Climate Justice and Peace Programme Coordinator

WHO WE ARE

The Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) promotes Quaker values of peace, justice and equality to Europe and its institutions.

QCEA has developed a new strategy focusing on justice and peace in a time of climate crisis. We will work on climate and migration from a peace perspective and enable dialogue across differences in order to work towards transformational change. We believe that transformational change happens through listening attentively to those who think differently from us and providing safe spaces where people with a range of opinions and experience can engage in deep dialogue. By moving beyond defensiveness and bringing attention to our shared humanity, we hope to facilitate a transition from polarised to pluralistic societies, which can enable us to make better choices about our shared future.

QCEA is deeply rooted in the values and experience of Quakers in Europe and beyond. QCEA receives 90% of its funding from individual Quakers, Quaker bodies and Quaker foundations. It is governed by a General Assembly appointed by the officially constituted Quaker bodies in Europe. We are therefore a faith-based organisation and this means our ways of working are grounded in nonviolence, integrity and equality. We continually strive to learn from our mistakes, remain open to different perspectives and to recognise when we need to change.

Reporting to the Director, the Climate Justice and Peace Programme Coordinator will be a member of the small team based at Quaker House in Brussels. While they will focus primarily on climate justice, they will work collaboratively with the rest of the team, always looking at the connections and synergies between different areas of work. The team is small and everyone is expected to do their own administrative work and be involved in events taking place in Quaker House.

QCEA’S STRATEGY 2023 – 2026: Justice and peace in a time of climate crisis

Over the next three years Quaker Council for European Affairs will focus on three themes:

• Migration and peace
• Climate justice and peace
• Dialogues for transformation

The Quaker peace testimony underpins all our work and our areas of work are connected, particularly with regards to their root causes in cultural and structural violence and economic and racial injustice. QCEA will therefore prioritise working collaboratively as a team, actively seeking synergies both within our work and with the work of others.

People migrating from one place to another are affected by structural and physical violence. QCEA will bring peacebuilding approaches to the issue of migration, showing what needs to change so that migration can be safe and the rights of people who migrate can be upheld.

It is vital that European responses to the climate crisis are underpinned by a respect for human rights, a commitment to equality and in a way that minimises the potential for conflict. QCEA will bring a peace lens to Europe’s transition to sustainability, identifying potential conflicts and showing how these can be addressed. We will seek to make evident the complex links between the climate crisis, conflict and responses to conflict, militarism and migration.

QCEA believes that transformational change is needed if we are to address the challenges of our times. This is only possible if people across political, social and geographic divides can listen and understand each other and seek common ground. We will build on our experience of quiet diplomacy and creating safe spaces for sensitive conversations to convene and facilitate dialogues on contentious and crucial issues between people with differing views and experiences, enabling them to deeply listen to each other and together consider ways forward. This work will need to be discreet and not tied to specific outcomes. It is long-term and risky but it is necessary and QCEA is one of the few organisations able to do this.

QCEA as an organisation seeks to be the change it is trying to bring about. We seek to be an anti-racist organisation that does not mirror the inequalities and discrimination of the patriarchal and racist societies in which we live. We commit to looking honestly at ourselves, our policies and practices, identifying where and how we need to change and making those changes. We recognise this work is ongoing and needs to be a collective effort.

We know we cannot achieve change alone. We strive to work in collaboration with other Quaker organisations, faith-based and civil society organisations where our goals are aligned. We are open to working with those we disagree with where they are willing to work with us towards positive transformational change.

CLIMATE JUSTICE AND PEACE PROGRAMME

Many people in the world are facing both the negative effects of climate change and the effects of violent conflict. Climate change is a major and sustained risk to global security as well as a threat multiplier, and war impacts negatively on the environment. Peace requires that people are able to meet their basic needs and live in a healthy environment. In order to be able to adapt to climate change we need to be able to work together peacefully to develop solutions. QCEA will promote peaceful approaches to adapting to and mitigating climate change and expose and challenge the negative effects of militarism and war on the environment.

Overall objective : To work towards a transition to a more sustainable and fossil free Europe and a global world order that is sustainable, just and peaceful with robust and constructive ways of nonviolently addressing conflicts about resources as they arise.

QCEA will work on climate through peacebuilding and human rights lenses. We cannot transform society so that the world can survive and thrive in a time of climate crisis without also reducing the risk of conflict and ensuring that people have the tools to address conflict peacefully when it occurs. The European Green Deal is an attempt to address the causes of climate change in the European Union. The Deal requires massive changes in employment, trade and agriculture while still promoting growth. In the EU Climate Change and Defence Roadmap and the Strategic Compass, security is largely seen as a defence issue requiring purely technical solutions, rather than the provision of a safe and healthy environment. There is a tension between preserving ecosystems to save endangered species and the demand for the raw materials needed to create renewable energy infrastructure. If European policy makers do not consciously work towards positive peace and recognise that the world’s resources are finite, existing inequalities between countries and populations will be exacerbated and poorer countries outside Europe will be adversely affected. Resistance to policies that address climate change will increase, leading to a surge in authoritarian and repressive responses, and an increase in inter-communal tensions and violent conflict. The next few years are crucial – both for reducing fossil fuel emissions and for building a future that is not blighted by local and international conflicts over resources and land.

Why

There are many organisations and movements addressing the causes and effects of climate change. QCEA’s expertise and experience lies to a large extent in peace work. Therefore we want to focus on how the climate crisis affects peace and how war and conflict worsens climate change.

European policy and practices relating to conflict can have an impact on the climate. Proposed solutions to the effect of climate change can cause or prevent conflict.

