It is with a mix of sadness and appreciation that the CIVICUS Board of Directors announces that Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah will be stepping down from his role as Secretary General at the end of 2018. Since joining the Secretariat team in January 2013, Danny has played a critical role in the development and success of the alliance.
One of the notable successes of the past 5 and a half years has been the invaluable cooperative working relationship between the Board, Secretary General, and Secretariat Staff, through a period of dynamic growth.
“We cannot thank Danny enough for the dedication, passion, enthusiasm and motivation he has given CIVICUS alliance over the past 5 and half years. He will be missed by the staff, Board, members and partners alike,” said Anabel Cruz, Chair of the Board. “However, we are confident that working closely with the Secretariat staff and management team, we will have a smooth transition. Our priority now is to find an exemplary leader to carry out our mandate with passion, to live our values, to help us generate collective creativity and courage through our many relationships to achieve true systemic change in our world.”
“It will have been six fabulous, fruitful, fulfilling years at CIVICUS. It has been a real privilege working not just with amazing colleagues inside the Secretariat, but also with the inspiring people who have been part of our board over the years, and the ever-growing alliance of members and partners around the world,” Danny reflected.
“However, the time has come for me to step aside and for CIVICUS to have some fresh leadership to take it through the next stages of the alliance’s development,” he added. “With a wonderful board, a great staff team and stable finances, everything is in place for a smooth transition.”
“Conditions for us as citizens to organise and mobilise in some ways are getting worse, but my reflection after these five and a half years is that the world needs civil society more than ever before,” Danny advises. “It needs us to be bold, to be creative, to push the boundaries and to push for systematic change. One of the most inspiring things about this role is that we work in this alliance with people who are doing just that - who are standing up in defending civic freedoms, who are coming up with new ways of channeling citizen voice, and of challenging power.”
Over the next few months, the CIVICUS board will oversee the search and selection of the next Secretary General. The incoming Secretary General will play a leading role in empowering civil society and citizen action, at a critical moment for civil society. The Board has said it is looking for a disruptive change leader, an inspirational visionary with a courageous voice who can defend civic freedoms and democratic values, strengthen the power of people to organise, mobilise and take action, and empower a more accountable, effective and innovative civil society.
CIVICUS has engaged Macaulay Search to assist with the recruitment process and full details of the job description and selection process can be found here:
