Purpose of the Role:
The Policy, Advocacy and Programmes department is key to delivering ActionAid’s UK new strategy to promote a world where women and girls are valued and live free from violence, can exercise their rights to promote their own economic rights, safety, equality and voice. The department is comprised of team members supporting financial resource mobilisation, grant/contract management, philanthropic innovation, programming policy, advocacy, research and learning towards this end. The Advocacy team develops relationships of influence to advance ActionAid UK’s research, programme policy learning, campaigns and resource mobilisation needs to ActionAid UK’s target political/institutional influencers, academic audiences and donors.
The Advocacy Officer will support the Advocacy Team to develop and sustain excellent external relationships in order to advance advocacy on priority issues, with a specific focus on: providing administrative support for the Advocacy team and working with PAP and internal colleagues as necessary; supporting ActionAid to become an anti-racist, decolonised organisation, monitoring UK Parliamentary, Government and civil service activity and opportunities using a political monitoring tool such as Vueilio; monitoring and supporting the Advocacy Team’s UK stakeholder engagement and managing the stakeholder management tool; compiling Advocacy briefings and newsletter from pre-existing material, and supporting the Advocacy Team’s events.
Key Accountabilities and Deliverables
Administration support for Advocacy Team
• Support Advocacy Team as necessary with diary management and scheduling meetings
• Assist with Advocacy Team meetings and away days, including compiling meeting agendas, circulating any necessary paperwork beforehand
• Support the co-ordination of visits from international colleagues coming to the UK to work with Advocacy Team and ensure the departmental calendar is up to date and that the department works to the agreed timetable for all necessary reporting
• Supporting the team to develop and implement its own, the department and the organisation’s anti-racism and decolonization plans
• Support the Advocacy Team to compile its performance and financial reporting in line with the agreed timelines
• Updating the PAP Sharepoint Hub site with Team information.
• Support the team with administrative support for any external consultancies
• Ensure regular and efficient financial administration related to the Advocacy Team’s budget, including processing of expenses and invoices.
Strategic implementation and positioning development
• Support the Advocacy Team, BD and PQA teams to implement an engagement plan for advocacy targets on women’s rights, aiming to create a solid base of active support
• Compile and submit Parliamentary Questions ahead of relevant question sessions, ensuring the Advocacy Team is aware of question time deadlines
• Compile and disseminate ActionAid UK’s quarterly newsletter to Parliamentary stakeholders, and support Advocacy Team to follow-up engagement as necessary
• Where needed, support the Advocacy Team’s work with media and communications colleagues to ensure our public statements on aid and women’s rights issues are politically appropriate.
• Work closely with the Advocacy Team to ensure that contact with political figures is strategic and is monitored and evaluated.
Women’s rights network building
• Where needed, act as AAUK contact on women’s rights networks and membership organisations, and support Advocacy Team to work in coalition with women’s rights organisations and NGO partners, and create effective alliances which promote ActionAid’s women’s rights advocacy objectives
• Support the Advocacy Team to organise events as appropriate, for example in Parliament and at party conferences, to raise awareness of AAUK’s work and the need for support for women’s rights issues in international development.
Team Working
• Engage with and demonstrate commitment to AAUK’s mission, vision, values and strategic aims, and ‘My Feminist Behaviours’ (including adherence to our Code of Conduct).
• To undertake any other duties appropriate to the level in accordance to agreed procedures and guidelines.
• Proactively engage with the performance development approach, taking responsibility for seeking appropriate development opportunities and taking part in learning.
EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERTISE
Essential:
• Extensive experience and expertise in using Outlook calendar and email, including diary management, coordinating meetings and making travel arrangements
• Advanced IT skills, including Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint and use of databases
• Understanding of, or experience in supporting teams to, or leading, antiracism and decolonisation work.
• Experience coordinating and liaising across teams, particularly in large and/or complex organisations
• Experience of successfully organising events in Parliament, with NGOs, or other institutions
• Experience of supporting colleagues to manage budgets, expenses and financial reconciliation
• Proficiency in setting up videoconferencing and skype calls
• Excellent knowledge of women’s rights, development and international issues and debates
• Experience or understanding of feminist behaviours
• Excellent knowledge of the UK political context and system
• Excellent presentational skills and the ability to communicate effectively
• Commitment to AA’s vision, mission and values, including a commitment to feminist and anti-racist principles and working in an anti-racist organisation committed to working for the rights of women and girls.
• Commitment to continually improving your digital skills and knowledge within the working environment.
Desirable:
• Experience of women’s rights programming in the UK or globally
Closing Date: 21 September 2022
