Advocacy Manager at Médecins Sans Frontières

The Advocacy Manager is responsible for all advocacy activities in the mission while assuring that these activities reflect MSF policies, values and follow operational line management (including links with the HQ Reflection Unit). The Advocacy Manager is a member of the mission CMT (country management team) and acts as a sparring partner for all operational and medical teams.

Your Responsibilities

CORE TASKS

· Define the mission advocacy and protection strategy and its implementation including clear recommendations and an action plan.

· Define, implement, and coordinate all MSF advocacy activities, including the drafting of advocacy strategies that address medical-humanitarian priorities in relation to mission needs.

· As a member of the CMT, ensure that advocacy components are included in the project and mission operational strategies.

· Supervise the quality of field-level data collection (using MSF ethical guidelines for data collection) for operational and advocacy purposes.

· Draft ad hoc lobbying points and regular situation reports, for missions and headquarters (HQ), in relation to the mission advocacy strategy and the main medical-humanitarian issues present.

· Strengthen the integration of humanitarian affairs (analysis, critical reflection, and contextual understanding) into operational communications.

· Monitor and compile regular updates on humanitarian aid system dynamics (NGO/Donor planning, Red Cross movement activities and positioning) to leverage and increase the impact of MSF’s national lobbying.

· Advise the CMT, Head of Mission and Medical Coordinators on operational strategy. Focusing on increasing MSF’s local/national visibility and ensuring good acceptance for MSF’s presence and projects.

· Ensure that staff have the necessary advocacy knowledge and understanding through joint planning and close coordination with the HR department.

· If relevant, manage, supervise, and develop staff under his/her direct responsibility.

DATA COLLECTION – ANALYSIS

· Design and support the implementation of data collection systems on medical-humanitarian issues regarding the mission context. Data collection systems will focus on national level data with potential regional/global repercussions, and local developments in project locations, while ensuring reliable information for operational and strategic decision-making.

· Provide the Head of Mission with data and discourse analysis that informs MSF’s positioning in country, particularly in terms of the political and operational environment (regulation frameworks, donor/aid agreements, trade and economic developments).

· Propose improvements in the methodologies and tools used and provide trainings to field teams as required.

· Undertake actor mapping and stakeholder analysis on behalf of projects and the mission.

· Provide guidance and support to Project Coordinators for the management of relations with local authorities.**

REPRESENTATION – COMMUNICATION

· With approval of the Head of Mission, support networking needs by leading, or participating in, representation duties in non-project locations. These can include interactions with domestic civil society, professional groups (doctor/nurse associations), and with local academics/universities.

· Define, draft and review advocacy messages, including the development of communication and dissemination strategies to raise awareness of cross-cutting medical-humanitarian issues across MSF projects and at national level.

· Develop inter-OC advocacy/communications initiatives with other MSF sections in-country.

· On specific request/project basis, interact with the international MSF advocacy network (reflection centres, HART, ACCESS) to provide updated contextualized medical-humanitarian content (country-level information).

· Lead discussions, trainings, briefings, etc. on the country’s medical-humanitarian context, MSF principles, international humanitarian law, medical ethics, and advocacy activities/strategies to raise the awareness of these topics in MSF national and international staff.

· From an operational/medical activities analysis, provide recommendations and proposals for opportunistic communications (unplanned).**

ON REQUEST

· Undertake on-site field assessments (in relation to data gathering/context analysis or exploratory missions) and other work-related travelling as required.

· Draft Terms of Reference, supervise, and evaluate other international humanitarian affairs staff (Advocacy / Humanitarian Affairs Officers) deployed to the mission.

MSF Section/Context Specific Accountabilities

· Contribute to the planning and implementation of medical-humanitarian activities in the mission including their monitoring, evaluation, and their outcomes. All according to MSF standards and protocols.

· In liaison with the Field Coordinators, manage the supervision of all protection activities in the mission. Including follow up of activities, data collection and training.

· Maximize the Nigeria mission’s experience in protection by sharing with MSF sections in the country as well as other missions.

Your Profile

Education

· Masters’ level degree in one of the following: anthropology/social/political sciences, law, gender studies, protection

· First-rate, excellent writing, research, and analytical skills

· Experience in the organization of campaigns an asset

Experience

· Field humanitarian experience in similar contexts (conflict, disasters, resource-poor environments)

· MSF or other humanitarian NGOs advocacy experience required.

· Good understanding of current humanitarian debates and of the dilemma/compromise nature of modern humanitarian interventions.

· Essential must have at least two years of work experience in research, analysis and advocacy

· Experience in protection with MSF or other humanitarian actors

· English language mandatory and knowledge of more than one of MSF’s operational languages (English, French, Arabic and Spanish) is considered an asset.

· Local languages desirable

· Essential computer literacy (database design/analysis, MS package, and internet-based research)

MSF Offers

As an international staff leaving to the field, you will receive:

· Contract for the duration of the assignment

· One week of holiday for every three months of assignment

· Initial preparation before your first assignment

· Detailed briefings

· Psychosocial assistance

· Salary based on previous work experience and country of residency

· Coverage, such as medical care and vaccination package, accident insurance, including repatriation

· Accommodation and round-trip transportation to and from the field as well as travel costs