Front Line Defenders seeks to recruit staff, interns and volunteers in an open and transparent manner. Front Line Defenders is an Equal Opportunities Employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We are committed to promoting cultural diversity within the Front Line Defenders staff. All positions are advertised via this website as well as through other media or networks appropriate to the position being advertised.
Unfortunately, due to the volume of requests we receive, it is not possible to keep general applications or CVs on file. During a recruitment process we do not generally review applications received until after the closing date. Shortlisting can take some time given the volume of applications we receive for some posts.
For any questions or queries, or if you require any adjustments or accommodations during the recruitment process, please contact recruitment@frontlinedefenders.org. Please note applications submitted by email cannot be accepted.
Front Line Defenders is currently recruiting for the following positions:
Head of Middle East and North Africa
Front Line Defenders are recruiting a Head of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to join our team. This is a permanent role based in the region reporting to the Director of Global Protection.
Overview
The Regional Team leads Front Line Defenders’ work in the Region, with responsibility for defining priorities, directing organisational protection responses, and ensuring that resources are deployed where they have the greatest impact for human rights defenders (HRDs). Grounded in sustained engagement with HRDs and regional ecosystems, the team determines where the organisation acts, who and how it supports, and how it responds to evolving risks. The Regional Team plays a central role in shaping organisational direction by ensuring that strategies, approaches and interventions are driven by regional priorities, while contributing directly to global strategy and positioning.
The Head of Region leads the Regional Protection Team and is responsible for setting the strategic direction, priorities, and protection responses of Front Line Defenders within the region. The role ensures that the organisation’s work is grounded in the realities, needs, and priorities of human rights defenders, with resources directed where they can make the greatest impact. They play a crucial role in aligning regional priorities with organisational strategy by translating contextual insights into organisational priorities and actively shaping global strategy and positioning. Working closely with various Heads of Programmes, the Head of Region/Protection ensures that all organisational programmes are aligned with and responsive to regional priorities. The role also assumes overall management and operational responsibility for the regional team, ensuring the coordinated, effective, and secure delivery of work across various contexts. This includes oversight of implementation of workplans, risk management, operations, cross-team coordination, and leadership of a geographically dispersed team.
Background
Front Line Defenders is an international organisation based in Ireland that works exclusively for the protection of human rights defenders at risk. Human rights defenders are people who are persecuted because of their peaceful work for the rights of others. Front Line Defenders provides practical help through protection grants, physical and digital protection training, lobbying, advocacy and campaigning.
Role responsibilities
Key duties include:
- Nurture an inclusive, values-driven, supportive team culture with a focus on delivering impact for human rights defenders in line with the organisation’s vision, values and mission.
- Lead the regional team to develop, monitor, and implement work plans to ensure the delivery of regional strategies. The Head of Region will provide spaces for learning, analysis and strategic planing, as well as convene and chair regular meetings for team coordination and collaboration in the implementation of work plans.
- Work with the regional team across the different areas of response to HRDs, sustaining core workflows while leading initiatives to optimize underperforming processes.
- Support Protection Coordinators’ to spearhead the identification of emerging trends and regional strategic prioritisation, amplifying their voice to inform organisational strategy, and set priorities for coordination with programmes (Resilience and Well being, Protection Grants, Advocacy, Development, Comms&Events, ME).
- In cooperation with the Operations team, contribute to organisational operations systems, procedures and policies to support the efficient functioning of the organisation in their region.
- In close cooperation with respective team members, assess key financial, legal, operational and reputation issues and risks involving the staff and FLD work in the region, and feed into organisation risk management systems.
- Foster healthy behaviour at work, ensuring regular check-ins with staff, spotting early warning signs of stress and burnout, making supportive adjustments at work, and nurturing positive relationships.
- Contributing to active risk management to identify, analyse and mitigate against risks that may impact staff and the delivery of programmes.
- Supporting FLD to be a learning organisation, which continually measures, evaluates, reviews and learns in order to improve and enhance our delivery and responsiveness to HRD’s by anticipating, identifying and solving problems and that we share learning to ensure continuous improvements across teams.
- Plan, manage and monitor the regional annual budget, ensuring strong financial stewardship and effective delivery within agreed parameters.
