The Danish Refugee Council (DRC), an international non-governmental organization (NGO), has been providing relief and development services in the Horn of Africa since 1997. DRC promotes and supports solutions to the problems faced by refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs), and migrants. The organization has offices across the region and has been operational in Ethiopia since 2009. With funding from bilateral and multilateral donors, DRC is currently implementing a range of activities across Ethiopia and Djibouti, including WASH and shelter provision, child and youth protection, gender-based violence response, awareness-raising of migration risks, protection monitoring of migration routes, and livelihoods support for returning migrants or those at-risk of migration.

Overall Purpose of the Role: 

The Advocacy and Communications Coordinator provides overall leadership, coordination, and strategic direction to DRC’s advocacy and communications work in Ethiopia. Under the supervision of the Head of Programmes, the Advocacy and Communications Coordinator will be responsible for engaging key stakeholders in evidence-based initiatives to influence and lobby for the rights of affected populations on a diverse range of policy issues, as well as the development of key positions and messaging around pertinent issues to advance DRC’s principles and vision. They will also coordinate efforts on communications and visibility across all programmes.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Advocacy

• Lead on the development and implementation of the DRC Ethiopia advocacy strategy
• Develop and update talking points, top-line messages, and advocacy asks for the DRC Ethiopia program
• Coordinate policy responses and development within DRC and partner agencies regarding national policy frameworks and practices, UN coordination, funding, and security concerns that have an impact on displaced populations and their access to humanitarian assistance and protection services
• Suggest key advocacy opportunities and targets at national and regional levels and develop an advocacy engagement plan
• Draft and support the creation of advocacy products as outlined in the advocacy strategy for use at the country, regional and international levels
• Support the Head of Programmes and Technical Coordinators to articulate priority advocacy objectives and develop programme-specific advocacy strategies, as well as developing messaging on key issues within clusters, working groups, and area specific forums
• Develop and sustain relationships with key stakeholders in Ethiopia to contribute to DRC’s advocacy initiatives.
• Support ongoing risk analysis and stakeholder mapping to inform implementation of an effective advocacy strategy
• Ensure that all advocacy messages, documents and strategies are evidence-based, drawn from field experience and assessments, of high quality and effective
• In collaboration with MEAL unit, develop indicators and framework for measuring effectiveness and impact of advocacy messaging.
• Work with the regional office to support and coordinate on regional advocacy efforts.

Communications

• Lead on the development and implementation of DRC Ethiopia’s communications strategy
• Produce high-quality content to support positive communication of DRC’s programs and advocacy activities in Ethiopia, including communication and advocacy materials, digital content for DRC’s website and social medial channels, and visual materials for use by DRC
• Coordinate with national, regional, and HQ offices on effective communications strategies and messaging
• Regularly visit projects in the field to ensure a direct link between program work and communication, and identify and generate media and communication, as well as effective case studies, quotes, photographs, and videos for donor reporting
• Develop internal guidelines for DRC Ethiopia’s communication, public messaging and visibility, in line with protection risk analysis
• Provide trainings and capacity building for DRC Ethiopia teams on consistent messaging in line with communications strategy and protocols
• Provide review and oversight of visibility, ensuring compliance with donor and DRC requirements.

Strategy and Representation

• Support management to articulate priority advocacy and communications objectives and develop programme-specific strategies
• Ensure DRC field teams, EAGL Regional Office, HQ, Brussels and Geneva representation offices are in line with DRC Ethiopia advocacy and communications strategies/policy lines and understand and promote its asks
• Liaise with key UN, NGO, and diplomatic missions in Ethiopia to ensure up-to-date information on humanitarian situation and response, as well as policy developments
• Represent DRC in advocacy-related forum
• Support meaningful and safe participation of affected populations in DRC’s advocacy and communications efforts.

REQUIREMENTS

Experience and Technical Competencies: (include years of experience)

• At least five years of humanitarian experience, including experience working in advocacy and communication on humanitarian issues, refugee rights, human rights, and/or development issues
• Strong understanding of the political system and context in Ethiopia, including familiarity with key stakeholders from government, UN, NGOs, Civil Society
• Demonstrated experience using cutting edge communication tools and technologies to engage and influence stakeholders
• Experience in social media strategy planning, content creation, and community management
• Proven experience crafting messages in various formats (articles, press releases, websites, photos, success stories, blog entries, tweets, etc.) targeting a variety of audiences
• Exceptional, proven writing and editing skills (English) and the ability to summarise and repackage technical information in clear, compelling language
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with an ability to engage with diverse audiences
• Strong literacy in Microsoft packages with knowledge of Adobe products is a distinct advantage

Education (include certificates, licenses etc.):

• University degree in communications, law, or a related field
• Master’s degree in a relevant field an advantage

Languages: (indicate fluency level)

• Excellent verbal and written English and Amharic
• Knowledge of other local languages an asset

All DRC roles require the post-holder to master DRC’s core competencies:

• Striving for excellence: Focusing on reaching results while ensuring efficient processes.
• Collaborating: Involving relevant parties and encouraging feedback.
• Taking the lead: Taking ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.
• Communicating: Listening and speaking effectively and honestly.
• Demonstrating integrity: Acting in line with DRC’s vision and values