Advocacy and campaigns Manager

Job Details:Advocacy and campaigns Manager

Ref     INT4466

Region     West Africa

Location     Freetown

Division     International

Department     Regional Programme & Operations

Position Type     Fixed Term

Job Family     Programme

Job Description

Team Purpose:    To increase Oxfam's campaign delivery in Sierra Leone and position Oxfam as active, relevant and influential in Sierra Leone through communication, advocacy and campaigning to change ideas, beliefs, policy and practice as part of Oxfam global battle against poverty and suffering

Job Purpure:  To coordinate the advocacy and communications work of Oxfam in Sierra Leone including supporting national partners to deliver strategic and effective campaigns for quality public services, food security and gender justice. This advocacy post fits into a country programme that currently engages in gender justice, supports capacity development and delivery of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services and may be adding food security and governance to its work in selected urban and rural areas of Sierra Leone. The role will also involve providing advocacy and campaigning support to a consortium of five International NGOs providing WASH support to the government of Sierra Leone and led by Oxfam. It will benefit from international support and will influence the development of policy and campaign approaches at local and national level with linkages to Oxfam's regional and international work.

Reporting Lines: Post holder reports to: Country Director

Staff reporting to this post: None

Dimensions



·         Coordinate and lead the ongoing development of the Oxfam Advocacy and Campaigning work in Sierra Leone, which is rooted in accompanying and supporting partners, in line with Oxfam's Southern Campaigning Guidelines.

·         Identify key relationships and develop and manage these relationships, including with Sierra Leone civil society organisations, regional partners, and Oxfam affiliates and teams at country, regional and global level.

·         Represent Oxfam to key partners and allies within Sierra Leone.

·         Provide specialist advice and skills-development for partners on advocacy, policy analysis, popular mobilisation, media and lobbying.

·         Accompany civil society advocacy partners, and facilitate transfer of Oxfam skills to these partners, so as to enhance their ability to achieve concrete political change.

·         Produce, assimilate, analyse, use and communicate information about government and donor policy and civil society activities and positioning on key programme issues including on WASH, gender and governance.

·         Identify opportunities for OI or affiliates to develop new partnerships and activities in relation to advocacy linked to Oxfam's Joint Country Strategy.

* Support fundraising and grant management for advocacy work.


Key Responsibilities



·     Develop, with relevant Oxfam country and regional teams, and deliver Oxfam's advocacy programme in Sierra Leone, to be rooted in the development of long-term partnerships with Sierra Leoneans, CSOs advocating for increased access to quality basic services, particularly WASH, gender justice and governance.

·     Working with partners, allies and colleagues, develop well-focused strategies to achieve objectives.  Accompany partners in planning, delivering, monitoring and evaluating a targeted advocacy strategy to increase and improve delivery of primary basic services, and governance in Sierra Leone.    Manage relationships with lobby targets, including government ministries, parliamentarians, donors, and international institutions; maintain regular contact to ensure ongoing access to relevant information.

·        Support established or emerging advocacy networks and coalitions in relevant areas, including through linking to Oxfam and other movements outside Sierra Leone. In Sierra Leone, facilitate and promote links between movements working on public services and those working on IFI programmes, PRSPs, anti-corruption, budget-tracking, use of debt relief and extractive industry revenues. Work closely with OGB, Oxfam International and Consortium Member agencies within and outside Sierra Leone, particularly at regional level, to ensure coherence between policy lines and other advocacy work at national, regional and international levels, and to ensure that global campaigns are informed by Sierra Leone experience.

·         Establish clear links between the Oxfam Sierra Leone programmes and advocacy aims; support programme staff and partners in building the advocacy components of their programmes.      Plan and coordinate research to support advocacy on Oxfam's focus issues, including by drafting ToRs, conducting and / or commissioning research, managing consultancies, and disseminating findings. Manage external and internal communications relating to Oxfam advocacy work in Sierra Leone, including by engaging and dealing with the media; contributing to Consortium and other Oxfam reports and websites; and maintaining informal communications.

·         Support gender related advocacy work in partnership with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs, Coalition of Civil Society Organisations and NGOs. Maintain communication with and facilitate collaboration of Oxfam affiliates present in Sierra Leone, around all aspects of advocacy.

Skills and Competence



·         Strong campaigning experience and an understanding of how to use policy analysis, research, lobbying, public campaigning, media, communications and alliance-building to influence a political agenda. (E)

·         An understanding of African campaigns and movements, and of the functioning and relationships of key players in development, including Southern governments, donor governments, international institutions, and civil society. (E)

·         Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills and proven experience of strategy development. (E)

·         Knowledge of development finance and donor processes. (E)

·         Sound political judgment and sensitivity, and proven experience of engaging with and influencing decision-makers. (E)

·         Strong interpersonal skills and ability to manage complex and sensitive organisational relationships. (E)

·         Proven experience of programme management, including project design, budgeting and financial reporting, partner and grant management, monitoring and evaluation. (E)

·         Demonstrable understanding of and commitment to promoting gender equity and the interests of marginalised people in all advocacy work. (E)

·         Enthusiasm for and commitment to Oxfam's values and mission. (E)
·         Ability to work independently and think innovatively and strategically, as well as collaborate within a team. (E)   Ability to work on own initiative, manage complex workloads and deliver outputs and reports to agreed deadlines. (E). Language requirement: English - (E)

·         Knowledge and familiarity to the Sierra Leone PRSP, Agenda for Change and the National Water policy and / or of policy issues related to access to basic services, gender and governance. (D)

·         Familiarity with national, global or regional campaign networks working on essential services and development financing. (D)   Proven skills in effective media relations and experience in talking directly to media organisations. (D)

·         Experience of developing fundraising proposals, capacity building and training skills, (D),

·         Experience of planning, conducting or commissioning research. (D)