Job Title: Digital Action Lab Officer
Cluster: Innovation & Quality Management
Salary: USD 36,692.07per Annum (excluding benefits)
Contract Type: 12 months initial contract, subject to successful completion of the probationary period
Location: Remote, with international travel required. The candidate must have the legal right to work in their location.
Reports to: Programme & Networks Coordinator
Direct Reports: N/A Job
Role Overview:
The Digital Action Lab Officer will play a central role in ensuring the smooth, effective, and high-quality implementation of the Digital Action Lab. This pioneering initiative supports local civil society actors in the global south to navigate and overcome restrictive environments through the strategic use of digital tools and innovative practices for civic engagement. Reporting to the Programme Coordinator and working under the strategic direction of the Cluster Lead, the Officer will be responsible for coordinating the operational delivery of the Lab’s activities.
This includes supporting the implementation of partner engagement processes, ensuring compliance with relevant standards for due diligence, contracting, and reporting, and maintaining alignment with the initiative’s broader goals and values. The Officer will oversee quality control in planning and execution, monitor timelines and deliverables, and contribute to internal learning and adaptation processes. They will also serve as a key liaison with partners, helping to sustain strong, responsive relationships and ensuring that the Lab’s collaborative efforts are grounded in accountability, shared learning, and digital innovation. This role offers an exciting opportunity for a motivated professional to help operationalize a cutting-edge initiative that strengthens civil society and advances democratic resilience in some of the world’s most challenging civic spaces.
Areas of Responsibilities & Key Activities
Community and Partnership Engagement
•Continue the implementation of the Digital Action Lab, supporting diverse groups of local civil society collaborators to strengthen digital literacy and experiment with new digital approaches and activities.
•Build and maintain strong relationships with Digital Action Lab cohort members, prospective participants, and relevant stakeholders.
•Facilitate consistent and inclusive partner engagement to ensure active collaboration and mutual trust.
•Curate and support peer-learning spaces that encourage shared knowledge, exchange of experiences, and collective problem-solving.
•Establish and maintain responsive feedback mechanisms that promote transparency and strengthen constituent accountability.
•Support the testing and rollout of dynamic and innovative community engagement tools and approaches.
•Contribute to activities that foster learning, drive solidarity actions, and amplify advocacy efforts across the cohort and broader networks
Administrative and Project Management support
• Lead day-to-day tasks including those related to organizing and documenting meetings, partnership engagement and information management.
•Implement and track activities and budget expenditure according to agreed work plans, assess progress, and adapt activities as required, in coordination with the DDI Programme Coordinator.
•Support the creation of project and activity reports, overviews, briefs, and relevant input for communication products.
• Lead procurement services and manage vendors, including contract preparation on scopes of work, agreements, etc., according to CIVICUS policies and procedures.
•Develop and manage subgrant agreements in line with the initiative workplan and activities in coordination with the Finance and Compliance Coordinator.
Knowledge and Learning Sharing
• Systematically collect data and stories from the DAL participants and relevant wider stakeholders (including via constituent feedback mechanisms), in collaboration with the Impact and Accountability team.
•Work with participants and the DDI team to produce impact and learning content and facilitate peer-exchanges with/for the DAL participants, including via both online and in-person events.
•Share DAL outcomes, stories and lessons learned and hold associated engagement activities with wider actors via the DDI knowledge hub and other CIVICUS strategic networks.
•Help ensure that outcomes, stories and lessons from the DAL are shared and discussed across the CIVICUS secretariat and are informing CIVICUS’ digital strategy and it’s integration with wider CIVICUS teams and projects.
Other
•The role holder will from time to time be required to carry out any other duties that are within the scope of the job.
•All staff will demonstrate CIVICUS values and principles in all their professional relationships and any interactions that may reflect on CIVICUS Person
Specification
Education, Language & Qualifications
•Degree in a relevant field, such as International Relation, Development Studies, Innovation, or social sciences,or another related field, or equivalent work experience
•Fluency in English and either Spanish or French is essential
Essential Knowledge, skills and Experience
•4 - 6 years’ experience working with advocacy or human rights-based organizations or groups in the non-profit sector; with an understanding of the digital landscape and its impact on democracy and civic engagement.
•Familiarity with co-creation methodologies and constituent accountability practices
•Experience with facilitation and engagement of multi-cultural partners. •
Strong project management skills including translating activities to clear operational plans.
•Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and basic digital collaboration tools (e.g., Zoom, teams, Miro, etc.).
•Excellent interpersonal skills, and previous experience working remotely and in multicultural teams.
•Strong organizational skills and attention to details
•Commitment to CIVICUS’ vision, mission, values, and ways of working.
Desirable Knowledge, skills and Experience
•Experience working with a diverse range of civil society actors across all global regions but particularly in the global south.
•Ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams and external stakeholders in a multicultural and remote working environment.
The closing deadline for applications is on the 16th June 2025 at 11:59pm SAST
Short listed candidates will be contacted 2 weeks after the closing date to schedule interviews.
We appreciate and consider each application submitted. However, given the large volume of applications received, we find it impossible to respond to each applicant immediately. You will hear from us within three weeks only if you’re shortlisted for the next steps. We will update all applicants once the position has been filled.
CIVICUS reserves the right to withdraw any of our vacancies at any time.