The Organisation

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard. 

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated

 We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children.  We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Save the Children International seeks to always be a child safe organization through fulfilling its obligations to the community and through programme implementation carried out by the organization for safeguarding children and to improve the living standards of the child.

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Position: Advocacy, Campaigns and Communications Director — Yemen Country Office

Location: Sanaa/ Aden  

Grade: International 1

Contract Length: Fixed Term – Two years (with possibility of extension)

The Opportunity:

As a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) in the CO, the Advocacy, Campaigns and Communications Director (ACC) shares in the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the Country Office. The ACC Director in his/her capacity is responsible for providing leadership to ensure excellence in our advocacy, campaigning and communications on the humanitarian crisis and situation of children in Yemen as well as our longer-term development work.

The purpose of the role is to lead and manage the external and internal Advocacy, Campaigns, and Communications work for the Yemen country office including the advocacy strategy development, review and implementation as a prioritized Category 1 response, supporting the priority programmatic areas, such as Child Protection, Food Security and humanitarian space/operational space issues.  The role will support the Senior Management Team in risk mapping, mitigation and management on issues identified as most relevant for the CO, and develop policy analysis and strategic planning in response to those issues. The ACC director will also work closely with partner organizations – local, national and international – to ensure better coordination and collaboration.

Dimensions:  The Save the Children International (SCI) Yemen Country Office (CO) has over 700 staff and works in nine governorates in the north, centre and south of the country through seven field offices in addition to the main office in Sana’a. ACC is an integrated and critical part of our work in Yemen, with the need to ensure humanitarian access, increased international visibility and donor interest in the crises, protection of children from grave violations and international pressure to end the conflict.

The ACC Department is comprised of four teams working on communications, advocacy and campaigns.

Budget responsibility: 1-2 million USDs annually

Representation of SCI in public and private fora, meetings with state representatives, media, internal and external working groups and networks.

Scope of Role

Reports to: Yemen Country Director               

Key Areas of Responsibilities

As a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), contribute to:

• Co-leadership of the Country Office
• Support the development of an organizational culture that reflects our full spectrum values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages at team culture of learning, creativity and innovation, and frees up our people to deliver outstanding results for children and excellent customer service for our Members and donors
• Help design and implement a coherent organizational structure that is consistent with agency practices and appropriate to programme needs
• Ensure Country Office complies with all Save the Children Management Operating Standards and Standard Operating Procedures
• Ensure strong linkages between Advocacyand Communication and other Directors on the SMT so that advocacy is well resourced, evidence-based and program driven and that programs are enhanced through advocacy.
• Support the Country Director and help represent SCI in donor meetings, ensuring that Yemen remains a priority.

Advocacy Strategy

• Ensure development, review and implementation of the Yemen advocacy strategy, in coordination with the CO Advocacy and Communications team, Programme Development and Quality (PDQ) Director and programs team, the Regional Office and the Save the Children Humanitarian Advocacy Working Group (HAWG). 
• Liaise with key UN, NGO and other interlocutors in the region to ensure Save the Children has up to date information on the humanitarian situation and response in the country. 
• Contribute to the development of joint products, such as statements, with partner organizations during key moments such as the Senior Officials Meeting.

Situation and Advocacy Analysis

• Working closely with programs, provide analysis of how children have been affected by the crisis in Yemen, the national policy responses and policy frameworks, as well as other factors such as UN coordination, funding for the response, security and current and future challenges that have an impact on children and their access to humanitarian assistance, health, education and protection services.
• Define key advocacy opportunities and targets at national and regional levels, if relevant, and if needed mobilize international advocacy support for these.
• Ensure a strong power analysis of the relevant actors and where opportunities for influence and leverage lie to inform the advocacy strategy.

ACC products

• Draft and otherwise support the production and distribution of advocacy products as outlined in the advocacy strategy for use at the country, regional and international levels.
• Ensure that all advocacy messages, documents and strategies are evidence-based, in line with humanitarian principles, drawn from field experience and assessments, of high quality and effective, and are approved by the Country Director, the Regional Advocacy Director and the HAWG. When necessary ensure advocacy products are signed-off according to the SCI sign-off procedures.
• Ensuring all ACC products delivered are in line with SCI’s safeguarding principles and procedures.

Representation and coordination

• Support the Country Director in advocacy work towards the Humanitarian Coordinator, Humanitarian Country Team, key UN agencies, donors and other NGOs, as well as media, if necessary.
• Participate in the Yemen INGO Forum and lead SC’s response on advocacyand communications initiatives within that group
• Ensure coordination of advocacy messages and activities between the Country Office and the regional and international levels.
• Ensure that Yemen situation reports contain information on advocacy activities and successes, from regional, capitals and global levels.

