about WITNESS We are a global human rights organization, a collective of passionate human rights activists with (mostly remote) team members all over the world. WITNESS’ mission is to help people use video and technology to protect and defend human rights. We are a 35-person multi-disciplinary team with staff based across 5 continents. While we’re legally a non-profit that is registered as a 501(c)3 in the U.S, we are a global collective: our staff members (as well as consultants, interns, fellows and a vast community of partners and collaborators) are based around the world and reflect a group of activists with diverse skills and backgrounds.
WHAT WE DOWITNESS pairs grassroots community support with advocacy at a systems level. Our team works holistically on a global scale to understand how communities are using and want to use video and technology for human rights. With a cellphone camera, anyone can become a human rights defender and expose injustice, making it harder for perpetrators to hide or for systems of oppression to remain invisible. But using video for community organizing, justice and accountability can be dangerous – videos can put defenders (or those they film) at risk, can be used against communities in court or deceitfully discredited by tired old power narratives. Filming is almost never enough – for videos to make a difference they need to work alongside strong advocacy or legal strategies; they also need to be created, preserved and shared in ways that avoid creating more harm or trauma.New threats to human rights are emerging at the intersection of artificial intelligence, misinformation and disinformation and a global wave of rising authoritarianism.
When it comes to systemic challenges we are on the watch for both existing problems – like how large amounts of critical human rights footage are lost because of the arbitrary decisions of platforms – but also emerging threats and opportunities, such as those posed by ‘deepfakes’, new ways to manipulate media to make it look like someone said or did something they never did.
WITNESS 2021 Year in Review
about THE TEAMThe WITNESS Asia Program supports activists, advocates,NGOs, filmmakers, journalists and communities across the Asia-Pacific to better utilize digital video and technology to expose abuses, create counter-narratives, uphold human rights values, and advocate for change. Currently, our work is focused on (but not limited to) Indigenous and land rights, war crimes, migrant and refugee rights, freedom of expression and censorship in film and media as well as documenting during internet shutdowns. We work on these issues in Myanmar, West Papua, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and other countries in the region – where we engage in partnerships and network building, provide public and private workshops, and develop and disseminate training resources that touch on everything from documenting human rights violations, to effective and ethical storytelling, to holistic digital security practices. In 2018, WITNESS Asia co-founded the Rohingya Genocide Archive in partnership with Rohingya Vision.
We are seeking an Asia-Pacific Programmatic Communications Coordinator to amplify the work of WITNESS in the Asia-Pacific region through social media and other digital media platforms, traditional media channels, and other online and offline settings, such as during trainings and webinars. The Communications Coordinator will support the strategic creation, design and dissemination of WITNESS resources and training guides by employing a video-first strategy. They will also support rapid response initiatives and maintain existing longstanding partnerships and develop sustainable relationships with new and respected media contacts and movement builders. The Communications Coordinator will employ strategic approaches to boost engagement, create derivatives, build solidarity in celebrating wins and sharing lessons across interrelated movements in the Asia-Pacific, and across WITNESS’s programmatic work in Latin America, Middle East/North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and U.S.
