Advocacy and Communications Manager

26-July-2024 

 About Action Against Hunger 

Action Against Hunger is an international, non-governmental humanitarian organization that takes decisive action against the causes and effects of hunger through implementing relief and development programs in different countries of the world.

Action Against Hunger was established in 1979 and has led the global fight against hunger for more than 40 years in over 50 countries, saving the lives of children and working with communities before and after disasters to enable people provide for themselves, see their children grow up strong and build prosperous communities. Working with communities in such humanitarian context, we recognize that our programs and operations put out teams in contact with children and vulnerable adults who may be particularly at risk of harm and abuse.

About the Country Program in Ethiopia 

Action Against Hunger’s Ethiopia country office was established in 1985 in response to severe drought and subsequent famine, implementing relief and development projects in Tigray, Amhara and Oromia regions. Action against Hunger currently operates in six regions of Ethiopia (Amhara, Benishangul Gumuz, Gambella, Somali, Oromia and Tigray) and in Addis Ababa city administration responding to different crisis and building people’s resilience through a multi-sectoral strategy where nutrition, Food Security and Livelihoods, WASH, and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support activities are integrated to have a meaningful impact on people’s resilience.

With more than 8,900+staff in over 50 countries, last year, we helped 28 million children and their families across 55 countries. We have a country team of over 900 staff in 17 regional and satellite offices. Our main donors in Ethiopia in 2023/24 are BHA, ECHO, EU RESET, UNHCR, UNICEF, GAC, GFFO, BPRM, SIDA, EHF, FAO, WFP, CIAA, Dutch Government and others.

I. Summary of position   

Purpose: Supports the development and implementation of Action Against Hunger Ethiopia Country advocacy and Communication strategy to National stakeholders focusing on national and regional bodies, based on global, regional and country strategies and priorities from across the network; mobilizes resources to achieve advocacy objectives; expands learning, and drives organizational efforts to positively influence the policies and practice of national stakeholders. Working under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Country Director, the Advocacy and Communications Manager implements Action Against Hunger advocacy strategy with the objective of increasing the visibility and promoting the work of Action Against Hunger in the country; as well as increasing awareness for Action Against Hunger mandate and programs among its partners, donors, the media and the general public.   

Engagement: Advocates and builds partnerships with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO), research and policy institutes, Think Tanks, and key National civil society groups and partners to influence policies and practices to end hunger and undernutrition positively. The Advocacy and Communications Manager will work in close collaboration with the Senior Management team, Program team, grant management and reporting team,  MEAL team, business development team, support and operation team, right-to-grow project manager, GFFO and staff, Government officials, and media representatives. 

Delivery: Supports the Ethiopia Country Office to strengthen the Action Against Hunger’s capacity to effectively influence the policies and practices of the Country Missions to address undernutrition and. The Advocacy and Communications manager will be responsible for managing the mission-level advocacy tasks. He/She will ensure evidence-based advocacy including capacitating the base program team about generating success stories, policy briefs, case stories, and evidence for advocacy and engagement of different stakeholders. Identify opportunities for engagement combined with the effective use of media to improve program awareness; Build effective networks of collaboration to showcase organization capacities; coordinate advocacy campaigns through digital media in key moments working closely with the Regional Office.The incumbent will be based in Addis Ababa with frequent travels to Action Against Hunger operational areas. He/she will work in collaboration with all capital and base program, operation, and support departments.     

II. Essential job duties   

1. Support the planning, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of advocacy activities in Ethiopia Country Office;

Administration/Multilateral/NGO Coalitions/Other Advocacy:

