Innovation Officer, Amplifying Voices for Just Climate Action at Hivos East Africa

Job context

The five-year strategic objective of the Amplifying Voices for Just Climate Action (AVJCA) program is “By 2025, local civil society groups have claimed a central role as empowered innovators, facilitators and advocates of climate solutions”.

Our program is about climate justice i.e. climate change is not only an environmental problem to be addressed but also a societal challenge with ethical and human rights aspects. Hence our intention is to build wide societal support for locally shaped climate solutions through an inclusive and rights-based approach. This includes building a broad-based climate alliance at country level, bridging divides (urban-rural, gender, youth), that amplifies voices in new, unusual ways. In addition, we will influence national and global policies and financial flows in support of these locally shaped solutions. The program will be implemented by an alliance of 6 organizations: WWF Netherlands, Hivos, SouthSouthNorth, Akina Mama wa Afrika, Shack Dwellers International and Fundación Avina. During the 5 years’ program period the alliance aims to increase ownership of the program by local CSOs. The program is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the “Power of Voices” framework.

In general terms, the Innovation Officers (IO) in Hivos enhances social innovation capacity and performance. An IO, working in close partnership with primary process professionals, creates, explores, tests, assesses and improves the application of relevant social and other innovation methodologies and products which can be directly applied in the primary processes. Proven concepts and solutions are made accessible to the external community of social innovation practitioners. The IO focuses on the driving force in Hivos primary processes: making social innovations more sustainable (in the projects). He works in close partnership the DMEL position that provides the evidence for knowledge and innovation development.

The IO supports the AVJCA alliance to enhance social innovation within this program. He/she/they will work closely with the PMEL team to include innovation in learning and adaptive management. The IO will share methodologies and approaches for social innovation with the alliance members including with the national teams. This information needs to help the teams to broaden their scope and include new, more impactful approaches. The IO will organize webinars, learning events etcetera to enable alliance members and partners to share their experience with innovation and successful models to improve the program. The IO develops the best instrument for the AVJCA program being e.g. an innovation lab, specific projects or series of learning events etc. The IO will ensure that the AVJCA will be informed on possible networks, approaches and methods used inside and outside Hivos that can strengthen the program. The IO will reach out to external stakeholders to inform and engage them in the AVJCA program and Hivos’ work on innovation in this field. The IO will closely relate with the Hivos colleagues working in AVJCA and make cross linkages with other programs within Hivos that are relevant for the AVJCA work to establish a Hivos learning agenda. Collects and document evidence-based social innovation and innovation methods within the AVJCA.

Your responsibilities

Innovation Intelligence

• Collects and documents creation and evidence-based social innovation and innovation methods;
• Provides the AVJCA alliance access to innovation intelligence and advises on challenges and opportunities of strategic choices.

Project Management

• Co-creates social innovations through specific interventions and e.g. labs; implements these according to project management requirements;
• coordinates implementation and delivery (with AVJCA stakeholders) and integrates results in working practice of AVJCA.

Positioning of Hivos

• Selects AVJCA partners for innovation development;
• Organizes exchanges with external resources and presents;
• Profiles and disseminates teachings and knowledge on the application of social innovation in the professional environment.

Quality of performance

• Co-designs the innovation agenda for the Alliance.
• Manages the implementation of projects to induce new concepts, insights and working methods in the Hivos organization.

Your profile

• Relevant academic level of working and thinking.
• Relevant work experience of more than 5 years.
• Needs exceptional skills and experience on our thematic areas, intervention strategies and evidence based working to implement and adapt the AVJCA program.
• Proven affinity with the central aim of the program: just climate action.
• Experience in smart activism e.g. through citizen data action, digital defenders or in transparency & accountability approaches is a preference.
• Experience in strategy development, advocacy and innovation. Decisive and daring actor with strong power and will to execute.
• Ability to impose structure, document and share insights and results of innovation and learning.
• High level of integrity and activist attitude; access to power to make change happen.
• Work experience in an international (NGO) environment.
• Personality that can think outside of the box and encourage others to experiment, take calculated risks and dare to fail to learn.