About AVAC 

Founded in 1995, AVAC is a non-profit organization that uses education, policy analysis, advocacy and a network of global collaborations to accelerate the ethical development of and global access to effective HIV prevention options, as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity. AVAC works across the “research-to-rollout” continuum in solidarity with the most impacted individuals and groups.

AVAC advocates for prevention to end the HIV and related pandemics. With partners worldwide, AVAC pushes for the funding, focus, implementation and research that’s needed to make it happen. We: 

• Accelerate Product Innovation & Availability: AVAC collaborates with partners who work across the HIV prevention spectrum, from research to rollout, to expand the portfolio of prevention options and ensure products are available, accessible and used by those who need them most.
• Advocate for Access to High-Impact Prevention: AVAC is part of a robust civil society movement helping to shape a new era of global health spending and planning related to HIV prevention.
• Improve Research Conduct: AVAC advocates for research that is grounded in well-informed, community-centered perspectives. AVAC promotes the adoption of Good Participatory Practice (GPP) in research, convenes consultations and workshops, and produces publications, podcasts, webinars, and other research literacy materials. The involvement of key stakeholders throughout the research process is central to all this work.
• Promote Effective HIV Prevention Policy: Ending the HIV epidemic depends on political will, committed resources and supportive policies at global and national levels. AVAC’s policy work, in partnership with a global network of civil society partners, focuses on the importance of funding and strategic planning for HIV prevention research and the imperative to bring long-term solutions to the people who need them.
• Track and Translate the Field: Our communications and publications translate complex science into accessible resources. This work is at the core of our mission to advance prevention and end the epidemic. We focus on ensuring people with different kinds of expertise can better understand context, community perspectives, science and policy.
• Strengthen Global Advocacy Networks: AVAC supports the development and sustainability of advocacy networks focused on accelerating HIV prevention from research to rollout. These networks, mostly centered in Africa, bring vigorous attention to science, policy, funding, community, communications, health services and the regulatory process, charting a path to end the HIV epidemic.

AVAC employs these values across all of the work that we do, as described in the following:

• We promote equity, solidarity, and inclusion by working directly with affected communities and breaking down complex concepts and barriers to information and services.
• We put people and communities at the center of the work we do, integrating sexual and reproductive health and rights, harm reduction, and HIV prevention.
• We ensure that products and programs are ethically designed and delivered to advance rights-based and equitable access to comprehensive, user-centered quality care.
• We cultivate balanced partnerships grounded in respect and transparency through bi-directional learning, capacity-building, and priority setting.
• We are accountable to the individuals and organizations influencing how research and roll-out are conducted and to the communities that most need access to products, services, and programs.

Job summary

The Regional Advocacy Partnerships Manager is a core member of AVAC’s Partnerships & Capacity Strengthening team, reports to the Director of Partnerships & Capacity Strengthening and will support key projects in Eastern and Southern Africa. This new position will be based in Eastern or Southern Africa, joining other Africa-based team members and partners in developing a robust, responsive Africa-based presence integrated with core AVAC advocacy programs, for collaborative design, implementation, monitoring, and reporting on activities within a strategic work plan.

This position requires experience with and understanding of HIV, global health issues, advocacy campaigns, country health programs and program management. Knowledge of AVAC’s programs and the biomedical HIV prevention research and implementation field would add to the success of this role.

This new position is an excellent opportunity for an individual who is well-networked with civil society health movements, committed to advocating for health equity and well-resourced, and community-centered, evidence-based HIV treatment and prevention programming.

Essential job functions

The Regional Advocacy Partnerships Manager will have essential functions related to supporting projects and collaborations across the Partnerships & Capacity Strengthening work stream, strengthening the Advocacy Fellows Program, the Alumni Fellows network and coordinating the African Media Café Engagement project.

Coordinate regional alumni Fellows engagement and support partnerships with advocates, civil society organizations and other stakeholders

The Partnership & Capacity Strengthening team implements several programs to strengthen the HIV and STI prevention advocacy movement. The Advocacy Fellows Program and the growing alumni Fellows network are key within this portfolio of programs. Key responsibilities for this position include:

• Expand and foster collaborations with civil society organizations and networks—based largely in Africa—on strategic action campaigns; 

• Develop and implement—with support from team members—a strategy for a regional Fellows alumni network and stronger country coalitions;
• Provide support to recent Fellows alumni in strengthening advocacy programs, including technical assistance, developing work plans and budgets for advocacy projects, training and creating linkages to other projects and networks;
• Support development and implementation of organizational capacity strengthening program for Fellows program and link with other partner organizations and AVAC projects;
• Identify and partner with organizations in countries where Fellows operate to support Fellows, provide strategic linkages in country and support recruitment efforts;
• Provide tailored support for new Hosts and Fellows in countries with fewer AVAC partners;
• Drive alumni engagement to support Fellows recruitment efforts, providing website updates amongst other modes of communication;
• Serve as regional point of contact for queries about the Fellows program from potential applicants and hosts;
• Ensure effective information sharing about the Fellows Program and Partnerships workstream in collaboration with AVAC Communications team through the AVAC website, social media (Facebook, Twitter etc.), newsletters, brochures/handbook and resource packages;
• Research and develop concise, clear, and impact-oriented issue/situation analysis reports for internal/external use; and
• Support expansion of AVAC's partnerships with Key Population-led organizations.

