ASF France Recruiting PROCAT / SALI Communication Officer

ASF France is an international non-governmental organization, created in 1998. ASF France was granted the status of UN observatory in 2004. ASF France mission is to defend, wherever it may be necessary, fundamental human rights by sustaining the development of the rule of law, access to justice, the fight against injustice and the right to a fair trial, through the defence work of independent and impartial lawyers.

ASF France mission in Nigeria:

ASF France has been working in Nigeria since 2003 when Amina Lawal was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. ASF France supported her lawyer, Hauwa Ibrahim, who obtained her acquittal on appeal. Following this case, ASF France developed and implemented in the country a two years program called: “Support to lawyers defending people facing death penalty or all cruel treatment”. This program, mainly supported by the French cooperation, reached its term with good results in October 2008.

A second one called “United Nations Convention against Torture promotion and implementation, for its full enjoyment by the Nigerian civil society” (PROCAT), supported by the European Union, the French Development Agency and the Switerland Embassy started the 1st March 2009, for a three years period. This program is implemented in partnership with the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria (LACON) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and is ending on October 31st 2012.

Another program is ongoing: “Saving Lives: Strengthening the Role of Lawyers to Fight Against Death Penalty” (SALI). This program is implemented in partnership with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Access to Justice (AtoJ).

This program aims at reaching two objectives:
– contribute to legal and legislative changes towards a restrictive pronouncement of capital punishment and then to the abolition of the death penalty in Nigeria
– contribute to the access to justice for people sentenced to death

Base: Abuja
Closing date for application: August, 20th 2012

Avocats Sans Frontières France brief presentation:

Job description

Under the Head of mission supervision, the ProCAT/SALI communication Officer intervenes in the 3 main activities of the projects

1. Case management

– Participate in the preparation of the communication tools and reports necessary for the activities
– Prepare documents and communication materials
– Contact media to broadcast information concerning the activities of the projects

2. Trainings

– Take part in the organisation of trainings and meetings
– Prepare press releases before and after the events
– Prepare banners and other tools of communication
– Contact media to broadcast information in different ways, particularly for interviews to be given by the team members during their missions
– Collect press articles on the events

3. Sensitisation

– Propose strategies for sensitisation campaigns
– Propose and elaborate communication tools

4. Other tasks

– Elaborate listing with all the necessary contacts, and ease Head of mission relations with all the contacts identified
– Propose contacts with medias and other targets of communication
– Make all the contacts on Head of mission’s request particularly for the team members during their missions
– Organise meetings or other events as requested by the Head of mission
– Any other tasks requested for the projects and the office

Working context

– Will be part of a Franco-Nigerian legal team,
– Must report to the Head of Mission, with copy to concerned members of the team
– Answer to any enquiries from ASF France headquarters and French lawyers team.
– Work 4 days a week with exceptionally full time working weeks for specific missions.

Profile:

– Minimum a BA in Communication
– Strong knowledge of Nigeria institutions and media
– Minimum of one year working experience as a Communication assistant.
– Strong interest for human rights issues

Contact: Send a résumé + cover letter + 3 references to:

office.nigeria@avocatssansfrontières-france.org