Advocacy & Communications Advisor (West Africa & Americas)

Who are we? 

The Advocacy and Communications Advisor-Hub is a member of the Global Advocacy Unit. The Unit seeks to promote DRC as a credible humanitarian and development actor with expertise in displacement and to influence key decision makers and other stakeholders. The Global Advocacy Unit seeks to: influence international and regional responses in humanitarian emergencies and protracted crises; impact humanitarian and development funding decisions, and advance rights-based policies relating to displacement, refugee rights, migration, and durable solutions. Team members are based in Copenhagen, Aman, Nairobi and Dakar.

About the job  

The Advocacy and Communications Advisor within West Africa and the Americas HQ Hub plays a critical role in amplifying and coordinating the advocacy efforts of the country offices supported by the West Africa and the Americas HQ Hub and provides strategic advocacy and external engagement advice and support to the Hub’s Executive Director.

The role promotes a consistent and cohesive voice on DRC´s key positions and messages with the intention of elevating and amplifying DRC´s evidenced based advocacy, communications and external engagement at the country, regional and global levels. This includes within the UN and other regional and multilateral organizations, among bilateral donors, national and provincial level government representatives, elected officials, and other governmental and non-governmental actors. This role is responsible for leading on the development and implementation of the regional influencing components of DRC’s global influencing strategy and working with country operations to develop country specific advocacy strategies for Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Chad, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Colombia and Venezuela. 

Key responsibilities include: 

Advocacy: 

• Lead on the development, coordination and implementation of regional advocacy efforts, in line with the Global Influencing Strategy and in close coordination with advocacy colleagues at headquarters, across the other two HQ hubs and with DRC’s representation offices in Brussels, Geneva and Berlin
• Ensure clear linkages and coherence between country, regional and global strategies, priorities and positions
• Support the advocacy and external engagement priorities of the Executive Director of the HQ Hub
• Identify and seek out regional and global advocacy opportunities on behalf of Country Offices
• Represent DRC at advocacy working groups and relevant INGO Regional Forums and participate in other relevant advocacy coordination discussions
• Draft and otherwise support the creation of high-quality regional and/ or country specific advocacy products and evidence-based recommendations based on DRC’s Country Office programs, analysis and research
• Undertake a key influencer and stakeholder mapping and establish strategic networks and alliances for policy, advocacy and public affairs across the countries within the HQ hub
• Engage Country Directors, Heads of Programs and other senior management including the Executive Director to identify and support on high-level advocacy opportunities which accentuate DRC’s programmatic outcomes and Theory of Change.
• Monitor relevant policy developments and make recommendations on how DRC should prepare and react as relevant and necessary
• Lead on the development of tailored meeting briefing notes and talking points ahead of high-level field visits
• Support and mentor country office advocacy colleagues and provide technical guidance on developing DRC specific advocacy messages which align with global positions and reflect the needs of local communities

Communications:

• Coordinate closely with the Global Communications Team to ensure alignment between advocacy products and communications outputs.
• Draft, edit, and disseminate communications materials including press releases, social media content, newsletters, and website updates.
• Ensure coherence and consistency of messaging across country offices within the Hub.
• Capture and package stories, testimonies, and evidence from field operations for external visibility.
• Provide basic guidance and capacity support to country-level staff on external communications and media engagement.

About you 

To be successful in this role we expect you to be a senior advocacy professional with significant experience developing and implementing evidence-based advocacy strategies in West Africa and Americas region.

You have excellent planning and coordination skills, with the ability to organize a substantial workload comprised of complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities. You have strong advisory, coordination, teamwork, and collaboration skills and well-established contacts among decision makers, UN and other stakeholders across West Africa and Americas region.

Moreover, we also expect the following:  

Required:

• Fluent in French and English and understanding of Spanish desirable
• Senior expert position (minimum of 5 years’ experience) in similar or complementary roles with a country or regional focus in West Africa and the Americas.
• Proven ability to advocate on multiple complex contexts at once 
• Experience in influencing, representation, and external engagement towards different decision makers and stakeholders
• Proven experience in external communications, including media engagement, content development, and messaging for humanitarian or development organizations.
• Ability to translate complex analysis into clear, accessible communications products tailored to different audiences, including media, donors, and policymakers.
• Ability to present arguments in a structured, compelling, and articulated manner.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage global events and processes for influence and visibility
• Strong understanding of the political and humanitarian contexts of the countries which are supported by the HQ Hub

Desirable:

• Familiar with the work of civil society, non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, the African Union, institutional donors, and/or political structures
• Knowledge of human rights, refugee rights, international humanitarian law, rights-based programming, and protection principles.
• Previous experience in representing NGOs or UN agencies in formal settings.
• Experience in a similar or complementary humanitarian advocacy role with a country, regional, global, or thematic focus. 

We offer 

Contract length: 12-month contract starting in January 2026

Workplace: DRC West Africa and the Americas Hub

Villa N°69 Lot A – Ngor – Almadies, Dakar/Sénégal

Start date: January 2026

Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for employees on national contract.

Application process:

• Deadline for applications is 30 November 2025
• Please apply using the link on the page. Applications sent by email will not be considered

Further information:

For questions regarding the vacancy please contact Head of Global Advocacy, Louise Allen: louise.allen@drc.ngo 

For further information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website www.drc.ngo