Policy and Advocacy Lead at Amref Kenya

Amref Health Africa in Kenya is the country programme office of Amref Health Africa, Africa’s largest International Health NGO. This is the largest and oldest country programme in Africa with an average annual budget of USD 40million.

JOB PURPOSE
The Policy and Advocacy Lead position is a regional role intended to facilitate the coordination of TGG:ALM advocacy efforts among consortium partners at multiple levels across the four focal countries of the TGG:ALM programme—Senegal, Somalia (Somaliland), Kenya, and Ethiopia. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in offering guidance, coordination, and technical support to Amref Country Offices, consortium partners, TGG:ALM grantees, and frontline community champions. This support encompasses diverse interventions in advocacy, communications, and movement building. Special focus will be directed towards empowering frontline grassroots champions, TGG:ALM grantees, FGM/C survivors/activists, journalists, youth-led, women-led and feminist organizations/movements. This includes strengthening their organizational capacities, fostering activism, enabling active campaign engagement, and cultivating heightened leadership in the efforts to end FGM/C.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic, Planning and Direction (25%)

Provide thought leadership and strategic direction to the TGG:ALM consortium regarding its Advocacy, Communications, and Movement Building work aimed at promoting the adoption of a girl-centered approach to ending FGM/C within the movement and beyond.
Work with the consortium’s senior leadership team, technical leads, and Amref’s senior management to broaden understanding of strategic and operational Advocacy, Communications and Movement Building issues.
Support in the development, implementation and monitoring annual advocacy consortium work plans and budgets, mentor and coach advocacy team members, and ensure coherence across country -based, regional and global advocacy activities.
Oversee the finalization and implementation of TGG:ALM’s Advocacy, Communications, and Movement Building Strategy, ensuring alignment, an integrated approach to influencing and a unified approach among the TGG consortium, grantees, and partner organizations.
Support the consortium to develop ‘core’ intervention models that are scalable and can achieve and evidence ‘Proof of Concept’
Support partners to develop interventions that are tailored to their contexts, supported by best practice approaches
Lead the development of advocacy, communications and movement building tools such as briefings and key messages; guidelines; training modules; and awareness raising material/communications in collaboration with the COs, working group members and local implementing partners for a variety of stakeholders

Technical Support and Capacity Building (25%)

Build the capacity of TGG:ALM consortium, grantees and partners offering coaching, mentoring and on-demand technical assistance and training in the areas of advocacy, communications and movement building., social-norm change and girl-centered programming in relation to ending FGM/C
Provide technical oversight to the advocacy components of the programme, including undertaking field visits to consortium partners to oversee implementation, provide on-site feedback on required improvements and generate field visit reports with timely and appropriate follow up on action points
Develop and disseminate relevant manuals, strategies and tools, communications and curriculums
Attend Amref and consortium level working group meetings and monthly performance management and learning meetings.

Partnership Management (25%)

Build strong partnerships with all consortium delivery partners and consortium Prime, getting to know their work and building positive ways of working
Identify and build strategic partnerships and engagement to advocate and negotiate with diverse, relevant external actors’ such as organisations, networks, political contacts, technical experts, civil society, and other key stakeholders to further the delivery of the FGM influencing agenda and build a stronger movement.
Coordinate collective action efforts across the participating countries, including supporting and building CO capacity, and connecting national level initiatives to regional/global opportunities and spaces such as Day of the Girl, regional bodies, African Union, Women Deliver, CSW etc.
Provide oversight of the relationships with civil society partners, regional bodies and consultants and ensure timely execution of joint work plans.
Identify and bring on board new partners as needed and ensure timely execution of joint work plans.
Lead and Chair the Advocacy, Communications and Movement Building Working Group on behalf of the consortium
Build a solid knowledge of intervention packages and approaches across partners, consolidating and disseminating accessible summaries to all consortium members
Seek opportunities to represent the consortium at relevant meetings and conferences, amplifying positive stories of change from the grassroots
Have regular contact with other advocacy roles within Amref working on FGM/C
Participate in relevant Community of Practice (CoPs) with staff in relevant country offices and HQ units.

Adaptive Learning and Management (25%)

Work with the MEL Lead to monitor and evaluate the progress and impact of advocacy, communications and movement building interventions, ensuring ‘Proof of Concept’ can be demonstrated
Facilitate the sharing of best practice, case studies and learning from other experiences, including the design and delivery of conferences, workshops and other events
Spearhead adaptive learning, programming and management across the consortium, ensuring true learnings inform the adaptation of the programme
Support the MEL Lead and in-country MEL staff to adapt methods for provision of quality and appropriate evidence from ongoing monitoring and evaluative initiatives (baselines, midlines, evaluations and reviews) in a rapidly changing, complex and high security contexts.
Support the compilation of Country Office progress reports, working closely with UK office counter-parts
Support the development of key research and evaluations
Support the development of innovate and creative approaches to demonstrating impact and ‘proof of concept’

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education and Professional Qualifications : Master’s degree in Public Policy, Communication Studies, Gender Studies, Development Studies, Public Health, International Relations, Human Rights, Social Sciences and/or other related fields.

Required Experience

Essential

At least eight (8) years of professional experience at the regional and/or international level, demonstrating a proven ability to coordinate advocacy interventions across multiple levels.
Experience supporting country offices, building capacity, and providing technical support is essential.
Extensive experience in facilitating alignment and collaboration among consortium members, diverse groups of stakeholders and other relevant partners in multiple geographies
Experience in developing and implementing high impact advocacy campaigns and strategies to influence governments and other audiences (including media)
Preferably experience in influencing on FGM/C or related issues such as gender equality, harmful practices, VAWG
Experience of working directly with girls, youth and feminist movements in participatory ways to develop girl-led influencing strategies and campaigns for change including experience of developing and delivering advocacy strategies and/or campaigns preferably with a gender equality or girl-led focus an advantage
Experience of working with coalitions and networks, building effective relationships, demonstrating leadership and exerting influence with various stakeholders through acting in an advisory capacity
Understanding of movements and activism approaches and trends across Africa including intersectionality with youth/feminist movements and of strategies to support cross-movement and intergenerational learning, collaboration and influencing.
Ability to at times work autonomously combined with an ability to work as part of a consortium leadership team
Able to consult, gather and integrate feedback into internal and external influencing briefings and materials

Desirable

Deep familiarity with at least one country where FGM/C is practiced

Knowledge, Skills and Competencies

Proficiency in leveraging social media for impactful advocacy
Excellent communications, collaborating and influencing skills
Resourcefulness, highly organized, detail oriented
Analytical, strategic
High integrity/ethics, commitment and respect for diversity
Good interpersonal skills
Training and presentation skills
Project management skills
Problem solving skills
Proficiency in ICT and strong technical systems acumen

Languages

Fluency in English
Proficiency in French could be an asset, but not required