• Develop and implement an advocacy plan focusing on policy makers in line with Action Against Hunger’s strategic priorities.
• Build alliances with nutrition, health, water sanitation and hygiene, food security and livelihoods, and disaster risk management, Climate NGOs and projects/initiatives to ensure inclusion of Action Against Hunger’s priorities in collective advocacy initiatives.
• Assume leadership roles as appropriate within NGO coalitions and initiatives pertaining to Action Against Hunger programs and advocacy priorities.
• Provide analysis of stakeholders (targets, allies, influential policymakers, fora, working groups, etc.), as they relate to Action Against Hunger technical, thematic and operational priorities.
• Attend advocacy meetings at national level and provide verbal and written contributions to advocacy for and discussions in line with Action Against Hunger advocacy priorities.
• Whenever necessary, provide recommendations to the Action Against Hunger network on advocacy opportunities, advocacy messages based on the evidence and positioning generated by programs and research.
• Local advocacy efforts-in collaborate with Senior Management Team (SMT), program, and project managers, to develop clear and effective guidelines and protocols for sector-wide advocacy efforts in the country. Closely work and support projects that have advocacy activities(like Right to grow, GFFO project, and others). 
• Generate evidence, communicate, and advocate to address Hunger: Work with regional and HQ teams on media campaigns and advocacy efforts to raise global awareness of humanitarian needs and Action Against Hunger’s core program activities in Ethiopia 
• Sector representation- in liaison with SMT, represent Action Against Hunger in national, regional, and international relevant Forums.  
• Branding and visibility - ensure that all communication products and project deliverables for the external audience are appropriately branded(in line with Action Against Hunger and donor compliance guidelines). Proactively seek out interesting stories from programs, initiating or accompanying field visits to collect high-quality photos, case and success stores - quotes and possibly audio and video material suitable for use in media and communication products 

2. Develop and strengthen internal advocacy capacity of Action Against Hunger 

• Build the capacity of the Country Office, programme and field teams, Communications, MEAL on advocacy and influencing by developing tools and guidelines on ACF Advocacy, working with the Regional Specialist.
• Develop talking points, messaging, and collateral materials, and maintain the advocacy database by linking the advocacy unit with the Technical leads in the country and regional missions.
• Provide ongoing strategic and tactical support to Action Against Hunger staff engaged in country advocacy.
• Liaise with country programme teams to develop country-specific advocacy strategies.
• Work with the Regional and Global Advocacy team to translate technical approaches, research and program learning to policy briefs and discussion papers to influence the policies and practices of decision makers.
• In collaboration with the Business Development team, strengthen advocacy partnerships and identify advocacy-funding opportunities in Country.
• Participate in network processes to build the capacity of advocacy staff and facilitate advocacy activities.
• Provide regular feedback and analysis on meetings, workshops and seminars relevant to Action Against Hunger’s strategic priorities, including reviews of new approaches to address the underlying causes of hunger.
• Liaise with the Advocacy and Communication Regional office, providing advocacy messages and content appropriate for external audiences (through channels including social media, direct mail, etc.)
• Reporting- mainstream communication in Action Against Hunger’s programs and support effective process documentation and technical monthly/quarterly and annual reporting.   

3. Support robust accountability systems and build Action Against Hunger’s reputation in Ethiopia as a food and nutrition security leader. 

• Ensure that Action Against Hunger is the “go-to” partner in the fight against hunger and undernutrition by implementing innovative and evidence-based advocacy initiatives.
• Ensure regular review and report on implementing Action Against Hunger- led advocacy activities feeding into priority work areas.
• Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of Action Against Hunger advocacy activities and initiatives.
• Multi-media campaign-develop structured approach and procedures including relations with mainstream media. Lead and coordinate the preparation of communication publications for both internal and external purposes;   
• Website, social media, and networking-in collaboration with the regional and HQ communication teams manage the active website and social media presence. Lead the development of content and updates for the organizational website and other media platforms and outlets with up-to-date information on humanitarian needs and project responses/interventions and data on outputs and outcomes. Develop networks of contacts among humanitarian organizations, coordination bodies, and donor organizations (and, as necessary, national and international media) for more effective information sharing and communication of the organization’s activities and interests.   
• External and Internal Communications-in collaboration with Senior Management Team (SMT) develop clear and effective guidelines and protocols for internal and external communications. Ensure coordination between different departments of Action Against Hunger on the tasks that involve internal and external communications and media-related works.

4. Support with diverse partners to mobilize the wider public to end hunger and Nutrition

• Responsible for coordinating Ethiopia Country Office and executing Nutrition for Growth (N4G), in conjunction with the Regional Advocacy Specialist, Programme teams, and other key stakeholders.
• In conjunction with the Regional Specialist, support the Country Director’s engagement with the larger Action Against Hunger network members’ involvement and budgetary support in executing N4G event and relevant External Engagements.
• Responsible, together with the specialist for the choice of venue, logistics, and coordination of all critical processes to assure the success of advocacy convening.
• Assign responsibilities as necessary to other parts of the organization, including the advocacy community of practice. 

III.              Supervisory Responsibilities  

• N/A

IV.              Gender Equality Commitments   

• Foster an environment that supports the values of women and men, and equal access to information. 
• Provide a work environment where women and men must be evaluated and promoted based on their skills and performance. 
• Respect beneficiaries’ women, men, and children (boys and girls) regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, or religion. Race, color, ancestry, national origin, age, or marital status.   ? Value and respect all cultures.   

