Gender Advocacy Advisor

Position –

Gender Advocacy Advisor

Internal Job Grade –

C2

Contract type –

Fixed-term. One Year with a possibility to extend based on performance and fund availability

Reporting to –

Line management: Regional Gender Justice Coordinator – MENA RP

Matrix & technical management: Regional Advocacy Manager

Key relationships/interactions –

Regional Head of Programmes, Reg. GJ Coordinator, Reg. GJ Advocacy Advisor, Admin Finance Officer, project managers of multi-country programs.

Location

Based in any of the following countries: Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia or OPT.

Shaping a stronger Oxfam for people living in poverty.

Department Purpose

The Regional Platform (RP) of Oxfam in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has a mandate to:

• Provide strategic leadership, management & accountability of and to Oxfam country programmes in MENA.
• Deliver regional impact, developing partner relationships, brand and impact in the region through relevant influencing and advocacy work, public engagement and programming
• Connect, coordinate, convene – Connect practitioners to sources of expertise, convene people to share knowledge and learnings, and coordinate capacity building initiatives
• Enable operational agility and efficiency – Provide support to Oxfam country offices

Team Purpose

The gender justice team within the MENA regional platform has a mandate to:

• work with the Oxfam Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Platform and with country offices, partners across the region and global stakeholders on promoting Gender Justice in the region, delivering excellent gender advocacy and influencing as well as influencing for policy change.
• campaign and advocate for women’s rights and raise MENA gender justice issues at the regional and international levels.
• work closely with civil society, facilitate platforms and support women rights activists and feminists to create change at a national, regional and global level.

Job Purpose

The Gender Justice Advocacy Advisor is to provide influencing and campaigning steer on Gender Justice in the MENA region. It will provide a thought leadership and policy advice that support building networks and alliances at the country, regional and international levels. It will ensure promoting and connecting with regional and global campaigns and will work closely with Regional Gender Justice Coordinator, ensuring that together they develop and implement sound gender influencing strategies and plans.

Job Responsibilities

1. Implementing advocacy plans under restricted funding (Masarouna, MedUP!, Strides and Naseej) (60%)

• Develop annual implementation plans and budgets based on the global project proposal.
• Lead on the conceptualisation and development of stand-alone and programme-related regional gender justice advocacy, policy and campaign initiatives, in collaboration with regional and country teams
• Coordinate and lead where relevant on those activities under direct implementation of RP, in close collaboration with RP colleagues assigned to activities.
• Ensure accurate implementation of plans and accurate expenditure of budgets under restricted projects.
• Lead in co-designing and implementation of regional advocacy campaigns.

1. Advisory and technical support on GJ advocacy, influencing and strategic partnerships (10%)

• Provide technical inputs to the development of new proposals
• Provide technical expertise from MENA Gender advocacy perspective to Oxfam’s regional influencing action plan and to Oxfam’s international campaigns
• Provide technical expertise to the implementation of multi-country programs and implementation of regional campaigns

1. Networking, relationship building and representation (20%)

• Support the MENA Regional GJ coordinator to identify, establish and nurture regional strategic partnerships that align with Oxfam’s MENA Regional Strategy
• Foster positive, productive working relationships with policy/advocacy leads bringing gender justice focus to their work
• Support Oxfam to increase the profile of its gender justice work in MENA by identifying, creating, and participating in strategic visibility opportunities including media and participation in regional and international platforms
• Regularly liaise with influencing and communication teams, gender advisers and gender focal points in other agencies and organizations (including UNW, governments, INGOs, local NGOs and women’s groups), and within Oxfam globally (at affiliate and campaign levels)
• Contribute to development of new funding opportunities in MENA on SRHR and gender justice, in collaboration with RP and CO colleagues.

1. knowledge brokering of regional gender justice learning (10%)

• Support the development of a regional gender justice research agenda, in close collaboration with regional and global influencing stakeholders and country teams
• Contribute to writing and reviewing research and case studies on gender justice and women’s rights in MENA and ensure wider Oxfam learning is captured.
• Document regional programme learning and identify opportunities of advocacy and influencing.

