Ukraine Response-Advocacy Manager

Ukraine Crisis

HelpAge has been present in Ukraine since 2014, with a total workforce of +600 people including staff and volunteers/contractors. As one of the few INGOs with an operational presence in Ukraine at the start of the crisis, we were able to respond immediately with life-saving activities in the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions and have since scaled-up assistance in the Central and Western Regions of Ukraine. In addition, we have a programme to support refugees in Moldova and work through partners to support refugees in Poland. Our response plan includes immediate support such as cash assistance, food distributions, NFI distribution (health and dignity kits), WASH, Protection and Mental Health and Psychosocial First Aid as well as longer-term programming on cash assistance and community and home-based health and care.

We are now seeking passionate, professional and experienced candidates for a number of roles to support our response to the Ukraine crisis. We are looking for talent which thrives in collaborating with others (inside HelpAge International and beyond) and who can work in agile ways and across boundaries.

Key areas for impact/influence and responsibilities:

These outline the broad areas of responsibility in the role, but in collaboration with your colleagues you will be able to shape and design specific activities that are relevant at any point in time. We want you to work creatively to deliver impact and respond to relevant opportunities.

With your colleagues you will develop your team workplan to drive initiatives, develop ideas, as well ensure there is space for cross organisational working and short-term tasks. From this you will devise your individual workplan that will form the basis of your day-to-day activities and your performance reviews.

As Ukraine Advocacy Manager you will –

• Lead the review and implementation of the HelpAge Ukraine advocacy strategy in close cooperation with global and regional colleagues. This includes developing, updating and disseminating key advocacy messaging on context specific concerns in alignment with HelpAge global priorities and positions.
• Support the global Humanitarian Advocacy Advisor to develop and deliver global level advocacy for Ukraine and the region.
• Actively engage with government, UN partners, NGOs and coalitions, donors and academia to promote awareness and understanding of the rights and needs of older people. Advocate for the inclusion of older people in humanitarian policies, programmes and funding plans.
• Establish, maintain and strengthen strategic advocacy networks and alliances.
• Keep abreast of national, regional and global advocacy efforts concerning Ukraine and support HelpAge Ukraine leadership in its interactions with the international community, humanitarian actors including Ukrainian civil society and authorities.
• Represent HelpAge Ukraine on relevant INGO, Cluster and donor working groups in coordination with the Country Director, regional and global colleagues, and support the working group’s external engagement with age inclusion specific messaging and analysis.
• Identify and develop new financial opportunities and programmatic partnerships to increase the impact of high quality and relevant humanitarian assistance for older people.
• Produce and/or ensure the production of quality, timely policy guidance and briefs, fact sheets, talking points, technical papers and research reports for dissemination or publication, working with relevant humanitarian and communications staff and academic consultants as appropriate.
• Identify and develop strategic partnerships with key organisations, institutions, and research bodies to deepen HelpAge’s policy engagement, knowledge sharing and to support influencing efforts.

Let’s talk about you

You will be someone with:

• In depth knowledge and experience in humanitarian responses
• Demonstrable skills and/or experience in influencing decision-makers, national and international institutions on policy, planning and delivery
• Knowledge and understanding of national and international humanitarian policy and current debates
• Experience of humanitarian coordination structures including country or regional UN Clusters
• Experience of working with CSOs in middle-income countries on humanitarian programmes.
• Ability to think strategically and analytically
• Proven ability to work collaboratively and dependably with colleagues and in a way that encourages experimentation, learning and agency
• Available to be based Ukraine and travel within the region.
• Fluency in English. Ukrainian would be desirable

At HelpAge International, we believe in the importance of empowering our people to be change makers and leaders at all levels. We expect our people to embrace and live our values, challenging themselves every day to identify issues that are most important to older persons and their communities, and to make an impact that matters.

In addition, as an HelpAge employee you are expected to:

• Work collaboratively, building mutual trust and respect, with external organisations and partners to achieve our strategic aims and objectives; being accountable for the work you do together
• Adapt to new directions or opportunities arising within the organization and in your work area; being flexible in your role, constantly using the feedback to learn more and evolve further.
• Lead behavioral and cultural change through embracing a supportive, collaborative and highly inclusive environment where everybody feels supported, respected and engaged
• Extend HelpAge’s reach and impact, by creating and identifying new business development opportunities and building relationships with new partners.
• Lead and promote a culture of including the voices of older people across our support, convening and thought leadership roles, in a way that is transformative, empowering and highly inclusive of those marginalized by gender, economic status, disability and other factors of discrimination.

Safeguarding

HelpAge International is committed to safeguarding the communities with which we work, our partners, staff and any others who we come into contact with.

Therefore you will also be responsible for:

• Preventing harm and abuse from our people, operations and programmes, to anyone that encounters our work
• Reporting all safeguarding incidents you see, hear, hear about or suspect, using our internal reporting mechanism;
• Complying with all safeguarding framework policies and practices
• Completing mandatory training courses relating to our safeguarding policy framework and complying with HR vetting procedures