Deployable Humanitarian Policy & Advocacy Specialist at Plan International

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian non-profit organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood, and enable children to prepare for - and respond to - crises and adversity. We believe in the power and potential of every child, but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Deployable Humanitarian Policy & Advocacy Specialist

Location: Nigeria
Job Type: Full-time
Grade: 17

Role Purpose

• Plan International Country Offices in response to an emergency, often need additional experts to support their response and help those affected by crises. Plan International’s core surge team is composed of technical, global experts who can deploy to emergency responses. Each deployment is context-specific and negotiated. The post holder will be expected to provide leadership to their area of technical specialism to support the country team they are deployed to.
• Core surge team members are globally roving and work away from their home base continuously, who can deploy urgently from a few weeks up to four months per assignment. Core surge is typically deployed to country programmes for up to nine months a year (pro rata for part-time posts). When not deployed (or on annual leave), core surge team members may be assigned project/proactive work.
• Plan’s Global Humanitarian Team prioritises supporting our staff and partner organisations at the frontline of humanitarian responses, Country Offices and National Organisations by providing expertise and specialist services in real time, closer to the point of impact and scale up humanitarian action, strengthen core humanitarian and lifesaving assistance and raise more funds.
• This Deployable Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy Specialist sits within the Global Humanitarian Policy, Advocacy, and Diplomacy Unit. This unit is one of four global humanitarian capability units at Plan.
• Plan International’s global strategy has placed an increased emphasis on influencing as a key strategy to achieve the outcomes we seek for children in both development and humanitarian contexts. Humanitarianpolicy, advocacy, and diplomacyhas a critical role to play to ensure children, and particularly girls, realise their rights before, during and after disasters and conflicts and disease outbreaks, and therefore makes an important contribution to the implementation of Plan International’s Global Strategy. Emergencies provide an opportunity to call on humanitarian actors, including governments, donors and other agencies, to respond effectively to the needs and rights of children, and especially girls, to deliver on commitments and implement policies. Emergencies can also present a window of opportunity for changing discourse and policy.
• In early December, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs launched their Global Humanitarian Overview 2024. The forecast is terrifying. In 2024, nearly 300 million people around the world will need humanitarian assistance and protection, due to conflicts, climate emergencies, and other drivers. Humanitarian diplomacy is crucial in a fragile world – and in allowing us to best deliver for people in crisis - and our Global Humanitarian Policy, Advocacy, and Diplomacy Unit – and this deployable specialist role are key.
• At times you will be expected to develop context-specific humanitarian policy, advocacy, and diplomacy initiatives. You will be an important colleague in helping us ensure that our teams worldwide are supported and equipped with the ability to conduct humanitarian diplomacy, to negotiate, to be influential humanitarian advocates no matter their position or sectoral focus, and to uphold humanitarian values and principles.

Dimensions of The Role

• This position may line manage a team when on deployment to a Country Office.
• No budget responsibility is required for this position.
• Develops and maintains relationships with stakeholder groups both within Plan International and externally.
• May deploy at short notice to a Country Office for up to 4 months
• The post is expected to be on deployment for up to 9 months per year.

Accountabilities
Support to and advising Country Offices:

• Support the Country Office to help us fulfil our obligations under the Humanitarian Principles and our role as a principled humanitarian organisation.
• Ensure work has a focus on the impact of a crisis on children and girls.
• Support with analysis and monitoring of the policy context in-country.
• Advise country and emergency response staff on humanitarian and socio-political issues, legal frameworks and humanitarian standards relevant to advocacy, particularly those related to protection of civilians, International Humanitarian Law (IHL),the Humanitarian Charter, children’s rights and gender in emergencies.
• Support with the development of crisis-specific policy positions and messages.
• Support with the development of briefings and other policy documents for external and internal audiences.
• Conduct humanitarian advocacy trainings and work with colleagues to develop principled humanitarian policy, advocacy, and diplomacy capabilities including in conflict and sensitive situations.
• Assist in the development of research to support influencing work, including speaking directly with crisis-affected populations about their experiences.
• Support communications planning and messages to ensure communications and media work strategically supports the influencing objectives. Support with internal advocacy coordination with emergency response teams and with different levels of the organisation, including convening and chairing internal advocacy working groups where relevant.
• Support the inclusion of policy and advocacy in funding submissions.

Advocacy and representation:

• Represent Plan International and advocate with decision-makers, partners and other key stakeholders such as donors, at the national level.
• Assist in the establishment of effective policy and advocacy relationships with the humanitarian community in country and engage in external advocacy working groups
• Share information on upcoming events, visits, and strategic meetings in a timely and effective manner.

System strengthening and capacity building:

• Develop and pilot tools, templates, and guidance to support advocacy in emergencies.
• Capture and share learning on humanitarian advocacy across the organisation.
• Undertake capacity-building activities on humanitarian advocacy at different levels of the organisation.

Supporting humanitarian advocacy at other levels:

• Documenting and sharing of case studies and evidence for use in thematic and crisis-specific advocacy.
• Advising on crisis-specific advocacy at the international and capital levels.
• Building and maintaining an internal network amongst humanitarianand advocacy staff.

Safeguarding:

• Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young Peopleand Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

Key Relationships:
Internal:

• Works closely with the Head of the Global Humanitarian Policy, Advocacy, and Diplomacy Unit and the Global Humanitarian Policy, Advocacy, and Diplomacy Unit, as well as other key humanitarian advocacy colleagues
• Plan’s Global Humanitarian Team including the Global Humanitarian Director and colleagues in the 4 global units of humanitarian capability (including other deployable specialists)
• Regional Heads of Humanitarian
• Country Directors (CDs) and Country Management Team (CMT)and Emergency Response Manager (ERM), and other relevant Country Office colleagues in the countries of response
• National Organisations (NOs)humanitarian network to coordinate global humanitarian advocacy on specific crises where deployed
• NY, Geneva, Brussels and African Union Liaison Offices

External:

• Peers, policymakers, information officers and other officials of the host government, donors and donor governments, other agencies and groups, and media representatives responding to the emergency.

Technical Expertise, Skills and Knowledge
Essential:

• Considerable and demonstrable experience in advocacy strategy and messaging development, particularly in humanitarian contexts.
• Proven experience and highly developed skills in policy influencing at the national level with a range of audiences, including experience in conveying complex messages in politically sensitive environments.
• Demonstrable and substantive knowledge of current humanitarian issues and relevant legal and policy frameworks.
• Specific knowledge and expertise on children’s rights and gender in emergencies.
• Demonstrable commitment to gender equality.
• An in-depth understanding of the humanitarian architecture, coordination mechanisms and its various working groups, including experience in influencing within these structures.
• Discretion and sound reasoning in dealing with sensitive matters; ability to independently solve complex and challenging problems.
• Stronginterpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively and smartly within a complex organisation balancing consultations and coordination with getting things done.
• Strong networking and negotiation skills.
• Ability to develop and maintain collaborative relationships in a range of cultural contexts
• Experience managing themselves in a pressured and changing environment.
• Adherence to humanitarian values and standards.
• Working proficiency in Microsoft applications and able to effectively adapt to relevant Plan International data systems.
• Committed to actively upholding Plan International's vision, values and behaviours and policies, including the Say Yes! To Keeping Children Safe Policy.

Desirable:

• Fluency in English and at least one other language (e.g., French, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese).

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.