LOCATION: Kathmandu, Nepal 

TEAM/PROGRAMME: PDQ/DRR

Type of Contract: Fixed term till October 2017

Child Safeguarding: Level 3 - the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people

ROLE PURPOSE: 
Save the Children leads the advocacy component of a Disaster Risk Reduction Consortium of Save the Children and Mission East under DRR/ECHO. The consortium is about to implement an 18 month project under the current 2015 ECHO/HIP for Nepal, co-funded by Save the Children Appeal pooled fund with a focus on community resilience in Nepal by operationalizing the CBDRM approach, capacity strengthening of district stakeholders and policy advocacy. 

The aim of the project is to strengthen the resilience of communities and institutions in Nepal to the impacts of disasters through promoting inclusive Community Based Disaster Preparedness in the Recovery and Reconstruction of earthquake affected areas of Nepal. This will be done through the development of common models and tools for the CBDRM that are developed in partnership with key disaster management actors in Nepal and especially with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development to institutionalize DRR in policy and programme. The consortium will work intensively at the national level with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development to build relationships, advocate and secure buy-in from DRM actors for the model that will be developed and tested as part of this programme.  In addition to institutionalisation of DRM at national level, the project will also implement activities in four target districts across 8 VDCs targeting children and women.  We will also coordinate with other actors in Nepal including DRR networks, the Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium (NRRC) and Flagships 2, 4 and 5.  As advocacy represents one of the main elements of this project and is a key to its success, an Advocacy Coordinator, leading the process for all partners has been envisaged. 

The Advocacy Coordinator will provide leadership to Save the Children and Consortium partners on all advocacy activities under the technical guidance and coordination with DRR and Resilience Specialist. He/she will have a reputation as a strong negotiator and diplomat with skills and experience of working with DRM actors in Nepal – especially at national level.  He/she will lead the advocacy and relationship building components of this programme and will develop, in partnership with the SC media, communication and advocacy department, consortium and local implementing partners, the advocacy strategy.  Due to the need to secure buy-in from other partners into this process, coordination with other actors including the government and other relevant actors as AINTGDM, NRRC – Flagship 2, 4 and 5 and other DRM networks will be important. Further, with the help of SC’s EQ advocacy team and concerned DMs, s/he will have to coordinate and align the advocacy initiatives with SC’s EQ team and other projects in Nepal and the South Asia region. At national level, communication with multiple high level stakeholders on policy related to DRM is required.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY: 
Key Area 1: Advocacy and networking 

• Lead advocate with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD), NPC to secure their buy-in and support for the project. S/he will participate in meetings with government authorities and key stakeholders to build relationships, identify opportunities for joint working and ensure the programme builds ownership within the Ministries.  
• Responsible for the development and implementation of a joint /advocacy strategy in coordination with the Consortium partner, government, other ECHO partners and other groups and actors including the AINTGDM, NRRC, local implementing partners.  
• Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders in Nepal, especially the MoHA, MoFALD and other stakeholders for the implementation of the advocacy strategy.
• Facilitate the management of local level advocacy initiatives, including formulating their work plans and providing appropriate supervision and support
• Link program/advocacy at the field (local and district level) with national level advocacy goals/issues and objectives and, vice versa, specifically for this project, and in the field of DRM, with the appropriate links to community based DRM

Key Area 2: Coordination/Representation

• Coordinate the organization of consultation meetings at district / national level for the development of the joint /advocacy strategies 
• Coordinate the organization of specific workshops for the roll out of the advocacy strategy 
• Coordination with media outlets for the implementation of the advocacy strategy 
• Represent the organisation in network forums, private and public advocacy meetings, seminars and conferences as necessary, including with senior policymakers and political leadership.
• Liaise closely with programme staff to ensure that advocacy reflects programming priorities and developments in relation to the project. 
• Work closely with the media, communication and advocacy staff of SC and other Consortium /implementing partners to ensure complementary advocacy and communications strategies and employing the resources of the media/communications departments to carry out public advocacy efforts

Key Area 3: Capacity Building and knowledge management 

• Keep himself/herself abreast of national/international development on DRM and resilience, disaster management and SC thematic issues and use this in designing advocacy tactics, messages and action plan as relevant. 
• In consultation with relevant staff in Kathmandu and in the field, take lead in planning, organizing and facilitating capacity building interventions in advocacy for field staff of Save the Children, the Consortium and implementing partners 
• Identify and document best practices related to advocacy, with an aim to influence advocacy issues and objectives at the national and district level 

Key Area 4: Documentation,  Monitoring and Reporting

• Document the experiences and lessons learned through the use of advocacy monitoring tools and provide monthly updates to the consortium and other stakeholders on the progress of implementation of advocacy activities.
• Lead on national level lessons learned and sharing events.
• Track, monitor and document progress and status of advocacy interventions and reporting as per project requirement
• Support the development of DRR concept notes and development of DRR proposals to profile Save the Children’s work on DRR and resilience including donor mapping and community needs assessment 

And any other tasks as required in relation to the role, with approval from the line manager.  

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Masters’ Degree in political science, development studies, communication,  journalism or disaster risk management
• 5 years of relevant experience in advocacy; out of which 3 years of doing DRM advocacy or working with the DRR sector in Nepal  
• Knowledge and experience from national and local systems for implementation of DRM actions and advocacy initiatives in Nepal would be an advantage.
• Previous experience in working with the MoHA and MoFALD in Nepal would be an advantage
• Excellent representational and interpersonal communication skills with demonstrable experience of negotiating and influencing governments, working with partners, donors and development agencies.
• Strong ability to establish new contacts and maintain a network of relevant contacts
• Familiarity of ECHO funded actions would be an advantage
• Willingness to travel to field locations if required 
• REQUIRED LANGUAGE SKILLS: English fluent (oral & written) and Nepali fluent (oral & written)

Ability to work in a team with flexibility to undertake challenging task and adapt to different working conditions.