Policy Director
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
Beijing, China
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK)
is seeking applications for a strategic, seasoned, and
politically astute Policy Director to help
design and implement CTFK's efforts to promote strong
tobacco control policy in the People’s Republic of China.
CTFK is a leading civil society organization dedicated to
the fight to reduce tobacco use and its deadly toll in the
United States and around the world. Qualified candidates
will understand and have proven experience with policy
development or policy promotion and will be a strategic
partner to grantees, partners, and funders in preventing the
devastating health impacts of tobacco use. This
position is based in Beijing, China, and is
supervised by the Director of China Programs in Washington.
The Policy Director will be responsible for developing a
strategy to support the adoption and implementation of
effective tobacco control policies consistent with the
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in China.
This includes conducting and/or coordinating necessary
decision-maker/stakeholder mapping and identifying
opportunities to promote and influence tobacco control
policies. The Policy Director will serve as the primary
liaison with Chinese nongovernmental organizations and
government actors to identify strategic political
opportunities to advance tobacco control. S/he will work
closely with the Director of China Programs in Washington,
DC to develop targeted policy campaigns and strategies as
well as ensure implementation of work plans with in-country
staff and provide technical support to partners and
grantees.
The Policy Director will have a
track-record of designing and implementing effective policy
initiatives; eight or more years’ experience in public
policy development, promotion, and implementation in
government or through private sector government relations.
The Policy Director will have deep knowledge of China and
its political processes. S/he will be a strategic and
analytical thinker who partners effectively with grantees
and stakeholders on the ground and has the gravitas and
personal agility to navigate a complex policy making
process. Fluency in English as well as Mandarin
is required.
The Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids is being assisted with the search by
Katherine Jacobs and
Carolyn Ho of the Nonprofit
Professionals Advisory Group.
ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids works to prevent children
from smoking, to help smokers quit, and to protect everyone
from secondhand smoke by changing public attitudes and
public policies on tobacco. Established in 1996, the
Campaign envisions a world free from the death and disease
caused by tobacco. The Campaign promotes public policies
that have been proven to reduce tobacco use and exposure to
secondhand smoke, including higher tobacco taxes,
comprehensive smoke-free laws, strict bans on tobacco
advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and graphic warning
labels on tobacco products. Internationally, CTFK supports
governments and non-governmental organizations in promoting
and implementing these policies in low- and middle-income
countries where more than 80 percent of tobacco-related
deaths will occur in the coming decades.
The
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has been designated as one of
five partner organizations to coordinate activities under
the
Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, working with
governments and non-governmental organizations to implement
effective measures to reduce tobacco use. One third of the
world’s smokers, around 350 million smokers, live in China,
and another 738 million Chinese are exposed to secondhand
smoke. Every year, 1.2 million Chinese die from tobacco use.
China’s non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart
disease, stroke, and cancer have risen sharply and now
represent 80 percent of deaths in China compared to 63
percent globally (Bloomberg News, 2012). The Chinese
population remains largely unaware of the harms caused by
smoking and secondhand smoke.
China ratified the
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2005 and
in January 2006, the treaty entered into force. An
inter-agency group, led by the Ministry of Industry and
Information Technology (MIIT), has been tasked to coordinate
implementation of China’s FCTC obligations. MIIT’s
chairmanship of the group has been controversial because it
also oversees the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and
the development of China’s tobacco industry. Ultimately, the
attitude of top leaders could play a pivotal role in shaping
China’s tobacco-control policies. China has shown
significant promise in the area of smoke-free public
policies through the National People’s Congress’s historic
passage of tobacco control language in the 12th Five-year
Plan and the issuance by the Ministry of Health of a
strengthened smoke-free policy. Some cities, such as Harbin
and Tianjin, have strengthened and passed smoke-free laws.
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FACING THE NEW POLICY
DIRECTOR
The Policy Director will work closely with the Director of
China Programs in Washington, DC, and the Beijing-based
in-country team to develop and implement the Campaign’s
tobacco control policy promotion strategies and provide
Chinese partners and grantees with strategic,
communications, legal, and research support to support the
adoption and implementation of effective tobacco control
policies consistent with the FCTC in China. S/he will work
with other members of the in-country team to shape and
advance targeted tobacco control policy promotion
initiatives, focusing on the priority areas of smoke-free
public places, tax and price increases on tobacco products,
comprehensive bans on advertising, promotion, and
sponsorship, and mandating pictorial warnings on all tobacco
packaging.