V.              Fiscal Responsibility 

• The post holder will manage the organizational visibility and communication budget in all active portfolios under the guidance and leadership of the program director and field coordinators and in coordination with the Grant team and respective grant holder-field coordinators at the base and capital officer levels.   
• The post holder will be responsible for smooth budget management and reporting of the visibility and communication of budget lines of active grants of the mission portfolio. S/he will be responsible for the planning, management, and implementation of these budget lines.   

VI.            Physical Demands   

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to sit for long periods and to concentrate on work, including typing, and turn out heavy volumes of work accurately, within short time frames under stressful situations in the context of a moderately noisy office with many interruptions. Must be able to proofread own work accurately so that only minor corrections are needed on an infrequent basis. In addition, the employee is expected to travel frequently to the operational areas of the organization to collect, first-hand information and stories of communication materials that are to be systematically documented, organized, and crafted for various communication materials. This role also requires frequent yet, pre-planned and coordinated traveling to organizational remote operational areas to fetch first-hand information and materials to synthesize standard communication materials.   
• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. 

VII.               Working Conditions, Travel, and Environment 

• The responsibilities of this post require regular job attendance at least five days per week. Must be available to work outside normal office hours or on the weekends as required. 
• Must be able to travel as required for standard domestic and international business purposes. While performing the duties of this job in the field, the employee may be exposed to precarious settings under high-security risks and/or very basic living conditions and outside weather conditions, as well as to infectious diseases.   

VIII.  Required Qualifications and Professional Experience 

Minimum of Bachelor’s degree in International Relations, Public Policy, Political Science, Development Studies, or other related fields (Master’s degree will be a plus). 

• Experience developing and implementing multisectoral, evidence-based advocacy strategies; focusing on influencing government policies and responses.
• Knowledge of food and nutrition security responses in fragile and conflict affected contexts.
• Experience developing and writing various advocacy products (policy briefs, reports, letters, talking points)
• Strong interpersonal skills and experience working with diverse teams.
• Experience building alliances and coalitions addressing global health, nutrition, food security and resilience.
• Training in advocacy and/or behavior change communications will be a strong asset. 
• 3 -5 years of previous work experience in Advocacy and Communications  in the field of Development and Humanitarian contexts is an asset 
• Good knowledge and experience in applied photography and audio-visual communication tools
• Experience in report writing, and storytelling write-ups with good command of the English language.  
• Prior work experience in both Humanitarian and Development contexts is desirable

IX.              Required Skills & Competencies 

• Ability to work independently, suggest practical solutions, and follow up effectively on management decisions. 
• Ability to provide effective evaluation and assessment of advocacy actions and initiatives.
• Ability to manage and prioritize competing demands.
• Ability to present clear ideas and arguments, providing distance support, training and influence.
• Good knowledge of visual design and layout development for information materials. Good planning skills, proactivity, creativity, and ability to meet established deadlines. 
• Skills in photography and image processing. 
• Ability to conceptualize, design and implement major information campaigns 
• Communication, presentation, networking, and advocacy skills 
• Excellent interpersonal and communications skills and ability to work under tight deadlines. 
• Good research and analytical skills; Strong verbal and written communication skills, fluent in English both in writing and in speech. 
• Emotional intelligence: Remains calm in stressful situations 
• Ability to travel to program areas on duty frequently. Computer literate: good command of Microsoft Office (MS. Word, MS. Excel, and MS Powerpoint) in addition to Strong skills in audio-visual computer software applications and web pages navigation and management.   
• Interpersonal skills: communication, autonomy, organizational skill, creative and innovative thinking (, thinking out of the box mindset).           

How To Apply

                             APPLICATION PROCEDURE

If you are interested, please send your application composed of nonreturnable CV, a Covering Letter with “Advocacy and Communications Manager -Addis Ababa” written in the subject line, and three references, applicants to the following addresses:

Through www.ethiojobs.net 

Deadline: Sunday 04-August-2024

NB: Only shortlisted applicants will be communicated, and the selection process includes a 

technical test and an interview.

Action Against Hunger-USA provides all staff with an _attractive salary & benefits package. We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees & qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, ancestry, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Action Against Hunger-USA complies with all applicable laws governing nondiscrimination in employment