Jobs & Opportunities

The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights encourages and appreciates all assistance in the fight for social justice. Listings for volunteer, internship and employment opportunities have been provided.

The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights is committed to attracting and maintaining a high quality, dedicated, and diverse work force. The RFK Center 501c3 not for profit organization and an equal opportunity employer.

• Director, Robert F. Kennedy Training Institute, (Florence, Italy)
• Development Associate, (Washington, DC)
• Manager of Education Programming, RFK Compass Program (New York, NY)
• Executive Office Intern (New York, NY)

Director, Robert F. Kennedy Training Institute, Florence, Italy

The RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights seeks a fulltime Director for the RFK Training Institute, based in Florence, Italy. The Director will oversee the program, supervise staff, organize seminars and courses, raise funds for programs, arrange for visiting fellows-in-residence, develop partnerships with European universities and human rights organizations, and coordinate with other programs within the RFK Center. A solid background in program management, a proven record of fundraising in Europe, and significant experience in developing courses/seminars are all required.

The RFK Institute is a new program primarily intended to allow other RFK programs to develop their work through courses, seminars, training programs, and fellows-in-residence.  The RFK Institute will also run its own projects. For example, the Institute will be organizing a seminar on social media and democracy, a course on tolerance and empathy, and workshops for teachers about the RFK Center’s human rights curriculum. Additional examples include overseeing the monthly Human Rights Night in Florence and working with other RFK Center directors to find synergy on topics such as gay and lesbian rights or indigenous rights.

Housed at the remarkable Le Murate complex in Florence, Italy, the RFK Institute is poised for expansion and growth and seeks a senior manager and professional to lead it to its next stage. The position reports to the Secretary General of the RFK Foundation of Europe and is a member of the Directors Team of the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights.

Required

• More than 7 years of senior management experience in a human rights organization, NGO, training center, or similar endeavor, including overseeing finances, fundraising, human resources, donor relationships, internal and external communications, etc.
• Proven record in fundraising in Europe, including EU, individuals, and philanthropic foundations, with a track record of successfully attracting fresh funds
• Significant experience developing courses, seminars, and workshops on human rights or related themes
• Ability to work collaboratively across geographies and disciplines
• Bilingualism in Italian and English, including excellent writing and speaking skills
• An understanding of the academic environments in Italy, the United States, Europe
• Experience with and understanding of Italian labor law
• Excellent personal skills, ability to represent the RFK Center at the highest levels of academia, government, and among donors.

Additionally preferred

• MA, PhD, or LLM preferred
• Deep familiarity with Italian and American bureaucratic and legal frameworks
• Enthusiasm for institution-building: developing new systems, and overseeing a “start-up” program
• Significant experience in human rights education and/or advocacy
• Bilingualism in Italian and English
• Additional languages, including French, Spanish, or German

Deadline for applications is April 1^st, 2012, and review of applications will begin at that time. Start date is anticipated as approximately June 1^st. The position is located in Florence, Italy.

Please submit a concise cover letter and a curriculum vitae. Deadline for applications is April 1^st, 2012, and review of applications will begin at that time. Because of the volume of applications, we will be unable to acknowledge every application received. The RFK center will ask candidates who have made it through the first round to take a standard human resources test, administered by a third party, before moving to the next level of consideration. Start date is anticipated as approximately June 1^st. The position is located in Florence, Italy.

Please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE (WASHINGTON, DC)

THE ORGANIZATION

The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights is a human rights organization that works to realize Robert Kennedy’s dream of a more peaceful and just world. Forging long-term partnerships through the RFK Partners for Human Rights, we assist human rights defenders at the forefront of social change who have won the RFK Human Rights Award. We support investigative journalists and authors who bring light to injustice through the RFK Book and Journalism Awards. Through  Speak Truth To Power, the RFK human rights education program, we tell the stories of human rights defenders and offer students and the broader public alike a tool kit for action to create change in their classrooms, communities, countries, and our shared world. Partnering with RFK Europe, we provide human rights education advocacy programs to schools and communities across the continent. Through a joint effort with the Boston-based RFK Children's Action Corps, we urge legislative reform of juvenile justice systems. The RFK Compass Program explores and promotes the connectivity between the duties of investment fiduciaries (optimizing risk-adjusted returns), and public interest considerations including human rights, the environment, social and governance issues.

