas for geographic expansion.
PBI in Indonesia
PBI worked in Indonesia for 11 years and over that period had project activities in East Timor, Aceh, Papua and Jakarta. Most recently, PBI had field offices in Jayapura and Wamena in Papua and a team working in Jakarta.
In September 2010, following a year of internal challenges and external constraints faced by the Indonesia Project (IP), a strategic review was undertaken. This resulted in a decision to end the current phase of PBI’s work in Indonesia and explore new ways of supporting human rights defenders there.
Indonesia Project
In 2011, PBI created a volunteer Indonesia Project Exploratory Committee (IPEC) to reassess PBI’s potential impact and role in Indonesia. As a part of the evaluation, IPEC explored the full range of options open to PBI within its mandate to provide protection for Indonesian HRDs. The committee gave in-depth consideration of strategic issues and explored the feasibility of re-establishing a project in Indonesia.
IPEC concluded that PBI should partner with a local Indonesian NGO to create and implement a protection and capacity building program for Papuan HRDs. The committee submitted a project proposal that was approved by PBI’s governance and operations councils.
PBI is currently establishing a joint HRD capacity building and protection project in partnership with Elsam (Lembaga Studi dan Advokasi Masyarakat). The aim is to provide extensive capacity-building support to HRDs operating in Indonesia’s most marginalized regions in order to strengthen their ability to document, report and advocate on human rights abuses, and to mitigate the security challenges of human rights work in those areas.
The project will be based in Elsam’s office in Jakarta. Front line HRDs will be sponsored on 1-year capacity building fellowships, six months of which will be spent in Elsam’s Jakarta office working alongside project staff. Upon completion of the 6-month training, fellows will return to their sponsoring organization to conduct field research using newly honed skills. Reports compiled by project fellows will be used for awareness-raising and advocacy.
Responsibilities of the Project Committee
The Project Committee provides governance oversight to the project. This includes responsibility for the Indonesia Project’s legal, financial and personnel issues, as well as strategic decisions. These are the tasks that PBI’s International Committee (IC) has delegated to all Project Committees in support of their respective field projects, though the IC has the ultimate responsibility to see that tasks have been carried out.
Because the IP is still under development and the project model is novel, the Project Committee will have three distinct phases of work:
- Project set-up and launch (May 2014 - September 2014);
- Project governance (September 2014 onwards)
- Project Set-up and Launch (May 2014 - September 2014);
- Ensure development of fundraising proposal and coordination of fundraising with PBI country groups for 2014 project launch
- Support Interim Project Coordinator, Training and Protection Coordinator and ELSAM staff to finalize HRD capacity building program
- Liaise with interim coordinator to finalize project governance guidelines
- Liaise with Elsam to ensure coordination and successful 2014 project launch
- Manage logistics for the deployment of in-country project staff to Jakarta
Human Resources Management
- Recruit, engage, train, deploy and supervise field staff
- Submit budgets annually for approval by the IC and monitor their implementation
- Ensure the project acts in compliance with the laws of the country in which the project is operating including legal registration and tax obligations
- Report to the IOC and IC any serious potential risks to the personnel, integrity or reputation of PBI.
- Develop and ensure implementation of strategies and action plans that are in line with strategic directions and priorities of PBI’s Global Strategic Plan and General Assembly
- Oversee the planning and implementation of triennial external evaluation of the IP
- Nomination of up to three representatives to the GA
- Participation as needed in ISEC Working Groups.
- 8 experienced persons drawn from ex-project volunteers, other organs of PBI, and external experts on Indonesia and NGO governance. (Currently, the PC is composed of 5 individuals)
Essential skills, knowledge, and experience:
We are particularly seeking to recruit Committee members with skills and experience in capacity building, political risk analysis, and financial governance; however, all committee members should demonstrate the following:
- Political awareness and familiarity with global issues relating to peace and human rights
- Skills and experience in the governance and management of NGOs.
- A sound understanding of strategic planning
- Ability to commit at least four hours a week to the work of the Project Committee and take part in bi-monthly meetings by conference call through 2013, and monthly conference calls thereafter
- Ability to serve on the Project Committee for 18 months
- Commitment to and understanding PBI’s principles, mandate and methods.
- Fluency in English, the working language of the Project
- Previous experience with a PBI field project or country group.
- Knowledge of the political and human rights situation in Indonesia.
- Experience of consensus decision-making.
- Basic Indonesian language skills.
- Previous experience of serving on a governance committee or boardBenefits
- Skills and experience in the governance and management of an international human rights organization
- An opportunity to contribute to the strategic direction of PBI’s work in Indonesia thereby contributing to the support and protection of human rights defenders
- The experience of working with a highly committed group of people dedicated to putting into practice the protection of human rights and promotion of nonviolence
- All reasonable communication, travel and other costs incurred while carrying out project committee work will be covered by PBI.
Please send your CV and a brief personal statement (see below), to Michael Aaron atmichael.aaron0@gmail.com by October 15, 2014. Applicants who do not provide this information will not be considered.
Personal Statement
- Please explain how you meet the essential and desirable criteria listed below, providing clear examples that demonstrate how you meet each point. You should write no more than 750 words in total.
- Political awareness and familiarity with global issues relating to peace and human rights
- Commitment to and understanding of PBI’s principles, mandate and methods.
- Skills and experience in the governance and management of NGOs
- A sound understanding of strategic planning
- Ability to commit at least four hours a week to the work of the Project Committee and to take part in bi-weekly meetings by conference call
- Ability to serve on the Project Committee for 18 months (including work before and after the field presence)
- Fluency in English, the working language of the Project
- Knowledge of the political and human rights situation in Indonesia.
- Experience of consensus decision-making.
