Policy and Advocacy Manager INGO Forum Nigeria Abuja

at  Norwegian Refugee Council

CONTEXT

The Nigeria INGO Forum (NIF) was established in 2014 to facilitate collaboration among international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in Nigeria for humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding efforts. It serves as a vital platform for information sharing, advocacy, and engagement with authorities, donors, and the UN, ensuring the inclusion of INGO perspectives and those of affected populations in decision-making. Governed by a core membership of 59 members and nine observers, it operates under a Steering Committee comprised of five Country Directors and a Chair, supported by a Secretariat.
For more details on the association’s organization, statutes, charter, and services offered to its members, see https://ingoforum.ng/ .

WHY NRC?

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. Our 15,000 staff work in crises across 40 countries, providing life-saving and long-term assistance to millions of people every year.
Watch this short video to see NRC in action.

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:

• do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts.
• join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.
• be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a global humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee.
Join us in assisting millions of people in areas where others cannot, tackling some of the world’s most dangerous and difficult crises. Bring your skills and dedication to an organisation recognised for providing high quality aid and for defending the rights of refugees and internally displaced people.
At NRC, we give responsibility to employees at all levels and foster professional growth and innovative teams. You can expect a supportive culture and an open dialogue with management. We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Together, we save lives and rebuild futures.

Safeguarding is central to NRC’s work. We expect all employees to:

• treat everyone with respect and dignity
• contribute to building a safe environment for all
• never engage in any form of exploitation, harassment and specifically sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH)
• always report. NRC has a zero-tolerance approach to inaction against exploitation, abuse and SEAH

The Policy and Advocacy Manager is a critical position within the INGO Forum. This position will take leadership of the policy and advocacy engagement of the INGO Forum. The Policy and Advocacy Manager coordinates advocacy for the 54 INGO membership, identifies national, regional, and international opportunities and develops key positioning for the humanitarian and development agendas. The Policy and Advocacy Manager will serve as the focal point for external advocacy, policy development/influencing, networking, coalition building and timely research and analysis. The Policy and Advocacy Manager sets the policy agenda and delivers on advocacy initiatives aimed at improving humanitarian and sustainable outcomes for people affected by conflict, environmental crisis, poverty and other protection and operational challenges in Nigeria.

• Develop, implement, and update NIF common strategies and action plans for Advocacy and Communications in coordination with NIF members and represents their priorities across the humanitarian, development and peace-building agendas
• Develop policy and advocacy outputs including briefing notes, policy and position papers, statements, etc. representing INGOs agreed-on positions and approaches
• Ensure key tools for advocacy and communications are developed and utilized, including stakeholder/power mapping, sign-off procedures, events/opportunity calendars, progress trackers, etc.
• Provide timely policy analysis and information on key priority topics to support the representation and coordination of the INGO Forum Steering Committee, Country Directors Plenary and Humanitarian Managers Platform
• Ensure evidence-based advocacy and information through frequent visits to the field and regular engagement with INGOs operational teams in coordination with NIF team
• Identify strategic entry points in Nigeria, regionally (Lake Chad Basin, African Union) and internationally to elevate Nigeria priorities
• Work closely with the INGO team, including the Director, Deputy Director, NW Coordinator, and Government Liaison colleagues, to ensure that the positions are well coordinated, and the team informed and able to speak to common issues
• Develop talking lines and joint messages on key issues for NIF team and INGOs
• Act as focal/liaison point for international and regional advocacy groups, journalists, and other external stakeholders seeking NGO positions on relevant issues
• Identify and ensure NIF is well prepared to engage in Nigeria focused platforms and events nationally, regionally, and globally
• Engage and support in data collection efforts to canvass NGO opinion, perspectives and experiences on key issues related to the enabling environment
• Work with NIF team to support relevant and appropriate information flows to members, NGO representatives, and key stakeholders in Nigeria and externally, and facilitate coordination among NIF members to reach common positions around key issues.
• Representation and lobbying in line with policy strategy and other agreed priorities, when required with local, state and Government of Nigeria; the UN; visiting officials; and donors in line with agreed division of labour with Director and Deputy Director
• Ensure NIF’s communication material promotes INGO common messaging by supervising and guiding NIF communications team
• Ensures that NIF advocacy and comms strategies and their implementation plans are well coordinated with NIF members building on their thematic and geographical expertise, and advocacy/comms capacity.The NIF policy and advocacy adviser may be required to step in for the director when necessary

The Policy and Advocacy Manager is a critical position within the INGO Forum. This position will take leadership of the policy and advocacy engagement of the INGO Forum. The Policy and Advocacy Manager coordinates advocacy for the 54 INGO membership, identifies national, regional, and international opportunities and develops key positioning for the humanitarian and development agendas. The Policy and Advocacy Manager will serve as the focal point for external advocacy, policy development/influencing, networking, coalition building and timely research and analysis. The Policy and Advocacy Manager sets the policy agenda and delivers on advocacy initiatives aimed at improving humanitarian and sustainable outcomes for people affected by conflict, environmental crisis, poverty and other protection and operational challenges in Nigeria.

• Develop, implement, and update NIF common strategies and action plans for Advocacy and Communications in coordination with NIF members and represents their priorities across the humanitarian, development and peace-building agendas
• Develop policy and advocacy outputs including briefing notes, policy and position papers, statements, etc. representing INGOs agreed-on positions and approaches
• Ensure key tools for advocacy and communications are developed and utilized, including stakeholder/power mapping, sign-off procedures, events/opportunity calendars, progress trackers, etc.
• Provide timely policy analysis and information on key priority topics to support the representation and coordination of the INGO Forum Steering Committee, Country Directors Plenary and Humanitarian Managers Platform
• Ensure evidence-based advocacy and information through frequent visits to the field and regular engagement with INGOs operational teams in coordination with NIF team
• Identify strategic entry points in Nigeria, regionally (Lake Chad Basin, African Union) and internationally to elevate Nigeria priorities
• Work closely with the INGO team, including the Director, Deputy Director, NW Coordinator, and Government Liaison colleagues, to ensure that the positions are well coordinated, and the team informed and able to speak to common issues
• Develop talking lines and joint messages on key issues for NIF team and INGOs
• Act as focal/liaison point for international and regional advocacy groups, journalists, and other external stakeholders seeking NGO positions on relevant issues
• Identify and ensure NIF is well prepared to engage in Nigeria focused platforms and events nationally, regionally, and globally
• Engage and support in data collection efforts to canvass NGO opinion, perspectives and experiences on key issues related to the enabling environment
• Work with NIF team to support relevant and appropriate information flows to members, NGO representatives, and key stakeholders in Nigeria and externally, and facilitate coordination among NIF members to reach common positions around key issues.
• Representation and lobbying in line with policy strategy and other agreed priorities, when required with local, state and Government of Nigeria; the UN; visiting officials; and donors in line with agreed division of labour with Director and Deputy Director
• Ensure NIF’s communication material promotes INGO common messaging by supervising and guiding NIF communications team

• Ensures that NIF advocacy and comms strategies and their implementation plans are well coordinated with NIF members building on their thematic and geographical expertise, and advocacy/comms capacity.The NIF policy and advocacy adviser may be required to step in for the director when necessary.

• Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the role.