THE POSITION

We seek a dynamic self-starter to advance the mission, goals, and activities of the RFK Center to a range of donors and potential donors. The job is based in the RFK Center’s main Washington, DC office.  The position will report to the Director of Development, based in New York City, and work in close partnership with Senior Leadership and program staff. S/he will play a central role on an enthusiastic, international team working in a fast-paced environment. S/he will display flexibility and creativity in developing systems for a fledgling development office within an established NGO.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Donor Cultivation:

• Manage grant preparation process, including drafting proposals and budgets; draft 1-pagers and LOI’s for potential donors; draft membership letters/emails and related material for direct mail campaign. Work with program staff to develop and refine proposal ideas.
• Aid development assistant in acknowledgment process and general follow-up activities.
• Aid in major donor outreach including Board relations, Leadership Council campaigns and events, and other major donor relations.
• Conduct prospect research into potential sources of support among individuals, foundations, corporations, and governmental entities.
• Maintain overall systems and protocols to ensure the smooth and efficient operation RFK Center’s donor relations.

Contact Management/IT:

• Manage the RFK Center’s central database, SalesForce, including all donation management: update contacts and organizations, generate reports, aid other staff in SalesForce usage.
• Manage RFK Center’s registration platform for various events; work closely with event consultants to ensure efficient registration process; manage integration between registration platform and RFK Center’s website.
• Manage integration between CRM, website, credit card processing application, and accounting software.

Financial Management:

• Track and record pledges and payments for all RFK Center events and programs.
• Process all payments submitted to the RFK Center: record payments, document back-up copies of checks and registrations, report weekly receivables to accounting department.
• Generate monthly receivables reports of overall pledges and payments; work closely with accounting staff and events consultants to ensure finances are reconciled for all events and programs.

CREDENTIALS

Required:

• Commitment to social justice and to RFK’s mission and values
• Bachelor’s degree, MA preferred
• Minimum 5 years professional experience, 3 years fundraising experience
• Excellent writing and oral communications skills
• Demonstrated ability to build and refine proposal budgets, often using creativity to make cost estimates and develop timelines
• Strong working knowledge of contact management and/or donor management databases, preferably SalesForce
• Excellent interpersonal and team skills, including the ability to maintain effective working relationships with people from diverse national and cultural backgrounds
• Ability to work independently or with a team
• Ability to maintain high standards of ethics, integrity, and professionalism, and to handle sensitive and proprietary information
• High energy, goal-oriented, self-starter
• Patience and a good sense of humor
• Flexible multi-tasker
• Flexibility to travel on occasion

Desired:

• Familiarity and experience with international affairs and human rights
• Knowledge of languages other than English

Send your resume and salary history to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it as text within the body of the email only; include a writing sample (fundraising proposal) as an attachment. Generic cover letters will be discarded. Please make certain that your cover letter addresses job requirements, demonstrating how your particular work history and skill set fit the position.

Manager of Education Programming, RFK Compass Program(New York)

World-renowned nonprofit focused on human rights and social justice seeks a financial education professional to develop a dynamic continuing education program for its New York-based program with roots in the global financial industry.

For 43 years, The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights has been defending human rights and working to realize Robert Kennedy’s dream of a more peaceful and just world.

Forging long-term partnerships through the RFK Partners for Human Rights, we assist human rights defenders on the cutting-edge of social change who have won the RFK Human Rights Award. We support investigative journalists and authors who bring light to injustice through the RFK Book and Journalism Awards. Through  Speak Truth to Power, the RFK human rights education program, we tell the stories of human rights defenders and  offer students and the broader public alike a tool kit for action to create change in their classrooms, communities, countries and our shared world on child labor, trafficking, women’s rights, environmental protection and other rights the RFK defenders champion. Partnering with RFK Europe, we provide human rights education advocacy programs to schools and communities across the continent. Through a joint effort with the Boston-based RFK Children's Action Corps, we urge legislative reform of juvenile justice systems.

