About WIEGO

Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) is a global network focused on securing livelihoods for the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy. Established in 1997, the WIEGO Network consists of individuals and institutions from three broad constituencies: membership-based organizations (MBOs) of informally employed workers such as trade unions, cooperatives, and worker associations; researchers and statisticians; and development practitioners.

Throughout its 25-year history, WIEGO has maintained a commitment to strengthening informally employed workers’ representative organizations. Workers in informal employment are exposed to many risks, and have limited or no access to labour protections, social protection, and productive resources. As individuals, they do not have enough power to overcome the challenges they face; they need collective action through strong representative organizations to secure their livelihoods.

The WIEGO School

The WIEGO School is envisioned as a space in which informally employed workers from around the world can learn from each other, think creatively, share experiences and knowledge, and develop bonds of friendship and solidarity upon which the global workers’ movement can be strengthened.

The objectives of the WIEGO School programme are:

Objective 1: Prepare informal worker leaders, especially women, to work within their organizations to cultivate democratic values, procedures and outcomes; expand the depth and reach of their organisations through recruitment and organizing; develop mechanisms of transparency and accountability; and expand worker education.

Objective 2: Increase the ability of informal worker leaders to engage in collective bargaining with diverse counterparts—including local governments, supply chain actors, corporations and multilateral organizations—through specialized training in negotiation, including negotiation specifically in relation to formalization programmes.

Objective 3: Deepen the capacity of MBO leaders to understand, analyze and advocate in the fast-changing policy contexts that directly affect their livelihoods through learning on all other aspects of WIEGO work—social protection, statistics, law and urban policies—alongside the development of popular education materials.

Objective 4: Train informal worker leaders in skills related to management, fundraising, communications, and organizational sustainability so as to inspire a long-term vision of their organizations within the changing world of work.

Embedded objectives of the School are to empower participants with participative worker education skills which can be taken back and applied in their own organizations, and to build lasting solidarity between participants. Where activities are cross-sectoral, an embedded objective is to promote cross-sector learning and solidarity.

The modalities of the WIEGO School will include courses, once-off learning events, as well as the circulation of written and audio material through the use of social media.

The Position

The purpose of the WIEGO School Coordinator consultant role is to coordinate the rollout of the WIEGO School. The School was piloted by WIEGO in two regions and one country (Africa, Asia and Brazil) in 2022 and is aimed at the global and national leaders of WIEGO’s institutional members (membership-based organizations of street vendors, waste pickers, domestic workers and home based workers), as well as other membership based organizations of workers in the informal economy that WIEGO works with.

The WIEGO School Coordinator consultant will be responsible for coordinating the conceptualization, planning and implementation of the WIEGO School programme.

The programme will be rolled out through a combination of virtual and face to face educational activities. Working in partnership with WIEGO Network members and partners, WIEGO team members will deliver technical expertise and global learning where its otherwise inaccessible.

Specific responsibilities will include :

1. Convening and working with the WIEGO School Advisory Committee to shape the overall direction of WIEGO School
2. Developing an overall WIEGO School three-year Strategic Plan and budget for the period 2024-2027, including timeframes for needs-consultation, programme development, programme delivery, as well as monitoring and evaluation, for comment and approval by the WIEGO School Advisory Committee.
3. As part of developing the Strategic Plan, leading a process of consultation with WIEGO’s member organizations and other membership-based organizations that WIEGO works with, to determine worker education needs and WIEGO School’s contribution to meeting those needs.
4. Giving guidance to any post-appointment WIEGO School activities conducted in the 2023 WIEGO.
5. Leading the process of programme content planning and development with input from a working group of WIEGO team members from the Organization and Representation Programme (ORP), other WIEGO Programmes, and external partners and consultants where appropriate
6. Guiding the process of liaising with participants before, during and after participation, including guiding the provision of learning support where needed
7. Liaising with WIEGO Communications on interpretation and translation requirements, material layout and design and other communications needs, and liaising with WIEGO’s Senior Management Team on the role of other functions and institutional relationships
8. Ensuring that courses are properly evaluated, and that learnings are fed back into future planning and implementation.
9. Ensuring that the ORP worker education repository of materials and resources is kept up to date.

The contractor will report to the Director of the Organization and Representation Programme for supervision purposes.

About You

Skills and Competencies required

The successful candidate will have the following skills and competencies:

1. Ability to design and facilitate creative, participatory worker education programmes that are inclusive of and appropriate for all education levels.
2. Computer/digital literacy, with ability to use online education and training tools an added advantage.
3. Language skills in spoken and written English
4. Outstanding interpersonal skills, including ability to communicate clearly, listen actively, and effectively navigate a global, multicultural, multilingual working environment.
5. Ability to work as part of a team defined by mutual respect, collegiality, and approachability, thus building strong working relationships and a positive work environment.
6. Strong motivation and desire to take ownership of the work involved in implementing the WIEGO School across regions and diverse institutional partners; and
7. Desire and ability to learn, grow and adapt in the role.

Experience required

The successful candidate will have the following experience:

1. A thorough knowledge of the informal economy and of membership-based organizations (MBOs) of workers in the informal economy.
2. Knowledge of the labour movement and its existing structures at national, regional, and international level.
3. Knowledge of the global discourses on and practices in workers/popular education
4. Experience in designing and facilitating worker education programmes.
5. Experience in working in a culturally diverse team.
6. Experience in working with membership-based organizations.

What we offer

The position is offered on an initial 6-month trial contract (4 days per week) with a probation review at 3 and 6 months, extendable to two years subject to satisfactory performance and thereafter renewable on a two-year basis.

Pay is in US Dollars and is dependent on experience, location and the role profile as defined by WIEGO’s Remuneration Policy. This will be discussed with the successful candidate.

The post-holder will work from home and therefore you will need access to your own computer equipment and a strong Internet connection.

Next Steps

To apply for this position please submit a resume and a cover letter explaining your motivation for applying and how you fulfil the above requirements (skills, competencies and experience) to recruit@wiego.org by the closing date of 18^th August 2023. Please could you also include with your application a sample of workshop material that you have developed.

For more information or to apply for this role, please visit the WIEGO website.