Regional Policy, Advocacy and Communication Specialist

Job Title:

Regional Policy, Advocacy and Communication Specialist

Directorate/Cluster:

Programmes and Policy

Unit/Team:

Policy & Advocacy

Grade and Salary:

Grade E

Contract Type:

Fixed Term (12 months)

Location:

Roving

Budget Holder:

Yes x No o

Reports to: (incl matrix reporting)

Direct reporting: ActionAid Arab Region Regional Director

Matrix reporting: Syria-Türkiye Senior Humanitarian Response and Resilience Manager; IHART Global Humanitarian Signature Advocacy Lead, Head of Programmes

Direct Reports :

Advocacy and Communication Officers

Matrix Reports:

n/a

DBS (CRB) / Police Check:

Yes o No o

Background

ActionAid Arab Region (AAAR) is part of the ActionAid global Federation working to achieve social justice, gender equality and poverty eradication. Throughout the world, ActionAid works to strengthen the capacity and active agency of people living in poverty and exclusion, especially women, to assert their rights.

AAAR focus its strategic interventions in four countries: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Tunisia. The programmes are managed from our regional office in Jordan, with a small programme team in Lebanon. Our interventions in Syria and Tunisia are undertaken exclusively in partnership with local partners.

AAARs third regional strategy entitled “Youth-led feminist action fostering resilience, social and climate justice in the Arab Region 2022-2025” focuses on two programmatic priority areas:

• Responding to humanitarian crisis and enhancing resilience in local communities
• Promoting economic and civic empowerment for youth and women

Under these priorities, ActionAid is currently responding to the humanitarian crises in Türkiye and Syria which has been classified as a Red Alert in the ActionAid Federation due to the escalating death toll of more than 50,000, with over 80,000 people injured and thousands still buried in the rubble in Türkiye and Syria. The earthquake has further exacerbated the situation for the 4.2M people in northwest Syria that were already relying on humanitarian assistance and suffering the consequences of the 12-year war. Building on ActionAid’s existing partnerships and alliances in Türkiye and Syria, we are supporting a local partner-led humanitarian response focusing on providing immediate humanitarian relief, shelter, food and NFIs, emergency medical care, psychosocial first aid and creating safe spaces for women and girls to prevent and protect against gender-based violence. ActionAid Arab Region (AAAR) is leading this response on behalf of the Federation with ActionAid International Humanitarian and Resilience Team (IHART) in line with ActionAid’s internal emergency classification policy.In line with ActionAid’s humanitarian signature, target groups include the most vulnerable people, women, girls and young people.

ActionAid is has also been working in Lebanon since mid 2000s, mainly through local actors (NGO partners, youth and women led groups as well as social movements) in Beirut, Tripoli, and Beqaa. Its work focuses on protection and resilience of local communities, building on their capacities and providing them with skills and knowledge to respond to local crisis/challenges, and enable them to enjoy their rights to protection in fragile situations. ActionAid partners in Lebanon operate safe spaces for women protection and youth hubs to provide spaces for young people to learn and thrive. Enhancing accountability toward local communities is another priority for ActionAid in Lebanon, for this, it empowers young people to better identify gaps in local response, amplifying their voices and linking them to key decision makers and local stakeholders.

In Jordan and Tunisia, ActionAid’s work focuses on promoting the civic and economic participation of young people and women, as well as women and girls protection.

Role Overview:

This role will mainly work for the Syria-Turkiye Emergency Response (70%) however partial time (30%) will be dedicated to support the Regional Director in developing an advocacy and communications strategy to amplify the impact of the work happening across multiple countries, publicly engage with relevant actors and stakeholders, and ensure proper representation of ActionAid in major regional and global platforms.

To this end, the role is designed:

• To coordinate and elevate the asks and messages of people affected by forced displacement and protracted crisis in Syria and those who have found refuge in neighbouring countries, so they are heard and acted upon by hosting government and the UN, international NGOs, and donors at national and global level, and regional institutions.

• To influence policies at regional/global level and provide technical advice for ActionAid teams working on the Syria-Türkiye humanitarian response and other programmes, leveraging evidence from programmes, partners, affected communities and best practices.

• To ensure ActionAid’s humanitarian principles and policy priorities are rooted in ActionAid’s partner-led Syria-Türkiye response and that ActionAid has a strong external presence in relevant humanitarian and resilience fora.

