Policy and Advocacy Specialist – Ukraine Refugee Crisis Response

The conflict in Ukraine is resulting in a major humanitarian crisis with over 3 million people having fled to neighboring countries, and millions displaced within Ukraine. Plan International is responding to the crisis and working in partnership with civil society organisations in Poland, Romania, and Moldova to meet the key needs of those affected by the crisis as well as host communities.

This position will play a key role in the support to country level activities and will provide technical support and guidance to Plan International teams and partners in Poland, Romania, and Moldova. After an initial phase of the emergency rapid onset, the Policy & Advocacy Specialist will lead the secondary-phase development and implementation of policy and advocacy positions related to the conflict in Ukraine. The staff member will lead coordination on policy and advocacy work across the organization related to a particular crisis. In addition, they will identify and ensure strong representation with external fora. The position will initially be remote but may well be based in one of the 3 countries in the future.

The Ukraine Hub is a service-oriented structure to support initiation of activities, and to help find solutions to problems as and when arise. Creative thinking and identifying work arounds to problems faced will be a critical element of the role.

The Role

The policy and advocacy specialist will be expected to lead all the influencing, policy and advocacy initiatives related to the conflict in Ukraine. They will need to research existing evidence, frameworks and understand the geopolitical consequences of this crisis. They will also need to understand crisis both within Ukraine and in the neighbouring countries to frame our positioning how we can bring these agendas together and develop clear advocacy objectives and positions, map the most relevant stakeholders and monitor the progress of the advocacy actions.

This work will scale up the humanitarian profile of Plan International by positioning the gender, age and diversity perspective in the humanitarian architecture. They will identify advocacy approaches to solve key barriers and challenges; identify potential partners/allies, as well as influencing targets for advocacy; and identify entry points and opportunities to engage in this space through our advocacy, in particular over the next six months.

About You

The Specialist must demonstrate sound knowledge of the issues, be an experienced policy advocate, and have strong analytical and writing skills.

Key competencies:

• Demonstrated experience in policy and advocacy, including carrying out policy research
• Proven leadership in developing advocacy strategies and approaches
• Previous experience working in area/country affected by active conflicts is mandatory
• Previous experience in the humanitarian system, including inter-agency is mandatory
• Deep understanding of IHL/IHRL is mandatory
• Proven record of advocacy successes
• Experience at least at the regional level or in multi-country crises
• Ability to analyze information and data and clearly present results and ideas
• Competency to provide strategic direction and clear recommendations to deliver on advocacy aims
• Exceptional understanding of the role of humanitarian actors in influencing change with both national and global stakeholders
• Education/Professional Skills: Masters’ degree or equivalent experience in your area of expertise in IHL, policy, humanitarian action, human rights or others

Skills

• Excellent networking and coordination skills.
• Strong writing skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to think strategically in the short, medium, and long-term
• Skills in coordinating and facilitating advocacy implementation efforts by a large group of actors
• May be required, to work during late hours, weekends and holidays in order to ensure timely delivery of programmes.
• Good knowledge of the CHS