Advocacy Manager

Job Description

This position is contingent on funding.

Background/IRC Summary: The International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest humanitarian agencies, supporting victims of natural disaster, oppression, and violent conflict in over 40 countries to survive, recover, and gain control of their lives. IRC entered Nigeria in October 2012 in response to a widespread flood disaster. Since then, the IRC has expanded its scope and size of the programs in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe States. The IRC’s response includes integrated health and nutrition services, reproductive health care and women protection services, Environmental Health, Child Protection, Economic Recovery and Development, Education, General Protection, and Governance. IRC’s programming in Northeast Nigeria is supported by a team of more than 700 staff. Together, we aim to provide the best possible impact for some of the most vulnerable children, women, and men. In all that we do, IRC strives to deliver through IRC’s core values of Integrity, Accountability, Service and Equality.

Job Overview/Summary: The IRC is seeking one Advocacy Manager to support it’s From Response to Resilience project in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Through the project, we will build the resilience of the people, neighborhoods, and governmental systems of urban Maiduguri to address the risks the city currently faces. We will implement this project while supporting the local integration of internally displaced persons wishing to reside within Maiduguri permanently. The Advocacy Manager will be responsible for developing and maintaining positive working links with federal, state, and local government authorities, in order to ensure positive and productive engagement within the scope of the ECHO-funded From Response to Resilience in Maiduguri (R2R) project, as well as other priority IRC projects.

Major Responsibilities:

General Advocacy Support

- Work collaborative to develop an engagement and policy influence strategy to support the R2R project and/or other key IRC outcomes, outlining priorities, action points, and methods for tracking and measuring progress against plans. - Closely monitor and document policy debates, changes in policies, and shifting strategies, and ensure relevant information is disseminated to project staff in a timely manner. - Identify and keep abreast of appropriate opportunities and points of leverage where IRC can influence, intervene, or contribute to relevant policy processes or help raise IRC’s profile. - Support the generation and collection of relevant evidence that would facilitate policy and advocacy deliverables. - Prepare evidence-based policy briefs, presentations, advocacy statements, talking points, training materials, and media to raise project visibility.

R2R Specific Advocacy Support

- Identify and map key personnel within State; Municipal; and Local government, and develop a stakeholder engagement plan for how to approach these individuals and units as key stakeholders to the program - Develop and manage relationships with identified key stakeholders in relevant ministries/departments/structures, at State, Municipal, and Local level, to ensure their active participating in the program, including the City-Level Collaboration Forum. - Oversee the implementation and facilitation of the City-Level Collaboration Forums, ensuring the uptake of Area-Based disaster preparedness tools, including 5Ws and quarterly action plans. - Together with the Capacity Building Officer, develop capacity building approaches and activities, including for disaster preparedness and response, good governance, and other technical and operational capacity needs. - Work with the team in the standardization and publication of training material. - And all other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Senior Urban Resilience Manager, based in Maiduguri

Position directly supervises: Capacity Building Officer and Capacity Building Assistant, based in Maiduguri

Indirect Reporting: n/a Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal: Supply Chain and Finance, Regional Policy Advisors, HQ Technical Advisors

External: Service provider, Traditional and Community Leaders, Local Government Authorities, Government Ministries/Agencies

Qualifications

- Bachelor’s Degree in community development, public administration, law, international development, project management or other relevant field; - Minimum four (4) years of experience in local governance, social accountability, public administration, institutional development, public-sector capacity building or related technical areas; - Strong knowledge and understanding governance in service delivery, in particular disaster preparedness and response; - Solid experience in participatory, flexible, conflict and gender-sensitive programming and implementation; - Strong track record in working in partnership with governments and civil society at various levels; - Demonstrated ability to negotiate and partner with communities, civil society, and government representatives; - Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Fluency in written and spoken Hausa and/or Kanuri is preferred.

Working Environment: The IRC is a team-work environment and requires a person who will work with colleagues from many cultural backgrounds, understand and contribute to the organization’s goals, work well as a member of a group/team, and respect the thoughts and opinions of others in the team. The security situation in North East Nigeria continues to be volatile with security level currently at 3 (orange), though subject to change

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation