Advocacy Manager at Action Against Hunger | ACF-International

Action Against Hunger works to save lives by combating hunger and diseases that threaten the lives of vulnerable communities, through nutrition, food security, water and sanitation, health and advocacy.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Advocacy Manager

Location: Abuja, FCT
Start date: As Soon As Possible
Direct Line Manager: Country Director

Objective 1

• Lead and manage the implementation of the mission’s advocacy and communications strategy at Federal and State levels.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Lead on the implementation of the country-specific advocacy and communications strategy in close collaboration with other Coordinators and HQ advisors ensuring alignment with ACF’s global and regional Advocacy strategy and objectives.
• Implement the advocacy work plan with specific advocacy and communications objectives and activities, as well as a calendar and budget.
• Develop monitoring and evaluation tools that assesses the impact and cost effectiveness of advocacy and communications activities and helps in the development of new activities
• Track, set up a calendar and guide the management of key advocacy opportunities and targets at regional, Federal and State levels.
• Incorporate advocacy and communications objectives within mission’s proposals and reports, to ensure the integration of advocacy in regular programming and implementation of innovative advocacy activities.
• Work with Field teams identify advocacy related issues based on program delivery including the development of a plan for achieving their priority advocacy objectives in both an emergency and development context.
• Analyze the situation on advocacy issues: Collect and update the data, follow political, financial, and administrative, States, Federal or international dates, follow the positioning of relevant parties and their changes.
• Take lead on the development of advocacy products such as human interest stories, policy briefings, speeches, talking points, letters, submissions and other advocacy and communication materials
• Engage with the field offices, regional office and the HQ advocacy offices on shared advocacy messaging and campaigns
• Ensure advocacy and communications teams at field offices are in line with the mission’s advocacy and communications strategy and contribute to achieving its set objectives.
• Overall responsibility for the management of ACF’s social media accounts.

Objective 2

• Collaboration and representation in advocacy fora

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Develop a mapping using a power analysis of key decision makers (in the ACF operational areas) for nutrition sector (both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions)
• Develop and coordinating partnerships with other parties on advocacy activities (NGO, civil society) and facilitating joint advocacy activities.
• Engage in networking, building relations with Federal and States stakeholders to continually inform, challenge and improve advocacy messages and tactics
• Represent ACF and contribute to advocacy related working groups (INGO and UN Working groups & task forces) and other coordination meetings.
• Undertake advocacy and lobbying as required with in-country Federal and States decision-making bodies and stakeholders.
• Support the Country Director (or Deputy CD) in establishing strategic contact with the media in order to have channels for advocacy messages and representation.
• Engage in networking, building relations with Federal and States stakeholders to continually inform, challenge and improve advocacy messages and tactics.
• Coordinate the collection of evidence from ACF programs in the country according to opportunities to influence.

Objective 3

• Capacity building and repository of information

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Provide technical support and capacity building to state level advocacy and communications states leads.
• Train programme staff on communication and advocacy as per the capacity needs identified.
• Responsible for regular progress reports on advocacy activities, outcomes, lessons learned, best practices and challenges for the mission.
• Create repository of advocacy and communication initiatives, tools and documents and support colleagues in identification, documenting and drafting of best practices and lessons learned from ACF interventions.
• Provide context specific, field-level information to regional and global advocacy efforts.

Internal & External Relationship
Internal:

• Country Director: Direct manager – technical support – exchange of information.
• Deputy Country Directors and Technical Coordinators: Technical support
• Program Managers: Exchange of information and collaboration on program, operational and issues
• Media and Communications Officer: Collaboration and exchange of information on media and communications agenda
• State level Advocacy and Communications teams: Work very closely to provide information, specifically around challenges and concerns within the context, stakeholder engagement, program delivery and humanitarian response.

External:

• Governmental and non-governmental partners: exchange of information, coordination, training, supervision, influence on choice of technical options
• International and Local Aid Organizations: exchange of information
• Donor representatives: hosting field visits, exchange of information
• Cluster and other coordination forums

Position Requirements
Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Development related fields, with at least 2-3 years of relevant work experience in development and humanitarian. A Master’s degree will be added advantage.
• Minimum of 2 years experience in an Advocacy position
• Experience in working with coalitions and within multi-agency forums.
• Engaging with governments and/or multilateral institutions at different levels.

Skills & Experience
Essential:

• Credibility to lobby, network, influence and represent ACF Nigeria at all levels.
• Must be disciplined and able to work autonomously and arrive at decisions and conclusions with minimal guidance.
• Proven ability to learn and adaptpProfessional, motivated, open, creative, mature, responsible, flexible and, culturally sensitive
• Previous experience with advocacy or communication duties
• Microsoft Office Skills (Outlook, Excel, Power Point, Word)
• Willing and able to be based and travel regularly within remote areas, where services are limited.
• Excellent writing/editing, analytical and verbal communication skills
• Fluency in English and Hausa/Kanuri (written and spoken)
• Good written and oral communication skills
• Commitment to AAH mission, values and policy
• Familiar with Northeast Nigeria context

Preferred:

• Knowledge and practical experience of general humanitarian standards and principles such as Sphere Standards, HAP, and the Red Cross Code of Conduct, Do No Harm and conflict sensitivity.
• Up to date knowledge of the humanitarian discourse around key concepts such as devolution, resilience, LRRD
• Advanced knowledge of donors’ guidelines/procedures
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Package and Adobe photoshop
• Good understanding of all three ACF’s technical sectors is desirable

Application Closing Date
2nd July, 2019.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online