In the first 12-18 months of his or her tenure, the new
Policy Director will face some of the following
opportunities and challenges:
-
Developing effective
strategies to support the adoption of effective tobacco
control policies consistent with the Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in China.
The Policy Director will work with the Director
of China Programs to formulate strategies and detailed
work plans to overcome barriers and advance tobacco
control policies. S/he will conduct regular policy
mapping, stakeholder analysis, and SWOT analyses. S/he
will apply a strong working knowledge of the Chinese
political systems, process, and players to identify,
assess, and create intervention opportunities to advance
tobacco control.
-
Identifying and developing
partnerships with government officials, public
intellectuals or other elite opinion leaders to advance
comprehensive advocacy campaigns.
The
Policy Director will play a central role in identifying
partners in China to advance tobacco control policy
change. S/he will support, coordinate, and energize
these partners to build a strong tobacco control
movement to support the enactment and implementation of
tobacco control policies. The Policy Director will be
politically savvy and will seek appropriate strategic
alliances both within the public and the private sector
in China to promote swift and strict compliance to the
FCTC.
-
Serving as the primary
governmental relations liaison and providing technical
support in coordination with other members of the
in-country team.
The Policy Director
will be a central point of contact with Chinese partners
and grantees regarding government relations to identify
strategic political opportunities to advance tobacco
control. S/he will coordinate with other members of the
in-country team to provide technical support to Chinese
grantees and partners and report on program activities
to headquarters and donors, and coordinate site visits
as appropriate.
QUALIFICATIONS OF THE IDEAL
CANDIDATE
This position is based in Beijing,
China. The Policy Director will understand, have
experience with, and be excited by the challenge of
inspiring public policy change in China. The successful
candidate must therefore appreciate the unique challenges of
working in China and be an inspiring, effective, and
strategic partner to the Campaign’s stakeholders. While no
one candidate will embody all the qualifications enumerated
below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the
following professional and personal abilities, attributes,
and experiences:
-
A minimum of eight years’ work
experience in China in public policy, governmental
relations, program management, media, public health,
business, or other related fields;
-
A proven track-record of designing
and implementing projects or initiatives that have
achieved policy change;
-
High level of familiarity with the
political system in China and understanding of the
complex formal and informal relationships that go into
policymaking;
-
The political savvy to capitalize on
opportunities for change and the capacity to build and
nurture strong partnerships across geographical divides
to achieve the Campaign’s bold agenda;
-
Keen understanding of Chinese civil
society, including GONGOs, grassroots NGOs, domestic and
international charitable organizations, trade and
business associations;
-
Strong strategic and analytical
thinking skills and the ability to leverage creative
partnerships in a challenging political climate;
-
The gravitas and personal agility to
navigate a variety of relationships across multiple
levels of society;
-
Exceptional organizational skills and
comfort working collaboratively in networks or
coalitions to create shared vision and set complementary
work objectives;
-
Experience executing advocacy
campaigns on other issue areas in the region;
-
Excellent oral and written
communication skills; Personal presence necessary to
passionately convey the importance of tobacco control,
the confidence to command the spotlight when
appropriate, and the wisdom and savvy to know when to
direct the spotlight elsewhere;
-
Master’s degree or higher in
political science, public health, economics, or law is
desirable;
-
Fluency in spoken and written
English and Mandarin, and
-
Ability to travel within China and
internationally.
TO APPLY
More information about the Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids may be found at:
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org.
Applications will be reviewed as received.
Due to the pace of this search, candidates are strongly
encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications should
include: a cover letter describing your interest and
qualifications, your resume (in Word format), and salary
history, to:
ctfk-cd@nonprofitprofessionals.com. In order to expedite
the internal sorting and reviewing process, please type your
name (Last, First) as the only contents in the subject line
of your e-mail.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free
Kids is an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes
applications from individuals who will contribute to its
diversity.
