NGO JOBS

Organization: War Child Holland
Country: Burundi, Colombia, Netherlands, Sudan, Uganda, South Sudan (Republic of)
Closing date: 28 Sep 2013

Conn@ct.Now

The support of children and young people in conflict affected areas is challenging. These areas are often not easily accessible and it is hard to find clear-cut solutions to reach the children who are in need for psychosocial support, protection and education. New actors and new innovative initiatives are therefore needed more than ever. In 2011 War Child Holland, Child Helpline International, Free Press Unlimited, T-Mobile, and TNO joined forces in the alliance Conn@ct.Now. The commitment: unite complementary expertise and experience in the areas of technology, knowledge, research, and commerce to reach, support and activate children and young people living in conflict affected areas. Together with local partners, Conn@ct.Now uses creative and innovative methods for activities related to child protection, education, psychosocial support, and child participation. The programme is implemented in five countries: Burundi, Colombia, Sudan, South Sudan, and (northern) Uganda.Conn@ct.Now harnesses the potential of ICT and media to increase impact. Surprisingly, there are often fairly well developed Internet and phone networks available in conflict affected areas. This creates the potential to involve children and young people through radio, phone, SMS, or the Internet. Example projects include an eLearning project for children in remote areas in Sudan, a participatory media project in South Sudan which encourages children to communicate their issues and concerns to parents and caregivers in a safe environment and the development of a mobile monitoring application for staff in Uganda.

Innovation Management

In order to develop and implement ICT innovations for children and young people in conflict affected areas successfully, there is a need to understand the specific challenges that can be encountered in developing and implementing those innovations. Despite the dynamic state of ICT for Development in Africa, many of the initiatives in developing regions struggle to get out of the pilot phase. Currently several projects are running under the Conn@ct.Now programme related to innovation in ICT and media. There is a need to understand how these projects have overcome challenges they have faced on their way in managing their innovation process, so that other practitioners may learn from the programme’s successes and challenges. The theoretical and linear model that was proposed at programme inception needs reiteration. This is a challenging and rewarding assignment for a student who has the ambition to start a career in the development sector or social innovation.

Job description

We are looking for a student that can support us in creating a well-founded innovation framework for developing and implementing ICT and media innovations in our target areas. We propose to at least include the following activities in the project:
- Collect, structure and analyze State of the Art literature on topics related to innovation management in developing (and specifically conflict affected) regions
- Collect empirical data from experts and practitioners involved in the Conn@ct.Now programme on the projects that have been included in the program
- Based on the findings develop a revised innovation framework document including graphic representation of the innovation framework and strategies for implementation into organisations involved in the programme.
You will be supervised by TNO and based at TNO in Delft (the Netherlands), with frequent visits to War Child Holland in Amsterdam. The assignment has a minimum length of 12 weeks (3 months), but possibly extended to 5 months, starting a.s.a.p.. You will receive the standard internship fee of TNO.

Profile

You are a highly motivated and best in class master-student that is at the final stage of your studies, who has at least two of the following expertise areas (or closely related ones) covered in his/her master specialization: Innovation Management; ICT and Media Studies; International Development. You have experience in conducting qualitative research. You have excellent communication skills in English, both written and oral, good knowledge of Dutch, Spanish or French is a plus. You should have the ambition to use the knowledge and experience gained in this assignment for your professional career. Experience in the development regions through e.g. volunteering work or extensive travel, is a plus.

How to apply:

Next to your CV and cover letter we would like to receive your research proposal of maximum 1 A4, in which you describe how you are going to approach the above assignment. Please state what you feel is/are the main research question(s), and what your approach and deliverables are. If possible, also include a planning and what kind of input you will be needing from us and external parties. All documents should be written in English.Please send your application to jenny.deboer@tno.nl no later than September 29, 2013. Selected applicants will be invited in week 41 in Delft, the Netherlands. For questions please contact jenny.deboer@tno.nl

War Child Holland (WCH)

During the past 15 years, WCH has built up a well-established reputation in the Netherlands, with a strong field presence in (post) conflict areas around the world. The organisation has developed from a small NGO with an exclusive focus on psychosocial assistance to a recognised leader in child rights-based psychosocial support, education, and child protection programming emphasising inclusion and using a unique creative approach to capture the imagination of programme participants of all ages and inspire them to change the future. More recently programmes have incorporated media and new technologies, including the use of radio for awareness-raising and the development of Youth-Led Community Centres (YLCCs). WCH leads the Conn@ct.Now Consortium and Coalition

TNO

TNO is an independent research organisation whose expertise and research make an important contribution to the competitiveness of companies and organisations, to the economy and to the quality of society as a whole. In our program “Innovation for Development” We add value using our core competences: high-level expertise in technical and social innovations, connecting people and managing system innovations and transitions. In Conn@ct.Now TNO is the technical and innovation partner.