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About OAK Foundation

Oak Foundation commits its resources to address global social and environmental concern issues, particularly those that have a significant impact on the lives of the disadvantaged. Through their grantmaking, they support others to make the world a safer, fairer, and more sustainable place to live. With offices in Europe, Africa and North America, Oak Foundation makes grants to organisations located in approximately 40 countries worldwide.

About the Prevent Child Sexual Abuse Programme

The Prevent Child Sexual Abuse Programme (Prevent CSA) works to end child sexual abuse and exploitation online and offline. The Oak Foundation promotes evidence-based solutions and advances actions to strengthen prevention and strives to end impunity, and creates strong accountability for child sexual abuse where it occurs. The Foundation believes that we can shift the paradigm from silence and neglect to prevention, scaled response, visibility, and accountability. 

The Oak Foundation organises the work through two sub-programmes: 1) solutions and advancing action and; 2) accountability and ending impunity.  The foundation builds linkages between both work areas. It supports cross-cutting efforts beyond their sub-programme focus, including support for networks that strengthen the movement to end child sexual abuse, survivors groups, and other catalytic or time-bound initiatives that advance our mission.

In addition to the overarching values of the Oak Foundation, the Prevent CSA is inspired and guided by their Trustees and their efforts to be evidence-informed in seeking change at scale to prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation. 

This position will work within the solutions sub-programme.  Oak believes that a key underlying mechanism of change is the investment in generating evidence about what works to prevent child sexual abuse and the research uptake necessary to translate research findings into meaningful action change at the political and societal level.

Purpose of the Role

The programme officer Evidence to Action will join the solutions sub-programme team to support our grantee partners in building and mobilising evidence-based solutions to prevent child sexual abuse that are informed by and respond to advocacy opportunities. 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Maintains primary responsibility for the management of grants portfolio. This includes: handling the day-to-day responsibilities of a grant portfolio from initial inquiry to assessment to final recommendation; having site visits; identifying and responding to capacity building needs; monitoring grant implementation; reporting on and closing grants; evaluating current or past grants according to needs; and drawing and sharing lessons learned from projects and clusters of grants, among other activities.
• Contributes to the development of the programme’s strategic directions, including through the co-drafting of various submissions and reports to the Foundation leadership and Board.
• Develops new granting opportunities in line with strategic priorities.
• Supports the grantee partners and team to ensure that funded proposals, design and execute robust research impact/uptake plans which maximise their potential for political and social change.
• Supports their grantee partners and team to ensure that funded proposals develop and implement strong advocacy and communications plans.
• Represents the programme in various settings, including peer groups and public events.
• Contributes to the learning processes of the programme by collaborating with Oak’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Senior Advisor to use data and knowledge gathered in the field to inform learning and grant-making.
• Remains up to date on emerging issues, trends, and research related to the prevention of child sexual abuse and trends on research uptake.
• Once travel resumes post-pandemic, conduct site visits, field meetings (up to 20% of the time); international travel may be required.
• Participate and engage in cross-programme work, including cross-cutting grant-making and supporting other team members.

Skills and Experience

• University degree and at least seven to ten years relevant professional experience within the children, women, or related social justice field; Graduate degree is strongly preferred.
• Several years of demonstrated track record of developing, managing, or supporting the translation of research into policy/ practice, helping initiatives maximise research impact or working on advocacy and communication strategies required.
• Knowledge of research and evaluation methodologies and best practices.
• Working knowledge of the non-profit sector.
• Working knowledge of the international violence prevention field desired/specific knowledge of prevention of child sexual violence is highly valued.
• Prior grant-making experience is a plus.
• Demonstrated track record of effective teamwork and managing teams or collective initiatives.
• Ability to work cross-culturally and in different country contexts.
• Strong analytical, strategic planning skills.
• Creative thinker with an eye for innovation.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Tact, maturity, and a good sense of humour.
• Willingness to travel within Oak guidelines once travel resumes.

*For Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Applicants must have the right to live and work in the US.

*For Geneva, Switzerland: Applicants must have EU/Swiss citizenship or a valid work permit for Switzerland.

*For London, UK: Applicants must have the right to live and work in the UK. 

Oak Foundation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, as detailed in our child safeguarding policy. We expect all staff to share this commitment.

Oak Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer for all qualified job applicants without regard to race, colour, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, marital/partnership status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other attributes protected by law. The Foundation abides by all applicable rules and regulations in its recruiting and employment practices, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and state disability laws.