National Advocacy Coordinator

Amref Health Africa was founded in 1957 and has since grown to become the largest African-based international health development organisation, currently implementing more than 150 programmes which directly reach more than 20 million people across 35 countries in Africa. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, Amref has fully-fledged offices in Ethiopia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Senegal, South Sudan, and Zambia; eleven advocacy and fundraising offices in Europe and North America; and a staff complement of over 1,500.

Our vision is to bring about 'Lasting health change in Africa', and our mission is 'To increase sustainable health access to communities in Africa through solutions in human resources for health, health service delivery, and investments in health'. We believe that the power to transform Africa's health lies within its communities, and therefore strive to ensure that health systems are not only functional but that communities are empowered to hold these systems accountable for the delivery of quality and affordable health care.

Y-ACT, Youth in Action is a multi-country youth-led initiative established in 2017 at Amref Health Africa. With current presence in over 21 countries in Africa, Y-ACT mentors, supports, and increases the capacity of youth advocates and youth-led organizations to influence youth health policy and resource priorities. Y-ACT believes that Africa's youth have a huge opportunity to shift policy landscapes to address challenges that the youth face and subsequently achieve their full potential. Y-ACT's network comprises youth-led organizations in over 21 countries. Since inception Y-ACT has been funded at a total of over US $17.5M from various partners, contributing to movement building, youth advocacy and capacity strengthening of youth-led organizations in the region.

The National Advocacy Coordinator will lead policy advocacy work-planning, strategy development, and implementation by the partners (youth-led grassroots organizations) and lead policy advocacy, monitoring, evaluation, and learning capacity strengthening, formation of a youth Led coalition, spearhead Meaningful Youth Engagement (MYE), and oversee relationships with Government agencies and partners at the country level. The role will focus on advancing tobacco control priorities in line with national, regional, and global frameworks, including the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). This role holder will report to the Regional Programme Lead - Youth In Action based in Amref Health Africa.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Policy Advocacy, MEL and Technical support   

• Provide facilitation support and mentorship to youth-led organizations at the country level in developing effective Tobacco control  advocacy strategies and pursuing common advocacy goals and priorities
• Lead in the establishment of National youth-led coalitions, developing selection criteria and TORs and supporting the youth-led organizations to implement common advocacy priorities on tobacco control
• Support youth-led organizations in drafting policy briefs and policy submissions related to their advocacy strategies
• Support youth-led organizations and coalitions to develop a policy advocacy capacity strengthening plan
• Organize and facilitate trainings on advocacy and MEL to youth-led organizations and coalitions
• Support youth-led organizations in the development of the advocacy MEL framework for outcome harvesting of advocacy wins

Country and Community Partnerships

• Serve as the primary liaison with youth advocacy and policymaker partners at the national level in Kenya
• Ensure communication with and among partners on project activities at country level
• Manage and ensure timely delivery of contracted activities by    partners (youth-led organizations)

Partners' Engagement and Project Coordination

• Serve as a connector and facilitator of partner engagement with policymakers at the country level
• Seek ways to inform and engage policymakers in youth-led advocacy engagement efforts
• Organize and facilitate the coalition's monthly progress meeting
• Support in the coordination of baseline, midline and end line assessments and analyze and share the results with the partners and other stakeholders

Administration and Reporting

• Offer finance and administration oversight to project work at country level and with country youth-led organizations
• Develop timely and accurate reports of field , country activities and donor reports
• Support the youth-led organizations to prepare and submit high-quality financial and programmatic reports on time

Education and Experience

• A Degree in Community Development, Public Policy or related Social Sciences.
• At least 3 years of experience working with and building the capacity of grassroots organizations in advocacy strategy development and implementation in Kenya
• At least 3 years of experience in youth engagement in the health sector.
• Experience working with youth initiatives/programmes in tobacco control advocacy

Skills and Competencies

• •  
• Adaptable in dynamic working environments
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Hands-on with both managerial and operational tasks
• Skilled at prioritizing and multitasking
• Maintains confidentiality, tact, and discretion
• Experienced in strategic planning and project management
• High level of diplomacy and public relations skills
• Passionate about youth engagement and advocacy in Africa
• Strong collaboration, coordination, and oversight abilities
• Comfortable working with and reporting to multiple partners
• Effective decision-making and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrates adaptive leadership
• Strong understanding of internal and external political contexts
• Tactical and strategic thinking abilities

Work Environment

• An office space within partner-organizations
• Ability to travel at least 30% time.

Please include a cover letter that highlights why you believe you are an ideal candidate for this role, along with your CV showcasing your relevant skills and experience. The application deadline is Friday, 19th September 2025.

Amref Health Africa does not require applicants to pay any money at whatever stage of the recruitment and selection process and has not retained any agent in connection with recruitment. Although Amref may use different job boards from time to time to further spread its reach for applicants, all open vacancies are published on our website under the Vacancies page and on our official social media pages. Kindly also note that official emails from Amref Health Africa will arrive from an address.

Amref Health Africa is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. Amref Health Africa is is dedicated to diversity and is an equal-opportunity employer with a non-smoking environment policy.