THE RESPONSIBILITIES
Communications & Training Resource Development
In collaboration with the WITNESS Asia Senior Program Manager and the Global Engagement team, develop and implement WITNESS ASIA social media strategy, including plans that leverage social media and support key organizations, advocates and citizen witnesses to adopt video in their efforts to expose and document human rights violations and promote change;Manage the day-to-day handling of social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube etc. by adapting content to suit different channels;Respond to communication-related issues in a timely manner;Produce graphics, create derivatives and content for social media, newsletters (Mailchimp), the WITNESS blog and websites (WordPress);Lead on identifying and engaging with external designers and translators, as needed;Gather, assess and evaluate the impact of resource creation and distribution campaigns (including metrics, anecdotes, etc.), and prepare detailed media activity reports on a monthly basis;Identify opportunities and develop strategies for rapidly responding to moments of crisis with relevant resources and support (i.e. mass protests, mobilizations around Indigenous land rights);Identify gaps and needs, and support the creation and/or tailoring of relevant resources;Research and evaluate the latest trends that include the use of video evidence on the continent in order to be able to activate a surge response where necessary;Ensure that both internal and external resources uphold WITNESS’ values and adhere to organizational standards and requirements;Collaborate with social media leads in the other regions where WITNESS operates in order to advance the realization of WITNESS’s goals and objectives and build cross-regional solidarity;Collaborate with the Global Digital Engagement team to support the planning, preparation and execution of several thematic cross-regional campaigns each year;Support the amplification campaigns led by External Relations, such as fundraising campaigns, job postings, celebrations (e.g. WITNESS 30th anniversary), as needed.Engagements and Administrative SupportProvide support and guidance to partners implementing strategies for enhancing the use of video and tech in their work, create feedback loops to learn from successes and challenges;In collaboration with WITNESS’ Asia Senior Program Manager, develop strategies to foster and maintain key relationships and explore opportunities for deeper engagements and projects around using video and tech in the relevant programmatic priorities;Administrative:Undertake necessary administrative functions with respect to communications for the Asia-Pacific region, including updating contacts database, processing expenses, and managing budgets.THE IDEAL CANDIDATE The ideal candidate will have a balance of experience in human rights, facilitation and digital communications.
Experience: Human Rights- Background in (or passion for) human rights; committed to social justice and WITNESS’ values/mission. Knowledge of Asia-Pacific regional activisms and movement-building are a plus.Work Experience: A minimum of 5-6 years experience working in human rights, advocacy, political activism, social justice, video for change, or other related fields in the Asia-Pacific region, and with a demonstrated capacity to think creatively and effectively about engagement and advocacy.Education: You can tell us about your degrees, but we’re more interested in what your passions are and what you can do. If your degrees are part of that story, great! (But no formal education required).Languages: We are a global team who use English as our shared language, as such this role requires a high proficiency of written and spoken English.Additional languages are a plus, especially Bahasa Indonesia, Burmese etc.
Platforms: Speaks Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, WordPress, YouTube and GIF natively.
Other important Skills:
Strong digital design eye, including creating powerful, political visual messages and editing for digital platforms that spark change;Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite including graphics creation and image,video editing skills, including Indesign, Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator; or any other relevant graphic and video editing softwares.Web publishing skills, knowledge of basic HTML and CSS, strong understanding of UX and front-end design;Digital archiving skills, digital security and privacy know-how, knowledge and use of Creative Commons licensing;Photography and/or filming skills;Demonstrated flexibility and ability to effectively work as a part of a team, open to giving and receiving constructive feedback;Exceptional organizational skills, including an ability to manage multiple priorities and keep track of details;Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills;Experience with non-profit design strategy;Advanced proficiency w/Google worksuite as Gdocs, sheets, forms are heavily used across WITNESS.Characteristics: Strong interpersonal skills and aptitude for cross-cultural communication. Team-minded. A doer. Is organized and follows through. Espouses good humor under pressure; inspires others.Location: We are a globally distributed, remote workforce; this is a full-time position, the location is flexible with a preference for a candidate based in the Asia Pacific. As a globally distributed workforce, some consideration should be given to candidates being able to have some overlap of working hours with the rest of the team.At this time, our team members are working through hybrid office arrangements, combining remote at-home work with intermittent use of offices and/or co-working spaces.
Typically, we can only consider applicants who are already legally able to work in the country in which the role is based. Visa sponsorship or relocation allowance are rare, and offered only for specialized positions. The successful candidate must have the legal right-to-work in the location in which they will be based.
