Advocacy, Media and Communications Manager – North East Syria - IQ Talent Marketplace

TITLE: Advocacy, Media and Communications Manager – North East Syria

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Syria Response Office, North-East Syria team

LOCATION: NE Syria (with travel to field offices)

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Head of Office — North East Syria, with dotted line to the Advocacy, Media and Communications Director

Staff reporting to this post: Communications Coordinator, Communications Assistant, Communications Incentive Workers

Main Responsibilities and duties:

• Develop and implement the Country Office’s strategy for NE Syria, ensuring coordination and engagement across all departments to deliver on the strategic objectives
• Based on Save the Children (SC) programme priorities and identified priority issues for children, develop key advocacy messages and identify targets from lessons learned, assessments, research, and evidence gained through project implementation.
• Develop and implement advocacy objectives and initiatives, both short and long term, encompassing a wide range of issues and audiences with support from RO
• Working with the Research and Policy Manager, support SRO’s Advocacy, Media and Communications team with a clear vision and integrated workplan and objectives for research and policy development in North East Syria, connecting with other area offices on cross-Syria priorities;
• Build the capacity of the AMC team in NES, including a specific focus on the AMC Coordinator on advocacy and media functions
• Produce or support the production of reports, briefing papers and presentations for internal and external audiences as directed
• Maintain a strategic overview of issues effecting children’s rights in North East Syria, monitoring trends in the external environment and inputting and/or leading as required to organisational strategy and planning processes, in coordination with other team members.
• Ensure a robust overview, ongoing analysis, and development of key messages around protecting children in conflict issues with the particular focus on education and protection, movement and access, humanitarian and operational space issues affecting Save the Children’s ability to deliver quality programs for children in North West Syria.
• Providing regular updates to relevant teams on campaign and advocacy progress, including movement-wide Weekly Advocacy Update on Syria

Influencing

• Support the development and implementation of advocacy objectives and initiatives, both short and long term, encompassing a wide range of issues and audiences on North East Syria.
• Develop good knowledge of local authority structures in North East Syria and how to influence them;
• Develop dissemination and communication strategies for key advocacy messages, under the direction of the AMC Director together with communications colleagues.

Coordination & Representation

• Support external advocacy coordination forum, including within the NES Forum, promoting or ensuring inclusion of Save the Children prioritized child rights issues in these essential coalition fora.
• Develop and maintain a network of external contacts with key individuals in the cluster system, UN, NGO sector, and civil society in NES.
• Represent SC at various policy forums and advocacy opportunities at national and international levels as directed.
• Under the direction of the AMC Director, liaise closely with staff in the Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns units within the Members, the Regional Office, and at the Center, and other fora to integrate and coordinate policy change initiatives throughout SCI members.
• Write regular progress reports as needed, to keep the SRO and regional team updated, and contribute to the Syria advocacy updates for the Humanitarian Advocacy Working Group as required.
• Ensure that SC responds appropriately to emergencies, providing policy analysis and support around humanitarian space issues, and support the AMC team to meet emergency comms requirements, including sitreps, fact sheets, updates and other required products..

Perform other tasks as required

Media and Communications

• Work with programmes teams to proactively identify and gather powerful case studies – including management of multimedia where needed– that can be used for donor reporting, media, fundraising and advocacy, in adherence with NGO’s child safeguarding and consent procedures.
• Work with programmes teams to gather relevant information and provide inputs into sit reps, factsheets and newsletters.
• Ensure that all communications products from NES are of a high quality and conform to standards and procedures, including brand guidelines and child safeguarding.
• Provide regular data and information on context developments and programme updates to inform advocacy, media and communications outputs.
• Ensure adherence to and understanding of the North-East Syria information and visibility policy for both NES staff and visitors.
• Work with programmes teams to proactively identify and gather powerful case studies – including management of multimedia where needed– that can be used for donor reporting, media, fundraising and advocacy, in adherence with NGO’s child safeguarding and consent procedures.
• Work with the Communications Manager to ensure that all communications products from NES are of a high quality and conform to NGO’s standards and procedures, including brand guidelines and child safeguarding.
• Provide regular data and information on context developments and programme updates to inform advocacy, media and communications outputs.
• Facilitate and host visits from multimedia producers, including identifying project sites and case studies and translating in the field.

Partnerships

• Offer sufficient support to the partner organizations as needed in NES
• Conduct periodic review of annual plans to identify bottlenecks and the ways those bottlenecks could be addressed
• Adopt a customer service approach towards partner capacity strengthening
• Train national partners on advocacy and support them in development of their advocacy strategies Support programme teams with advocacy training, and feedback on advocacy products/deliverables

Campaigns Materials and Delivery

• Manage the implementation of Save the Children global campaign in support of repatriation of Third Country Nationals
• Oversee the delivery of planned campaigns including the development of campaign materials and all aspects of implementation, including public mobilization, community engagement, and child and youth engagement.
• Support where possible, the strengthening of partnership efforts around campaigning for child rights, that is relevant to the advocacy and campaigns strategy and plans.
• Ensure children are meaningfully engaged in advocacy and campaign activities wherever possible, including building systems and capacity in child-led and collaborative child campaigning

Management

• Provide effective line management to the AMC team in NES, ensuring a clear commitment to capacity strengthening and development within the team

General

• Comply with NGO policies and practice with respect to child protection, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.
• Help be responsible for the security of all staff. Ensure that the security, health and wellbeing of staff are ensured and staff management and other processes and policies and systems reflect the NGO’s principles of equity and fairness.
• To perform such other responsibilities as agreed with your line management.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Education to BSc/BA/BEng level in a relevant subject or equivalent field experience
• Experience of leading communication activities (including information provision), advocacy, journalism or protection in a challenging environment
• Excellent written and verbal command of English
• Evidence of excellent verbal and written communication skills in English for a wide range of different audiences including donors, journalists and the ‘general public’.
• Demonstrable understanding of conflict-sensitivity and experience in conducting appropriate case study interviews with adults and children.
• Excellent IT skills, especially in Microsoft Word
• Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy
• An initiative-taking, proactive, creative and inspiring attitude with the ability to manage and prioritise an unpredictable workload and solve problems quickly with limited support
• Commitment to humanitarian aims and principles, and to the mission of supporting vulnerable children.

Desirable:

• Fluency in Arabic and Kurdish
• Experience in media management, including dealing with international journalists
• Experience in creating media and communications products such as press releases, factsheets and briefings packages
• Experience in coalition building, advocacy, humanitarian protection and/or coordination

We are committed to growing a diverse workforce with representatives from all sections of the community.