Summary
Date Posted: Wednesday, June 07 2023, Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Knowledge, Skills & Competences
• Understanding of NGO, UN, and donor operations at country level.
• Demonstrated leadership skills and experience building teams.
• High-level analytical and strategic thinking skills, strong research skills and good attention to detail.
• Cultural awareness and ability to build relationships quickly with a wide variety of people.
• Patience, adaptability, flexibility, and ability to improvise and remain responsive and to communicate clearly and effectively under pressure.
• Excellent planning, management, and coordination skills, with the ability to organise a substantial workload comprised of complex, diverse tasks, and responsibilities.
• Strong leadership skills with an ability to seek people’s views while also taking responsibility to determine the most appropriate course of action and to act decisively.
• Strong communication (written and spoken), and interpersonal skills in English, with experience in managing multicultural teams.

Desirable Requirements
• Strong awareness and knowledge of the Uganda context.
• Proven skills in media work, including interviews on Radio and TV.
• Knowledge of child rights and international humanitarian law.

Responsibilities
Overall Purpose
• The Director of Advocacy, Communications, Campaigns and Media (ACCM) will lead the function in line with achieving the country strategic plan.
• He/She will focus on ACCM in the Organization’s thematic and programmatic priorities of child protection, education, health and nutrition, and child poverty and child rights governance in development, humanitarian, and nexus context.
• The director will also steer the delivery of Generation Hope Campaign
• The ACCM Director will line manage the senior staff within the ACCM department, ensuring that they are aligned with country priorities and supporting the day-to-day operations of the country office.
• The ACCM Director will share in the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the Country Office (CO).
• He/She will work in close collaboration with senior leaders across functions, but especially with the Country Director, Programme Development and Quality Director, Operations Director and the thematic leads.
• The ACCM Director will also ensure that Uganda’s ACCM strategy is aligned with the Country Strategic Plan as well as regional and global priorities - and will use this network to maximise our impact for children in country.

Specific Duties
Leadership
• Oversee budget lines for all communications and advocacy activities across projects.
• Oversee the ACCM team and carry the responsibility for the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of ACCM strategy and activities, in order to support the delivery of the country strategic plan.
• Work closely with the Country Director, Programme Directors, the wider Senior Management Team (SMT) and Technical Advisors and Specialists as well as program implementation teams to ensure that ACCM work is integrated with other program functions, reflects organizational priorities and is evidence-based.
• Maintain relationships with Centre ACCM and Regional Office support teams.
• Maintain interpersonal contact on a regular and varied basis in both oral and written forms. Negotiation and representation with senior level representatives including government level decision makers, donors, UN, (I)NGOs, media, external Organization Champions, wider organization community and other relevant stakeholders.
• Oversees all organizational communications, campaigns, and advocacy work, both through direct and remote management of staff, provision of technical support and activity implementation.
• Assume leadership of the Country Office (CO); support the development and implementation of the Country Strategic Plan and the achievement of the organizational goals.
• Help establish, maintain, and improve active and regular working relationships with host government authorities, partner agencies including humanitarian and development donors, and (I)NGOs.
• Ensure the Country Office complies with all organizational policies, procedures, and standards.
• Ensure that all required support is provided promptly, at scale and in line with the rules and principles during emergencies.
• Lead on design and implementation of a coherent organizational structure that fits and serves the organization’s practices and programmatic ambitions.

Advocacy
• Develop an Integrated Advocacy Strategy, indicating key advocacy opportunities and targets at local, national, regional, and international levels and lead, mobilize and coordinate local, national, regional and international advocacy colleagues to influence these, as appropriate.
• Collaborate with thematic advisors to define and implement research agenda which will serve as evidence for advocacy strategy and operational plans at local and national level.
• Collaborate with thematic advisors on policy analysis and lead the development and update of policy position papers and other advocacy activities to influence national policies and strategies, specific legislation and resources for children and influence public opinion on national policy implementation across our thematic priorities.
• Liaise with field-based staff, key (I)NGO, UN, and other stakeholders in-country to ensure the organization has up-to-date information and policy analysis on the humanitarian, development, and human rights situation.
• Support the Country Office to update and monitor advocacy risk assessments for the activities and objectives across the programmatic portfolio and define adequate mitigating strategies.
• Ensure that all response related advocacy messages, documents and strategies are evidence-based, of high quality, authorised by the Country Director when necessary, and approved according to the organization’s sign-off procedures.
• Position the organization nationally as the leading advocate on children’s rights in Uganda.
• Ensure that ACCM principles are fully integrated into the organization’s programs in Uganda, aligned with ACCM strategy, and regularly monitored and adjusted.

