Jo Baker Email & Phone Number

London, England, United Kingdom

Managing a small team to drive ASI's international advocacy on modern-day slavery/trafficking, forced labour and child labour, particularly in UN human rights and labour spaces (4 days p/w). Supporting an organizational strategy that prioritizes systemic change, legal frameworks, movement building, and the participation of those with lived experiences of slavery.

I annually review the feasibility of concept notes to the Fund as a member of its technical review group, feeding into proposal shortlisting, the design of the Call and its application process.

London, Bangkok, Hong Kong

I help clients produce clear and compelling written content, mainly in the human rights, gender and development sectors, but also in design and architecture.These range from website, press and social media content, to donor reports and academic research. I've helped clients to successfully submit once-rejected academic research to journals. Recent projects (2022-4): Substantively edited UN Women external reports on women's movement building, its role in the the Spotlight Initiative to end VAWG, and a briefing on VAWG innovations for practitioners and policy makers; Copywrote the UN Department of Peacebuilding and Political Affairs' donor report for its unrestricted multi-year funding; fulfilled a two-year framework contract with UN Women China for writing/editing. I've also written blogs for platforms such as Open Democracy, the Essex Human Rights Centre, Oxford Human Rights Hub and the Inter Press Service (see Publications).Clients: UN DPPA; UN Women China; UN Women Asia Pacific, UN Women HQ (inhouse), the British Council, the UN Development Programme, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (Evidence Project/USAID), Just Films, Banyan Global, the British Council, the Women’s Foundation Hong Kong, the Redress Trust (sub-edited the book, Criminal Law Reform and Transitional Justice: Human Rights Perspectives for Sudan); the Helen Bamber Foundation, DIGNITY, the Asian Human Rights Commission; Asia-One Product and Publishing; AB Concept.

15+ Countries

Periodic qualitative research, literature reviews and scoping; monitoring & evaluation; gender analyses, and human rights & detention monitoring. I have written curricula and delivered trainings, mainly on gender, VAWG and issues of detention, but also on advocacy, comms and international human rights. Focus issues: Discrimination; intersectional feminism; gender-based violence; torture & detention; sexual and reproductive rights; climate justice; gender norms; criminal justice, transitional justice.Clients: Oxfam, UN Women, Banyan Global, Plan UK, OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Thailand Institute of Justice, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, DIGNITY – the Danish Institute Against Torture, The International Crisis Group, Social Development Direct/DFID, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Penal Reform International, Dui Hua, the Women’s Foundation Hong Kong, the Helen Bamber Foundation, the British Council, the Cairo Institute on Human Rights Studies, the International Service for Human Rights, the Law and Development Partnership, All Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea.

Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia

Periodically visited and evaluated the mid-term health and impact of EU-funded human rights, gender and development projects in Asia for use by project leaders and EUD Operational Managers. Covered issues of gender & inclusion, torture, gender-based violence, transitional justice, livelihoods & economic empowerment, climate change, religious discrimination, and labour rights. As an independent party I aimed to take a partnering approach, to learn and impart learning. This included identifying strengths and opportunities, results and learning being missed, and helping to communicate a grantees' challenges and priorities to the funder where needed.

London, United Kingdom

I managed and monitored unrestricted Local Trust’s funding (National Lottery funded; £150 million across ten years) to 'left behind' communities and local organisations across England, in this full time role. This included providing daily support to funded communities, reviewing plans, budgets and programme learning, and leading on strategic reviews and risk-management, including our assessment process/pool, and programme risks in the light of Covid-19.

London, United Kingdom

Stepped in (f/t sabbatical cover) to launch a nationwide £4 million Open Call grant programme to tackle violence against women and girls in the UK, funded by Comic Relief and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (via the 'Tampon Tax' Fund). Managed partnership with DCMS and three Devolved Administrations, and managed grantee comms, assessment, shortlisting and grant offers. I also researched and developed a small proactive grants and learning programme (400k).

London, United Kingdom

Co-managed the women's rights grant portfolio of this human rights funder focused on violence against women, feminist movement building and sexual and reproductive rights, covering CEE, FSU, Latin America and South Africa. Active member of what is now the Gender Funder Co Lab (private funders initiative) and its working group on Gender Justice.

Full-time and part-time journalist and consulting editor (mainly 2003 - 2008 based in Hong Kong), focused on international affairs, human rights, design, architecture, lifestyle and travel. Have written periodically since then, as journalist and copywriter. Platforms ranged from Time Magazine, the Guardian, the South China Morning Post and the Asia Sentinel, to Tatler and Home Journal. This includes inhouse work as editor and assistant editor (3 years). I still write the occasional article for the South China Morning Post and others as of 2022.

Hong Kong And Asia Region

Managed the advocacy programme of this regional human rights organization across eight country desks in South & SE Asia. Led thematic research and advocacy projects, visited partner countries to support their civil and political rights work, and advocated at the UN Human Rights Council. Key issues: torture, discrimination, disappearance, arbitrary detention, violence against women, freedom of religion.

International Human Rights Law Ma (Distinction), Human Rights Of Women; Transitional Justice

Dissertation topic: Reconciling Truth and Gender: Lessons from Sri Lanka

Bachelor Of Arts, English Literature