Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy Advisor(Homebased)

The Opportunity

Are you passionate about humanitarian policy and advocacy? Are you eager to make a difference in the lives of children affected by crises? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you. Join Save the Children International as a Regional Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy Advisor, working in their Asia Regional Office and deployed to global humanitarian crises. As a key member of the Advocacy, Campaign, Communications, and Media team, you will support the development and implementation of regional humanitarian advocacy strategies and policies, work with country offices in Asia and beyond, engage with decision-makers, contribute to policy development, and act as a media spokesperson. If you are ready to make a real impact on the lives of children and thrive in a collaborative work environment, this role is perfect for you.

Based in the Advocacy, Campaign, Communications and Media team in Save the Children International’s Asia Regional Office, the role of the Regional Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy Advisor is designed to support the achievement of Save the Children’s humanitarian advocacy and policy objectives in the Asia-Pacific region for 50% of its time while supporting similar objectives in other regions for the other 50%, deployed as humanitarian surge. The precise geographical allocation will be determined by organizational needs and priorities.

While supporting priorities set by the Asia Regional Office, the Regional Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy Advisor will help to ensure the development and implementation of regional humanitarian advocacy strategies and activities as well as supporting the development of policy in coordination with national, regional and global stakeholders to influence decision-makers to uphold and protect children’s rights in times of crisis.

While undertaking global humanitarian deployments, the Regional Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy Advisor will work with the Global Expertise and Humanitarian Surge Platform (GEHSP) and will deploy to support the response team in quickly developing and implementing a humanitarian-response advocacy and policy work-stream. The function will be part of the Response Team in order to ensure that key advocacy messages and strategies are informed by the response and shaped in close consultation with the Response Team Leader

In line with Save the Children’s global and regional priorities and commitment to the Core Humanitarian Standard and the Grand Bargain, the role holder will engage with relevant stakeholders and contribute to movement-wide policy development on accountability to affected populations, localization, as well as prioritised issues in the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding and the humanitarian-development-climate resilience nexus.

As a member of the virtual regional humanitarian technical team in Asia-Pacific, he/she will provide advocacy and policy support to Save the Children offices in Asia-Pacific delivering humanitarian responses and will deploy to large-scale rapid-onset and/or protracted crises as part of the response team. These may include responses to political unrest or protracted and/or emerging armed conflict, as well as responses to natural hazards. He/she will support country offices to deliver advocacy and campaign strategies to protect children’s rights.

The post holder will work with prioritized country teams and contexts to support context and policy research and analysis. He/she will support the Regional Advocacy and Campaign Director, the Regional Humanitarian Director, and other relevant senior managers to represent Save the Children in external decision-making and networking fora across the region.

He or she will also regularly support, plan, and coordinate regional humanitarian advocacy and lobbying activities, draft or develop relevant briefings and analyses, and act as a media spokesperson when required.

The Regional Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy Advisor will also be responsible for planning and delivering advocacy capacity building initiatives to strengthen regional capacity to advocate effectively for children’s rights in emergencies. He/she will be a member of Save the Children’s global Humanitarian Advocacy Working Group (HAWG) and is accountable for ensuring that Members and Advocacy Offices have access to timely and contextually relevant briefing material to influence positive change for children.

This position is initially covered by a one-year renewable contract, with 50-75% travel possible. If demand for the post-holder’s support in Asia-Pacific is proved sufficiently high, the role may focus most or all of its time on this region in the future and the contract length may be extended.

Key Responsibilities

• Help implement the regional humanitarian policy and advocacy strategy in coordination with the Regional Head of Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy, the Regional Advocacy and Campaign Director, Regional Humanitarian Director, country and regional offices, and periodically support updates to the strategy.
• Develop and deliver context-specific humanitarian research and analysis, policy and advocacy products, including briefings, reports and key messages to support national, regional and global advocacy on children’s rights.
• Deploy to rapid-onset emergencies to lead or support humanitarian advocacy in the first phase of the response as well as to country offices to support their delivery of longer term advocacy in protracted or chronic crises (envisaged as at least 50% per year, up to 75%).
• Represent Save the Children in external fora at regional level and help develop networks with key stakeholders national and regional civil society organisations, UN Agencies and regional bodies.
• Act as a media spokesperson
• Conduct effective advocacy activities targeting relevant stakeholders at regional and country levels, coordinating with other Save the Children teams and colleagues as necessary.
• Support capacity building initiatives on humanitarian advocacy at regional level through training and peer-to-peer networks.
• Monitor and document the outcomes of humanitarian policy and advocacy initiatives to support continuous improvement and to assess their impact (including Save the Children’s contribution to changes)
• Help identify and manage potential risks associated with Save the Children’s public positions and design strategies to mitigate the risks that have been identified.

The Organisation

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

Application Information

Please apply using a cover letter and up-to-date CV as a single document. Please also include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/careers

Closing Date for Application: 22 July 2023

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our global anti-harassment policy.