United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Policy & Advocacy Advisers x2

War Child is striving for a world where children’s lives are no longer torn apart by war.

We are the only specialist charity for children in conflict, working with partners to deliver high-impact programmes that are rebuilding lives across Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic. We understand children’s needs, respect their rights, and put them at the centre of the solution - from supporting Syrian children to access education, to reintegrating child soldiers in the Central African Republic and working on juvenile justice in Afghanistan.

Overview

The Policy & Advocacy team at War Child is part of the rapidly growing Advocacy and Communications team. The Policy & Advocacy team is responsible for developing and implementing strategies designed to ensure that:

• the rights and needs of children who have been forced to flee are properly upheld and met;

• international humanitarian law is upheld, children are not deliberately targeted in warzones, and that such conflicts are brought to an end. At present this involves a particular focus on the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

We are recruiting for two roles (Policy & Advocacy Adviser – Child Rights & Protection and Policy & Advocacy Adviser – Conflict and Humanitarian) to focus on each of these two areas, who will also provide support to each other at times of workload surges. Both roles will have the opportunity to lead and shape their own strategies with the Head of Policy & Advocacy, as well as provide support to the other.

Purpose of the roles

Both roles are critical in ensuring that War Child is successful in delivering against one of its major strategic priorities – advocating for change on behalf of children whose lives have been torn apart by war. They will involve significant external engagement, developing extensive relationships with decision-makers, high-level influencers, and individuals across the sector. The roles will act as a major external ‘face’ for the organisation, helping to develop War Child’s reputation as a bold organisation with the expertise and clout to influence political and policy change to benefit the millions of children caught up in conflict worldwide.

Person Specification

War Child’s office is a lively and fast-paced environment made up of a team of extremely dedicated staff. We’re looking for two people who can fit in well and bring their personality, creativity and professionalism to our policy and advocacy work and the wider charity.

Successful candidates will have significant experience of working on both policy research and analysis, as well as advocating for the implementation of these policies by decision-makers. The Policy & Advocacy Adviser – Child Rights & Protection will have experience working on issues relating to child rights and protection, ideally in the humanitarian and international development area. The Policy & Advocacy Adviser – Conflict and Humanitarian will have experience relating to conflict, humanitarian intervention and international development, and a demonstrable understanding of, and detailed expertise in, the conflicts taking place across the Middle East.

You are proactive, building relationships with key decision-makers and influencers who have the capacity to affect change, as well as developing a strong network of contacts across the humanitarian and development sector

You are inquisitive, keeping up-to-date with the news agenda and ensuring that our policy priorities are constantly up-to-date and informed by evidence, and capable of responding to the rapidly changing international and national environment.

You are passionate, concerned at the fate of children who are targeted and caught up in violent conflicts. Respect for their rights, and recognition of their particular needs, will lie at the heart of all that you do. And your work will always consider the rights of children to have a say in the decisions that affect their lives, ensuring that the voices of children inform the policies that we develop, and are heard in the advocacy tactics that we deploy.

You are a critical thinker, mining down into the complexities of an issue to develop robust and well-considered policy recommendations.

You are a great communicator, confident in speaking to a range of audiences, unintimidated by advocating towards those in positions of power, and capable of tailoring your style accordingly.

You are great under pressure, able to juggle multiple tasks and manage heavy workloads whilst simultaneously maintaining a positive attitude, and contributing to a positive working environment.

Please visit our website https://www.warchild.org.uk/who-we-are for more information on the application process.