Internet Governance and Policy Senior Advisor

SUMMARY

The Technical Expert/Senior Advisor for Internet Governance and Policy will serve in a key leadership positions in Internews’ new global Internet Freedom initiative, providing high level strategic guidance and support to the Chief of Party and a global Consortium of partners, as well as coordinating and driving the achievement of key internet governance and policy goals under the initiative.

ABOUT THE POSITION

Come help lead  a team of dynamic colleagues and partners who are passionate about promoting digital rights and Internet freedom. As the Technical Expert/Senior Advisor for Internet Governance and Policy,  you will play a key role in developing and leading the long-term strategic goals of a new, global civil society consortium aimed at defending internet freedom across more than 50 countries. The consortium is supported through a three-year, global Internet Freedom project headed by Internews and funded by USAID.  The initiative will place regional and local organizations across more than 50 countries at the forefront of a global fight to preserve an open, interoperable, reliable, and secure Internet.  Key objectives include enhancing digital security for civil society and media organizations; engaging citizens in internet governance debates, and advancing human rights online.

You’re an ideal candidate for this position if you have:

1. a proven capacity to engage effectively with a wide range of actors and communities on issues regarding internet freedom, particularly issues at the heart of technology policy, internet policy, and internet governance
2. experience working within or collaborating with multi-stakeholder initiatives aimed at human rights and technology, including but not limited to initiatives that unite civil society with public and/or private sector actors
3. the demonstrated ability to develop, implement, and/or monitor advocacy strategies that will advance internet freedom objectives within different legal and regulatory environments;
4. a track record of conducting or supporting evidence-based, data-driven, primary research on internet freedom topics (for example, the impact of digital ID systems on vulnerable groups; the human rights impact of technologies/policies to combat cybercrimes; or the local impacts of policies from multi-national technology and telecommunications companies firms/platforms);
5. experience deploying strategic communications, media outreach, targeted messaging, and other advocacy skills within efforts to integrate internet freedom objectives into national or regional-level advocacy efforts or public debates;
6. culturally-sensitive communication and mediation skills; and
7. the desire to help protect human rights defenders, journalists, and marginalized persons around the world.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Digital Rights Expertise

• Provide expertise on digital rights policy issues including freedom of expression, data protection, privacy, access to information and surveillance
• Maintain currency in the trends and technologies affecting digital rights policy issues, and the mitigation strategies that are being experimented with
• Engage in local, regional and international digital rights events
• Consult and assist partners on digital rights policy challenges

Mentoring and Training

• Advise and mentor coalition partners on local, regional, and global digital rights policy issues
• Work with human rights defenders, journalists, advocates, lawyers, marginalized populations and internet freedom communities to understand their needs and help craft strategies and tactics
• Conduct trainings on a variety of digital rights issues including but not limited to the right to freedom of expression online, access to the internet, digital privacy and data protection, etc.
• Proven capacity to work directly with communities in their own community spaces, and to maintain trust and collaboration over extended periods of time.
• Monitor and compare trends across the consortium and find ways to share out findings with the IF community

Writing and Research

• Analyze current global digital rights trends and produce thought pieces and approaches to address challenges across the internet freedom community
• Develop policy briefs to address global, regional or country-specific digital rights challenges

Events and Presentations

• Develop and maintain up-to-date digital rights briefing and communications materials
• Support events and partner meetings
• Represent Internews at regional and international internet freedom events, as well as in other topical spaces
• Play a leading role in supporting and developing Internews’ public engagement strategy with regard to internet policy, internet governance, and technology policy

Values and Flexibility

• A strong, ethical, transparent, and community-focused approach to work.
• English proficiency.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed
• Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to upholding Internews’ Core Values.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• 5+ years leading internet policy efforts or related experience
• Relevant university degree
• Experience working on internet policy issues including but not limited to freedom of expression, data protection and privacy, access to information, surveillance, etc.
• Expertise working with human rights defenders, journalists, advocates, and/or marginalized populations, as well as (ideally) with internet freedom communities
• Experience engaging in regional and international digital rights fora
• Thought leadership in public discourse on regional and global digital rights issues
• Experience writing and reviewing policy briefs
• Ability to multi-task and prioritize a shifting workload
• Proven ability to operate effectively in a multicultural environment
• Understanding of gender-sensitive programming and approaches to civil society engagement.
• Professional-level fluency in English
• Superior analytical and writing ability
• Superior communication and presentation skills
• Proficiency in at least one language other than English.
• Optimism, a sense of humor, and excitement at joining a supportive, skilled, multi-cultural team that distributed across the globe

Preferred

• Understanding of cross-cultural concerns in working with people across the world
• Experience living and working outside of the United States
• Experience with legal policy analysis, and legal advocacy
• Experience with democracy, human rights and governance field

LOGISTICS

Location

This position reports to the Chief of Party of the Global Internet Freedom program who lives in the Eastern Time Zone in the US. Ultimately, this job is designed to be remote-first, and will work with consortium members around the globe, although candidates seeking an office-based position should feel free to express that desire. Because of this, applicants may be located as far east as UTC +3 and as far west as UTC -6, with the understanding that their work hours will need to be coordinated to align in part with the schedule of colleagues in working in UTC and UTC-5 time zones. This position will require extensive international travel (once it is safe to do so), including multiple trips to the United States.

Hiring Process

The Hiring Committee for this position will represent Internews personnel as well as representatives from multiple members of the global Internet Freedom coalition.  Applicants should submit a CV and a cover letter expressing why they are drawn to this position, and why they believe they are a strong applicant. Internews will conduct an initial screening of applicants’ CVs and cover letters and then work with the Consortium hiring committee to choose candidates for a phone screening, and then a final interview. We are seeking candidates who can begin work as soon as possible.

ABOUT INTERNEWS 

Internews is a global organization that values and strives to cultivate the perspectives that result from the inclusivity of different voices. We work to ensure access to trusted, quality information that empowers people to have a voice in their future and to live healthy, secure, and rewarding lives. We envision a world where everyone can communicate freely with anyone, anywhere, and exchange the news and information they need to shape their communities and the world. Over 35 years, we have cultivated and supported partners, people, and offices in more than 90 countries. We operate in the hardest places on earth, helping build deeply local solutions that incorporate technologies appropriate to each local context. We are committed to reducing information darkness over the next five years, testing and iterating new solutions, and asking ourselves repeatedly, “What more can be done?”

ABOUT THE GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY TEAM  

We are a 40-50 person, multilingual, multi-cultural team distributed across 11 countries.  Our programs and initiatives:

• defend and promote Internet Freedom, particularly digital rights, digital safety, and anti-censorship technologies;
• provide direct technological support to human rights defenders and independent journalists;
• improve private sector accountability within the area of technology and human rights; and
• lead research into how human rights can be protected in closed and closing spaces.
• You can learn more about the Global Technology Program (GTP) at Internews here: https://globaltech.internews.org/.

We dress casually, laugh easily, and cheer each other on. We believe strongly that diverse teams are the strongest teams. Ours includes a mix of genders, parents and non-parents, the self-taught, and people of multiple races, nationalities, ages, sexual orientations, and socio-economic backgrounds. We are an EEO employer and encourage candidates of all races, genders, ages, abilities, orientations, ethnicities, and national origins to apply, and we welcome those with non-traditional backgrounds and experiences.

To apply, please visit the Internews website: https://phf.tbe.taleo.net/phf04/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=INTERNEWS&cws=38&rid=1250