Latin America Birches Peacebuilding Fellow

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organization with over 100 years of experience building peace in communities worldwide. Founded during World War I by Quakers who aimed to serve both humanity and country while being faithful to their commitment to nonviolence, AFSC has worked throughout the world in conflict zones, in areas affected by natural disasters, and in oppressed communities to address the root causes of war and violence.  AFSC and the British Friends Service Council received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 for their efforts in helping to feed and rebuild Europe after the devastation of two world wars.   

The Birches Peacebuilding Fellow will work closely with the International Program staff to provide programmatic, administrative, and organizational support to further the peacebuilding goals articulated in AFSC’s strategic plan. This includes core support for AFSC’s Just Peace thematic work, and possible support for the Global Civic Space Initiative and global peacebuilding convening through the Dialogue and Exchange Program (DEP).

The Just Peace goals include a vision for high-impact peacebuilding, to change the narrative around militarism and violence, the development and popular acceptance of alternatives to violence, influencing key decision‐makers and non‐traditional allies globally to choose peaceful transformation of conflict, protecting civic rights, amplifying civil society, and building social cohesion.

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES  

In Latin America, AFSC seeks dignified and local approaches to address forced displacement and migration. Currently, we operate in México, Guatemala, and El Salvadorto promote a just human migration system that responds to the needs of millions of forcibly displaced people. In these countries some indigenous communities are still struggling for land and self-determination due to a complex history of colonization, displacement from their ancestral lands, discriminatory policies, lack of recognition of their rights to land and resources, and ongoing challenges in gaining participation in decision-making processes affecting their territories. This often leads to conflicts with governments and industries seeking to exploit natural resources on their lands.

Due to this context, our assignment will build on the Birches Fellow's first-year accomplishments, including consultations with partners and communities to lay the foundations for collective impact. In the second year, the Birches Fellow will have three areas of focus:

• Complete participatory research on the intersection of climate and migration justice in Central America. The Birches Fellow will do this by strengthening information and knowledge-sharing mechanisms within grassroots organizations and their networks, coalitions, and platforms. The goal is to create a compendium of knowledge and ideas of indigenous and community-based leaders who can articulate the relationship of climate change to forced displacement.
• Foster collaboration among civil society, community-based actors, and researchers to amplify policy solutions. The Birches Fellow will support the coalitions, networks, and platforms of grassroots organizations and allies to ensure that indigenous and community-led proposals are central to policy debates. This will ultimately enhance the impact of their advocacy because they will be more effective at explaining how climate change is negatively affecting their lives and livelihoods.
• Help train local actors and strengthen their capacities to conduct impactful, ethical research that informs policy and enhances advocacy.

FELLOW LEARNING GOALS  

The Fellow will gain capacity in the following areas:  

• Enhance skills for developing tools and research that produce high quality, actionable and shareable information.  
• Learn essential skills for operationalizing strategic goals in a nonprofit program management context.  
• Develop an understanding of the challenges and opportunities present in designing effective peace and civic rights programs for the transformation of systems of oppression around the world.  
• Drafting and finalizing professional reports and presentations.
• Qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis, and presentation.
• Program approaches in peacebuilding thematic areas: migration, political and organized violence, business and peace, election violence prevention, and overall approach on changing the narrative on militarism.
• Cross-cultural communications with staff.
• International non-profit program management and culture.  
• Innovative international peacebuilding initiatives and strategies.  

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Recently graduated college or university students (by June 2025), preferably from the U.S., will be prioritized for this fellowship. Other recent graduated B.A. or M.A. students also will be considered. In a cover letter (2 pages maximum), please specify your background and interest, preferred country, language skills, and what kind of projects you are interested in undertaking with AFSC and partners. Resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis through March 3, 2025.

EXPERIENCE:

1. Strong reading, writing, and analytical abilities.
2. College Degree in Peacebuilding, International Relations or equivalent field. Competitive GPA required.
3. Strong research skills and the ability to distil key points/themes out of large amounts of information.
4. Strong skills using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and web-based platforms.  
5. Ability to work both independently and in a team.  
6. Excellent oral and written English language skills, including the ability to clearly document work and write reports.   
7. Ability to prioritize workload and yet remain flexible to shifting needs.  
8. Strong attention to detail.  
9. Understanding of and commitment to the principles, concerns, and considerations, of AFSC in regard to issues of race, class, nationality, religion, age, gender and sexual orientation, and disabilities.    
10. Demonstrated ability to work and communication with diverse staff and demonstrated cultural sensitivity.

OTHER REQUIRED SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

1. Fluency in Spanish. 
2. Familiarity with qualitative and quantitative research and analysis a plus.  
3. International non-profit experience a plus. Experience living and working in the Global South.   
4. Experience in designing or facilitating trainings (in person or online) a plus.  
5. Ability to prioritize workload and adapt easily to changing situations and priorities.  
6. Commitment to Quaker values and testimonies.  Understanding of and compatibility with the principles and philosophy of the American Friends Service Committee including non-violence and the belief in the intrinsic worth of every individual.

Compensation: $28,000 stipend to cover salary and housing expenses plus medical benefits.   There are no life insurance benefits, short-term or long-term insurance benefits with this position. AFSC does participate in unemployment, worker’s compensation, and social security. 

The American Friends Service Committee is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified persons are encouraged to apply regardless of their religious affiliation, race, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.

AFSC’s Central Office and some of its offices in the U.S. are unionized workplaces. This position is not represented.

The American Friends Service Committee is a smoke-free workplace.