Communications & Media
• Production of accurate, clear, and consistent information and communications outputs that highlight the development and humanitarian situation in Uganda including case studies and feature stories.
• Produce visually appealing and brand-aligned external marketing materials that support our campaign, advocacy, and programmatic priorities.
• Ensure all materials are designed and published according to the organization’s brand guidelines.
• Lead in the development of multimedia and social media materials, including photos, videos, infographics, animations, etc.
• Lead the development and production of communications materials for specific projects as required by projects, determined by the communications calendar.
• Ensure that there is a clear social media strategy and keep social media and the website updated with high quality and timely content.
• Ensure high-quality internal communications materials across our internal channels. Working alongside HR and other teams, promote sharing, learning, and interactive dialogue among staff.
• Contribute to the business development process by ensuring ACCM is included in program proposals and budgets.
• Build relationships with key media houses to ensure timely placement of key stories as required.

Campaigns
• Identify opportunities and potential partners, alliances, and coalitions for campaigning to meet our advocacy and/or programmatic priorities.
• Ensure campaigning activities are budgeted for within programme proposals where relevant.
• Design, plan and deliver the organization’s campaign agenda via popular mobilisation events, high level advocacy events, online presence, and media collaboration.
• Support design, planning, delivery and monitoring of child and youth led campaigns.
• Integrate the organization’s global campaigns and other global/regional campaigns where possible and relevant. Provide content and contributions to global and regional campaigns where possible.
• In collaboration with the MEAL team and project staff, establish monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for campaigns and ensure that implementation and impact are effectively monitored, evaluated and documented.

Human Resource Management and Development
• Ensure regular coordination meetings are held across ACCM to ensure integration of strategy across all functions, especially the PDQ and Operations departments.
• Support Develop to Perform (DTP) process for all line managed staff, ensuring that all staff have development plans in place and are receiving support.
• Set workplans of all line managed staff, with regular one on ones to discuss the progress of milestones.
• Build the broader advocacy capacity of the organization in Uganda by providing technical support to programme teams and to the business development unit, especially through programme design phase.
• Ensure that advocacy positions and ACCM activities are written into all relevant program proposals and corresponding resources are allocated within budgets.
• Ensure good performance and quarterly reporting on advocacy and campaign funding KPIs to the regional office.

Country Office Strategic Leadership and Representation
• Lead the development/revision implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the organization advocacy strategy (and operational plan) that aligns directly with the Country Strategic Plan and the organization’s International global advocacy agenda.
• Lead the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the organization’s media, communications and campaigning strategy and plans, including speaking out on children’s rights.
• Work closely with Business Development and technical specialists to develop new projects and ensure that advocacy and communication are strategically incorporated and adequately resourced and budgeted for in new proposals.
• Represent ACCM during regular Senior Management Team meetings and ensure perspectives of staff are voiced.
• Represent the organization at appropriate country-level working groups.
• Support the Country Director and other relevant Country Office staff in high-level advocacy work towards relevant authorities and key targets.
• Ensure coordination of advocacy messages and activities between the field offices, Country Office, and the regional and international levels.
• Build strong networks and relationships with internal and external stakeholders in Uganda.

Child Safeguarding Responsibilities
• Ensure meaningful and ethical participation of children and promotion of their voice in ACCM activities.
• Work with safeguarding staff in Uganda to ensure specific and contextual country level guidance is available to protect children who participate in media or communications work from exploitation, increased vulnerability, or any form of harm or indignity.

Qualifications
• Master degree in policy, social studies or equivalent.
• Bachelor’s degree in communications/public affairs, law or international relations, or any other any related field.

Details of experience
• At least 10 years’ prior experience working in advocacy on humanitarian or development issues, child rights, and human rights.
• Proven experience of and strong skills in developing and implementing advocacy strategies.
• Proven experience using public engagement and mobilization to achieve advocacy objectives.
• Experience developing highly engaging, creative, and effective communications and social media products to achieve advocacy objectives.
• Overseas experience is strongly preferred.
• Experience in working with other NGOs and coordinating inter-agency advocacy activities, strategies, and products.
• Prior experience working in office and field environments in developing countries.




Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 120

Level of Education: Postgraduate Degree

Job application procedure
All interested and qualified persons are strongly encouraged to apply by email: vacancy@futureoptions.org enclosing their CV and cover letter. Please indicate the Position Title in the email subject line. Application Deadline: 5:00 pm (EAT) on Sunday 11th June 2023. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Application deadline: 2023-06-11

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