Social Development Specialist (Secondment to ADB)
Date: 22 May 2023
Location: Manila, Philippines
Company: Plan International
The Organisation
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.
We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And its girls who are most affected.
Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.
We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years and are now active in more than 70 countries.
The Opportunity
Plan International – Asia Pacific Hub and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have entered into an exciting agreement that will allow Plan International to second a staff member to ADB in order to work on a on a broad range of activities that are of mutual interest.
This rewarding secondment will allow you, if selected as the candidate, to ensure strategic-level collaboration between Plan and ADB, and have the opportunity to play a leading role on issues such as civil society engagement, community participation, gender, youth, social inclusion, and urban sector issues.
Some, but not all, of the key accountabilities that you would be responsible for include:
- Lead the ADB Plan Partnership, which includes among other things, facilitating cross organisation cooperation, providing technical inputs on relevant ADB projects, monitoring progress on the four areas of collaboration (Gender, Youth Economic Empowerment, Meaningful Youth Engagement, and livable cities)
- Contribute to the ADB's NGO and Civil Society Centers (NGOC) overall work, including new areas of citizen engagement such as work planning and engagement, the citizen engagement framework
- Enhancing ADB’s engagement with civil society organizations, such as supporting the development of innovative business processes and funding mechanisms.
- Serve as key technical advisor in key priority areas such as Youth Engagement, Girl’s Voice, and Girl’s Education
- Help ensure that relevant Plan International policies are followed for all joint events and activities between Plan International and ADB, especially policies on safeguarding children, young people the disabled and vulnerable people
- Promote Plan’s representation at designated and relevant ADB forums and events
- Provide regular progress to Plan International’s ADB steering group, including information on activities and accomplishments.
Do you have what it takes?
In this role you should have the ability to drive Plan International’s relationship with ADB, and ensure that mutual KPI’s are set and met.
You should be a strong influencer and capable of representing Plan International externally at the highest levels
You should have experience with community engagement and participation, and designing and implementing activities related to social inclusion
You should be familiar with citizens engagement, social accountability, demand driven governance principles, CSO participation in monitoring and evaluation, and programs in localizing the SDGs
You should have strong public speaking skills: ability to interact with diverse audiences in small, medium, and large groups.
You should be an excellent networker, able to develop strong working relationship with donors, aid agencies and government offices.
You should have a strong appreciation and understanding of the issues concerning the NGO sector in Asia-Pacific both development and humanitarian
You should embrace leadership in the global south and understand social movements and power dynamics in the countries of Asia Pacific
You should have a master’s degree in relevant area
You should have at least 8 years of relevant professional experience
For a detailed job description which includes the full list of accountabilities and requirements, please click on the following link:
Location: Manila, Philippines (ADB office)
Length of role: 12 Months Fixed Term
Reports to: Unit Head, NGOC and Civil Society Center (ADB), with a technical line to the PLAN APAC HUB, along with close coordination to Plan Australia
Closing Date: 11 June 2023
Close relatives of ADB staff, except spouses of international staff, are not eligible for appointment
to secondment positions
Competitive package is available
ADB can only accept nationals of its 68 members
Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.
A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International's Safeguarding Children and Young People policy.
As an international child centred community development organisation, Plan International is fully committed to promoting the realisation of children's rights including their right to protection from violence and abuse. That means we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with.
Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. We must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.
Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for. Our organisation is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.
Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.