Advocacy Specialist

Title: Advocacy Specialist 
Location:  Addis Ababa 
Employment Category:  G2
Reporting To: Country Director
Direct Reports: None 
Start of Contract & Duration:  6 Months
Posting date: Jan 14, 2020

INTRODUCTION 

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC), an international non-governmental organization (NGO), has been providing relief and development services in the Horn of Africa since 1997. DRC promotes and supports solutions to the problems faced by refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs), and migrants. The organization has offices across the region, and has been operational in Ethiopia since 2009.  With funding from bilateral and multilateral donors, DRC is currently implementing a range of activities across Ethiopia and Djibouti, including WASH and shelter provision, child and youth protection, gender based violence response, awareness-raising of migration risks, protection monitoring of migration routes, and livelihoods support for returning migrants or those at-risk of migration.

Project Background:
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is leading an international consortium to deliver a £21 million program to protect would-be migrants and refugees from unsafe irregular migration through and from Ethiopia Amhara and Tigray regions of Ethiopia as well as Djibouti.  The 4-year program, funded by the Department for International Development, UK (DFID, UK), will address the barriers to reducing unsafe irregular migration from Ethiopia and ultimately reducing unsafe regular migration through and from Ethiopia, taking into consideration attention to the most vulnerable group -- women, girls and unaccompanied irregular migrants -- and coordination with key stakeholders.  The program is anticipated to be innovative, cross-sectoral and solutions-oriented with strong emphasis on research, learning and adaptive management.  

Responsibilities:

Advocacy

• Design and implement a Country Influence Plan, which includes advocacy, partnership and stakeholder mapping, new business development plans in line with multi-year country strategy and Results Contract; including action planning and indicators
• Design and implement a country program advocacy strategy, that is grounded on a theory of change in line with country-level, area-level and sectoral level theories of change, in coordination with Country Level ESMT, Program team, technical coordinators
• Ensure linkages between DRC program implementation and advocacy messaging based on beneficiary priority needs
• Ensure links between humanitarian advocacy and other global priority advocacy work
• Support the Country Director, the Area Managers and other senior management team (SMT) members to conduct their external representation and advocacy tasks through feeding of relevant information and advising on coherent and solid messaging
• Support the Country Director in advocacy messaging during high profile visits
• Design and lead advocacy trainings for DRC staff as required. 
• Represent DRC in relevant advocacy and communications fora and build relationships with other likeminded organizations (eg NGOs, UN agencies), to coordinate and collaborate on joint advocacy & communication efforts. 
• Draft relevant advocacy and communication sections of funding proposals
• Monitor and relay relevant policy developments, support development of research and analysis on relevant topics in line with strategy, and contribute to and support the drafting of country level positions, briefing papers, strategies, lobbying, advocacy letters and talking points
• Provide analysis and intelligence on key policy issues

Government Liaison and Coordination

• Support the Program Unit in obtaining signatures for program documents, including LoUs, MoUs and other partnership agreements
• Develop strong partnerships with key stakeholders and networks whose advocacy and communications support is essential to achievement of advocacy objectives
• Regularly liaise with stakeholders, area offices, and other partners for content development, information exchange and collaborative communication and advocacy efforts
• Help identify, cultivate and maintain relationships with key policy stakeholders to help advance DRC’s policy objectives around areas of interest.

As Specialist the post-holder is responsible for the following:

• Responsible for providing specialized knowledge and operational know-how within a specific discipline 
• May also have technical line responsibilities, but generalist on technical or operational matters

Experience and technical competencies: (include years of experience) 
                                

• At least 3 years' experience working in advocacy on humanitarian issues, refugee rights, human rights, and/or development issues.
• Ability to write clear and concise reports, statements, etc.
• Experience training and capacity building other staff in principles of advocacy and media. 
• Previous experience working with international partners, in particular UN, INGOs, as well as local partners.
• Full professional proficiency in English 

Languages: (indicate fluency level)

• Excellent verbal and written proficiency in English. 
• Somali language skills will be an added advantage.
• Education: (include certificates, licenses etc.)
• Master's degree in International Law, Human Rights or similar.

All DRC roles require the post-holder to master DRC’s core competencies: 
Striving for excellence: Focusing on reaching results while ensuring efficient processes. 
Collaborating: Involving relevant parties and encouraging feedback. 
Taking the lead: Taking ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation. 
Communicating: Listening and speaking effectively and honestly. 
Demonstrating integrity: Acting in line with DRC's vision and values

TO APPLY

Interested candidates who meet the required qualifications and experience are invited to submit updated CV and cover letter explaining their motivation and why they are suited for the post. 
We only accept applications sent via our online-application form on www.drc.dk under Vacancies.  

Please forward the application and CV, in English through the stated website no later than Jan 27, 2020.
For general information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult www.drc.dk.

Gender Equality: DRC is committed to achieving gender parity in staffing at all levels. In light of this, women candidates are particularly encouraged to apply to bridge the gender gap.

Equal Opportunities: DRC is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment based on mutual respect for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, disability status, religion, ethnic origin, colour, race, marital status or other protected characteristics

We encourage only qualified Ethiopian Nationals to apply. DRC considers all applicants based on merit.