Role Overview
The Strategic Initiatives Support Officer will provide high-quality project and administrative support to CIVICUS' Strategic Initiatives workstream, supporting activities to: strengthen funder engagement and grant management; diversify resource mobilisation efforts; support cross-cutting initiatives, including organisational strategy development, annual planning and budgeting, knowledge management, evaluations and learning, and support implementation of the Norad Civic Space grant. Working closely with the Advisor, Strategic Initiatives, the Officer will help ensure that funder reports, correspondence, briefing materials and knowledge products meet a consistently high editorial standard. Excellent writing skills and a high level of organisation are essential to this role.
Areas of Responsibilities & Key Activities
Writing, Research and Knowledge Products
- Draft, edit and proofread funder correspondence, briefing notes, concept notes, talking points and other written materials to a high editorial standard, ensuring clarity, accuracy and consistency with CIVICUS' voice and style.
- Support the development of content for concept notes and proposals, working with the Advisor, consultants and colleagues across CIVICUS on funding diversification efforts.
- Prepare summaries, minutes and follow-up notes from meetings, forums and convenings.
- Maintain and update knowledge resources and filing systems (e.g. Knowledge Hub/SharePoint), ensuring materials are accurate, current and easy to navigate.
Funder Engagement Support
- Maintain and update funder contact records and CRM databases, ensuring information is accurate and current.
- Support coordination with fundraising consultants, including scheduling calls, tracking agreed actions and consolidating outreach records.
- Assist with preparation for funder meetings, forums and events, including logistics, briefing preparation and note-taking.
- Support research into good funding practices and ecosystem-strengthening approaches for organisations and activists at risk.
- Help track quarterly funder updates and other scheduled communications, flagging upcoming requirements to the Advisor.
Grant Management and Reporting (Accountability)
- Maintain and update the Grants Management Profile (GMP) and Smartsheet dashboard, ensuring grant details, deliverables and reporting deadlines are accurate and current.
- Schedule and support report coordination calls with project leads, Finance and I&A ahead of funder deadlines, tracking action points and following up on outstanding items.
- Support quality-checking of narrative and financial reports for consistency, clarity and adherence to funder requirements.
- Support documentation of grant agreements, restrictions and compliance requirements in collaboration with relevant teams.
Cross-Cutting Initiatives Support
- Provide coordination and logistical support for annual planning, budgeting, learning activities, and other cross-organisational convenings, including scheduling, materials preparation and follow-up.
- Support coordination of Norad-funded and other cross-organisational grant activities, liaising with cluster leads and coordinators to track progress.
- Assist with organisational strategy review processes by compiling inputs, tracking action points and supporting follow-up.
- Support project close-out processes (e.g. subgrant close-out, exit planning) by maintaining accurate records and tracking outstanding items.
- Contribute to knowledge-sharing, knowledge management and learning initiatives by helping document, store, and disseminate lessons across teams and externally.
CIVICUS Values and Team Culture
- Model CIVICUS' values and professional integrity in all written and verbal communications.
- Contribute to a collaborative, supportive and high-performing team culture.
Other
- This job description is not exhaustive, and the role holder will, from time to time, be required to carry out any other duties that are within the scope of the job and commensurate with the role, as reasonably assigned by management.
- 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
- Minimum Bachelor's degree in social sciences, international relations, gender studies, sociology, political science, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience).
- Excellent written and spoken English is essential; exceptional writing, editing and proofreading skills are a core requirement of this role.
Essential Knowledge, skills and Experience
- Minimum 5 years' relevant work experience, ideally within a civil society organisation, international development or similar setting.
- Demonstrated ability to write clearly, concisely and persuasively for varied audiences, including funders, policymakers and internal teams.
- Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines with close attention to detail.
- Good research and analytical skills, with the ability to synthesise information from a range of sources.
- Commitment to human rights and social justice principles.
- Experience working remotely and collaboratively within a globally distributed team.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office and project management applications.
Desirable Knowledge, skills and Experience
- Experience supporting funder or grant reporting processes.
- Knowledge of civil society and civic space issues.
- Knowledge of one or more UN languages other than English.
The closing deadline for applications is on the 22 October 2026 at 11:59pm SAST.
Application instructions:
- Applicants are advised not to use autofill when completing the application form for this job. To avoid errors, please fill out the form manually without using autofill.
- AI-generated CVs/resumes and cover letters are not permitted. All application materials must be written by the applicant and accurately reflect the applicant’s skills, qualifications, and experience. Applications that contain AI-generated materials will not be considered.
Your application should comprise of:
- A full CV, including educational and professional qualifications, a full employment history showing the positions, responsibilities held, and relevant achievements
- A cover note of not more than one page outlining your motivation for applying for the role.
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.