• To lead/co-lead/facilitate as applicable high level external policy engagements to key advocacy targets and influencing spaces with ActionAid and partner staff.

• To deliver systematic, updated and timely advocacy and policy advice and support to key stakeholders involved in the Syria-Türkiye response and other work relevant to ActionAid.

• To lead and participate in internal and external humanitarian and resilience advocacy and policy coordination spaces relevant to the Syria – Türkiye Response

• To ensure strategic engagement with movements and allies to inform ActionAid’s advocacy and policy positions and recommendations, especially proposing alternatives in the context of the Arab Region that put women’s and young people’s rights at the forefront of our approach.

• To work with closely with key ActionAid Affiliates, partners and allies to mobilise our global humanitarian advocacy and policy community, ensuring our policies are aligned and impact maximised.

• To oversee the development and implementation of AAAR refreshed Advocacy and Communication strategy that reflects programmatic areas other than the emergency response this includes identifying goals and objectives, mapping and analysing stakeholders, identifying strategic platforms for AAAR to be engaged with, and advising on the development of a media and public engagement plan.

Areas of Responsibilities

Key Activities

Strategy Development, Advocacy and campaigns/programmes

• Lead the development and implementation of ActionAid Arab Region Türkiye-Syria Humanitarian Response Advocacy strategy, provide strategic advocacy and policy analysis and advice, and ensure it is linked to the media and communications strategy.
• Set up leads and structures for follow up on humanitarian advocacy and policy work at the regional level, linking it with global level and coordinating with regional colleagues, programmes, communications and media.
• Explore the added value of working in alliance with other INGOs, including national and local civil society organisations, partners and networks to influence key policies related to the humanitarian response.
• Proactively engage and initiate advocacy and policy initiatives relevant to ActionAid’s and partners portfolio, related to the sectors prioritised in the response and promoting a women and young people-led localised response.
• Produce evidence-based, partner and community led, quality policy messages, briefs, papers and research reports to drive humanitarian advocacy towards international and regional stakeholders including donors.
• Oversee the process of developing AAAR Advocacy and Communications strategy, identifying clear objectives and messages, selecting relevant channels and tactics, and setting budgets and monitoring and evaluation plans to ensure quality delivery.

Communication, influencing and coordination

• Identify and engage with key regional and international humanitarian policy and advocacy platforms as well as regional and international influencing opportunities.
• Raise ActionAid’s partners and women’s and young people visibility, presence and engagement at relevant regional and global policy fora as applicable and strengthen and establish linkages with relevant bodies.
• Ensure that national and local women and young people-led organisations are included in the governance and decision-making bodies and policy fora of the in country/regional response as applicable.
• Work closely with the Partner Advocacy & Policy Managers/Officers on issues of national level inclusion as applicable, and lead and support national actions as required.
• Explore synergies, collaborations and messaging as applicable with partners in global spaces linked to ActionAid Humanitarian Signature themes and Partners’ Advocacy Strategies.
• Identify and develop links and partnerships with relevant movements (including women’s and young people’s movements) activists, academics, and research bodies, public policy experts and decision-makers in INGOs.
• Represent ActionAid in relevant humanitarian policy and practice fora, events and networks, influencing and promoting ActionAid’s distinctive approach to humanitarian issues.
• Strengthen ActionAid’s visibility and influence working closely with media and communication colleagues.

Technical Advice, Capacity Sharing, Research, and Learning

• Share understanding and capacity on humanitarian policy and advocacy and the international, regional and national (as applicable) humanitarian system with programme staff, partner staff and units within the organisations so they can better support capacity strengthening of others.
• Lead capacity sharing initiatives to deepen the influencing approaches across the Syria-Türkiye response.
• Advise on potential areas/themes for research to inform and validate advocacy and policy messages.
• Ensure that our policy research and positions are based on a feminist analysis and that recommendations always include goals to advance women’s and young people’s rights-based on women’s and young people’s voices.
• Provide strategic policy advice to inform ActionAid’s media positions in humanitarian and resilience work.
• Ensure effective collaboration across the Syria-Türkiye programme, policy, advocacy and campaigns strands in between colleagues across relevant countries, regions and ActionAid’s global secretariat to deliver collective outcomes.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Support the response team and contribute to a monitoring, evaluation and learning plan to assess and capture the impact of the policy and advocacy work related to the Syria-Türkiye humanitarian response.
• Collate and provide analysis information that supports humanitarian policy monitoring and evaluation and is aligned with the Core Humanitarian Standards.
• Support partner organisations in monitoring, evaluation and learning related to policy and advocacy work as required.

