Center for Reproductive Rights

Job Title: Senior Advocacy and Gender Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean

Department: Programs

Center Background: The Center for Reproductive Rights (the Center) is a global human rights organization working to ensure that reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights around the world. With offices in New York City, New York; Nairobi, Kenya; Bogota, Colombia; Geneva, Switzerland; and Washington, D.C., the Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization changing law and policy throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the United States. Our 230+ diverse professionals are committed to advancing the Center’s human rights mission through game-changing litigation, legal policy, and advocacy work. This has powered the Center’s exceptional growth to an operating budget of over $50 million and won the respect of law firms in countries around the world, with an additional $29 million annually of donated legal services, representing the work of countless lawyers from more than 46 countries. 

The Center’s Strategic Plan sets a high mark for impact: By 2030, half of the world’s population will be living under stronger protections for reproductive rights than they are today. The Center has a track record of success to back up this ambitious goal. Since our founding in 1992, the Center has transformed how reproductive rights are understood and applied by courts, governments, and human rights bodies worldwide on issues including maternal health, abortion, assisted reproduction, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). We have won groundbreaking cases before national courts, U.N. Committees, and regional human rights bodies. Additionally, the Center has led the development of historic, proactive legislation advancing robust protections for reproductive rights and has built the legal capacity of women’s rights advocates in more than 65 countries and counting.

The Role: The Senior Advocacy and Gender Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will work under the supervision of the Associate Director of Advocacy and External Relations for Latin America and the Caribbean in close collaboration with other program staff to support and build the work of the program.

In LAC, increasing levels of sexual and gender-based violence, discrimination and unwanted pregnancies are putting women and girls lives at severe risk, as well as keeping them from making their own life choices, to exercise their autonomy and enjoy their basic human rights. Maternal mortality due to unsafe abortions remains a challenge due to restrictive laws which impede access and result in most abortion services being provided under clandestine and unsafe conditions. At the same time there has been unprecedented strengthening of feminist and human rights movements who are leading the most important fight seen in a century. The ripples of these victories are spreading to neighboring and foreign countries alike and are being reverberated by new voices all over the world. Behind the scenes there has been notable progress in SRH access in the Africa and LAC regions.

CRR’s approach to advocacy prioritizes placing the voices and experiences of women and adolescents, particularly those facing intersectional discrimination, at the center of all advocacy strategies. This requires that these women and adolescents are provided the training, resources, and opportunity to self-advocate, and actively participate in advocacy interventions at the national regional and global levels.

As such, this position is expected to leverage Universal and Regional Human Rights mechanisms to promote SRHR and Gender Equality as to provide policy makers and influencers with in-person pre-session briefings, direct support (e.g. providing draft language, convening close door meetings with reproductive rights advocates) in effort to support them to leverage the strong human rights standards related that exist. Additionally, the Center is looking for translating wins (e.g. positive court decisions and improved regional and global standards) into meaningful change for people. For example, aiding governmental departments to create public policies and protocols that incorporate revised legal standards.

This position will work closely with other departments across the organization, including Global Advocacy, External Relations, Communications, Program Management Department, Pro Bono, and others. The Senior Advocacy and Gender Adviser will have a key role in strengthening and maintaining the LAC Program external relations with key stakeholders, including partners across the region, officials and State representatives and institutional representatives, among others. The Senior Adviser will be integral to the implementation of the Center’s specific regional projects and strategies, particularly its ground-breaking litigation to advance reproductive rights at the Interamerican Human Rights System and the Universal System as well as key communications campaigns to achieve the Program’s goals.

The position will be based in the Center's Bogotá office. International travel required.

