Advocacy Manager Lebanon

JOB DESCRIPTION

All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity and accountability. These attitudes and believes shall guide our actions and relationships.

Job Purpose

The Advocacy Manager advises the Country Director and the Country Management Group on programme and rights-based advocacy. The post-holder is committed to ensuring that, through the delivery of NRC’s programme and advocacy, refugee rights are respected and refugees are protected in Lebanon. The Advocacy Manager represents NRC at the INGO advocacy forum, in broader coordination meetings, and coordinates with NRC head office, regional office, and representative office.

What you will do:

Generic responsibilities:

• Identify and coordinate NRC’s advocacy response to prioritize protection issues both within the country and internationally
• Develop and implement country-specific advocacy strategy that is relevant to the needs of refugees and informed by evidence from NRC’s programmes in alignment to the overall country strategy
• Line management of the Advocacy and Communications team, set their strategic direction, and ensure that planning and commitments are executed as well as ensuring systematic training on advocacy and communication and building their capacity where needed.
• Ensure advocacy coherence and reinforce effective synergies between programmes and advocacy by working closely with programme staff to integrate advocacy into programme planning and implementation
• Provide high quality protection analysis on key humanitarian and displacement trends and prepare evidenced-based policy briefing papers, policy position statements and other public-facing advocacy products when strategic and relevant
• Liaise with other NRC Country, Regional and Global Representation Offices to coordinate the strategic delivery of advocacy messaging and to maximise impact
• Represent NRC to key stakeholders, strengthen strategic advocacy networks and identify opportunities to advocate NRC’s position
• Oversee media work and media strategy, ensuring potential risks associated with NRC’s positions are assessed and sign-off procedures are adhered to
• Oversee media contacts, outreach and relationships in coordination with the Communications Adviser, helping to facilitate field visits and providing briefings and stories in line with agreed advocacy priorities
• Oversee and is responsible of mainstreaming protection guidelines in the NRC’s related activities as per NRC’s Protection mainstreaming guidelines and ensure that all breaches/concerns reported are properly resolved

Specific Responsibilities:

• Liaise with and brief representatives from the Government of Lebanon, donor agencies, and the international community on NRC advocacy priorities and recommendations, including emergent events and emergency responses
• Ensure that NRC’s global and regional advocacy strategy and initiatives are implemented and that these strategies are reflective of the specificities of the Lebanon context
• Work with programme and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) teams to collect and analyse data on protection issues to inform advocacy directions, for use in the production and distribution of advocacy-focused briefs to donors, government, and the diplomatic community
• Support communications and programme staff to develop visibility, features and stories for the NRC website and other fora
• Participate in the Lebanon Humanitarian INGO Forum Advocacy Group, United Nations Agency coordination structures, and other relevant coordinating and planning bodies
• Contribute to leadership of Consortia advocacy planning and prioritisation and liaising with Consortia and partners staff
• Establish strategic networks and alliances for advocacy activities in close cooperation with the Country Director and programme staff
• Design and implement an advocacy strategy focused on Palestinian rights and humanitarian needs in coordination with programme and area teams

Professional Competencies, skills & qualifications required:

• Bachelor degree in Political Sciences, Journalism, Law, or any other relevant field
• Minimum 5 years of experience from working as an Advocacy Adviser/Manager in a humanitarian/development context
• Professional knowledge of humanitarian and protection principles
• Experience with humanitarian protection programmes and humanitarian policy and advocacy
• Communications management, including internal communications and communicating with communities
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts. Good knowledge of the Lebanese context is highly preferable.
• Experiencing planning and overseeing communications and media planning
• Strong writing and analytical skills
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal. Knowledge of Arabic an added advantage

Behavioral Competencies:

• Planning and delivering results
• Analysis
• Communicating with impact and respect
• Strategic thinking
• Influencing
• Handling insecure environments

What We Offer

NRC is an equal opportunities employer and aims to have staffing diversity in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, nationality and physical ability.

We offer an opportunity to match your career to a compelling cause and a chance to meet and work with people who are the best in their fields.

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply and join our work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility: At NRC we think outside the box. We encourage ideas and give responsibility to all employees at all levels, to help solve the complex issues that we face. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take initiative.

We are also looking for people who share our values:

• To be dedicated in what we do;
• To be innovative with our solutions;
• To act as one unified and inclusive team;
• To be accountable to the donors that make our work possible; the people we exist to serve, and to each other… the members of our NRC family.

Additional Information:

Duty Station: Beirut, Lebanon

Duration of contract: 12 months renewable based on funding, performance, and need for the position

Grade 9 in NRC’s grading structure

Reporting line: Country Director (CD)

Provides supervision to: Communications Coordinator

ABOUT US

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. We work in crises across more than 31 countries, providing emergencies and long-term assistance to millions of people every year. We stand up for people forced to flee, advocating their rights. NORCAP, our global provider of expertise, helps improve international and local ability to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from crises. NRC also runs the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre in Geneva, a global leader in reporting on and advocating for people displaced within their own country.

Employment with NRC may lead to employment in or deployment to Regions, Countries, Areas or Offices that may be host to considerable health, safety and security risks. NRC takes this very seriously and we have procedures in place to reduce known risks, but will never be able to take away all risks.

NRC is an equal opportunities employer and aims to have staffing diversity in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, nationality and physical ability.