ABOUT WITNESS
We are a global human rights organization, a collective of passionate human rights activists with (mostly remote) team members all over the world. WITNESS’ mission is to help people use video and technology to protect and defend human rights. We are a 40-person multi-disciplinary team with staff based across 5 continents. While we’re legally a non-profit that is registered as a 501(c)3 in the U.S, we are a global collective: our staff members (as well as consultants, interns, fellows and a vast community of partners and collaborators) are based around the world and reflect a group of activists with diverse skills and backgrounds.
WHAT WE DO
WITNESS pairs grassroots community support with advocacy at a systems level. Our team works holistically on a global scale to understand how communities are using and want to use video and technology for human rights. With a cellphone camera, anyone can become a human rights defender and expose injustice, making it harder for perpetrators to hide or for systems of oppression to remain invisible. But using video for community organizing, justice and accountability can be dangerous - videos can put defenders (or those they film) at risk, can be used against communities in court or deceitfully discredited by tired old power narratives. Filming is almost never enough - for videos to make a difference they need to work alongside strong advocacy or legal strategies; they also need to be created, preserved and shared in ways that avoid creating more harm or trauma.
New threats to human rights are emerging at the intersection of artificial intelligence, misinformation and disinformation and a global wave of rising authoritarianism.
When it comes to systemic challenges we are on the watch for both existing problems – like how large amounts of critical human rights footage are lost because of the arbitrary decisions of platforms – but also emerging threats and opportunities, such as those posed by ‘deepfakes’, new ways to manipulate media to make it look like someone said or did something they never did.
WITNESS 2021 Year in Review
ABOUT THE TEAM
The WITNESS United States Program supports activists, advocates, and legal experts across the U.S. to better utilize digital video and technology to expose abuses, create counter-narratives, uphold human rights values, and advocate for change. Currently, our work is focused on (but not limited to) ending state violence through the thematic areas of police accountability, decarceration, immigrant and Indigenous rights, and land defense. To address these issues, we engage in partnerships, provide workshops and develop training resources that touch on everything from documenting human rights violations, to effective and ethical storytelling, to holistic digital security practices. Last year, the U.S. Program began collaborating with several other regional and thematic WITNESS programs to strategically design and implement a new “Collaborate for Impact” program that aims to support youth and Indigenous communities in using video/technology for earth/land defense in the context of the climate crisis across Abya Yala (Americas).
THE ROLE
We are seeking a Program Assistant to help ensure Program leads are supported in meeting program goals, and also ensure smooth functioning of administrative systems at WITNESS. They will be responsive to the operation’s team requests to support the smooth functioning of our systems across WITNESS: financial, human resources, security, technology, external reporting and donor tracking. They will also support program work with necessary tasks related to trainings, convenings, and presentations.
THE RESPONSIBILITIES
Program:
Cross Team Support and Collaboration
This role will act as the primary liaison between the Regional Program Team and our core support functions Fundraising, Finance, HR and IT.
The position will be focused on ensuring the effective flow of information, supporting compliance, reporting and the correct application of our policies and procedures. There will be a strong need for effective cross-team collaboration and communication, ensuring that expectations are well communicated and deadlines are met.
Typical support tasks will include:
Finance
Human Resources
External Relations (Fundraising and Communication)
Information Technology
Security
Reports to: U.S. Programs Manager
Start Date: ASAP
Principle Relationships: Cross-regional Program Managers, Finance team, HR, IT Team
Title: Program Assistant- U.S.
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
Experience: Human Rights Background in (or passion for) human rights; understands networks, grassroots organizing and how activists mobilize online/person. Committed to social justice and WITNESS’ values/mission and to a global, human rights lead approach.
Languages: We are a global team that uses English as our shared language, as such this role requires a high proficiency in written and spoken English. Additional languages are a plus considering we work across regions in the world, particularly the Americas (Abya Yala).
Other Important Skills:
Characteristics: Strong interpersonal skills and aptitude for cross-cultural communication. Team-minded. A doer. Is organized and follows through. Espouses good humor under pressure; inspires others.
Education: You can tell us about your degrees, but we’re more interested in what your passions are and what you can do. If your degrees are part of that story, great! (But no formal education required).
Location: We are a globally distributed, remote workforce; this is a full-time position, the location is flexible with a strong preference for candidates located in the United States. Flexibility in location will be considered provided some overlap of working hours with the rest of the team can be ensured and subject to the organization’s ability to offer employment in new locations.
At this time, our team members are working through hybrid office arrangements, combining remote at-home work with intermittent use of offices and/or co-working spaces.
These include: the USA, Mexico, Brazil, UK, Netherlands, Nigeria, and Kenya.
Typically, we can only consider applicants who are already legally able to work in the country in which the role is based. Visa sponsorship or relocation allowance are rare, and offered only for specialized positions. The successful candidate must have the legal right-to-work in the location in which they will be based.
Compensation: WITNESS operates a salary localization policy using a combination of regularly reviewed FX and salary adjustment multipliers for location.
Based on current rates, gross salaries for some of our current locations are given as an example:
Duration: This is a full-time 1-year fixed-term contract with a flexible start date.
Benefits:
HOW TO APPLY
If you are interested in joining the WITNESS team, please apply through BambooHR. You will need to attach your resume and cover letter.
Please include a cover letter. We are interested in hearing about what you’ve done, what you can do, and what you want to do at WITNESS.
Please note that if you are applying via a link in a 3rd party system (Indeed, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Zip Recruiter etc), be sure that you are going through the application link in BambooHR.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Applications must be received by January 14th, 2024. Please note that due to the volume anticipated, we will not be able to respond individually to each applicant. We kindly ask that you do not send duplicate applications via mail or email, and no phone calls. No recruiters please.
WITNESS is a global human rights organization and aims to build an inclusive workforce that is reflective of the communities we work with. We are interested in building a talented team that brings their true selves with diverse backgrounds, cultures and perspectives. We are interested in receiving applications from those who are marginalized and underrepresented.
WITNESS is an equal opportunity employer. People of all ages, races, ethnicities, national origins, religions, genders, gender identities and expressions, sexual orientations, and individuals protected by any other statuses under international federal, state or local laws, including but not limited to, disability, marital, domestic partnership, familial, caregiver, transgender, military or veteran statuses, are encouraged to apply.
http://www.witness.org
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