Regional Humanitarian Advocacy Adviser – Sahel/West Africa At Concern Worldwide

Our vision, our mission and our work are all defined by one goal – ending extreme poverty, whatever it takes. We believe that no-one should have to live in fear that they won’t have a home to sleep in or enough food to feed their children. For over 50 years we have been working with the world’s poorest people towards this goal.

Today we are a team of over 4,400 highly skilled and dedicated professionals from 50 countries who share an exceptional depth and diversity of experience. We want committed, values driven staff to join our Dublin team and are currently looking for a Regional Humanitarian Advocacy Adviser to be part of our Strategy, Advocacy and Learning department.

We are committed to providing our staff with the skills needed to excel in their jobs. Concern offers in-house management and leadership courses and tailored organisation-wide learning opportunities both in-person and online. All employees are required to undertake training in equality, diversity and inclusion; the Code of Conduct; and safeguarding, along with any other training required for the role.

Our culture is values driven and friendly. A global engagement survey conducted in 2022, responded to by 3,577 of our staff, showed that 89% of our staff would happily recommend Concern as a great place to work and 94% are proud to tell people that they work for Concern.

The job: The Regional Advocacy Adviserwill work with five countries in the Sahel and West Africa – Burkina Faso, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Adviser will provide specific support to the advocacy work in each country and engage in regional and international humanitarian advocacy platforms on behalf of Concern, as appropriate.

The Adviser will support the implementation of country and regional advocacy initiatives with country teams and provide specific advocacy support to the Regional Director.

The Adviser will be a member of the International Advocacy Team and will contribute to Concern’s global advocacy priorities.

The Adviser support collective organisational efforts to maximize Concern’s impact and influence on global humanitarian policy and practice.

The ideal candidate will be experienced in working with INGOs and understand the international humanitarian arena as well as some understanding of the advocacy environment in West Africa and the Sahel.

The ideal candidate is fluent in French, an excellent networker and convener, is at ease in all levels of advocacy influencing, and has a strong commitment to Concern’s mission and values.

If you join us, this is what you will be doing:

• Assist in the development of relationships and partnerships and represent Concern in advocacy networks and relevant meetings, ensuring that participation reflects the perspective of Concern’s field experience and key policy priorities;
• Support country programmes to develop and implement country advocacy strategies, providing bespoke support to country teams and partners;
• Cultivate relationships with Concern’s advocacy partners in the region and with relevant NGO Consortia and UN Networks;
• Contribute to collective advocacy efforts coordinated by UN agencies and NGO consortia and support Concern representation in coordination fora;
• Assist in the development and hosting of events, which highlight Concern’s programming and advocacy positioning, ensuring key decision makers and stakeholders are present;
• Contribute key political and aid policy trends in areas related to Concern’s work to the Regional Director, country teams, the International Programmes Directorate, and the International Advocacy Team;
• Develop briefing notes and position papers as requested for both internal and external use on key policy issues, and coordinate research initiatives as required;
• Actively contribute to Concern Worldwide and our team of experts being recognized as a thought leaders and go-to resources in priority program areas by securing speaking roles, publishing communications pieces and developing other content;

Requirements:

• Degree in international relations, anthropology/social/political sciences, law, gender studies, or other relevant field,
• A minimum of 4 years’ professional experience of policy, advocacy, research and/or political representation with an international organization,
• A minimum of 2 years’ experience of working a humanitarian setting, preferably in West Africa,
• Competent humanitarian advocate with good knowledge of humanitarian coordination,
• Strong networking skills and excellent collaboration traits with proven experience in building and managing effective relationships and partnerships,
• Competent advocate with experience of policy analysis, advocacy and influencing experience including experience of organizing events,
• Understanding of current policy debates relating to hunger, conflict and resilience,
• Excellent written and verbal English including the ability to produce clear articulate evidence-based policy analysis,
• A proven self-starter with the capacity to think strategically, work independently and remotely, and demonstrate sound judgement and who has a proven track record in managing multiple responsibilities and meeting tight deadlines,
• Ability to work across directorates and foster collaboration with a diverse range of stakeholders across and beyond the organization,
• An innovative and creative thinker with the ability to prioritize and effectively manage a portfolio of diverse projects,
• Ability to respond flexibly to changing priorities and to set and work to deadlines,
• Willingness to travel to field locations including insecure humanitarian contexts,

The successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate a high level of commitment to the mission, vision and values of Concern Worldwide, have a positive and professional work attitude, exhibit a very strong work ethic; be driven to always attain a standard of excellence.

The role reports to the Head of the international Advocacy Team; and works directly as required with advocacy colleagues in Dublin, Brussels, Nairobi, London and New York.

You will collaborate with and provide support to country teams on specific advocacy related issues, as well as with the technical teams, and the Global Citizenship team in the Strategy, Advocacy and Learning Directorate.

The salary is from €51,402 to €60,472 (band 5). This is two years fixed terms contract.

The role is based in Head Office, Dublin 2 but this is an essentially remote working position, and offer flexi time.

We encourage all eligible candidates, irrespective of gender, ethnicity and origin, disability, political beliefs, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status to apply to become a part of the organisation. Concern is against all forms of discrimination and unequal power relations and is committed to promoting equality.

If this role sounds right for you, please apply with your CV and cover letter. We will respond to every applicant. Please be aware we may offer positions before the closing date.

If you have any concerns about our recruitment process and need particular assistance – for example if you have a visual impairment or are neuro-divergent – please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Important information: Concern has an organisational Code of Conduct (CCoC) with three Associated Policies; the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4), the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy accessible here. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation, and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organization, and the standards of behavior expected of them. In this context, staff have a responsibility to the organization to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and Associated Policies as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Concern Code of Conduct, candidates acknowledge that they have understood the content of both the Concern Code of Conduct and the Associated Policies and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these policies. Additionally, Concern is committed to the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable adults and children in our work. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those who are suitable to work or volunteer with vulnerable adults and children are recruited by us for such roles. Subsequently, working or volunteering with Concern is subject to a range of vetting checks, including criminal background checking.

During this job application, you will provide Concern with your personal data. Concern takes its responsibilities towards this personal data very seriously and is committed to complying with all relevant data protection legislation. You have certain rights under data protection legislation. For more information on how to exercise those rights please visit www.concern.net/about/privacy

Please only apply for this position if you are satisfied with the proposed processing of your personal data as outlined above.

ED&I Statement – Concern Worldwide encourages all eligible candidates, irrespective of gender, ethnicity and origin, disability, political beliefs, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status to apply to become a part of the organization. Concern is against all forms of discrimination and unequal power relations, and is committed to promoting equality.

If you have any concerns about our recruitment process and need particular assistance – for example if you have a visual impairment or are neurodivergent – please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.