Deadline: April 8, 2018
The African Leadership Centre (ALC) is calling for applications for the Peace and Security Fellowship for African Women for 2018/2019. This Fellowship is an intellectual and financial award to those who are able to portray convincing demonstrable or potential capacity to bring about intellectual, policy or other change in their field. The Fellowship is a postgraduate non-degree programme and does not lead to an academic qualification.
The Peace and Security Fellowship Programme for African Women is designed to expose professional African women at early stages of their careers to the complexities of conflict, security and development. The exposure is to equip them for careers in this field by developing their expertise to generate African-led ideas and processes of change for addressing challenges on the African continent. The Fellowships aim especially to ground this expertise on peace and security in integrity and the pursuit of excellence.
Programme Delivery
This is a one-year Fellowship, divided into two six-month phases.
- Phase 1: The first phase will be delivered at the ALC, Nairobi and King’s College London. During the training, the Fellows will be encouraged to engage critically with the discourse on conflict, security and development in Africa. They will also visit and study institutions working in the field of peace and security in Africa and Europe. This phase will include a simulation seminar series during which mock conflict management situations will be practiced.
- Phase 2: In the second phase, Fellows will be attached to an African regional organisation or Centre of Excellence to undertake practical work in the field of peace and security including peace and conflict management processes.
- Mentoring: During both phases, Fellows will have access to the programme’s network of mentors, in the form of regular group mentoring and training on key thematic issues. One-on-one mentoring sessions will also be encouraged, to help guide students through the programme.
- Research Project: In the 12 months of the training, Fellows will be expected to conduct a research project on a key aspect of peace, security and development, that is in line with select aspects of the ALC Research Agenda on “Future Peace and the Role of the State in Africa”. They will produce a research report (8000 to 10000 words) and a policy brief from their research. These policy briefs will be published and disseminated amongst different organisations in peace and security in the region.
Funding
- This is a fully funded opportunity, not including any visa application and processing costs. Funds will be made available to the Fellows to cover tuition, subsistence in the UK and Africa, and travel expenses related to the programme in both phases.
- While funding will be made available to pay for accommodation, successful applicants are expected to find their own accommodation both in the UK and Africa. Fellows are strongly advised to make all necessary accommodation arrangements prior to taking up their positions on the Fellowship Programme.
Eligibility
- Candidates must be female citizens of African countries.
- Successful candidates must hold valid travel documents prior to acceptance.
- Candidates must have knowledge of, or experience of women’s rights, gender and development issues.
- Candidates must be able to demonstrate a commitment to contribute to work on peace and
security in Africa. - Candidates must be able to demonstrate capacity to undertake research on issues relating to peace and security in Africa.
- Candidates must demonstrate commitment to the core values of the programme: Independent thinking; Integrity; Pursuit of Excellence; and Respect for all forms of Diversity
- Candidates must have a relevant institutional base and be endorsed by an organisation with which they have been involved for at least two years. Exceptional candidates without such organisational ties may be given special consideration.
- Candidates must have a demonstrable plan for how to utilise knowledge gained in the Fellowship upon return to their countries and/ or organisations.
- Candidates must hold a Master’s or Bachelor’s degree with an equivalent level of professional experience.
- Candidates must be fluent in spoken and written English.
Application
The following documents are required, before your application will be considered complete:
- A letter of application detailing your relevant experience and qualification
- A supporting statement no longer than 1,000 words, detailing why you think that this programme is important and future plans for engagement with peace and security issues.
- 2 letters of recommendation (To be received directly from the Referees by the deadline of 23:59 hrs, Sunday 8
th April 2018.) - Recent curriculum vitae.
- Two writing samples (maximum 2000 words each – example can include original research paper, extracts from dissertation, essay paper, policy paper relevant to peace and security.
All supporting documents should be submitted via the online portal. Please note that no email applications will be accepted. If you are experiencing problems with the online application portal, please contact us at [email protected]. ALC encourages all applicants to submit their applications early to avoid delays and failure to submit because of technical challenges.
For more information, visit ALC Peace and Security Fellowship for Women.
