Advocacy and Policy Lead at Christian Aid

About the role

Reporting in to the Head of the Multi-Country Cluster (MCC), the Advocacy & Policy Lead provides strategic leadership and oversight of MCC policy and advocacy strategy, defining influencing priorities, and coordinates with other Advocacy leads to co-design thematic global advocacy strategies, ensuring alignment with organisational values and goals

The post-holder will collaborate with MCC Partnership and Strategy Lead , build a cohort of national and regional partnerships, including faith partnerships that strategically align and maximise impact. Provide technical support to partners for advocacy and connect partners to regional and global spaces to forefront their voices and drive meaningful change.

Some of the main responsibilities of the Advocacy and Policy Lead include:

• Drive and oversee the MCC advocacy strategy, collaborating with global advocacy colleagues to co-design thematic global advocacy strategies, so that they respond to partner voices and priorities and local contexts, aligning with organisational values and goals.
• Provides strategic oversight for global advocacy in global spaces, to ensure advocacy is impactful, and is in close collaboration with partners and faith groups and rooted in evidence and theological reflection and aligns with organisational values and goals.
• Horizon scan and provide policy and advocacy insight to MCC Leadership and partners, fostering a team mindset and support a culture of knowledge sharing of ideas and insights.
• Collaborate with the MCC Partnership and Strategy Lead, build a cohort of national and regional partnerships, including faith partnerships, to ensure that there is an appropriate balance of partners working on short- and medium-term outcomes and systemic change to align with organisational values and goals.
• Act as a convenor of policy and advocacy spaces by supporting and strengthening national and regional advocacy platforms where partners, policymakers, and civil society actors can collaborate on shared priorities, fostering a mindset of connection.
• Provides technical support for advocacy planning, advocacy proposal development, evidence gathering, relationship building, integrating advocacy into programme design, including in designing multi-country advocacy strategies that are meaningful, streamlined and aligned.
• Act as an ambassador by representing Christian Aid and engage in regional and global spaces jointly with partners, collaborating with the Pan African Advocacy Lead, as relevant, ensuring alignment with organisational values and goals.
• Identify evidence gaps and support partners to commission or produce policy/research/evidence work, connecting with relevant institutions to facilitate highly impactful and meaningful outcomes.
• Maintain up to date analysis of the country and regional context and bring evidence to the UK/global spaces.

About you

Who we are looking for

Essential:

• Degree level qualification in a relevant field.
• Substantial experience in supporting national and regional organisations to develop an advocacy strategy, including integrating advocacy into programme work.
• Substantial experience of supporting and accompanying partners to navigate and influence on a global scale.
• Substantial experience of devising, leading and implementing advocacy strategies, preferably in another NGO or faith group.
• Substantial experience of networking, building alliances and coordinating initiatives in networks and faith groups.
• Substantial experience of peer-to-peer learning.
• Substantial experience of policy research and managing research projects.
• Substantial experience of public speaking to a variety of audiences, including the media.
• Substantial experience of budget management.
• Detailed understanding of the current policy debates, trends and analytical frameworks around key development issues.
• Detailed understanding of power and political analysis, and rights-based approaches.
• Detailed understanding of national and regional Civil Society and faith networks - their policy positions and dynamics.
• Understanding of how theology influences policy.
• Detailed understanding of national, regional and continental institutions and processes.
• Highly developed verbal and written communications experience, especially the ability to communicate complex issues simply.
• Significant experience of political analysis and horizon scanning.
• Highly developed coaching and mentoring skills.
• Highly developed ability to work across cultural contexts with Civil Society and faith leaders in different countries.
• Highly developed ability to build lasting relationships with key networks, organisations and advocacy targets.
• Highly developed ability to negotiate with, influence and persuade others in a collaborative manner.