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JOB TITLE: Project Assistant, China Abroad

DEPARTMENT: East & South East Asia & the Pacific Regional Office (ESEAPRO) 

JOB PURPOSE:  

This role is a fixed-term, externally funded position to manage the implementation of Amnesty International’s strategy to address the actual and potential human rights impacts of China’s rising influence across the world, in particular in countries of the Global South. 

The “China Abroad” strategy aims to augment existing work focused on China and Chinese audiences and to complement this with new work identifying untapped opportunities to engage the Chinese government and address emerging issues of concern.

The role will provide expert project management support to the China Abroad strategy and will directly project-manage the work of multidisciplinary and multilocational teams within the strategy. 

China Abroad is highly participatory, reaching across and outside Amnesty International’s global movement, and the project manager will facilitate communication and learning across this network.

AIIS PURPOSE: The International Secretariat, which operates from a number of sites around the world, gathers and communicates accurate and action-oriented human rights information globally. We campaign for meaningful human rights change; enable effective human rights activism and work to persuade governments and other actors to uphold universal human rights standards. We provide strategic leadership, support and advice to the Amnesty International movement globally, fostering Amnesty International’s contribution, presence and public accountability throughout the world.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

Reporting to: Strategy Development Manager in the East & South East Asia & the Pacific Regional Office (ESEAPRO)

Posts that this job manages: Volunteers and interns

Other key relationships:

• China Abroad strategy team, comprised of members of the ESEAPRO
• Action Teams, comprised of colleagues from global programmes, regional offices and national entities around the world working on specific projects within or supported by the China Abroad strategy
• Colleagues in ESEAPRO working on China’s domestic human rights situation and initiatives to engage Chinese audiences
• Individuals and teams across the Amnesty International movement; in particular, those in the Global South engaged or interested in China’s activities and influence abroad
• Human rights actors and INGO partners outside Amnesty International
• Fundraising & Engagement and Project Management programmes at the International Secretariat, London

LOCATION: Hong Kong, Bangkok, Manila, Kula Lumpur

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

Directly project-manage the work of multidisciplinary and multilocational action teams, simultaneously supporting several different teams to:

• guide, define and document objectives
• schedule activities and outputs and monitor their delivery
• ensure all stakeholders are appropriately included in the development and delivery of the work
• identify and document key impact and learning from the teams’ work that contributes to China Abroad’s broader learning agenda
• adjust, adapt and troubleshoot as issues arise with the aim of delivering the team and strategy objectives while maintaining excellent relationship and high engagement across the network

Participate in regular cycles of reflection and reporting, including by:

• encouraging and facilitating reflection within action teams to inform adaptation of action and plans
• preparing for and facilitating strategy-level learning and reflection sessions drawing on data emerging from the work of all action teams
• contributing to financial and narrative reporting to China Abroad’s external funder

Maintain and build the China Abroad horizon-scanning network by collating input from network members about the impact of China in their countries, regions or areas of work and identifying trends and patterns from the data

Manage the China Abroad newsletter, which shares information and analysis on aspects of China’s foreign policy and activities overseas, by commissioning and scheduling editions, liaising between internal authors and external copywriters, and formatting and distributing the newsletter using Mailchimp

Maintain established and develop new knowledge-sharing platforms, including network maps (Kumu platform) and collaboration platforms (SharePoint)

Propose improvements to the structure, systems and ways of working of China Abroad, in particular by developing the use of digital platforms.

Advance the culture and practice of integration at Amnesty International between national entities and the International Secretariat, between different programmes and across regions.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Significant experience and success as a project manager in a complex organization
• Demonstrated understanding of project management methodology and its practical application
• Experience and comfort with a diverse and demanding workload, working across multiple projects at the same time
• Tenacity and compassion, employing empathy and understanding to ensure others deliver
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including active listening and communicating with colleagues from different countries and cultures
• Good facilitation skills, with working knowledge of participatory processes for group- working and decision-making
• Tech savvy and experience integrating social media and digital tools into projects and programmes
• Knowledge of or willingness to learn online tools, including Kumu, Mailchimp, Office 365
• Ability to manage, analyze and identify patterns across large volumes of data
• Understanding of or strong interest in the human rights impact of China’s foreign policy and overseas investment in the Global South
• Excellent written English

HOW YOU WORK:

Our organizational culture – which essentially represents how we behave, our working relationships and our ability to collaborate as a movement – underpins everything we do and is pivotal to the success of our impact. Our five behaviours form the basis of the type of culture we want to have in Amnesty:

Accountable – I consistently strive to reach my goals in a thorough, timely way that I can be proud of, and I re-empower others to do the same.

Considerate – I support my colleagues and try to find out what motivates them to do their best and what pressures they are under, so that I can consider this when we work together.

Creative – I continuously look for new and creative solutions and encourage others’ ideas so that we can adapt and success in an ever changing and uncertain global environment.

Decisive – I make sound judgements within my work so that a project or activity can progress with pace and confidence.

Respectful – I treat my colleagues with equality and dignity and assume they have integrity. I value the different perspectives of my colleagues as well as my own and show them that their contribution and expertise matter.

EQUALITY STATEMENT

Equality and diversity is at the core of our values and staff are expected to work collectively and individually to promote a constructive and sensitive approach to other from a variety of backgrounds, where the work of others is valued and respected.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Public or other activity, affiliation to or support for any group or organization, personal association or other factor which may generate a real or perceived conflict of interest with Amnesty International’s principles (specifically independence and impartiality), or raise a security concern, or otherwise prevent the candidate from carrying out key functions of the specific post and would therefore disqualify the candidate from being appointed.