Advocacy Adviser

Background:

NRC’s country programme in Lebanon implements information, counselling and legal assistance (ICLA), Shelter, WASH, and Education for Syrian refugees. In addition, NRC implements community support projects in communities hosting refugees and works with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

Role Summary:

The Advocacy Advisor advises the Country Director and the Country Management Group on programme and rights-based advocacy. The post-holder is committed to ensuring that, through the delivery of NRC’s programme and advocacy, refugee rights are respected and refugees are protected in Lebanon. The Advocacy Advisor represents NRC at the INGO advocacy forum, in broader coordination meetings, and coordinates with NRC head office, regional office, and representative office.

The Advocacy Advisor has delegated responsibility for ensuring that NRC’s advocacy strategy is relevant to the needs of refugees and is informed by evidence from NRC’s programmes. The post-holder, in line with the overall country strategy, supports Core Competency Specialists to develop and deliver on sector advocacy strategies and Area Managers and their teams to implement advocacy plans at field level as appropriate.

The Advocacy Advisor is responsible for interacting with media requests and generating interest in issues affecting refugees in Lebanon. The post-holder also supports the development of communications-related visibility for programme activities.

The Advocacy Adviser is a member of the Country Management Group and actively contributes to the strategic direction of the country programme, and is an advocate for refugees and host communities.

Generic Responsibilities:

1. Identify and coordinate NRC’s advocacy response to prioritised protection issues both within the country and internationally
2. Develop and implement country-specific advocacy strategy, aligned to overall country strategy
3. Line management of the Advocacy and Communications team, set their strategic direction, and ensure that planning and commitments are executed; including development of staff where applicable
4. Ensure advocacy coherence and reinforce effective synergies between programmes and advocacy by working closely with programme staff to integrate advocacy into programme planning and implementation

5. Ensure systematic training on advocacy and communication and build capacity of technical staff
6. Provide high quality protection analysis on key humanitarian and displacement trends and prepare evidenced-based policy briefing papers, policy position statements and other public-facing advocacy products when strategic and relevant
7. Liaise with other NRC Country, Regional and Global Representation Offices to coordinate the strategic delivery of advocacy messaging and to maximise impact
8. Represent NRC to key stakeholders, strengthen strategic advocacy networks and identify opportunities to advocate NRC’s position
9. Oversee media work and media strategy, ensuring potential risks associated with NRC’s positions are assessed and sign-off procedures are adhered to
10. Oversee media contacts, outreach and relationships in coordination with the Communications Manager, helping to facilitate field visits and providing briefings and stories in line with agreed advocacy priorities

Specific Responsibilities:

1. Liaise with and brief representatives from the Government of Lebanon, donor agencies, and the international community on NRC advocacy priorities and recommendations, including emergent events and emergency responses
2. Ensure that NRC’s global  and regional advocacy strategy and initiatives are implemented and that these strategies are reflective of the specificities of the Lebanon context
3. Work with programme and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) teams to collect and analyse data on protection issues to inform advocacy directions, for use in the production and distribution of advocacy-focused briefs to donors, government, and the diplomatic community
4. Support communications and programme staff to develop visibility, features and stories for the NRC website and other fora
5. Participate in the Lebanon Humanitarian INGO Forum Advocacy Group, United Nations Agency coordination structures, and other relevant coordinating and planning bodies
6. Contribute to leadership of Consortia advocacy planning and prioritisation and liaising with Consortia and partners staff
7. Establish strategic networks and alliances for advocacy activities in close cooperation with the Country Director and programme staff
8. Design and implement an advocacy strategy focused on Palestinian rights and humanitarian needs in coordination with programme and area teams

    

Position Requirements:

• Bachelor degree in Political Sciences, Journalism, Law, or any other relevant field
• Minimum 5 years of experience from working as an Advocacy Adviser/Manager in a humanitarian/development context
• Professional knowledge of humanitarian and protection principles
• Communications management, including internal communications and communicating with communities
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts
• Experiencing planning and overseeing communications and media planning
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal
• Knowledge of the context in the Middle East
• Strong writing and analytical skills
• Knowledge of Arabic an advantage
• Experience with humanitarian protection programmes and humanitarian policy and advocacy

Behavioural Competencies:

• Planning and delivering results
• Analysis
• Communicating with impact and respect
• Strategic thinking
• Influencing
• Handling insecure environments