The West African Region is facing complex and severe humanitarian and protection crisis. Massive displacement, due to indiscriminate violence perpetrated by a range of armed actors against civilian populations affected particularly in the Sahel and in the LCB. Plus, the outbreak of COVID‐19 between February /March 2020 in West Africa, makes more complex the Humanitarian response both in terms of access, scale of humanitarian needs and crisis severity. The COVID‐19 virus will continue to circulate globally as an endemic disease among populations, stopping only when and if a vaccine is developed and widely administered around the world. There are no guarantees on the associated time frame, but estimates suggest that a vaccine is realistically anywhere from 1‐4 years away, meaning the Humanitarian needs will continue to be important in this region.
While much effort has been done in the past in terms of Humanitarian Advocacy, the COVID‐19 pandemic requires that CARE steps up its advocacy efforts at all levels. More than ever before, it is critical that NGOs influence preparedness, planning and response to COVID‐19 “to ensure everything we do during and after this crisis is done to build more equal, inclusive and sustainable economies and societies that are more resilient in the face of pandemics, climate change, and the many other global challenges we face” (quote from UNSG.) At the same time, COVID‐19 offers unique opportunities to influence how aid is delivered aligned with CARE’s vision of a holistic localized women‐led response. Recently, the West Africa (WA) Regional Task Force, overseeing the Regional COVID‐19 response, identified the needs of additional Technical Assistance to support strengthening its advocacy efforts related to COVID‐19 and humanitarian response in general. This position, while initially short term, is critical to consolidate CARE’s position as a lead humanitarian organization but also as a thought leader in Gender in Emergencies.
Purpose
The Regional Advocacy Coordinator aims to continue supporting the ongoing advocacy efforts to support regional/country offices to identify, plan for and action opportunities to influence external targets to promote key messages during the COVID 19 crisis and other Humanitarian contexts (such as the Sahel and LCB protracted crisis). The key focus will be around humanitarian Access, Gender in Emergencies/GBV and Protection, as well as ensuring women and girls voices are raised and heard through influencing humanitarian actors (including donors and Governments) to meet critical humanitarian and funding gaps.
Key tasks and Responsibilities
Qualifications and competencies
This assignment is until September 30, 2020.
CARE is an international NGO with local staff and community partners in more than 90 countries. We create local solutions to poverty and inequality and we seek dignity for everyone every day and during times of crisis. These solutions have a broad range, from clean water to access to education; from microfinance to ensuring that everyone has nutritious food; from agriculture and climate change to disaster response. CARE puts women and girls at the center of everything we do because they have proven to be the best hope for creating lasting change in the world. Our staff live where they work, which makes us effective at understanding the challenges they face. We’ve been doing this for over 70 years, since World War II. It started with the world’s first CARE Package® of food for the post-war hungry in Europe. Our work today is as important as ever, we believe that poverty and inequality are historic injustices that we can end within a generation, for good. If you share our core beliefs: poverty is an injustice; poverty is solvable; and together, we have the power to end it, join us, and fight with CARE.
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