The Regional Humanitarian Advocacy Advisor will support CARE West Africa regional office efforts to influence donors, UN agencies, partners and governments on the humanitarian crises in the region, with a specific focus on the current food security crisis. S/he will work along the Regional Advocacy Coordinator to represents CARE in Humanitarian Fora in the region.

S/he will work to ensure that the diverse needs of all crisis-affected people are met and their rights—under international humanitarian, human rights, and refugee law—are protected. S/he will support efforts to further principled humanitarian access, secure unfettered and safe humanitarian access; protect humanitarian workers and conflict-affected populations; and address humanitarian access impediments. S/he will support humanitarian capacity building and formulate advocacy positions/messages, policies, and guidance documents for the West Africa Country Offices. S/he will support and lead on specific food security advocacy initiatives in the region.

The Regional Humanitarian Advocacy Advisor will pay a key role in shaping and driving the West Africa advocacy strategies and plans to scale up our programmatic impact.

Responsibilities

Humanitarian Advocacy & Policy

Work with the WA Regional Team, CARE USA Humanitarian Affairs, and CARE Emergency Group to identify, and elevate relevant humanitarian advocacy issues at various levels.
Provide direct technical support for the West Africa Country offices on the current humanitarian crisis with a focus on food insecurity, gender, nexus access, and localization.
Draft talking points and briefing documents for high-level CARE engagements.
External Representation

Represent CARE at the regional level with key humanitarian stakeholders (UN agencies, peer NGOs, donors, etc.) and in regional fora, as well as in country specific event based on Country Offices request.
Coordinate closely with peer INGO advocacy colleagues (for example, as part of the Advocacy Working Group) and CARE advocacy colleagues to ensure alignment of our messaging, particularly around key moments and ad hoc influencing opportunities.
Cultivate relationships with, and links to, diverse local and external networks, policy makers in the region and internationally, in coordination with other CARE regional colleagues.
Capacity Building/System Strengthening/Relationship Development
Provide advocacy and policy capacity-building and technical support to the West Africa country offices work with them to prepare internal and external messaging and talking points as needed.
Support regional and country teams’ advocacy trainings and actively contribute to fundraising and proposal development for advocacy.
Support country teams in articulating their top advocacy priorities so that national, regional, global and donor advocacy are aligned.
Thought Leadership, Research, & Learning
Prepare and/or commission high-impact materials for internal and external advocacy and influencing.
Distill what CARE and partners are learning from multi-country advocacy initiatives, such as food insecurity/the
hunger crisis, localization, Gender Based Violence and gender, in coordination with global, regional, and national teams and provide the analysis to translate learning into policy asks.
Ensure the results of advocacy initiatives are documented and quantified, and strengthen program learning and
documentation on advocacy.
Ensure lessons learned from country programs informs global and regional agendas and decision making.
Qualifications

Degree in a related field (international affairs, law, humanitarian studies, social sciences, women’s studies, etc.) and 5+ years relevant humanitarian advocacy experience – ideally in the region.
Comprehensive understanding of the humanitarian architecture, including governing and participating bodies, at the international,
regional, and country levels.
Demonstrated track record in humanitarian advocacy, particularly in designing humanitarian advocacy initiatives and generating policy and advocacy message and guidance.
Outstanding analytic abilities.
Excellent written and spoken French and English language skills.
Strong communication and diplomatic skills, including in cross-cultural work contexts.
Sound personal organizational skills, including excellent time management, ability to meet deadlines, prioritize tasks, and work under pressure.