Programme Executive to spearhead a new programmatic response to Overcoming Racism Geneva | Public Witness and Diakonia | Full-time

 Back to all openings Programme Executive to spearhead a new programmatic response to Overcoming Racism

Geneva | Public Witness and Diakonia | Full-time

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The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches founded in 1948. It brings together 350 member churches from all over the world, including Orthodox, Anglican, Protestant and United churches, to promote Christian unity, witness and service for a just and peaceful world.

From its headquarters at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, the WCC conducts its work together with member churches and ecumenical partners. Activities include engaging churches in theological dialogue; promoting peace and justice in places of conflict; inter-religious dialogue; and ecumenical education.

Racism has been an ongoing concern of the fellowship of churches, indeed of the whole ecumenical movement. The World Council of Churches has a long history of engagement on racism.

The WCC is looking for a Programme Executive to spearhead a new programmatic response to Overcoming Racism at 100%; who will increase awareness and understanding of racism, discrimination and xenophobia within the WCC fellowship of member churches and ecumenical partners through related educational initiatives; cooperate with the churches and partners as they raise the profile of policies and processes to address systemic racism in their organisations, countries and at the United Nations; and promote theological reflections on racism.

The programme executive will report to the Deputy General Secretary for Public Witness and Diakonia.

Starting date: 1 March 2021

Contract duration: 4 years, renewable

Specific responsibilities

• Offer leadership for ecumenical engagement on advocacy, education, accompaniment, and theological reflection on systemic racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia.

• Produce and implement tools for raising awareness on racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia among WCC staff, governing bodies and advisory bodies.
• Prepare a strategic plan for the WCC General Secretariat, governing bodies, and advisory committees on how to address systemic racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia.
• Coordinate and ensure coherence to WCC programmatic responses to racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia.
• Support efforts by WCC member churches, ecumenical and inter-religious partners to overcome racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia.
• Work closely with ecumenical regional offices to respond to the regional manifestations of racism today.
• Promote advocacy efforts to the UN and share UN initiatives on systemic racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia with WCC member churches, ecumenical regional offices, and ecumenical partners.
• Build on existing resources, and further develop and promote theological reflections on overcoming racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia to guide the work of the WCC General Secretariat and the WCC fellowship.
• Coordinate the work of an international reference group on overcoming racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia.
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Qualifications and special requirements

• Postgraduate qualifications which reflect a combination of sociology, education, political science, and theology (ecumenical) and/or related fields;
• Three to five years of experience working in a field related to systemic racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia in an ecumenical or similar environment (advocacy, accompaniment and theological reflections);
• Background and/or lived experience in racially and culturally diverse environments, and experience in dealing with intercultural and interreligious issues;
• Ability to establish relationships of trust to many partners worldwide that are working together with the WCC for justice, for dialogue, and for accompaniment of the churches;
• Keen ability to work with different and divergent viewpoints, and to continue to maintain a calm spirit of congeniality;
• Experience in project management, including result-oriented planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting of projects;
• Ability to communicate and write well. Flexibility, leadership, tact, and willingness to travel extensively;
• Good command of written and spoken English. Knowledge of other WCC working languages is an advantage. In particular French, is a valuable added asset.

Deadline for application

15 January 2021 

About human resources at the WCC

The WCC is an equal opportunity employer. The sole criteria for recruitment, training and career opportunities are qualification, skills, experience and performance to all its staff members.

14/12/2020

15/01/2021