SENIOR DIRECTOR, HUMANITARIAN ADVOCACY

Job Description

JOB SUMMARY:

The Senior Director will oversee humanitarian advocacy related to more than 15 humanitarian country contexts under CARE USA’s leadership, as well as new contexts as crises arise. The Senior Director will guide a small team of advocates, that may include deployed crisis-specific advocates, to set goals and reach them.

Senior Director will guide influencing strategies for national, regional, and global humanitarian structures, bilateral and multilateral donors, as well as the UN and its member states to ensure the needs of crisis-affected people are met and their rights under international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law are protected.

Senior Director will work closely with the Vice President of Policy Advocacy, the Vice President for Humanitarian Affairs, Country and Regional Directors, and the CEO to create achievable and impactful advocacy goals and strategies to achieve the goals. This role will interact with, facilitate, and coordinate numerous CARE Member Partners, CARE’s UN representative(s), external civil society organizations, humanitarian groups, coalitions, and many other actors.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategy Development

• Using a variety of CARE tools, techniques, and guidelines, lead cross-functional and cross-confederation stakeholders in creating specific, achievable, and impactful advocacy goals for each crisis context that are most likely to result in timely and meaningful improvements in conditions for crisis affected people. Ensure that all goals, strategies, and tactics have undergone thorough cost-benefit, power mapping, and other analyses.
• Lead the process to create approved public and private advocacy positions and messaging for CUSA crisis contexts, including facilitating dialogue among CARE stakeholders to agree on positions and messaging that forward specific advocacy goals.

Strategy Execution and Adaptation

• Closely monitor the efficacy and impact of advocacy strategies and tactics. Update goals, strategies, and tactics as crises, political contexts, and/or efficacy of advocacy change significantly.
• Ensure that interested CARE Member Partners, CARE UN representatives, and other stakeholders have the data, information, analyses, approved positions and messaging, and other collateral needed to conduct impactful advocacy towards their targeted decision makers.
• Cultivate strong, open, transparent, and positive communication and coordination among CARE stakeholder groups from the country level to the global level. Build cohesion and enhance collaboration.

Financial Management and Fundraising

• Oversee budgets and ensure excellent financial management
• Lead strategy and fundraising for CARE USA’s humanitarian advocacy. Set and meet annual fundraising goals.

Team Management and External Representation

• Manage the Humanitarian Advocacy Manager (direct report)
• As required, manage country humanitarian advocates in a matrixed/dotted-line oversight model in which their solid line is to the Senior Director for Humanitarian Advocacy and their dotted line is to the Country Director
• Hire, train, manage, evaluate, and grow a strong and high performing team
• Represent CARE in global advocacy forums, with donors, the media, and other audiences as required.

Required Qualifications:

- Bachelors degree in related field (international affairs, law, humanitarian studies)
- Formal training or certification in International Humanitarian Law
- 15+ years of experience with increasing responsibility and complexity of roles in the humanitarian field
- Demonstrated success in influencing humanitarian policies and processes
- Strong understanding of humanitarian systems, key actors, networks and coalitions.
- Deep knowledge of humanitarian architecture and key policy issues.
- Substantial experience in humanitarian lobbying, influencing, advocacy and policy.
- Experience with advocacy in both the US and EU political contexts.
- Experience working at country level in a fragile context.
- Exceptional written and oral communications skills and ability to present complex material clearly, concisely, and convincingly
- Proven forward planning, organizational, and strategic skills
- Proven networking skills
- At least 5 years previous management experience, with track record of building effective teams
- Fluency in English as well as French OR Arabic

Preferred Qualifications:

- Additional training/certification in humanitarian affairs’ related topics such as humanitarian access, advocacy, humanitarian principles, humanitarian essentials, etc.
- Experience working as a representative of a donor government or UN agency
- Previous humanitarian experience with CARE