- Maintain and develop relationships with key partners, supporters, funders, and potential funders.
For further information, please view:
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/sites/default/files/head_of_mena_jd_fd.pdf
Salary & Benefits
- €73,327 - €91,382 per annum
- 26 annual leave days
- Pension
- Paid Health Insurance
- Income Protection & Life Assurance
- Employee Assistance Scheme (EAP)
- Monthly Well-Being Provisions
Requirements
Interested applicants must have:
- Considerable knowledge and understanding of international human rights work, including the role and holistic protection needs of human rights defenders.
- Strong understanding of the political and human rights contexts across the MENA region.
- Excellent political judgment, including the ability to make strategic choices based on sound analysis of potential costs and benefits.
- Demonstrated strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to identify and resolve potential issues before they arise.
- Sound decision making, particularly in high-pressure and high-risk situations.
- High level of competence in English and Arabic,.
- Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills, including the ability to clearly and concisely communicate ideas.
- Strong drafting, editing, and proofreading skills with the ability to produce clear and accurate documents efficiently.
- Excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with colleagues across the organisation, as well as with HRDs, NGOs, and government / institution officials.
- Ability to supervise, mentor, and provide guidance to a diverse team, while contributing effectively within multi-level team environments.
- Lead by example to motivate staff and ensure the values and culture of the organisation are maintained.
- Demonstrates personal leadership, initiative and pro-activity.
- Capacity to plan, prioritise and manage multiple, sometimes competing demands efficiently in a challenging, fast-paced environment.
- Strong organisational skills including an ability to prioritise initiatives across several countries in multiple time zones.
- Basic skills for budgeting management.
- At least 10 years’ experience working at a senior level in a human rights organisation, or equivalent experience in a similar organisation in a leadership role.
- Experience of working in an international context in the protection of human rights and/or human rights defenders, ideally within an international or regional human rights organisation.
- Significant management experience in a relevant field, people management, staff well-being, strategic planning, and evaluation.
- Experience of building and working effectively with teams of people from diverse professional and/or cultural backgrounds, including managing remote staff and working across multiple time zones.
- Experience of managing budgets and delivering organisational objectives, including fundraising experience.
- Experience of driving innovation and developing programming in a relevant field.
- Documented experience working with human rights defenders and/or human rights organisations.
Closing Date
Applicants must submit their applications (CV) by 5pm (local Irish time) on Monday, 3rd August 2026 via the ‘Apply Now’ button as per FLD vacancies page: https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/recruitment-volunteering
Protection Coordinator – East & Southern Africa
Front Line Defenders are recruiting a Protection Coordinator – East & Southern Africa to join our team. This is a permanent role based in the region reporting to the Head of Africa.
Overview
The regional team leads Front Line Defenders’ work in the Region, with responsibility for defining priorities, directing organisational protection responses, and ensuring that resources are deployed where they have the greatest impact for human rights defenders (HRDs). Grounded in sustained engagement with HRDs and regional ecosystems, the team determines where the organisation acts, who and how it supports, and how it responds to evolving risks. The Regional Team plays a central role in shaping organisational direction by ensuring that strategies, approaches and interventions are driven by regional priorities, while contributing directly to global strategy and positioning.
The Protection Coordinator (PC) is to lead timely and appropriate response to human rights defenders at risk in East and Southern Africa, ensuring holistic and effective protection support is provided. The PC is responsible for maintaining and developing Front Line Defenders' contacts and relationships with human rights defenders in the region, providing rapid response to cases of human rights defenders at immediate risk, identifying research priorities on the threats and attacks that they face, providing analysis and producing relevant materials to take action in their support, and inputting into all other programmes and activities specific to the countries assigned.
Background
Front Line Defenders is an international organisation based in Ireland that works exclusively for the protection of human rights defenders at risk. Human rights defenders are people who are persecuted because of their peaceful work for the rights of others. Front Line Defenders provides practical help through protection grants, physical and digital protection training, lobbying, advocacy and campaigning.
