Senior EU Advocacy Advisor, Refugee Resettlement, Asylum and Integration

Background: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover and rebuild their lives. We deliver lasting impact by providing health care, helping children learn, and empowering individuals and communities to become self-reliant, always with a focus on the unique needs of women and girls. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, we now work in over 40 crisis-affected countries as well as communities throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America.

The Global Advocacy & Influence Department is a dynamic team that uses the power of IRC’s ideas to solve the biggest challenges facing IRC’s clients. From the drivers of conflict to the needs displaced people, the team partners with politicians, policy makers and civil society to bring these solutions to life. We take pride in being solutions-oriented and creative. We are precise in our tactics, and messages. We lead change year over year, knowing that system change takes dedicated focus while maintaining the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Finally, we are collaborative, working not only with programs, strategy, research and innovation, and communications teams across the IRC, but also externally, constantly seeking to new ideas and perspectives from others in the humanitarian sector and beyond.

Job Overview: As an EU Senior Advocacy Advisor, you are one of the IRC’s leading external specialists on our influence agenda vis a vis the EU in the area of Refugee Resettlement, Asylum and Integration. You are responsible for crafting our influence strategies using IRC’s programmatic and research evidence, surgical policy and practice solutions, and trusted brand to inspire collective action. You are the go-to expert for understanding current legislative and policy trends related to asylum and migration in the EU and how our policies support tor clash with political agendas. You contribute your fresh and creative analysis to advise IRC’s policy objectives and co-create solutions.

Major Responsibilities:

• Advocacy Strategy: Lead advocacy strategies to address global displacement and advance refugee resettlement, protection and integration in Europe, collaborating with policy leads, communications and digital communications, to advance IRCs key influence priorities and improve the opportunity for IRC to advance our influence objectives.
• Influence Analysis: Develop power maps for key policy issues to identify influence priorities and targets. Work with team to support development and execution of creative influence strategies, including with nontraditional partners encouraging IRC to develop innovative approaches to advocacy as usual.
• Advocacy: Support efforts to build IRC’s credibility, profile and relationships by engaging with policy stakeholders and supporting opportunities to raise IRC’s profile at key meetings.
• Legislative and Policy Tracking. Expand IRC’s legislative reach by tracking and analyzing shifting government positions, individuals engaging on our issues, and the politics around our issues. Translate policy asks into legislative / parliamentary asks. Track EU policy making processes & profile opportunities / events, including parliamentary hearings and resolutions. Analyze and report on relevant policy trends and regularly communicate trends to IRC’s Solutions Network to power global priorities and strategy.
• Policy Engagement: Contribute to policy generation by providing EU specific analysis that increases the credibility and efficacy of our solutions through constant collaboration and in focused policy roundtables. Support IRC’s policy team in identifying and developing policy priorities that are impactful and achievable.
• Communications: Provide market and audience expertise to communications team to shape policy communications specific to the EU.Support team in developing communications strategy and develop materials for advocacy targets, including digital/social content and take actions. Support planning and implementation of strategic activities including events.
• Steward Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: both in the culture of IRC, as well as in the policy solutions we develop and the ways we wield influence.
• Spokesperson: Act as an IRC influence spokespersonon focused advocacy areas. Act as key interlocutor with legislative and governmental staffers**.**
• Board and Advisors: Support relationships with IRC’s Boards and Advisors by identifying points of mutual interest and opportunity around our priority issues.
• Teamwork: Support a positive team culture by acting openly and collaboratively, supporting colleagues in their work and sharing credit with others where appropriate.

Key Working Relationships:

Position reports to: EU Advocacy Director

Internal contacts: Policy and Advocacy colleagues in Brussels and across the globe; Resettlement, Asylum and Integration Programmes leads; Communications; Donor relations; President’s Office, External Relations Department

External contacts: Key Opinion Formers and policy makers in the EU.

Job Requirements:

Education:

• Degree or equivalent in relevant field such as Public Policy, Law or International Relations, or comparative professional experience.

Work experience:

• Demonstrated experience in advocacy and/or advocacy strategy development with a focus on creativity and critical thinking
• 6-8 years of experience working on asylum and migration policy and/or practice

Demonstrated skills and competencies:

• Extensive knowledge of the drivers and consequences of global displacement, global and EU migration and asylum policy frameworks and current debates
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate successfully with experts, high level decision-makers, and colleagues in the migration and asylum fields
• Excellent ability to communicate effectively in English, both verbally and in writing
• Examples of influence/impact on legislative and executive policy. Strong network of influencers and policy makers and/or advocacy and influencing allies.
• Deep understanding of EU politics and policy making, and familiarity with leverage points within the EU institutions that can be targeted to achieve policy change objectives.
• Ability to think strategically and creatively, being solutions-oriented when traditional advocacy means do not suffice
• Strong writing skills and the ability to translate complex material and data into coherent narratives that resonate with policymakers
• Ability to work to tight deadlines
• Initiative and ability to work independently on fast-paced issues, and juggle competing demands

Desirable skills and competences:

• Lived experience of the asylum system, having refugee status, and/or border and immigration control
• Additional languages, particularly working level French

Working Environment: Flexible hybrid office-based/remote working environment