Mediation Fellow

There is an opportunity for a graduate student to work with PartnersGlobal on the Sustainable Mediation initiative in the Fall. It may be possible for the student to work with us on this remotely.

*************************************************************************************

Position Title: Mediation Fellow

Start/End Dates: September 1 – December 1 (Dates are flexible)

Organizational Background:

PartnersGlobal (previously Partners for Democratic Change), established in 1989, is an international, non-governmental organization committed to building sustainable capacity to advance democratic institutions, civil society, and a culture of peaceful change and conflict management worldwide. PartnersGlobal specializes in organizational development and social entrepreneurship, having provided the seed capital and technical assistance to establish 18 independent, local Centers around the world.

PartnersGlobal adheres to the values of participatory decision-making, collaboration, and consensus-building as the fundamentals of an inclusive, democratic society; and, we promote the application of these skills in all aspects of our work. The PartnersGlobal team includes process experts, facilitators, and trainers who apply those collaborative skills to achieve concrete results in technical areas such as the rule of law, women’s empowerment, security sector reform, and natural resource management. Our network of local Centers is renowned for undertaking cutting edge work and applying our process expertise to convene disparate parties to jointly tackle some of the most complex development challenges.

Position Overview:

PartnersGlobal is seeking a law or graduate student to assist in the outreach and implementation of our Pathways to Sustainable Mediation project. In this project, PartnersGlobal collaborated with the JAMS Foundation to design a curriculum for sophisticated mediation promoters to go beyond strengthening the supply side of mediation, to rather focus on thinking strategically and systemically about their ability to build long-term (sustainable) mediation programs in their own contexts. The curriculum of the offered training is intended to provide a space for personal reflection and inspiration for the many committed and professional Mediation Promoters working to embed mediation and promote a culture of peaceful and efficient dispute resolution – whether at the community level, within the court system or through private/commercial mediation. The curriculum was recently piloted in Vienna for participants from 14 different European projects.

The next phase of the project is to adapt the curriculum to an on-line platform for virtual dissemination that would reach a large number of participants globally. The curriculum will serve as an educational program to provide distance coaching services for mediation promoters. The Mediation Fellow would assist in the adaptation of the curriculum to the PartnersGlobal redesigned website, as well as support the implementation of the educational program.

I. Primary Responsibilities include:

Assist in the adaptation of the curriculum to a distance coaching program residing on an online platform.
Develop and edit website content regarding the Pathways to Sustainable Mediation project.
Support the development and implementation of a monthly webinar series for senior-level mediation professionals to discuss their challenges in promoting mediation.
Liaise with international mediation professionals in order to develop and improve webinar series.
Help the technical team to promote the educational program to other international ADR donors and promoters.
II. Qualifications/Requirements:

This position requires a dynamic individual with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a demanding and fast paced environment. Though PartnersGlobal is based in Washington, DC, there is a possibility for this fellowship to be done remotely.

• Applicants must currently be students in a graduate program or law school.
• Experience with mediation preferred.
• WordPress and/or experience with updating or editing websites preferred.
• Excellent cross-cultural/inter-personal communication skills.
• Strong writing skills and fluency in English, written and oral.
• Excellent critical thinking skills and judgment.
• Independent, takes initiative.
• Must be flexible, able to multi-task and self-directed.

To Apply: Please submit a cover letter and resume by email only to intern@partnersglobal.org, no later than August 15, 2016. As the subject, please type: “Application: Mediation Fellowship”. No telephone calls, please.