Regional Policy and Advocacy Advisor - Early Childhood Development

Job Description

Background/IRC Summary:The International Rescue Committee helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict and disaster and the host communities that support them, as well as with those who remain within their homes and communities. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure.IRC reaches over a million children annually with education and child protection programs in 20 countries around the world. Sitting within IRC?s Crisis Response, Recovery & Development (CRRD) Unit, the Education Technical Unit defines the vision and strategic priorities for all of IRC?s education programs. The team provides evidence-based and contextually relevant technical support to programs, with the goal of ensuring they are technically sound and achieving meaningful outcomes. Early Childhood Development (ECD) is a core organizational priority at the IRC with links to Health, Education, Child Protection, and Nutrition as detailed by the Nurturing care framework.?As a part of the IRC?s ECD portfolio, the organization is working closely with Sesame Workshop to implement Ahlan Simsim, a multi-year intervention to bring vital early learning and nurturing care to children and families affected by conflict and crisis in the Middle East. This work is complemented by the Play to Learn initiative, an innovative new program with Sesame Workshop and the LEGO Foundation that harnesses the power of play to deliver critical early brain development opportunities to children and caregivers affected by conflict and displacement.Through this coupled program of work, the partners seek to meaningfully enact policy change that will elevate the importance of ECD in the MENA region with a focus on government and multilateral actors, humanitarian structures and systems. To support these efforts, IRC?s ECD team and MENA regional office is looking for a Policy and Advocacy expert to enable ECD-focused policy and advocacy efforts across the region. The position will report to the ECD Policy and Advocacy Advisor and the MENA Policy, Advocacy and Communications Director with strong links to the Ahlan Simsim project team. This role will be responsible for supporting and driving the regional and national policy and advocacy teams to:Bring attention to the developmental needs of young children in conflict and crisis settings through advocacy, raising the profile of IRC and partners? work in this area and Influence policy change which reflects the need for ECD to be prioritized and funded in humanitarian contexts.The desired candidate will have strong experience working on policy in the MENA region, understand early childhood development in the Middle East, and have the ability to act as the regional advocacy champion for the Ahlan Simsim, Play to Learn, and other early childhood projects.??The Regional Policy and Advocacy Advisor will be responsible for the following key deliverables:?

• Support the development and implementation of an IRC ECD Policy and Advocacy strategy within Middle East: in collaboration with Global ECD Policy Advisor, ECD Coordinators, and regional policy and advocacy team, this scope of work will be achieved through:
• Supporting country teams in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria to develop or refine existing target policy and advocacy goals tailored to context as well as help enable strategy execution
• Identify and lead on the execution of 2 ? 3 cross regional advocacy goals in alignment with global and national goals. Goals will hone-in on developing donor champions, identifying new entry points for engaging with multilateral and humanitarian system actors, and uptake of country team goals
• Develop and support advocacy capacity-building activities as needed

External Representation and Relationship Management

• Raise awareness and influence decision makers to invest in and adopt effective early childhood development solutions, communicating IRC?s policy advocacy expertise and vision
• Create, enhance, and leverage a network of relevant contacts that foster regional policy and advocacy partnerships in collaboration with country and regional stakeholders?
• Contribute towards Ahlan Simsim?s scaling objectives
• Represent the IRC at relevant multinational and national policy-related meetings, committees, and fora with donors and key policymakers
• Represent IRC within regional coordination such as No Lost Generation in coordination with other IRC stakeholders

• Conduct policy research
• Write updates and recommendations to key internal and external stakeholders to inform and influence policy and practice
• Assist in the development and finalization of ECD and program-specific advocacy talking points and presentations for events and meetings.

Project and Information Management

• Track regional and national advocacy engagement and help problem solve when challenges arise
• Support Ahlan Simsim staff to monitor and evaluate advocacy objectives and activities.
• Keep tabs on relevant publications and readings and share them with Ahlan Simsim staff in region
• Ensure policy and advocacy files and knowledge is organized and accessible for Ahlan Simsim staff

Key Working Relationships: Position Reports to:?Policy Advisor, Early Childhood Development and Regional Policy, Advocacy and Communications Director (MENA) Position directly supervises:?N/AIndirect Reporting:?N/AOther Internal and/or external contacts: Internal: Ahlan Simsim Regional Project Director (Amman), Scaling and Partnership Advisor and Scaling and Partners Teams across the region, Ahlan Simsim Senior Project Specialist (NY based), Regional Advocates (Jordan and Lebanon), Government Liaison Officer (Iraq), ECD Program Officer (NY based), Global Field Teams ? multiple departments, Regional PAC TeamExternal: Sesame Workshop ECD colleagues, regional partners (scaling partners, ministries, multilaterals such as the World Bank), and UN regional representation (WFP, WHO, UNICEF, etc.), other INGO allies

Keyskills :