The RFK Compass program works with institutional investors to advance a discussion of the connections among investment performance, fiduciary duty and public interest issues to optimize risk-adjusted rates of returns and address current and future global challenges.

Fulltime salaried or contract position: To be determined in agreement with the selected candidate

Reports to: RFK Compass Director

Experience: 5 years related professional experience preferred

Education: Undergraduate degree required; graduate degree a plus

Required skills:

• Ability to conceptualize and clearly communicate the Compass Program mission, vision and education content
• Team collaborative leadership skills
• Strong entrepreneurial and enterprise building abilities
• Innovative and effective approaches to education content delivery
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills
• Task oriented work ethic
• Computer competency: MS Office, web-based content delivery programs

Travel: Occasional

Responsibilities:

1. Facilitate the collaborative development and delivery of a profitable fiduciary-related continuing education program that: fills a void in the sustainable investing marketplace; advances the industry’s knowledge of best practices; and, spurs innovation.
   • Create the go-to-market business plan.
     • Identify the program’s market niche.
     • Identify the Compass education users and understand their needs.
     • Develop the content development strategy.
     • Determine the delivery medium/media and tonality.
     • Include the development schedule.
     • Develop the marketing strategy.
   • Create the 3-year financial plan.
     • Establish measurable objectives and guiding principles for content and its delivery.
     • Lead the RFK Compass team to develop the programmatic curriculum and component syllabuses.
   • Design the delivery model:
     • Integrate the education programming with web-based and other delivery media in ways that are innovative, entertaining and memorably deliver the content.
   • Take the offerings to market:
     • Build the program team of staff and contract service providers.
     • Develop a preemptive brand.
     • Establish pricing.
     • Implement an efficient rollout strategy.
2. Work in direct collaboration with executive, board and industry leadership.
3. Manage the orderly and steady growth of the program.
4. Establish and maintain good customer relationships throughout the sustainable investing industry.
   • Represent the Compass Program at Compass and RFKC events, investment industry events, in the media and generally to the outside world.

Salary/benefits or fee commensurate with experience.

We would like someone who has had financial industry AND continuing ed experience, perhaps designing curricula, building delivery platforms, planning a continuing ed businesses, etc.

Send resume and salary history to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it as text within the body of the email only. Generic cover letters will be discarded. Please make certain that your cover letter addresses job requirements, demonstrating how your particular work history and skill set fit the position.
No phone calls. No attachments.

Executive Office Intern (New York, NY)

The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights seeks an Executive Office Intern for the Summer of 2012.  The RFK Center, led by our president, Kerry Kennedy, was founded in 1968 as a living memorial to Robert F. Kennedy and today is dedicated to advancing human rights worldwide.

The Executive Office Intern will aid the RFK Center’s Executive Office in our New York office in all aspects of departmental management.  This is an ideal internship for a current college student or recent graduate who is seeking to expand their knowledge of the international human rights field.  Starting in late May/early June 2012, the Executive Office Intern will be delegated the following responsibilities (this is by no means an exhaustive list):

• Upkeep of our constituent relationship management database
• Provide support for annual multi-million dollar grossing events, including Ripple of Hope Gala and RFK Compass Program events.
• Provide support work for a non-profit leadership council, to including assisting in event planning and as needed.
• Type, prepare, edit and proofread various documents and correspondence.
• Perform other general administrative duties and projects as assigned.

The ideal candidate will work well under pressure, be extremely organized, flexible, trustworthy and able to work in teams or self-direct day to day activities.  They also will be quick on their feet and able to prioritize quickly.

• Strong research and writing skills
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, and time management skills
• Strong attention to detail and editing skills
• Comfort and poise when interacting with prominent human rights donors, advocates, and VIPs
• Technical proficiency or ability to easily learn a variety of office applications and database systems, to include but not be limited to: GoogleApps, Salesforce.com, Microsoft Office Suite

This is an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic, hard-worker with interest in the field of International Human Rights.

TO APPLY

Email cover letter and resume to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Include “ExecOffIntern: Your Name” as the subject of your email.  No calls please.

Posted: 2012-5-11