Policy and Advocacy Advisor (PlayMatters)

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 28 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.
IRC is leading a the PlayMatters consortium in partnership with War Child, Plan International, Behavioral Insights Team and Innovations for Poverty Action to implement the PlayMatters project. The 5-year initiative funded by LEGO Foundation aims to increase play-based learning opportunities for nearly 1 million pre-primary and primary school aged refugee and host community children impacted by the humanitarian crises in East Africa and living in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda. 
The Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES) in Uganda supports the project in accordance with the Education Response Plan for refugees and host communities in Uganda (ERP) -2007-2021 which sets out a realistic and implementable plan to ensure improved learning outcomes for increasing numbers of refugee and host-community children and adolescents across Uganda. 

Job Overview:
IRC in partnership with the Education Response Plan (ERP) secretariat is seeking a Policy and Advocacy Advisor to provide technical and strategic support to engage, influence, coordinate and support integration Early Childhood Care and Education Development (ECD) and PlayMatters Learning through Play core agenda within in the ERP and other education sector plans and priorities for both pre-primary and primary.  The role will also support the monitoring function of the ERP Secretariat for the LEGO Funding.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Support to ERP - 75%
•Ensure inclusion of ECCE initiatives into existing government-led coordination mechanisms and relevant education sector departments.
•Identify entry points and support engagements on ECCE within the ERP and other subsectors in the Ministry of Education.
•Support and conduct up to date mapping of the ECCE strategic partners.
•Representation of the mandate of the ERP in key strategic platforms to ensure accurate information dissemination and learning exchange. 
•Support advocacy for ECCE in Refugees and host communities in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) and other relevant sector policy implementation and prioritization. 
•Develop a clear ECCE strategy for ECCE in the ERP II, maintaining the guidance provided in the ESSP and ECCE strategy.
•Support mobilization of resources for ECCE in the ERP and track utilization of resources invested, documenting key outcomes and gaps.
•Develop a TOR for advocacy interventions to mitigate challenges and risk factors affecting ERP implementation especially the need for increased burden responsibility sharing.
•Prioritize and facilitate Policy dialogues regarding key issues relating to ECCE   in pre-primary and primary school education.
•Support the development of policy briefs, advocacy papers for ECCE in Refugees and ensure their dissemination in strategic forums and processes. 
•Attend meetings and dialogues on behalf ERP/MoES and ensure follow up on key emerging issues 
•Monitor and support inputs of ECCE periodically into the ERP and other relevant databases for the collaborating sector departments.

Support to PlayMatters - 25%
•Identify entry points and support PlayMatters Consortium Partner engagement within the ERP. 
•Representation of the mandate of the PlayMatters in key strategic platforms at the ERP and other subsectors. 
•Prioritize and facilitate policy dialogues on Learning through Play (LtP) in ERP implementation.
•Coordinate learning, evidence and information dissemination in strategic forums and processes of the ERP 
•Monitor and support inputs of PlayMatters data periodically into the ERP databases. 
•Support advocacy for Learning through Play in Refugees and host communities in relevant sector policy implementation and prioritization.