Senior Advocacy Officer - Palestine

Humanity & Inclusion is an independent and impartial aid organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. The organisation works alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, taking action and bearing witness in order to respond to their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.

Since its creation in 1982, HI has run development programmes in more than 60 countries and responded to numerous emergencies. Today, we have a budget of approximately 255 million euros, with 4794 employees worldwide.

At Handicap International-Humanity & Inclusion, we truly believe in the importance of inclusion and diversity within our organisation. This is why we are engaged to a disability policy to encourage the inclusion and integration of people with disabilities.

Please indicate if you require any special accommodation, even at the first interview. For more information about the organisation: www.hi.org

JOB CONTEXT:
The Palestine mission is part of the Mashriq regional programme, which covers Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. - HI in 2023 has been implementing a mix of humanitarian and development projects in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The new conflict between Hamas and Israel in October 2023 has created a major humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Around 96,000 Palestinians have been injured (Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza) and several thousand among them have suffered from amputations or permanent impairments.

In Gaza, HI has launched some light rehabilitation activities in IDP shelters through trained community-based agents and has provided more than 1,000 people with assistive devices. HI is planning to scale up substantially its response in the coming months, hiring more local physiotherapists, providing emergency rehabilitation also in homes, supporting hospitals and launching prosthetics and orthotics services.

Current sectors of activity are: physical rehabilitation, MHPSS, Humanitarian Mine Action, humanitarian logistics, education in emergencies, emergency preparedness, disability mainstreaming/inclusion in humanitarian action, advocacy.

YOUR MISSION:
The Senior Advocacy Officer in Palestine works under the responsibility of the Country Manager for Palestine and in close collaboration with the regional advocacy and communication officer, the Federal Advocacy and Institutional Relations team (AIR) and the Federal communication team. She/he contributes to the design, implementation and follow-up of HI advocacy strategies related to the Palestinien crisis, on national, regional and international levels

Mission 1: STRATEGY AND STEERING

Analyse the humanitarian environment and define HI positions

-          Monitor and analyze the humanitarian context, architecture and actors at play to identify the main positioning issues to ensure a principled humanitarian action

-          Continuously monitor policy developments and the debate at national/regional/international levels in the Palestine crisis, to gather any useful information for humanitarian advocacy

Develop and update advocacy strategies and action plans

-          Work with the regional advocacy and communication officer and the AIR team on developing and updating the joint advocacy strategy related to oPt crisis and ensure it is consistent across national, regional and international levels

-          Lead the design and implementation of coordinated advocacy action plans at regional and national levels, and ensure they are properly implemented, in compliance with HI advocacy quality standards and procedures

-          Identify key issues emerging from HI operations that would require advocacy for policy changes

-          Carry out and constantly update a stakeholder mapping and power analysis to identify key advocacy targets and allies

Mission 2: OPERATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION.

Ensure that advocacy is based on reliable and up-to-date evidence and data

-          Regularly liaise with key operational staff and external stakeholders to gather timely information and data to feed into federal and regional-based advocacy strategies

-          Ensure that the programme produces reliable and consistent data for advocacy purposes and that it is shared with the regional and the AIR teams

-          Lead or contribute to the preparation of advocacy tools (reports, briefing papers, talking points, medias/social media tools, collection of testimonies), in collaboration with the regional team, the AIR team and HI federal Communication team

Organize the effective influence and outreach of HI vis-à-vis key decision-makers and networks

-          Engage in relevant fora, networks and coalitions or with key partners at national and regional levels to feed the analyses and promote HI positions; identify opportunities for, and collaborate with the regional and the AIR team on collective advocacy initiatives

-          Maintain contacts with key decision makers at national and regional levels through regular meetings and exchanges

-          Take part in events and conferences and ad hoc meetings with decision makers at global level in coordination with the regional and the AIR team

-          When appropriate, liaise with the medias on advocacy related issues with the support of the regional teams, the federal Communication team, and the AIR

Ensure HI internal communication and ownership

-          Contribute to internal advocacy related working structures, and other relevant internal meetings to provide updated information and discuss advocacy developments; liaise as necessary with AIR, Federal Communication, or National Associations

-          Inform and provide support to key operational staff and local/national partners on HI advocacy activities

-          Assess needs and provide trainings accordingly on principled humanitarian action and HI ethical guidelines to staff as well as local/national partners when appropriate

Contribute to fundraising efforts

-          Identify funding opportunities for advocacy and positioning activities and staff, including through incorporating advocacy activities into field projects and new project proposals

Mission 3: STANDARDS and EXPERTISE

Contribute to raising the quality and internal ownership of HI advocacy work

-          Comply with and promote HI quality standards and internal procedures relating to advocacy

-          Report to line manager, the regional advocacy and communication officer,  the AIR Humanitarian Advocacy Manager any issues of compliance

-          Contribute to the design and delivery of presentations and training tools on advocacy

-          Provide advocacy-related inputs into internal processes as requested

Mission 4: Communication 

Contribute to the communications strategy by leading relevant content, coordinating campaigns, and disseminating information to target audiences. Adapt strategies for emergency preparedness and response.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POSITION: 

The security for NGO workers in Jerusalem and Ramallah is good at the moment and professional and life conditions are permissive. The political and security situation within Israel and Palestine, and among Israelis and Palestinians, has become relatively more unstable in 2024, with several demonstrations and clashes between police and demonstrators in some hotspots in Jerusalem and Ramallah. And the Israeli military also launched a large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank in August, 2024 which lead to the security situation in the West Bank deteriorating. The levels of criminality and the risk of thefts are relatively low. Life for foreigners in Jerusalem/Ramallah is comfortable, with many possibilities for tourism and recreational activities, including in Israel and in some accessible sites in West Bank. A basic level of respect and adaptation to the local culture and traditions is expected. 

Travel conditions and living conditions during visits to Egypt and Jordan are comfortable. Security conditions are very stable throughout Jordan and in HI’s areas of operations in Egypt. 

YOUR PROFILE:  

Qualification: 

Degree in International Law (IHL, IHRL, Human Rights, Refugee Law etc.), International 

relations, political science or equivalent degree or with significant experience 

Experience: 

Experience: 5 years including 3 in emergency settings (field experience) 

Experience in context analyses, policy development in relation to principled humanitarian action 

Experience in advocacy work 

Experience in networking and in active participation to conference/forum, including at high levels 

At HI, the conditions offered are up to your commitment and adapted to the context of your mission. https://hi.org/en/join-the-team

• 12 months International contract starting ASAP;

• The international contract provides social cover adapted to your situation:
• Unemployment insurance benefits for EU nationals;
• Pension scheme;
• Medical coverage with 50% of employee contribution;
• Repatriation insurance paid by HI;
• Salary from 2757€ gross/month upon experience;
• Perdiem: 756€ net/month - paid in the field
• Hardship: 250€ net/month if in Jerusalem, 500€ if in Ramallah, paid with your salary;
• Paid leaves: 25 days per year;
• R&R: 5 days every 3 months
• Position: Unaccompanied
• Housing: Individual taken in charge by HI;
• If you are resident in the country: local package.