Reports To: Executive Director, RSRI
Location: Remote
Classification: 2022-23 RSRI Fellow
Stipend: 10 hours per week ($28/hour)
Timeframe: September 2022-May 2023
Agency Overview:
The Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative (RSRI) believes that refugees deserve the opportunity to support themselves, contribute to their host communities, and live with dignity. The RSRI promotes opportunities for refugees around the world to become self-reliant and achieve a better quality of life. It is a global forum for learning, action, and collaboration on self-reliance. The RSRI has a network of 45+ members and receives strategic guidance from a global Steering Committee. The RSRI was co-founded by RefugePoint and the Women’s Refugee Commission, and is hosted by RefugePoint. You will be joining a growing effort that is spearheading new initiatives to change the face of humanitarian and development response efforts.
The RSRI host agency, RefugePoint, was founded in 2005 to provide lasting solutions for the world’s most at-risk refugees. With a global staff of 130+, RefugePoint is a leading innovator in the refugee solutions space. The organization identifies pathways to safety and self-reliance for refugees and aims to transform humanitarian response by building new programs in collaboration with refugees that lead to lasting solutions.
Fellowship Overview:
Reporting to the RSRI Executive Director, you will work closely with the RSRI team to support policy/advocacy initiatives, including:
Global Refugee Forum – Stocktaking
The RSRI will lead a stocktaking exercise with key stakeholders, including, for example, InterAction, ICVA and UNHCR to assess the status of the existing GRF pledges with a self-reliance focus. Through review of progress to date, we will assess: gaps – including funding commitments, geographic/displacement contexts, thematic areas and, involvement from key stakeholders; roadblocks to progress; and priority areas for future pledges.
To inform the stocktaking exercise, the RSRI will consult with a wide range of stakeholders, including: pledging entities and funders; regional support platforms (e.g. MIRPS, IGAD and SSAR); the UNHCR Advisory Board and Task Team on the meaningful participation of forcibly displaced and stateless people; the global academic interdisciplinary network; and the RSRI global partners network, among others.
The Fellow will work closely with the RSRI Executive Director to compile information related to tracking of self-reliance pledges from the 2019 Global Refugee Forum to inform development of the report; organize and collect information from key stakeholders; and identify gaps/challenges/highlights of good practice for inclusion in the report.
The Fellow will support the RSRI team in collecting data to ‘ground truth’ pledge progress in a select number of key countries with international and national NGO networks and with organizations led by displaced persons.
Host Country Policy Snapshot Report
The Self-Reliance (de jure) Policy Snapshot captures the policy environments of the top refugee-hosting countries regarding opportunities and barriers for self-reliance achievement and tracks against indicators that align with the areas associated with self-reliance achievement as defined by the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative. The Fellow will support with an update of the policy snapshot, reviewing and coordinating with other similar efforts to produce a report and infographics that will be subsequently updated on a biennial basis.
In addition to these tasks, the Fellow will also assist the ED with tracking policies, strategies and budgets of key donors around self-reliance outcomes to inform policy/advocacy strategies and goals.
Other tasks may be assigned, as aligned with the learning objectives outlined above.
This position is based remotely, with the option to office-based if the Fellow is in New York, Boston or Nairobi.
Learning objectives:
- Use of data to inform policy objectives.
- Exposure to a wide range of program models aimed at self-reliance outcomes.
- Exposure to financial tracking and policy/advocacy initiatives and collective action related to multilateral institutions and donor pledging events.
Qualifications and Requirements:
- Current graduate student in the field of international development, international affairs, or related field. Highly qualified undergraduate students or recent graduates may also be considered.
- Excellent oral and written communications skills, with an ability to write precisely and concisely for internal and external audiences.
- Prior policy/advocacy experience is preferred, but not required.
- The Fellow must be available for occasional early morning meetings with colleagues around the globe (e.g. 8:00am ET).
- Commitment to portraying refugees in an empowering and positive light.
- Prior experience working with at-risk populations is a plus.
Students coming from a refugee or forced displacement background are encouraged to apply.
The position will remain open until filled.
Compensation:
At RefugePoint, we strive to reward our employees equitably and transparently. This means that we pay our employees based on a clear and consistent methodology and without regard to identity or personal relationships. A stipend of $28/hour will be offered for the fellowship
A diverse workforce helps RefugePoint realize its fullest potential. RefugePoint is committed to providing equality of opportunity for all persons in all aspects of employment without regard to race, religion, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, disability, ancestry, or any other factor unrelated to job performance.
Additionally, RefugePoint is aware that the pursuit of our vision, mission, and values is strengthened by integrating anti-racist principles in all that we do. Therefore, we are committed to being an anti-racist organization, and realize that doing so involves making a sustained commitment. Candidates from historically underrepresented group(s) are encouraged to apply.