Oxfam France recruits 01 Advocacy assistant on development aid policies (internship)

Oxfam France recruits 01 Advocacy assistant on development aid policies (internship)

Advocacy assistant on development aid policies (Internship)

Based in Paris

Closing date: 22 May @ 23:59 CET

Interviews will take place between 27-28 May (to be confirmed).

Starting date: June. Duration: 6 months

Oxfam is an international confederation working together with partners and local communities in more than 90 countries to mobilise the power of people against poverty and injustice. As part of a global movement for change, we seek to influence the powerful to ensure that poor people can improve their lives and livelihoods and have a say in decisions that affect them.

In particular, we advocate for aid donors to provide more and better Official Development Assistance (ODA) to fight poverty and inequality in developing countries. In this regard, the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a key player. The DAC gathers traditional aid donors and is responsible for promoting development policies and development co-operation. It defines ODA rules (i.e. what counts as aid), monitors ODA flows, sets development cooperation standards (recommendations, guidelines), and conducts peer reviews of its members’ development cooperation policies and programs.

In order to feed into the DAC’s reflections and to influence its decisions, Oxfam works together with civil society organisations from across the world. In particular, we engage in and support the work of a recently formalised CSO coalition, the ‘DAC-CSO Reference Group’. This open network is composed of around 100 organisations from the global South and North and aims at facilitating CSO dialogue with the DAC.

Oxfam is seeking an enthusiastic and well-organised intern to help support our engagement in the DAC-CSO Reference Group. You will gain hands on experience working with the Oxfam aid and development finance team and with a broad network of CSOs. You will develop your network coordination, project management and analytical skills. You will acquire practical knowledge of development aid policies, and of OECD DAC policy-making and decision processes.

Key Intern Responsibilities

• Support the structuration of the ‘DAC-CSO Reference Group’: help design, refine and implement the Group’s overall strategy, ways of working, governance structure, communication and outreach strategy (incl. creating a dedicated webpage), funding strategy.
• Support the preparation of a two-day strategy meeting for the DAC-CSO Reference Group (about 50 participants from across the world, Paris, October): help develop the agenda, support preparatory work for different sessions (e.g. concept notes, background documents), and help on logistics for the meeting.
• Produce analysis on key development aid issues and DAC-related work to support Oxfam’s advocacy priorities.

Key Intern Relationships

• Oxfam Aid and Development Finance Team (colleagues based in Paris and other Oxfam offices), CSO partners members of the DAC-CSO Reference Group, OECD Secretariat and DAC representatives.

Key Intern Competencies

• Passionate about fighting poverty, injustices and inequality, and adherence to Oxfam values.
• Educational background in international development / political sciences or social sciences / economics; with an interest in communication.
• Some previous work experience, especially in international development or in network coordination, is a plus.
• Excellent written and oral English and French language skills.
• Layout/design, photo and/or video editing as well as multimedia skills are highly desirable, and a strong command of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is a must.
• Basic knowledge of the OECD DAC is a plus.
• Effective team player with the ability to work and think independently, and to be resourceful and proactive. Proven ability to coordinate work in a team with people inside and outside the organisation.

Place of work: Oxfam France Office, 62 Avenue Parmentier, 75011 Paris

Candidates must have the legal right to work in France, and be eligible to an internship agreement (‘convention de stage’)

Conditions: intern allowance + 2 days off per month + 50% of public transportation pass + and ‘tickets restaurants’.

To apply: Please send your CV and answers to the five questions below to Julie Seghers jseghers@oxfamfrance.org. Do NOT send a cover letter.

Candidates will be informed of whether they have been selected or not by 29 May. Interviews will take place between 27-28 May (TBC), via Skype or in person in Paris.

Please note: The applications will only be viewed by a specific panel of staff members. Oxfam will not share any information externally about your application or the content of the application without obtaining your prior consent.

QUESTIONNAIRE:

Please answer each question in no more than 200 words, otherwise your application will not be considered.

1. How is your previous experience (academic, professional and/or other) related to this internship offer? What do you expect to get out of this internship? (Max. 200 words)
2. What can you bring to Oxfam’s Aid and Development finance team? (Max. 200 words)
3. Name the three most important methods or tools available to CSOs to influence OECD DAC policies and give a short explanation for your choice. (Max 200 words)
4. What is key to the success of a CSO advocacy network? (Max 200 words)
5. Please explain in one paragraph each why the following two topics are important for Oxfam, and what its top-line position is/should be. (100 words per paragraph)

1. Using ODA to support the private sector
2. Using ODA to host refugees in donor countries

For the last question, a few suggested readings:

–        Oxfam report (2019) Hitting the target: an agenda for aid in times of extreme inequality https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/hitting-target-agenda-aid-times-extreme-inequality

–        Oxfam blog on the DAC rules on ‘Private Sector Instruments’: https://blogs.oxfam.org/en/blogs/19-01-10-why-2019-make-or-break-year-international-aid

–        Joint CSO position on the DAC rules on ‘In-donor Refugee costs’: http://www.oecd.org/dac/CSO_recommendations_to_the_DAC_on_IDRC_May%202017.pdf