Communications

• Support the communications and media colleagues to effectively implement the communication strategy and deliver high quality products; maintain overall accountability for external-facing communications, including through appropriate sign off of all products.
• Ensure that media and communications strategy is in line with and supporting the objectives of the Yemen advocacy and campaign strategy.
• Proactively support the development and production of products (in a variety of mediums) to raise awareness about the needs of children in Yemen
• Quickly and appropriately responding to external requests for information.
• Develop and deliver a clear and effective system for internal communications including the dissemination of information and other documents and publications for internal stakeholders including being able to scale up the delivery of robust communications material during emergencies per the agreed protocols and requests from Members and SCI
• Develop and maintain excellent working relationships, on behalf of the CO, with media focal points and leadership within the Regional Office, SCI centre and Members of SCI
• Act as one of the CO Media Spokesperson as needed.

Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development – Policy, Advocacy, Campaigns and Communications 

• Ensure appropriate CO staffing within Campaigns, Communications and Policy and Advocacy
• Ensure that all staff understand and are able to and feel supported in performing their role during an emergency response
• Manage  Communications and Advocacy team; define expectations, provide leadership and technical support as needed, and evaluate direct reports regularly
• Ensure the recruitment, training, and promotion of staff as appropriate and ensure availability of appropriate professional development opportunities for staff
• Incorporate staff development strategies and Performance Management Systems into team building process.  Establish result-based systems and follow up mechanisms
• Ensure the on-going, targeted and planned professional development of National staff within the department to take on progressively more senior roles within the CO.
• Manage the performance of all staff in the work area through: 
  • Effective use of the Performance Management System including the establishment of clear, measurable objectives, ongoing feedback, periodic reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations;
  • Coaching, mentoring and other developmental opportunities;
  • Recognition and rewards for outstanding performance;
  • Documentation of performance that is less than satisfactory, with appropriate performance improvements/ work plans.

Qualifications and Experience:

Essential

• Post-graduate degree in social science, politics, human rights, journalism and media or other related fields or equivalent experience.
• A minimum of 8 years demonstrated experience in progressively responsible positions at senior management levels.
• At least 8 years-experience in a humanitarian or development environment, preferably leading advocacy and policy change in the Middle East.
• Prior management experience working in emergency response contexts or fragile states.
• Significant prior experience working in advocacy on humanitarian issues, child rights, human rights, and/or development issues.
• Experience of influencing and advocacy work including lobbying, policy development and information provision in humanitarian issues.
• Excellent skills in advocating towards government officials in developing countries.
• Experience of and strong skills in developing and implementing humanitarian advocacy strategies.
• Proven skills in media and communication work, including interviews on radio, print and TV.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and lead research, surveys and other activities oriented towards developing positions and evidence base.
• Highly developed communication skills both written and verbal in order to establish effective relationships with a wide variety of internal and external audiences including at a geographical distance
• Ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner
• Fluency in Writing and Presentation skills in English is required
• Cultural awareness and ability to build relationships quickly with a wide variety of people
• Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organise a substantial workload comprised of complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities and competing deadlines and priorities.
• Patient, adaptable, flexible, able to improvise and remain responsive and communicate clearly and effectively under pressure
• Ability and willingness to dramatically change work practices and hours, and work with incoming surge teams, in the event of emergencies
• Experience in managing risks associated with advocacy and communications in high-risk settings, including in developing risk management plans and mitigation measures. 
• Advanced understanding of Protection issues arising from a conflict setting, impact on protected populations, and implications for humanitarian aid agencies.
• Experience in managing team members and supporting their personal and career development goals, including supporting junior members of staff to deliver high-quality output.

Preferred

• Extensive knowledge of child rights and international humanitarian law
• Understanding of UN and donor operations at country level 
• High level analytical and strategic thinking skills 
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with experience in managing multicultural teams.
• Experience working for an international humanitarian organization in Yemen (or the Middle East) preferred
• Experience with programs, program development, proposal writing, or implementation a plus.
• Experience in coordination of various stakeholders a plus
• Experience solving complex issues through analysis
• Has a strong international network within advocacy and policy settings
• Understanding of the issues concerning the INGO sector with an in-depth knowledge in communications, marketing and/or fundraising
• Demonstrable track record of leading change, resulting in significant results for the organization and their stakeholders.
• High Fluency in writing and presentation skills in Arabic

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.  

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom Save the Children is in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse. In addition, it is Save the Children’s policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation. Any violations of this policy will be treated as a serious issue.  

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws.  

Application Information:

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application, and include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations.  A copy of the full role profile can be found at 

https://hcri.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1/

“Save the Children is an equal opportunity employer. Women are strongly encouraged to apply”

About Us

The Organization
We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard. We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• · No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
• · All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• · Violence against children is no longer tolerated

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children.We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.

Application Information:

Please apply using a cover letter and up-to-date CV as a single document. Please also include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/jobs We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.