Background
Peace Brigades International (PBI) is seeking to hire a facilitator or facilitation team for our General Assembly, which will take place virtually during the month of October, 2021.**
PBI is a non-governmental organisation, registered in the USA, which protects human rights and promotes nonviolent conflict transformation. We provide protection, capacity development, advocacy, and other support for threatened individuals, communities and organizations striving to promote social justice and defend human rights in areas of socio-political conflict. Our current field projects are in Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Indonesia, Mexico, Nepal and Costa Rica/Nicaragua.
Our field work is supported by a network of 13 country groups in Europe and North America who carry out volunteer recruitment, advocacy and fundraising, and a small international office in Brussels, Belgium.
PBI uses a non-hierarchical model of organizing and decisions are made by consensus. PBI is governed by an International Council (IC) made up of volunteer members from around the world, and our programmatic work is coordinated by an International Operations Council (IOC) and through a number of international working groups.
For further information, please see www.peacebrigades.org.
Scope and purpose of Consultancy
The General Assembly (GA) is the highest decision-making body of PBI and is made up of delegates and observers representing PBI’s projects, country groups and international council.
According to PBI’s bylaws, the responsibilities of the GA include:
- Approve amendments to PBI’s vision, mission, principles, mandate, bylaws and internal rules
- (If applicable) Approve the PBI global strategic plan
- (If applicable) Approve the mandates and strategic plans of projects for the following three years according to criteria set out in the global strategic plan as approved by the GA, other GA decisions, and considerations of organizational and financial viability and sustainability
- Evaluate the functioning of the IC, approve its reports and workplans, appoint new members
- Review financial reports
- Provide a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas inside PBI
- Approve the opening and closing of projects and country groups
Responsibilities of facilitator/s
- Support the preparation of the GA, including participation in the agenda committee and development of virtual consultation processes, session plans and methodologies.
- Facilitate all plenary GA sessions (approx. 50 participants) and some breakout groups sessions.
- Guide and oversee the consensus process as it develops through consultation rounds, plenary and small group sessions.
- Coordinate logistical and technical issues related to facilitation with PBI’s International Office staff and external interpreters.
Duration and Timeline
The formal decision-making sessions of the General Assembly will take place on October 16-19 and 27-28, with virtual sessions lasting around 3 hours per day, likely between 12:00-16:00 Central European Time.
Some additional informal GA sessions will take place throughout the month of October, and the facilitator/s may be asked to facilitate these depending on their availability and the needs of those organizing the sessions.
**Facilitator(s) would be expected to be available for some initial preparation and coordination in July and August, with the majority of preparation work taking place in September and early October.
Person specifications
We are looking for a person or team with a mix of the following:
- Fluency in English and Spanish (able to comfortably facilitate sessions and communicate with participants in either language). As PBI operates bilingually, we are unable to consider applications that do not meet the language requirement.
- Experience of facilitating large groups
- Significant experience facilitating collective decision-making processes using consensus or similar decision-making methodologies
- Experience working with decentralized, non-hierarchical, and/or multilingual organizations and understanding of their particularities
- Experience developing methodology for and facilitating virtual spaces and using and troubleshooting digital facilitation and collaboration tools
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, comfortable working with diverse, multicultural and multi-lingual groups
- Highly organized, self-motivated and proactive with good problem-solving skills
- Ability to remain objective
- Knowledge of the international peace and/or human rights sector would be an asset
- Prior experience with or knowledge of PBI or other international accompaniment organizations would be an asset.
Terms and Conditions
The consultancy comprises facilitation of at least 6-10 virtual live sessions of 2-3 hours each, as well as necessary coordination and preparation time as described under the facilitator responsibilities above.
We estimate that the total days of work required will be between 10-12, inclusive of preparation, coordination with session leaders and GA organizers, live sessions, and follow up.
The total maximum budget available for this consultancy is €4,000 EUR.
How to apply:
Please visit https://www.peacebrigades.org/en/jobs-with-pbi to review the full terms of reference and for application instructions.