What we hope will change

The links between conflict and climate change, both positive and negative will be better understood and will be considered when responding to conflict and to the effects of climate change. Peaceful resolution of conflicts caused by climate change will be supported and encouraged. Policy, law and practice aimed at addressing and adapting to the climate crisis will acknowledge and address the risk of conflict, and protect the rights of people affected and enable them to live in harmony with other living beings and entities.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

Developing and co-ordinating the work on climate justice and peace

• Develop a climate justice and peace strategy in line with the strategy goals and QCEA’s values, ways of working and capacity
• Develop an operational plan for the climate justice and peace work
• Regularly review and reflect on the climate justice and peace workplan and adapt it based on learning
• Lead on planning, budgeting and implementation of the climate justice and peace work in line with the QCEA strategic plan and the identified objectives of the climate justice and peace work
• Contribute to applications for funding and reports to donors for the programme
• With the other team members, identify and work on areas of common interest across the three programme themes

Connecting with others

• Develop an overview of key individuals, organisations and networks whose work is relevant to the climate justice and peace theme and work to keep it up to date.
• Build and maintain relationships with key people working in European institutions who are working on relevant issues
• Build and maintain relationships with those working in the fields of climate justice and on peace as relevant to the programme strategy, including communities affected.
• Build and maintain relationships with those working in other Quaker agencies on climate justice and/or peace (e.g. Quaker Peace and Social Witness in the UK, Quaker United Nations Offices in Geneva and New York, etc.)

Organising events and activities

• Design and organise events and activities related to the climate justice and peace theme
• Facilitate / host events in the spirit of QCEA's approach, making sure that everyone is heard and encouraging new ways of thinking about issues

Communications

• Work with the QCEA Communications Officer to develop and design communications that further our strategic objectives and keep our supporters informed about our work.

Working as part of a collaborative team

• Document and share information and learning with the rest of the team, actively seeking synergy and opportunities to work together
• Participate in the dialogues for transformation taking place at Quaker House on issues related to climate justice and peace, while respecting the confidentiality of these processes
• Take on duties related to the use of Quaker House as a venue for outside groups as agreed within the team
• Participate in developing processes and working practices to safeguard institutional memory and preserve the collective knowledge of QCEA

PROFILE

We have identified these criteria for this role. However, if you don't fit all the criteria and feel strongly that this job is the right match for you, we encourage you to apply.

QCEA is an Equal Opportunity employer and we encourage applications from people with a wide range of backgrounds.

1. Experience (Local, National or International)

• Paid or voluntary experience working on climate justice, e.g. with social movements, grassroots organisations, or within nongovernmental organisations or public administrations
• Experience working to change policy and/or public opinion around issues linked to climate justice and/or peace
• Experience with the planning and implementation of a programme (or project) that involved budgeting, donor reporting and evaluation

2. Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrated ability to analyse the various ways that policy translates into practice and outcomes, i.e. how policy affects lived experience
• Familiarity with European politics around climate justice from a local, national and/or international perspective
• Good event organisation skills, with attention to designing atmosphere, food, setting, and participant engagement
• Strong hosting and/or facilitation skills, e.g. the energy and sensitivity to stimulate discussion, openness, and connection among participants
• Fluency (or close to fluency) in English with proficiency in a language other than English an asset

3. Personal Qualities

• Demonstrated commitment to issues of peace, equality and justice either through formal training (e.g. a degree in any relevant subject) or through participation in voluntary initiatives
• Integrity and commitment to having an impact and creating change through your work
• Ability to embrace difference, work professionally and engage respectfully with people with different views and lived experience
• Good relationship-building and collaboration skills, with a talent for connecting people and ideas
• ? Ability to take a 'collective problem-solving' approach to challenges that might arise in the course of the work or within the team
• Discretion and respect for confidentiality
• Ability to work in a small team and within the financial constraints of a nongovernmental organisation
• Willingness to work with due care for environmental sustainability, to take responsibility for your own administration, and to work cooperatively and flexibly to support the goals of the organisation

TERMS AND SALARY

QCEA is located at Quaker House, Square Ambiorix, Brussels. We are able to offer a 12 month contract at this stage. For this post QCEA is able to offer a salary of up to 3800 euro per month gross. QCEA offers additional net benefits including meal vouchers and travel costs in some circumstances. All QCEA staff receive 25 days holiday per year, not including public holidays.

Fulfilling work and a healthy work -life balance for staff and volunteers is at the centre of delivering QCEA’s vision of peace, justice and equality. Working hours are 9:00 to 18.00 (16:00 on Fridays), but staff are encouraged to fit non-fixed working times around family and other commitments. This could include working for up to 3 days a week by arrangement with the Director. Part-time work (not less than 80%) could be considered.

ELIGIBILITY TO WORK IN BELGIUM

Due to strict immigration regulations in Belgium, employees at this level would usually need to be EU nationals or to already have permission to work in Belgium. Please note that for this reason we cannot currently accept applications from non-EU citizens unless they already have permission to work in Belgium or are eligible to work in Belgium without a work permit.

APPLICATION PROCESS

We invite candidates to submit a CV (max. 2 pages) and a letter of motivation (max. 1 page) to the QCEA Director (director@qcea.org) by the end of 1st May 2023. We encourage applicants to address the following points in their CV and/or letter of motivation:

• why they are interested to work for QCEA
• how they meet the criteria in the profile
• their eligibility to work in Belgium
• anything else you think Is relevant to your application

SELECTION PROCESS

1. All applicants are informed of the outcome of their application (for full applications, correctly submitted)
2. Online interviews with long-listed candidates take place 15th May (with some flexibility if candidates have work or caring responsibilities)
4. Candidates are informed of the outcome of their online interview
5. Face-to-face interviews in Brussels or online interviews with short-listed candidates on Friday 26th May
6. Short-listed candidates are informed of the outcome of their interview within a week.

Job Email id: director(at)qcea.org