Primary Responsibilities: The primary job responsibilities for the Senior Advocacy and Gender Adviser for LAC include, but are not limited to: 

Advocacy and Gender Strategy

• Design and implement a comprehensive LAC external relations strategy to reach State officials in the LAC region, LAC missions before the UN and strategic missions before the OAS.
• Identify key high-level advocacy opportunities both before Universal and Regional systems and propose engagement strategy to profile LAC priorities within the global agenda.
• Design a comprehensive strategy to implement key rulings and legal wins in the LAC region, including a policy-briefing strategy and plan to provide technical expertise to key stakeholders.

Advocacy and Gender Technical Support

• Promote the relationship of the Center with the Inter American Human rights System and the Universal Human Rights System, including high level events, meetings and briefings.
• Design, plan and conduct technical briefings with Inter-American system stakeholders, including missions of States before the OAS.
• Create technical and advocacy briefs for commissioners, rapporteurs, missions of States before international and regional bodies, including OAS and UN.
• Provide technical expertise to LAC key States on policies regulating sexual and reproductive health.

External Relations

• In coordination with relevant Center teams, build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders at UN and OAS Headquarters in New York, Geneva and Washington D.C., including UN Agencies, OAS Mandates, INGO’s and Member States representatives, and institutionalize these contacts to position the Center as a key source for technical expertise on SRHR. 
• Organize pre-assembly and pre-sessions briefings and coordination events with networks in LAC before OAS and Inter-American hearings (coalition of Human Rights, Women’s Rights coalition before the OAS, etc.).
• Organize events in support of LAC key strategic litigation cases and joint events on the global agenda with key movement partners, in collaboration with other Regional Programs and Global Advocacy teams.
• Identify and map key stakeholders to advance the Center’s strategic work, including within Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Education, Justice, Health, Women’s Rights in key LAC countries. Maintain contacts and institutionalize them.
• Plan and support one-on-one meetings, working groups and other meetings with key State officials to influence national level decision-makers to make structural changes on reproductive rights.
• Propose a coalition of like-minded stakeholders that can support individual freedom initiatives and understand their role in holding these freedom initiatives throughout time.
• Organize a peer-to-peer space for decision-makers from LAC prioritized countries to share lessons learned on how to implement progressive laws and standards.

Institutional Alignment

• Support Senior and Executive staff to engage with key UN, OAS and other key events through the development of background materials including briefings, speeches, talking points, stakeholder analysis and capacity development sessions, as needed.
• Prepare internal and external updates and other written analyses, as needed.
• Contribute timely and effectively to internal Center processes such as financial reporting, programmatic updates and others, as requested.
• Provide other administrative and operational support to help ensure the smooth functioning of the team as needed. 
• Contribute to the creation and delivery of communication campaigns, in collaboration with movement partners, targeting decision-makers and key stakeholders working in the Human Rights field in LAC about progression on reproductive rights in Latin America.
• Contribute to the dissemination campaigns of key cases being led by the LAC program.
• Support the Center strategy in cultivating Pro Bono partnerships and develop projects with law firms, law associations, and law schools in the region to leverage the Center’s work.
• Represent the Center externally on matters related to reproductive rights in the region through public speaking and interaction with the media.

Qualifications:

• Professional in Law (Juris Doctor or Postgraduate) required
• International Relations, Political Sciences or similar Social Sciences degree a plus
• At least 8 years of significant working experience in Human Rights, advocacy, external relations or similar fields. Experience at the Inter-American System and/or Universal System highly appreciated.
• Knowledge of international human rights systems, women’s rights and gender equality, knowledge or experience in sexual and reproductive rights and health, would be greatly valued.
• Working experience in the LAC region would be a plus.
• Working experience with international organizations, State officials and/or international non-governmental organizations.
• Experience in conducting high-level advocacy and external relations, nourishing networks and partner coalitions.
• Experience in designing and conducting policy briefs and technical briefs, highly appreciated.
• Capability of analyzing complex legal work, political context and current trends and thinking creatively and strategically to address them.
• Capacity to identify key opportunities and advise Senior staff, providing background information and decision-making support.
• Strong commitment to the Center’s mission, purpose, and values. 
• Native fluency in Spanish and strong working knowledge of English are required. 
• Excellent writing, editing, research, and oral advocacy skills (Spanish and English). 
• Detail-oriented, with strong organizational and coordination skills. 
• Ability to work collaboratively, multi-tasking, and under pressure. 

