Entrepreneurship in the territories: is it the right time?
The role
In light of the recent shift of the ARA Secretariat to SEI and CUSRI, the primary immediate priorities are to (1) ARA’s membership base and (2) secure long-term funding to sustain the network. This new role of ARA Membership Engagement and Learning Coordinator will mainly support priority 1, with the expectation that a more engaged membership, which recognizes the network’s unique values, will either directly or indirectly help secure new funds.
The Membership Engagement and Learning Coordinator will play a central role in enabling learning, collaboration and knowledge exchange across the ARA’s diverse membership of adaptation practitioners and knowledge actors. The postholder will have climate change adaptation expertise to support the design, facilitation and documentation of learning journeys – processes through which members reflect, share and co-create actionable knowledge to advance responsive, inclusive and equitable adaptation outcomes, especially for vulnerable groups and communities in the Global South. The learning journeys will build on established best practice, contributing to the knowledge base on how adaptation inventions can take off, stick and make a difference on the ground.
The Membership Engagement and Learning Coordinator will steward the ARA’s Communities of Practice and related engagement mechanisms, and spaces where members connect meaningfully, collaborate on joint initiatives and co-develop innovative approaches. The role requires excellent facilitation, knowledge brokering and synthesis skills to foster trust, inclusivity and productive dialogue across cultures, disciplines and geographies.
The Membership Engagement and Learning Coordinator will be a member of SEI Asia’s Climate Change, Disasters and Development (C2D2) Cluster.
Main responsibilities
1. Facilitate ARA Communities of Practice and learning journeys
- Develop thematic areas of engagement to build and grow Communities of Practice where members actively reflect on and learn from experiences in action-oriented adaptation research.
- Develop, monitor and implement work plans and timelines for Communities of Practice activities and learning journeys.
- Facilitate knowledge-sharing exercises, peer-to-peer support sessions and group reflection processes (online and in-person) among members, throughout the year.
- Support ARA’s engagement with the by facilitating coordination with ARA members for inputs to Assessment Report 7
- Generate evidence by documenting stories of success and failure of applying Adaptation Research for Impact principles (AR4I) in the work of members and other partners.
- Track and report members’ contributions to ARA outcomes and AR4I, identifying gaps and opportunities for learning.
- knowledge outputs, including case studies, briefing papers, journal articles and synthesis reports.
- Monitor the Member’s Area of the ARA website, ensuring and regularly updated, and encourage member’s engagement.
2. Co-creation, fundraising and innovation
- Facilitate co-creation processes, supporting members in identifying problems, co-designing solutions and collaboratively implementing projects.
- Support the development of concept notes, proposals and budgets, and coordinate logistics and resources for Communities of Practice and co-creation activities.
- Document and synthesize Communities of Practice and co-creation processes into impact stories and promotional materials (written, audio-visual and presentations).
- Work with the Secretariat and partners to develop and package outputs into attractive marketing and fundraising materials.
3. Program management and member relations
- Contribute to member-oriented communications messaging, social media content, blogs, newsletters and website updates in collaboration with SEI’s communications team.
- Document Communities of Practice and co-creation processes in photos, videos and stories, contributing to the ARA’s visual and narrative archive.
- Support project monitoring by collecting information aligned with and donor reporting requirements.
- Participate in regular Secretariat and cluster team meetings, contributing to planning, reporting and problem-solving.
- Perform additional tasks aligned with ARA’s evolving priorities.
