Save the Children International is looking for a project coordinator, Lucens Guideline Process, to support the process of finalizing the  Lucens Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict, and encouraging states to endorse and implement them, including by mobilizing civil society support.  The project coordinator will support the work of the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA), of which Save the Children is a Steering Committee member.

The position is located at the Geneva Advocacy Office of Save the Children International and the contract will last through June 2015.

Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack

The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) was established in 2010 by organizations from the fields of education in emergencies and conflict-affected fragile states, higher education, protection, international human rights, and international humanitarian law who were concerned about ongoing targeted attacks on educational institutions, their students, and staff in countries affected by conflict and insecurity. GCPEA is governed by a Steering Committee made up of the following international organizations: The Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, Human Rights Watch, the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund, Protect Education in Insecurity and Conflict, Save the Children, UNESCO, UNHCR, and UNICEF. GCPEA is the project of a the Tides Center, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

The Draft Lucens Guidelines

The Draft Lucens Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict were developed following extensive consultations with experts from the ministries of foreign affairs, defense, education, and armed forces of regionally diverse states, as well as relevant UN agencies and non-governmental organizations. The Guidelines draw from existing international humanitarian and human rights law, as well as good practices from military forces around the world. They urge parties to armed conflict not to use schools and universities for any purpose in support of the military effort. Norway, particularly through its Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, is leading the process of finalizing the Guidelines and developing a process for States to endorse them and implement them within their own domestic legislation and military doctrine. A launch and endorsement ceremony for the Guidelines is planned for the first quarter of 2015. GCPEA will then provide technical support to states, and possibly armed non-state actors, in implementing the Guidelines.

For a detailed job description please see: www.savethechildren.net/jobs