Advocacy Officer

Purpose:

• The Advocacy Officer is responsible for the planning of advocacy activities by WfWI-Iraq including WfWI’s Change Agent Program of grassroots leadership and advocacy training. She will oversee advocacy work and activities of change agent including scheduling, implementing, and reporting of advocacy activities.
• In 2022, WfWI-Iraq launched a new “Change Agent” program to support advocacy activities in Iraq. The Change Agents will be selected from women graduates and will be provided with an intensive advanced training to amplify their voices in addressing sensitive issues affecting the community. The aim of the Change Agents program is to build on the knowledge and skills developed to support capacity in grassroots advocacy including violence against women and economic opportunities for women.
• The successful candidate must be one who understands and is experienced in advocacy, who is highly organized, and has a specific interest in gender equality and women’s rights. Advocacy officer is supporting the implementation of WfWI’s Change Agent Program (grassroots leadership and advocacy), coordinating community and national advocacy efforts, developing advocacy focused and representing the organization in networks and coalitions.
• The Advocacy officer is responsible for the implementation of the “Change Agent” program which includes 3 months of advanced leadership and advocacy training for select women graduates followed by 3 months of carrying out advocacy action plans that the women develop for their communities. The Change Agent curriculum and training tools have been developed by the WfWI- Global Support Center Advocacy Team in consultation with all Country Offices where WfWI operates.
• In addition, the Advocacy Officer will be responsible to share information with participants about existing referral services in the community and reporting progress, challenges and lessons learned.

Engagement:

•  Support Trainers and Change Agents in developing action plans to address key advocacy issues in their communities.
• Assist MEP champions in creating action plans and connecting them with Change Agent graduates.
• Coordinate with MEARL for the data collection for MEP implementation.
• Organize regular meetings with Trainers and Change Agents to facilitate peer-to-peer learning and program review.
• Collaborate with the supervisor to regularly review and adjust the implementation of the Change Agent and MEP Programs, incorporating insights gained from program execution and input from Change Agents and MEP curricula.
• With Trainers identify opportunities for Change Agents to partner to advance their advocacy plans, for example with participants of WfWI’s Men’s Engagement Program and other partners (including in community level advocacy activities outlined below).
• Manage relationships with partners to support advocacy activities at the community level, focusing on violence against women, women’s economic empowerment, and other issues affecting marginalized women in Iraq.
• Collaborate with partners to identify opportunities for joint advocacy and ensure the inclusion of specific and measurable objectives which focus on the priority areas identified by Change Agents in their advocacy action plans (including violence against women and women’s economic power, as well as other issues impacting marginalized women in Iraq.
• Assist in addressing communication and visibility matters for other programs at WFWI.
• Collect success stories from WFWI programs.

 

Delivery:

• Document Change Agent activities, successes, and challenges (including case studies) for donor reports and communications materials.
• Submit weekly/Monthly progress reports to supervisor.
• Follow-up on action plan implementation and provide guidance and coaching to Change Agents.
• Support in launching advocacy events like the 16 Days of Activism, graduations, and International Women’s Day.
• Create a schedule and lesson plans for the 4-month training program for Change Agents and submit them to the supervisor for review.
• Create a schedule and lesson plans for the 6-month training program for MEP and share them with the supervisor for review.
• Carry out frequent field visits to program implementation sites.
• Implement the training methodology and develop new exercises for the classroom, as needed.
• Gauge progress and retention of participants and report any issues to supervisor.

 

Skills and Qualifications:

• Education: Minimum bachelor’s degree in social studies or any relevant field.
• Years of experience: 3-4 years of work experience in relevant fields, preferably within INGOs sector and at least 1 year at a supervisory level.
• Demonstrated experience in training adults and adult learning methodologies.
• Demonstrated experience in grassroots community mobilization and advocacy.
• Strong interpersonal and team collaboration skills.
• Effective communication skills and the ability to build rapport with communities and participants.
• Demonstrated ability to identify opportunities, take proactive action, and drive advocacy efforts independently.
• Proven ability to analyze complex situations, evaluate options, and make informed decisions that benefit the organization and its mission.
• Good level of knowledge and understanding of the barriers to women’s rights and empowerment in Iraq
• Must be attuned to the situation and needs of the women in the program so as to give proper advice.
• Ability to work with minimum supervision, and under pressure.
• Ability to have flexible work schedule which may include early mornings, evenings, and weekends. May be required to occasionally work beyond normally scheduled hours.
• Ability and willingness to travel around the country as required.
• High level of fluency in English, Kurdish, Arabic (speaking, reading, writing).
• Strong computer skills in MS Word, Excel, Power Point, and email applications.
• Commitment to and respect for Women for Women International’s mission and values.

This position will be working directly with female participants/beneficiaries, so female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.