Don’t meet every single requirement? At the Center, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your past experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Behavioral Competencies:

• Develop & Manage Self & Others: Takes ownership of individual growth in order to achieve full potential; recognizes the value of team members and helps them develop their full potential while also achieving set objectives. 
• Collaboration (People First): Works intra- and/or cross-departmentally to support the goals and overarching strategies of the Center and its strategic plan.
• Feedback (Improve & Innovate): Actively engaged in feedback cycles: Gives and requests feedback to and from peers, supervisors and direct reports about work products, behaviors, values, style, and approaches with a view on how this impacts self, other individuals, and teams.
• Accountability: Follow-through on each commitment made to individual contributors, teams and partners and proactively informs others of any delays that occur along the way.

Work Competencies:

• Project Management: Works effectively on project teams in order to achieve long-term project goal and objectives.
• Problem Solve & Make Decisions: Identifies, analyzes and resolves existing and anticipated problems, using common sense to make timely decisions in order to reach the best solutions for the organization.
• Internal/External Focus: Anticipates internal and external partner’s needs; assesses requirements and identifies new solutions that align with overall goals and objectives of the organization.
• Communication & Influence: Communicates with and influences others to gain agreement and commitment to the strategic goals of the organization.

Compensation: This position's salary is competitive.

Benefits:

• Health: The Center pays up to 95%* of the premium for a comprehensive health insurance plan with no in-network deductible and best-in-class reproductive healthcare coverage, including infertility. The Center also offers Dental and Vision coverage. (* % may differ in various countries)
• Flexibility: The Center currently operates in a hybrid model, allowing staff to work 3 days in the office and work 2 days from home
• Well-being: The Center offers resources to help prevent and recover from burnout through different programs that enable mental, physical and community well-being. The Center offers generous leave including paid parental leave, personal days, vacation, and sick leave. We are also closed the last week of December to allow staff to spend time with their loved ones.
• Growth: You will be working with and learning from some of the top legal and operational minds, all passionate about the mission of advancing reproductive rights around the world. You will also be eligible for a stipend to use towards professional growth.
• Global: You will get a front-row seat to update on the fight for reproductive rights in the global space. You will also have access to Employee Resource Groups to connect to colleagues that share similar interests/backgrounds/views.
• Investment: After the first year of employment, the Center will contribute 7.5%* of your annual salary to a 401(k) (* only applicable in US and Kenya) 

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Center is committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our work and staff. We strongly encourage people from all communities to apply. If you are excited about this role and unsure about whether your past experience aligns with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles.

Our hiring processes and our work culture offer support and flexibility for staff with a variety of needs. Should you face an accessibility barrier in the application and interview process please let us know by contacting talent@reprorights.org. We will work with you to provide the accommodation that works best for you. 

To learn more about the Center’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), please visit Diversity, Equity and Inclusion | Center for Reproductive Rights

Learn more about the Center for Reproductive Rights, go to www.reproductiverights.org

How to Apply: Please complete the application below to apply. A cover letter and resume must be included in your application. Please include these application materials as attachments.

Please note that all genuine Center openings must be applied through the Center website. The Center does not charge a fee at any stage in the recruitment process (application, interviews, or selection). Nor does it request any medical examinations or bank account information as part of this process. If someone contacts, you on behalf of the Center requesting payment for your application please notify talent@reprorights.org before taking any further action.

Our hiring processes and our work culture offer support and flexibility for staff with a variety of needs. Should you face an accessibility barrier in the application and interview process please let us know by contacting talent@reprorights.org. We will work with you to provide the accommodation that works best for you. 

Deadline for applications: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible. 

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