Collective Aid is looking for an Advocacy & Communications Manager (remote international + 800€ monthly stipend ): Apply Now!!

Advocacy & Communications Manager

International Programme
Reporting to: Executive Director
Contract Length: 12+ Months
Start date: October 1st (handover starts on September 17th)

Role Objective:

Thanks to the passion and dedication of dozens of volunteers, Collective Aid is able to do incredible worksupporting tens of thousands of people each year who are on the move across the Balkans and Northern France. It is important for us to draw attention to what is happening on the ground, elevate the voices of those people we work with, and share updates about our projects with our supporters, our donors and the wider general public. People on the move often find themselves being silenced and overlooked. Advocacy is about ensuring their voices are heard and the issues that most negatively affect them are brought to the attention of those with the power to improve the situation. It is a proactive role that seeks to cause change and maximise impact. Our communications are how we speak to our external audiences, providing updates on projects, highlighting important issues, launching campaigns, asking for donations, and thanking them for their support.

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International Programme at Collective Aid:

Collective Aid is a grassroots organisation that provides services in four country programmes; Bosnia & Herzegovina, France, Serbia and Greece. Each country programme has a unique and targeted
intervention in the form of projects, which typically involve NFI and/or WASH. The International
Programme has been established over the course of the last two years, in order to provide expertise and development advice to the country programmes. The International Programme at Collective Aid functions to ensure cooperation and mutual support among the projects and to facilitate continuity throughout high turnaround periods. The team of the international programme are tasked with support and development tasks throughout the year and are expected to divide their time between all the programmes equally.

As Collective Aid is increasingly invited to conferences and other high level advocacy meetings, the
international programme is often responsible for representing the organisation at such events.

Working for the International Programme:

It is relevant that applicants are aware that all of our country programme teams work in a criminalized
context. Collective Aid operates entirely legally and transparently in total observance of the laws of the
countries in which we work. Nonetheless due to the work we do and the demographic we provide
services to, the work we do is stigmatized and subject to a range of pressures. These pressures can result in interactions with law enforcement and hostile members of the public in all locations. If international staff members decide to be based in one of the countries in which we work, it is essential they are aware of the law and criminalisation context there.
Applicants will be expected to not only be aware of these pressures, but also to respond to these
pressures in accordance with Collective Aid Safeguarding, Security and Criminalisation procedures.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic direction for advocacy output from each project and to their Advocacy and
• Communications Officers (ACOs), social media interns, research assistants and other ad hoc research roles and reports directly to the Executive Director.
• Oversight of all communications from the organisation.
• Collecting content, developing communications, interacting with our audiences across multiple comms channels, and managing these channels effectively to provide engaging content and timely updates.
• Build and maintain meaningful relations with change makers and stakeholders at all of the sites CA works at as well as internationally, launch and manage projects and campaigns, engage with EU and UN mechanisms and monitor and report on developments in a timely manner.

Communications Tasks:

15% – Manage CA communications (including email, website, and social media), including the planning of content, the development of ideas, the production, scheduling and posting of posts/blogs/emails utilising software like Mailchimp and Canva when necessary, responding to messages and comments from supporters, connecting with high profile accounts and other organisations, etc.

5% – be the main point of contact for all media enquiries and visiting photographers, and when relevant, create and develop press releases, joint statements, and other official organisational comms.

Advocacy Tasks:

30% – constantly explore and utilise EU and UN advocacy opportunities, staying abreast of the latest news and the developments at each of our sites, network with local, national and international organisations and institutions, steward these relationships through meetings with key stakeholders and the sharing of relevant news and updates. Complete and submit EU and UN submissions and attend relevant meetings to support the same. The completion of two monthly situational updates based on desk research and field trips where appropriate.

10% – campaign management – seek to launch/participate in at approx two advocacy campaigns a year, helping to deliver the campaign through concept development, stakeholder engagement and collaboration, launch, content creation, outreach, and then evaluation.

10% – Border Violence Monitoring Network – attend relevant meetings and workshops, oversee research and advocacy projects and related staff. Supervising and supporting the relevant members of staff, promoting and disseminating reports Collective Aid has contributed to/created. Oversee the management of testimony collection at all sites.

10% – Recruit and train ACOs, social media interns and research assistants. Work with them to produce communications content and regular advocacy updates from each of our work sites to be used both internally, externally with donors and partners, and at a national and international level for advocacy purposes.

Management and International Team Tasks:

5% – Coordinate and liaise with ACOs across the organisation, giving the initial onboarding, providing briefs, feedback, direction for content collection, and ongoing support.

Meet with project managers biweekly to clarify advocacy aims. Meet with social media intern weekly to go over the communications calendar.

5% -Attend weekly coordination meetings of field projects, represent CA by attending local, national or regional workshops, conferences and meetings

5% – Lead on monthly monitoring and reporting, conduct timely communication and social media audits.

5% – Ad Hoc duties as they arise, including but not limited to producing marketing materials, supporting other colleagues and fundraising campaigns as and when required and relevant, adapt and approve organisational guidelines (language, social media, etc), build and refine internal processes, and provide workshops and trainings to colleagues.

Skills:

• A clear understanding of advocacy pathways and mechanisms pertaining to displaced people, a passion for communication, an eye for a story, a creative mind and a love of storytelling.
• A realisation that advocacy and comms are different lines of work and an understanding of what each entails and how each should be measured for progress and success.
• Experience, or at least strong awareness of, advocacy campaigns, processes and techniques.
• Experience of running campaigns, managing schedules, and the various related activities.
• Strong copywriting.
• Stakeholder management and networking skills.
• Confidence in google suite.
• Experience, or at least strong awareness of, website development and management.
• Experience of digital communication and how to use it to communicate effectively.
• Experience, or at least strong awareness of, marketing and fundraising projects, processes.

Expectations:

• At least 2-3 years of professional advocacy experience desired.
• Proven experience in team and project management and communication.
• 3-4 years of experience working in a refugee aid grassroots charity or humanitarian NGO.
• Experience with field work, especially distribution, free-shop or WASH projects.
• Willingness to travel frequently to field sites.
• Fluency in English is essential.
• A clear understanding of advocacy needs in the European migration context.
• Experience of providing workshops and training to new teams.
• A willingness to test and learn.
• Senior management experience is desirable.
• International management experience is desirable.

Qualifications:

Bachelor degree in a relevant field.

Compensation:

The Advocacy & Communications Manager receives a stipend of €800 per month. If visiting a programme then they are also entitled one free meal a day and a rent-free space in organisation houses.

How to Apply

Applications:

If you are interested in applying for this role, please fill in the form linked in the advertisement. If you have any questions please contact [email protected].

Collective Aid has a zero tolerance towards abuse of power, exploitation, bullying, harassment and

discrimination and towards fraud and corruption. Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) is everyone’s responsibility and all team members are required to adhere to Collective Aid’s safeguarding policy both during work hours and outside work hours. Therefore, all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and screening checks. Collective Aid participates in the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, this scheme requires us to seek information about any misconduct committed by a candidate with any previous employers.