Fundraising

• Represent ActionAid’s humanitarian and development policies to key funders and help establish and maintain relationships with funding agencies that prioritise humanitarian and development work.
• Provide technical advice that supports strategic fundraising for humanitarian and resilience policy-related work and develops an increased number of humanitarian and resilience multi-country projects and initiatives

PERSON SPECIFICATIONS

Education and Qualifications

• Advanced university degree in communications, advocacy, public relations, marketing, sustainable development, or related areas. An undergraduate degree with considerable years of experience is acceptable.

Essential Experience

• Demonstrated experience of working in the international humanitarian system, with excellent understanding of standards and relevant policy debates, and relevant experience in public relations, communications, advocacy and/or campaigning
• Substantial experience of working in and on Syria, including ability and willingness to undertake a roving role with a roving travel requirement of at least 50%, including in Syria, the region and beyond as required.
• Substantial experience of lobbying UN agencies and politicians and to influence international agreements and policy change.
• Proven experience in coalition building and network development in political or NGO settings.
• Solid experience of translating complex material and data into concise reports and shares technical knowledge and expertise in a facilitative way.
• Proven track record and good experience of speaking in public forums and capacity strengthening skills relevant to help train and build the skills of ActionAid and partner staff..
• Practical on the ground experience responding to emergencies and other humanitarian crisis.
• Significant experience in working cross-organisational and in multicultural teams.

Essential Knowledge

• In depth knowledge, understanding and commitment to the human rights based approach (HRBA).
• Solid understanding and commitment to women’s and young people’s leadership and feminist leadership principles, including a strong understanding of the role of women’s and young people’s organisations in humanitarian response, policy and advocacy..

• A good understanding of the global humanitarian architecture and how best to influence it.
• Familiarity with International Humanitarian Law.

Essential skills

• Educated to Degree Level in relevant field.
• A strong commitment to ActionAid’s vision, mission, and values, especially the rights-based approach and principles, feminist leadership and ActionAid’s humanitarian signature.
• A good understanding of budgets and authorisations processes to be able to cover for the Syria/Türkiye Senior Humanitarian Response and Resilience Manager as required.
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to breaking down and clearly presenting complex concepts to a variety of audiences.
• Demonstrated experience of international work and understanding of the latest political and humanitarian trends, joint initiatives and relevant compacts, such as the Grand Bargain, Call to Action on protection from GBV in emergencies, the Compact for Young People in Humanitarians Action; the Global Compact on Refugees; The Guiding Principles of IDPs etc.
• Excellent writing and communications skills in English; additional languages is a merit.

• Skilled in defining and overseeing collective delivery of clear, measurable objectives and key results, preferably including in cross-departmental and cross-functional settings.
• Excellent negotiation and presentational skills and the ability to communicate effectively at all levels and across cultures.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to work effectively in a multi-cultural and decentralised global Federation, often remotely.
• Feminist leadership skills and attributes, including self-awareness, a positive growth mindset and drive for collective achievement, excellent collaboration and team-building skills, and strong commitment to dismantling bias and promoting equity and inclusion.
• Entrepreneurial and problem-solving skills: able to spot and land opportunities where others only see obstacles, and can creatively overcome complex problems with little or no guidance from manager.

Language requirements

• Excellent command of the English language both verbal and written.
• Fluent Arabic speaker is an advantage.

People Management Responsibility

Approximate number of people managed in total

1- Team members

Individual contributor, no direct responsibility
for leading others.

No

1.5

Act as mentor in a team and /or coordinating a team

No

2- Team Leader

Coaches team members (at least three) in skills; leads, schedules, allocates and monitors work

No

2.5

Responsible for one team with its own and has another team reporting directly

No

3- Team managers:

Directs more than one team;

No

The postions direct multiple teams, each of which has a team leader in charge; determines team structure and roles of members

No