Compensation: WITNESS operates a salary localisation policy using a combination of regularly reviewed FX and salary adjustment multipliers for location.based on current rates, annual gross salaries for some of our current locations are given as an example:
New York City – USD 55,120Malaysia – MYR 190,800Benefits:
Health: WITNESS also offers competitive and robust medical benefits that cover an individual’s medical, dental and vision at 100% and covers a % of the individual’s dependents.Life Insurance & AD & D: WITNESS provides life insurance and AD&D payable at one time (1x) the employee’s salary, to the beneficiary, in the event an employee were to expire while employed by the organization.Remote Work Stipend: WITNESS recognizes that flexible working arrangements are key to equity and inclusion in the workplace and we provide a $175 USD monthly remote work allowance, we are happy to talk about the type of flexible arrangements that might work best for you. This remote work stipend is provided to all staff members to pay for extra equipment, electricity, stationery, internet, wellness, or whatever an employee deems necessary in order to work remotely. Please note that a computer and basic accessories are provided to all employees at the time of hire.Pension Contributions: After 1 year of service at the organization, WITNESS will contribute 3% of an individual’s gross salary towards a global retirement fund.Paid Time Off: WITNESS has a range of paid time off types that support our staff.Vacation leave: that meets local statutory levels or 15 days whichever is higher, in addition to staff’s local public ************ vacation allowance increases by 5 days to 20 days after 3 years of service.Personal / Wellness leave: 5 days staff can use at any time to recharge in recognition of the importance of supporting positive mental well being.End of Year closure: which usually is equivalent to a minimum of 5 days leave in addition to any public holidays across the last week of December and early January.Sick Leave: follows local statutory guidance however; WITNESS ensures a minimum of 10 days paid time off for occasional sickness and health related absences.A minimum of 6 weeks of full pay in instances of longer term absence.Sabbatical Leave: At the 10 year mark we offer staff 10 weeks of paid time off in order to take a break, gain new insights and expand their horizons.
Work/ Life Balance :WITNESS believes in creating a healthy work environment in which flexible schedules are available, we also understand that sometimes an employee may just require a few hours to take care of personal issues in which case they can adjust their hours to make up for the time instead of taking a full day of leave. Both are allowable once agreed upon with the departmental supervisors.Mental Health Policy: WITNESS feels that all employees should feel supported both physically as well as mentally while they are at work and realizes that many times the issues that we deal with, the materials that we watch and the events surrounding some of the work that we do, can lead to feeling “unwell” and not in a “good space”.Should a situation arise in which an Employee requests support on mental health, WITNESS will award (10) days of “WITNESS” paid leave.Professional Development: In support of the growth and development of our staff, WITNESS regularly seeks opportunities for professional development, exposure to new skills and supports a culture of learning. As part of this we offer staff Reading Days (1 day per month) where staff can take a day to read, study and connect more deeply with peers, partners and colleagues to further functional knowledge relevant to their role or deepen their general understanding and ability to support human rights work.Reports to: Senior Program Manager – Asia-Pacific
Start Date: ASAP
HOW TO APPLYIf you are interested in joining the WITNESS team, please apply through BambooHR. You will need to attach your resume, cover letter, and contact information for 3 references.
We are interested in hearing about what you’ve done, what you can do, and what you want to do at WITNESS.
Please include a cover letter. We are interested in hearing about what you’ve done, what you can do, and what you want to do at WITNESS.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Applications accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled; early applications encouraged. Please note that due to the volume anticipated, we will not be able to respond individually to each applicant. We kindly ask that you do not send duplicate applications via mail or email, and no phone calls.
WITNESS is a global human rights organization and aims to build an inclusive workforce that is reflective of the communities we work with. We are interested in building a talented team that brings their true selves with diverse backgrounds, cultures and perspectives. We are interested in receiving applications from those who are marginalized and underrepresented.
WITNESS is an equal opportunity employer. People of all ages, races, ethnicities, national origins, religions, genders, gender identities and expressions, sexual orientations, and individuals protected by any other statuses under international federal, state or local laws, including but not limited to, disability, marital, domestic partnership, familial, caregiver, transgender, military or veteran statuses, are encouraged to apply.
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