Advocacy Manager at Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Reports to: The Country Director.

Job Summary

• Do you want to be a part of our Nigeria programme? We are looking for a new Advocacy Manager in our Maiduguri office.
• Since 2009, violent attacks on civilians by the armed group Boko Haram have left widespread devastation in northeast Nigeria. At least 17,000 people have been killed and approximately two million people are displaced within Nigeria. More than 14 million people in northeast Nigeria today are affected by the crisis caused by Boko Haram. Out of these, seven million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Around 92 per cent of displaced people reside in either informal settlements or with low-income host communities, creating a strain on already limited resources. The remaining 8 per cent live in more formalised camps. NRC has been in Nigeria since 2015.
• The Advocacy Manager provides overall leadership, management and strategic direction to NRC’s policy and advocacy work in Nigeria. S/he is responsible for identifying priority protection concerns for advocacy, strengthening the incorporation of advocacy into all aspects of NRC’s activities and guiding NRC’s advocacy messaging to promote an improved in collaboration with the Protection coordinator protection and humanitarian response environment in Nigeria.

Job Description

• Identify and coordinate NRC’s advocacy response to prioritised protection issues both within the country and internationally
• Develop and implement country-specific advocacy strategy, aligned to overall country strategy
• Line management, including development of staff if applicable
• Ensure advocacy coherence and reinforce effective synergies between programmes and advocacy by working closely with programme staff to integrate advocacy into programme planning and implementation.
• Represent NRC to key stakeholders, strengthen strategic advocacy networks and identify opportunities to advocate NRC’s position
• Provide high quality protection analysis on key humanitarian and displacement trends and prepare evidenced-based policy briefing papers, policy position statements and other public-facing advocacy products when strategic and relevant
• Seek fundraising opportunities for advocacy and contribute to the development of quality proposals, ensuring inclusion of research and/or advocacy activities on specific humanitarian and protection issues affecting displacement-affected where appropriate
• Prepare high-quality key messages, briefings, letters and other written materials for internal and external use, ensuring strong evidence-base in messaging and following agreed sign-off procedures
• Support programme staff in incorporating and integrating advocacy into all aspects of NRC’s programme activities, strategy and budgeting
• Continuously identify and follow-up opportunities for influencing based on NRC Nigeria’s advocacy priorities, both in country and internationally through NRC’s Representation Offices;

Qualifications

• Post-graduate qualification with 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 advocacy, and the use of media for public advocacy
• Strong managerial and interpersonal skills
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal
• Solid understanding of international legal and policy processes relating to displacement
• Knowledge of the Lake Chad region
• Documented/proven results related to the position’s responsibilities, particularly in analysis, drafting of messages, coordination and networking