Support implementation of the African Media Science Café Program

The Media Science Café program supports national journalist networks to strengthen capacity of journalists to report accurately on HIV and STI prevention research and implementation and COVID science and implementation. The program works to build connections between journalists and researchers, implementers, policy makers and civil society. Key responsibilities for this position include:

• Serve as front-line contact for media café partners, meeting their information needs, coordinating calls, meetings, reporting and technical assistance requests;
• Help support café conveners to identify timely topics of discussion, identify and prepare speakers, identify materials needed to support cafés, regional trainings and conference trainings;
• Ensure effective information sharing of the media science café program and AVAC’s regional media trainings and other media engagement work through frequent updating of the media science café program webpage on the AVAC website and sharing information with AVAC team;
• Support and maintain online communication portals for sharing information with media science café partners and other media engagement partners, including on avac.org and WhatsApp; and
• Manage the monitoring, evaluating and learning needs of the program and ensure that information is captured, reported, shared and effectively communicated.

Cross-project functions

Key responsibilities for this position include:

• Collaborate with other AVAC Africa-based colleagues to represent AVAC in the region at relevant meetings and events, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of AVAC’s programs including civil society engagement, advocacy and media engagement;
• Provide operational, technical and facilitation support in leading meetings, workshops, virtual calls, and engagements with partners as needed;
• Collaborate with other AVAC Africa-based colleagues and across AVAC to identify opportunities to synergize projects, foster linkages between programs and partners at country level and around specific interventions and/or initiatives, and to develop and disseminate content;
• Contribute to the development of resource documents, blog posts, partner updates and other communications materials;
• Gather and disseminate necessary financial information to support timely budgeting and reporting needs, as required;
• Contribute to overall functioning of the Partnerships & Capacity Strengthening work stream, including work plan development, reporting, monitoring and communications;
• Ensure effective sharing of knowledge and skills to engage civil society partners in research to rollout of HIV and STI prevention; and
• Other duties as assigned.

Position Qualifications

While no one candidate will possess all the qualifications listed below, the ideal candidate will embody many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:

• Commitment to AVAC’s mission and values, including fostering an equitable, diverse and inclusive working environment;

• Five years of demonstrated experience in global health, HIV, SRHR or related field in project management, providing skills training and facilitating multi-stakeholder engagements, specifically in eastern and southern Africa;

• Experience with and understanding of global health, biomedical research, country health mechanisms and programs, the media landscape and HIV/AIDS and program implementation;

• Experience supporting media engagement and/or communications campaigns and activities for comparable programs or organizations;

• Experience in advocacy for health and development issues, community engagement for HIV research, coalition-building, influencing national- and international-level health planning and policy;
• Excellent writing, proof-reading and editing skills to produce high-quality documents and deliverables for a range of audiences and stakeholders both online and in print communications (i.e., for advocates, funders, policy makers, media, etc.);
• Demonstrated experience in systems management, with a track record of developing and maintaining highly-organized management systems and processes across teams using Monday.com, Google Suite, MS Office, etc.;
• Detail oriented, excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritize tasks;
• Excellent multicultural and interpersonal skills, including the ability to facilitate relationships and interact effectively with others inside and outside the organization;
• Able to work remotely via highspeed reliable internet and to collaborate with a remote team across several time zones;
• Residency and work authorization within Eastern and/or Southern Africa; and
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally within the Eastern and Southern African region and US to AVAC and partner-convened meetings as needed (estimated travel: 30%).

Salary

Expected salary range for this position is $75,000 – 82,000, dependent on experience, and will be

compensated in the local currency of the selected candidate.

How to apply

AVAC champions the importance and value of a diverse, equitable and inclusive working environment. Applicants representing communities most affected by HIV are encouraged to apply, including key populations, people living with HIV, and those from HIV-endemic countries.

AVAC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, military or veteran status and other such factors in accordance with US state and federal laws.

Please forward your resume and any supporting materials that tell us more about your professional and personal experience to careers@avac.org.

About AVAC

Founded in 1995, AVAC uses communication, education, policy analysis, advocacy and a network of global collaborations to accelerate the ethical development and global delivery of HIV prevention options as part of a comprehensive and integrated response to the epidemic. AVAC works across the “research-to-rollout” continuum in solidarity with individuals and groups most impacted by HIV. AVAC advocates for HIV prevention to end AIDS. With partners worldwide, AVAC pushes for the funding, focus, implementation and research that’s needed to make it happen. We: •Accelerate product innovation and availability: AVAC collaborates with partners who work across the HIV prevention spectrum, from research to rollout, to expand the portfolio of prevention options and ensure products are available, accessible and used by those who need them most. •Advocate for access to high-impact prevention: AVAC is part of a robust civil society movement helping to shape a new era of global health spending and planning related to HIV prevention. •Improve research conduct: AVAC advocates for research that is grounded in well-informed, community-centered perspectives. AVAC promotes the adoption of Good P...articipatory Practice (GPP) in research, convenes consultations and workshops, and produces publications, podcasts, webinars, and other research literacy materials. The involvement of key stakeholders throughout the research process is central to all this work. •Promote effective HIV prevention policy: Ending the HIV epidemic depends on political will, committed resources and supportive policies at global and national levels. AVAC’s policy work, in partnership with a global network of civil society partners, focuses on the importance of funding and strategic planning for HIV prevention research and the imperative to bring long-term solutions to the people who need them. •Track and translate the field: Our communications and publications translate complex science into accessible resources. This work is at the core of our mission to advance prevention and end the epidemic. We focus on ensuring people with different kinds of expertise can better understand context, community perspectives, science and policy. •Strengthen global advocacy networks: AVAC supports the development and sustainability of advocacy networks focused on accelerating HIV prevention from research to rollout. These networks, mostly centered in Africa, bring vigorous attention to science, policy, funding, community, communications, health services and the regulatory process, charting a path to end the HIV epidemic.

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