Community Art Project Coordinator (SOHA)

Terms of Reference

Project: The Syrian Oral History Archive (SOHA)

Reporting line: Program Director 

Location: Remote  

Consultancy duration: 7 months- part time (between June 2021-March 2022)

Languages required: Arabic and English

Type of Contract: Consultancy contract (short term)

Dawlaty is seeking to hire the services of a project coordinator to carry out the implementation of Dawlaty’s Community Art Project, under the Syrian Oral History Archive program.

Background

Dawlaty is a Syrian, feminist, independent civil society organization committed to values of equality, equity and justice through the practice of respect for human rights, protection of fundamental freedoms and gender equality. Dawlaty does not conduct work with any partners who advocate violence, promote sectarianism, or behave in a discriminatory fashion.

The Syrian Oral History Archive (SOHA) 

The SOHA program was established in 2016 by Dawlaty and its partners. Since then, a total of +400 testimonies have been collected under two collections: a) the experiences of women relatives of the missing, the disappeared, and the detained and b) the experiences of youth between 18 and 24 years of age. These testimonies have been collected through field interviews of relevant narrators who volunteered to provide their testimonies. Dawlaty aims to make the SOHA a resource to build a collective memory for Syrian communities on the 2011 peaceful uprising and the conflict. The SOHA works to influence and challenge the narrative around the conflict by grounding its work in partnerships with community groups, Civil Society Organizations, cultural actors, etc., with a focus on the voices of marginalized groups.

The Community Art Project

Following the encouraging responses to its earlier work in incorporating artistic and creative production in community engagement, Dawlaty is launching its Community Art Project.  In recent years, Dawlaty, in collaboration with other groups, held art installations, storytelling and theatrical performances that addressed key issues in the subject of the memory of the conflict in Syria, such as stories of female relatives of the disappeared, the attacks and forced displacement of civilians in Ghouta, and the experiences of youth in the conflict. These artistic events, which were inspired by the oral history collections in SOHA, have received interest from artists and researchers who expressed further interest in accessing the testimonies.

As such, the Community Art Project’s objective is to activate the SOHA archive via employing innovative and creative tools for the purpose of engaging with various Syrian communities and of foregrounding multiple narratives on the Syrian conflict and its memory.

The project coordinator will lead on the implementation of all phases of the project, forming partnerships, holding capacity development training, overseeing sub-granting, and supporting grantees in implementation of art projects, organizing follow-up meetings with sub-grantees, and dissemination of project outputs. More information about the selected theme for the community art project can be found following this link

The project coordinator will: 

• Help identify and liaise with partner organizations engaging in the project.  
• Facilitate further conceptualization of the project.
• Lead on the implementation of all activities under the project.
• Coordinate the implementation of capacity development training/workshops under the project.
• Manage the sub-granting cycle and support sub-grantees in implementation of art projects.
• Organizing follow-up meetings with sub-grantees.
• Co-design and implement a plan to disseminate outputs of the project.
• Draft documents relevant to the project as needed.
• Liaise with Dawlaty’s SOHA, admin/HR and finance teams as needed.
• Present the project in relevant meetings and events.

Deliverables:

• Mapping list of potential partners  
• Detailed concept note of the project and implementation plan
• Reports on the implementation of the workshops/trainings
• Progress report of the subgrants offered to partners
• Dissemination plan of the project products
• Any other documents relevant to the project and agreed on as part of the implementation plan

The project coordinator is to demonstrate

• Commitment to Dawlaty’s values and respect for human rights, equality, tolerance and diversity.
• 3-5 years of relevant experience in coordinating community art projects in non-profit organizations.
• Demonstrated knowledge of participatory methods in community engagement, preferably in producing artistic and creative outputs.
• Previous experience with the Syrian civil society and demonstrated knowledge with the development of the conflict in Syria.
• Demonstrated organizational and event-planning skills.
• Demonstrate extensive experience in facilitating workshops and discussions
• Effective communication skills.
• Fluency in Arabic and English.
• Ability to work independently with minimum supervision.

Selection Process: 

Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply by sending the following applications:

1. CV must include two employment references, and full contact information
2. Motivation letter
3. Samples of previous work if available. 
4. Financial offer

How to apply: 

1. Applicants should include the following subject heading in their email Community Art Project Coordinator (SOHA) and send via email jobs@dawlaty.org by Thursday 27^th May 2021. 
2. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered
3. Only Short-listed applicants will be contacted within a period of 10 days after the deadline, apologize for not sending messages to the rest of the applicants. 
4.  Due to Dawlaty’s low profile activities, shortlisted applicants are required to provide us with personal security reference.
5.  Qualified female applicants are especially encouraged to apply.