Job Requirements

Essential

• A master’s degree in social sciences, development studies, gender studies or equivalent
• Proven experience in program management of regional programs in international NGOs.
• Proven experience of networking, building alliances and partnerships around gender justice issues and delivering impactful influencing on women’s rights and proven experience in managing key relationships
• Demonstrated existing relationships, networks and partnerships with influential women’s rights organisations and feminists in the MENA region
• Excellent influencing skills and ability to explain gender justice and relevance to good programming, persuasively and effectively
• Solid knowledge and understanding of gender justice and global frameworks such as SDGs, CEDAW and UNCSR 1325 and how to operationalise these for women in the MENA
• Proven experience in designing and implementing advocacy strategies and campaigns on gender justice and women’s rights
• Sound knowledge of MENA region
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, together with the capacity to remain calm under pressure.
• Proven influencing and negotiating skills with internal and external audiences …
• Must be organised and efficient.
• Sensitivity to cultural differences and the ability to work in a wide variety of cultural contexts.
• Willingness and ability to travel an average 3 or 4 times a year within the MENA region.
• Committed to Oxfam principles
• Languages: excellent English and Arabic spoken and written / French highly desirable and will be considered as an important asset during job evaluation.

Desirable

• Familiarity with Oxfam regional and international gender justice platforms
• Familiar with inter-agency coordination systems
• Knowledge of training tools and methods and proven experience delivering training on gender-responsive programmes and advocacy
• Strong leadership skills
• Willingness to be part of Oxfam working groups and any advocacy and influencing platforms
• Willingness to travel regularly within the MENA region at short notice and for up to 8 weeks.

Key Attributes:

• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences and gender issues, as well as the commitment to equal opportunities.
• Ability to demonstrate an openness and willingness to learn about the application of gender/gender mainstreaming, women’s rights, and diversity for all aspects of development work.
• Commitment to Oxfam’s safeguarding policies to ensure all people who come into contact with Oxfam are as safe as possible.

Organisational Values:

• Accountability – Our purpose-driven, results-focused approach means we take responsibility for our actions and hold ourselves accountable. We believe that others should also be held accountable for their actions.
• Empowerment – Our approach means that everyone involved with Oxfam, from our staff and supporters to people living in poverty, should feel they can make change happen.
• Inclusiveness – We are open to everyone and embrace diversity. We believe everyone has a contribution to make, regardless of visible and invisible differences.

Key Behavioral Competencies

Competencies

Description

Decisiveness

We are comfortable to make transparent decisions and to adapt decision making modes to the context and needs.

Influencing

We have the ability to engage with diverse stakeholders in a way that leads to increased impact for the organization We spot opportunities to influence effectively and where there are no opportunities we have the ability to create them in a respectful and impactful manner.

Relationship Building

We understand the importance of building relationship, within and outside the organization. We have the ability to engage with traditional and non-traditional stakeholders in ways that lead to increased impact for the organisation.

Mutual Accountability

We can explain our decisions and how we have taken them based on our organizational values. We are ready to be held to account for what we do and how we behave, as we are also holding others to account in a consistent manner.

Agility, Complexity, and Ambiguity

We scan the environment, anticipate changes, are comfortable with lack of clarity and deal with a large number of elements interacting in diverse and unpredictable ways.

Systems Thinking

We view problems as parts of an overall system and in their relation to the whole system, rather than reacting to a specific part, outcome or event in isolation. We focus on cyclical rather than linear cause and effect. By consistently practicing systems thinking we are aware of and manage well unintended consequences of organisational decisions and actions.

Strategic Thinking and Judgment

We use judgment, weighing risk against the imperative to act. We make decisions consistent with organizational strategies and values.

Self-Awareness

We are able to develop a high degree of self-awareness around our own strengths and weaknesses and our impact on others. Our self-awareness enables us to moderate and self-regulate our behaviors to control and channel our impulses for good purposes.