Role responsibilities
Key duties include:
- Connect with human rights defenders at risk, while applying intersectional lens, and establish and sustain secure communications with them;
- Provide rapid response to cases of human rights defenders at risk, including but not limited to through the urgent appeal system;
- Provide expert input to Front Line Defenders' advocacy, visibility, capacity building and protection grants programmes;
- Support on activities and strategies to ensure outreach to women and non-binary human rights defenders and overall gendered analysis of their experiences as defenders;
- Identify, undertake or collaborate on research on a range of protection related issues and gap areas;
- Develop contacts and liaise with relevant regional and other organisations with regard to Front Line Defenders' work for the protection of human rights defenders in the region;
- Close daily collaboration and workload prioritization with the regional team (staff working on East and Southern Africa from different FLD teams);
- Lead and coordinate overall annual planning of activities in the region;
For further information, please view:
Salary & Benefits
- €52,962 - €72,886 per annum
- 26 annual leave days
- Pension
- Paid Health Insurance
- Income Protection & Life Assurance
- Employee Assistance Scheme (EAP)
- Monthly Well-Being Provisions
Requirements
Interested applicants must have:
- Excellent written and oral communication skills and ability to work in English;
- Ability to deliver accurate and objective written information in a high pressure environment dictated by the need to respond urgently to threats against human rights defenders;
- Knowledge of key human rights trends in the region and their impact on human rights defenders and their movements; ability to demonstrate a nuanced understanding of contexts in which local HRD communities operate;
- Ability to work well with a wide range of people from different cultures, backgrounds and experiences, with empathy and clear boundaries;
- At least some knowledge of key practices and trends in the area of resiliency and well-being for both HRDs and their advocates;
- At least basic knowledge of digital security tools and trends in areas related to freedom of expression, online threats and relevant policies.
- At least 5 years of experience working with a diverse range of human rights defenders;
- Experience with a wide range of defenders, and a strong understanding of the gendered and other risks women human rights defenders and LGBTIQ+ defenders face;
- Experience with drafting reports, conducting research and any other tasks where analytical writing skills are required;
- Experience working with diverse teams, especially in emergency settings.
Closing Date
Applicants must submit their applications (CV) by 4pm (local Irish time) on Thursday, 6th August 2026 via the ‘Apply Now’ button as per FLD vacancies page: https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/recruitment-volunteering
Consultancies and tenders
None at the present time.
Fellowships and internships
Front Line Defenders annually recruits for two positions that are part of the organisation's commitment to strengthening international mechanisms supporting human rights defenders:
Internship at the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (Banjul)
Front Line Defenders and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) invite applications for an Internship at the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights to support the work of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and Focal Point on Reprisals in Africa. It is a 12-month position based in Banjul, under the supervision of the ACHPR Secretariat. Candidates should be able to work in both English and French. Candidates who have experience as a HumanRights Defender in Africa will be prioritised.
Frank Jennings Fellowship (Dublin & Geneva)
The Frank Jennings Fellowship was set up to give an opportunity for dedicated and talented individuals to gain experience working for the protection of human rights defenders in an international NGO and at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is named after Front Line Defenders former Head of Research who died after a long illness in 2005. Frank made a huge contribution to the development of human rights activism in Ireland and candidates who have some experience of human rights work in Ireland will be given priority.
The Frank Jennings Fellow spends three months at Front Line Defenders where he/she will be trained in relation to Human Rights Defenders; the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders; the Mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur; the procedures and methodology of the mandate; the role of Front Line Defenders and other national and international organisations in the support and protection of Human Rights Defenders. The Fellow will then move to Geneva for a period six months before returning to Front Line Defenders for a further three months.
Volunteering at Front Line Defenders
We greatly appreciate the valuable contribution of volunteers who support the work of Front Line Defenders.
The best way to get involved is to help Front Line Defenders raise awareness about the risks faced by human rights defenders around the world and to help raise much needed funds to increase their security and protection.
When human rights defenders visit Ireland on rest & respite, it is important to provide a network of support to them. This community of support includes volunteers interested in accompanying the human rights defender sightseeing, to music and cultural activities, sharing about Irish history and current affairs or other hobbies/activities that may be of interest. Language support is especially useful to visiting human rights defenders. The working languages of Front Line Defenders are English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian but sometimes we also need support with other languages.
If specific additional volunteering opportunities arise, they will be posted here.
