CIVICUS Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI) Team is hiring an Advocacy Specialist

Deadline: September 12, 2025

The Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI) team at CIVICUS is seeking a highly experienced Advocacy Specialist to strengthen the capacity of Regional Support Mechanism host partners in six regions – Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa- to protect and expand digital civic space.

The Advocacy Specialist will collaborate with host partners to design and implement advocacy strategies, plans, and products that promote and protect civic space and inclusive democracy in the digital era, while driving coordinated advocacy efforts targeting national governments, the United Nations, multilateral institutions, and donor agencies.

Scope of Work

The scope of work includes, but is not limited to, the following tasks:

• National Governments: Close collaboration with the host partners and/or local collaborators to design and implement 48 advocacy actions across the 6 regions (8 per region) targeting national governments to safeguard and/or enhance an enabling environment for local civil society actors.
• UN/Multilateral Institutions/Donor Agencies: Close collaboration with the host partners to design and implement 6 advocacy actions across the 6 regions of implementation targeting the UN and other multilateral institutions and donor agencies. These advocacy actions can focus on specific processes such as SDG 16 and supporting campaigns/coalitions for locally led development and effective enabling environments for civil society.
• Donor Agencies: Close collaboration with the host partners to design and implement advocacy actions targeting donor agencies to strengthen local civil society support infrastructure in the global south, including expanding scope, reach and sustainability of these mechanisms, plus the adoption of similar mechanisms in further locations.
• CIVICUS: Close collaboration with the CIVICUS regional advocacy leads and UN Advisors at New York and Geneva hubs to ensure their inputs in the design and implementation of the advocacy actions to national governments and UN and other multilateral institutions and donor agencies. Contributions from host partners and local collaborators will reflect in CIVICUS research and advocacy products.

Eligibility

The ideal candidate should possess the following qualifications and skills:

• A post-graduate degree in Political Science, International Relations, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Demonstrated professional experience, particularly in digital democracy, digital rights, civil society engagement, and policy advocacy.
• Proven track record of conducting complex, multi-regional advocacy projects, preferably within the context of international development or non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
• Familiarity with the political, social, and technological contexts of different regions.
• Knowledge of the UN system and its processes, particularly in relation to policy advocacy and civil society engagement.
• Demonstrated expertise in policy advocacy and civil society engagement on digital democracy to national governments, multilateral institutions and donor agencies.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to convey complex ideas and findings in a clear and compelling manner.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to engage and collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders, including civil society actors, digital experts, and policymakers.
• Fluency in English is required; proficiency in additional languages relevant to the regions (e.g., Spanish, French, Arabic) is highly desirable.

Application

Interested candidates are invited to submit the following documents to [email protected] :

• A cover letter (1-2 pages) introducing yourself and explaining your interest in and suitability for the consultancy.
• A high-level proposal (max 5 pages) outlining your approach to conduct advocacy strengthening for the 6 regions to engage national governments, UN and other multilateral institutions and donor agencies.
• A detailed budget proposal, including a breakdown of costs such as consultant fees and any other relevant costs. (Travel, if required, will be covered by CIVICUS, this does not need to be reflected in the budget).
• A current CV highlighting relevant experience, qualifications, and language proficiencies.
• A sample of previous work on advocacy to national governments, UN and other multilateral institutions and donor agencies. This may include policy position papers, joint statements in response to specific events or decisions, bilateral and group meetings and events
• Contact information for three (3) individuals or organisations that can attest to the quality and impact of your previous work.

All proposals should be submitted in MS Word format in English to [email protected]

For more information, visit CIVICUS.