Job Description

Are you passionate about human rights in Africa and want to be part of a global movement of human rights defenders? Do you want to work in an international environment with colleagues all over the world? We are currently looking to fill two Programme Officer positions - you might be the one we are looking for.

About the role

The Programme Officer is responsible for coordinating and supporting the implementation of the South Sudan programme in line with Civil Rights Defenders’ strategic objectives and approved project plans. As Programme Officer you will ensure effective project delivery, partner coordination, grant compliance, monitoring, documentation, and reporting; you will contribute to capacity strengthening, advocacy initiatives, and engagement with national, regional, and international human rights mechanisms as well as support sustainable partnerships with civil society organisations, human rights defenders, and relevant institutions.

The Programme Officer reports to the Africa & Middle East Department Director.

The role offers wide variety of tasks such as:

• Coordinate day-to-day implementation of project activities in consultation with supervisors and relevant CRD staff.
• Follow up implementation with partner organisations and monitor progress against approved workplans, deliverables, indicators, and budgets.
• Maintain accurate project documentation, monitoring records, activity files, and supporting evidence.
• Support preparation of activity plans, schedules, budgets, narrative reports, and donor documentation.
• Facilitate coordination meetings, partner consultations, joint planning sessions, and follow-up processes.
• Provide practical support to partners on monitoring, documentation, advocacy, reporting, and engagement with human rights mechanisms.
• Coordinate technical contributions from CRD staff, consultants, and external resource persons.
• Identify implementation risks, delays, and compliance concerns and raise them with supervisors in a timely manner.
• Conduct partner visits, monitoring missions, and stakeholder engagement meetings as required.
• Contribute to organisational learning through documentation of lessons learned and emerging trends.

About you

As a person, you prefer to lead, motivate, and empower others with the powers necessary to effectively reach common goals. You see to the long-term significance and further consequences of things and act accordingly. Furthermore, you like to engage in teamwork and contribute constructively and through clear communication, you ensure that messages are reached and that expectations are clear to all parties involved.

We assume that you share our values.

To be suitable for this role you have:

• Experience working in South Sudan.
• 3–5 years of relevant experience in programme or project implementation, preferably within human rights, civil society, governance, or institutional strengthening programmes.
• Experience in coordinating with partner organisations and following up workplans, budgets, deliverables, and reporting requirements.
• Experience monitoring project implementation, maintaining project documentation, and contributing to narrative reporting.
• Experience organising workshops, trainings, consultations, meetings, or other programme activities.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and maintain high-quality documentation.
• Good understanding of project cycle management, results-based management, and monitoring frameworks.
• Working knowledge of project management and grant management systems.
• Knowledge of secure digital working practices and information management.
• Professional working proficiency (level C2) in English, proficiency in Juba Arabic and/or another relevant South Sudanese language is desirable.
• Excellent Microsoft 365 skills, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.

It is a merit, if you have experience from working with human rights defenders, civil society organisations, or national human rights institutions. Further, it is highly valuable if you have experience engaging with UN human rights mechanisms, including the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as well as experience engaging with African regional human rights mechanisms.

About the employment

This is a full-time temporary employment starting November 10, 2026, or according to agreement and availability of funding, until September 30, 2029. As an organisation, we strive for diversity, and we see your background, experience, and personality as a contribution to the organisation. You will be a part of the Africa and Middle East Department team.

The position is located in Juba, South Sudan.

Please apply as soon as possible as we recruit on an ongoing basis, but no later than September 30, 2026.

Applications must be submitted through the application link provided here in Teamtailor. We do not accept or consider applications submitted by email or through any other channel.

If you have any questions about the position, please send an e-mail to recruitment.africa@crd.org.

About us

Civil Rights Defenders is a politically and religiously independent international human rights organisation. We defend people’s civil and political rights in some of the world’s most repressive regions. We partner with and support human rights defenders in more than 300 organisations in 50 countries on four continents. Together with our partners, we advance human rights and build the capacity of human rights defenders and organisations. We also act as Sweden’s civil rights watchdog.

Civil Rights Defenders has around 70 staff members working in various functions towards our vision - a world of democratic societies in which we all enjoy our civil and political rights. Our headquarter is located in Stockholm, and we have eight branch offices around the world. Learn more about our work at crd.org.