Regional Head of Advocacy Central and Eastern Europe (Warsaw, Poland)

The Norwegian Refugee Council has been present in Ukraine since 2014, helping more than 700,000 people with food, shelter, water, sanitation, and legal assistance. Following the escalation of conflict since 24 February 2022, NRC is scaling up its efforts inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries to provide aid to tens of thousands people forced to flee. NRC has launched a humanitarian response plan for the next six months to support 800,000 people inside Ukraine and neighbouring countries. NRC will respond, largely through local partners, through an integrated approach combining our sectoral areas of expertise such as education, protection, legal aid (ICLA) and shelter. NRC is operational in Ukraine and is also in the process of setting up country operations in Poland and Romania and Moldova and potentially other countries subject to regional context developments. To support the regional response in the best way, NRC is in the process of setting up a regional office (Central and Eastern Europe Regional Office- CEERO) based out of Warsaw, Poland. This will ensure a centralised structure in proximity to the crisis and provide a coordinated support and management to the country operations.

Duties & Responsiblities

The purpose of the Regional Head of Advocacy position is the overall responsibility of Advocacy in the region. The Regional Head of Advocacy has the overall responsibility for the development of the regional advocacy strategy. The Regional Head of Advocacy is a member of the Regional Management Team.

Below is a summary responsibilities, please download Job Descriptionfor further details.

1. Compliance and adherence to NRC policies, guidance and procedures
2. Manage, supervise and support performance and staff development of members of regional advocacy and communication unit at Regional Office, as well as provide work management oversight, technical supervision and support to all advocacy staff in Country Offices across the region.
3. Define and coordinate the region’s strategic advocacy response in cooperation with Regional Head of Programmes, Senior Regional Advisers and Regional Director, including on the production regional strategy, advocacy products, talking points and input to regional strategy documents.
4. In cooperation with the Regional Head of Programmes and Regional Director, provide analytical technical input, technical review and advice on appropriate strategies for strengthening Country Office programme quality through incorporation of appropriate protection and advocacy indicators.
5. Support Country Offices to develop country-level advocacy plans which include identified protection and programme priorities, advise Country Directors and senior programme staff on advocacy and programming approaches that support delivery of Country Office strategic objectives.
6. Support Country Offices to strengthen their capacity on advocacy and improve the quality of prioritized advocacy initiatives aimed at both national and international targets.
7. Lead on knowledge management for CEERO Regional Office with responsibility for advising across all CEERO countries on appropriate advocacy approaches based on experience of the humanitarian and displacement situation in the region and analysis and judgement of emerging trends and displacement patterns.
8. Responsibility for supporting all Country Offices across CEERO to quality control and produce advocacy products such as briefing notes, talking points, research papers, media products and articles at highest standards.
9. Ensure coordinated linkages between Country Offices and NRC’s Global Advocacy and Section, five Representation Offices, NRC’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), and External Relations in order to leverage resources and effectively maximise the advocacy reach to target audiences.
10. Lead on fundraising for advocacy activities, including the identification of opportunities in the region Provide guidance, support and capacity building related to advocacy in programmes and supervise and develop advocacy staff across Country Offices as requested/needed.
11. Serve as region’s focal point to CEERO for all advocacy and communications related issues. Represent NRC at public events, humanitarian sector fora, and for media as necessary.
12. Responsibility for CEERO’s review of all relevant policy content to Head Office annual and ad hoc reports and/or external facing products.

Skills & Experience

• Minimum 5 years of relevant Manager/Adviser experience within the humanitarian field
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts
• Professional knowledge about protection principles and humanitarian advocacy, understanding of the use of media for public advocacy
• Professional credibility to provide strategic advice and guidance to senior managers in regional and country operations
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities, including authorship and publication in relevant sector policy and communications outlets
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal
• Significant understanding of advocacy networks relevant for the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region and experience in developing partnerships and alliance-building to advance advocacy objectives
• Excellent understanding of the humanitarian context in the CEE region, as well as processes and political debates related to conflict, asylum and migration in the region
• Extensive knowledge of forced displacement policy issues, including international refugee law, humanitarian principles and the international humanitarian response sector
• Excellent conceptual and analytical skills, as well as demonstrable ability to provide organisational and technical representation on humanitarian and displacement issues
• Proven record of media, advocacy and communication experience in international contexts
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, particularly to convey information effectively and to write persuasively for a variety of audiences, including policymakers and donors
• Proven research, analytical and documentation skills, along with publication experience

Your passion, skills, and experience can make a big difference. This mission would be a start-up in a challenging, emergency context in Europe.

What We Offer

• Duty Station: Warsaw (Poland).
• Contract: 12 months with possibility of extension, 25% travel across region.
• NRC’s Salary Scale: NRC offers a competitive compensation and benefits package.
• Start date: Immediately.

NRC is very grateful to those who have responded thus far and continue to heed to our calls for support. This is going a long way in addressing the diverse needs, priorities, and concerns currently affecting the people of Ukraine.

Applications will be reviewed on ongoing basis. Due to large response, NRC will not provide feedback to those candidates who do not meet criteria and/or not follow the application process.