JOB DETAILS:
RELON Uganda is a national non-political and non-partisan movement of people working together to advocate for refugees’ self-representation and inclusion where matters concerning them are discussed. Its aim is to strengthen the capacity of refugees to engage and respond to the challenges facing refugees and refugee-led organizations.

The Role:
This role will allow you to act as a key contributor to our work of planning, supporting and coordinating RELON’s advocacy efforts. You will also have a chance to work in a fast-paced, dynamic, and internationally focused environment. We offer fair pay and competitive benefits package.

With support from the program coordinator, the advocacy officer is responsible for guiding RELON Uganda’s external relations, including public awareness, research, visibility, and campaigning. To create change in the humanitarian space, RELON adopts an evidence-based approach to advocacy in order to end inequality and injustice, while supporting the rights and voices of the populations we serve. The advocacy officer will develop policy positions, facilitate networking and coalition building, support internal and external capacity strengthening, and disseminate key findings and lessons in RLO best practices. We aim to support activities that will achieve change at scale at all levels. Raising the voices of the communities we work with is critical to influencing a sustainable shift in local, national, regional, and global policies and practices.

Benefits of working at RELON Uganda We offer a number of benefits including:
• Employer 10% contribution to a national social security fund to cover employee’s pension scheme
• Staff thirteenth cheque
• Contribution to staff medical insurance
• 25 days of annual leave per year (excluding bank holidays), plus 1 day for every year of service

Key Responsibilities:
1. Support the development of RELON’s advocacy strategy and lead on delivery of agreed advocacy objectives.

2. Support the advocacy and campaigning activities of the RLOs’ Champions for Project “Strengthening refugee-led advocacy through capacity – building of refugee-led organizations in Uganda (STRAC of RLOs – U)”.

Key specific responsibilities
1. To support the development of STRAC of RLOs – U’s advocacy strategy and lead on delivery of agreed advocacy objectives.

1.1. Strategy
• Support the Coordinator with the process of developing and agreeing the organization’s advocacy strategy;
• Develop strategic plans for agreed advocacy objectives;
• Responsible for monitoring the implementation of individual champions strategic objectives, updating these as appropriate
• Use knowledge and insight into the political environment to inform the organization’s advocacy actions;

1.2. Outreach & influencing
o Develop and utilize advocacy channels for the organization to achieve relevant advocacy objectives;

• Initiate and maintain strategic relations with civil servants working in all relevant departments;
• Work with all relevant RLOs to foster and build support for relevant advocacy aims amongst refugees;
• Build partnerships and coordinate work with other networks and allies in the field of refugee humanitarian space in the Uganda and beyond to maximize the chance of securing advocacy wins;
• Develop and maintain clear lines of communication with advocates and key stakeholders at a national, regional and global level and use this to inform our work;
• Manage relationships and communication with national and international institutions and partner networks;
• Develop policy positions and other useful resources in relation to the advocacy objectives of the project;

Member engagement
• Working with the program coordinator to motivate and co-ordinate members to maximize their engagement and use of own organizational capacity and voice;

Communication
• Undertake and support Communications and Campaigns in media outreach to support our advocacy strategy;
• Support Communications and Campaigns in generating social media and website content.

1. To support the advocacy and campaign activities of the STRAC of RLOs – U’s project
• Support the RLOs champions for STRAC of RLOs – U’s project to implement their developed advocacy and campaign strategy and build RLOs champions campaigning support.
2. In collaboration with the Program coordinator with support of the chief executive director and team leader, the advocacy officer will support RELON Uganda’s Project “Strengthening refugee-led advocacy through capacity – building of refugee-led organizations in Uganda (STRAC of RLOs – U)” through coordination and advocacy - capacity-support and training activities
3. Work closely with the communication officer to collect and document project stories for sharing, learning and advocacy.
4. Coordinate with partners and the concerned local government departments and supporting the advocacy capacities of RLOs and community-based organizations (CBOs). Coordinate the participation of RLOs, CBOs, NGOs, Local Government agencies and INGOs in a range of advocacy events.
5. Support capacity strengthening initiatives for RELON Uganda staff, NGO partners, and Refugee led organizations/groups through advocacy-related events and skills-building workshops.
6. Networking, relationship building, information gathering and dissemination, with relevant external actors in Uganda, including coordination bodies.
7. Report drafting and editing
8. Organize advocacy events, trainings, and workshops of the Project “strengthening refugee-led advocacy through capacity – building of refugee-led organizations in Uganda (STRAC of RLOs – U).”
9. Execute other key events and activities associated with the goals of the project.
10. Develop an advocacy plan for the project
11. Draft advocacy products like policy briefs, position papers etc.

What we are looking for:
1. Essential
• Proven knowledge and experience of the national refugee humanitarian response in Uganda, East Africa Community (EAC), and Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) and Africa Union (AU) instruments.
• Africa Union
• Bachelor (BA) or Degree from a recognized university/college in Journalism, Government, Sociology, International relations, or any other related areas that can bring added value to the job.
• Relevant policy, advocacy, or campaigning experience of 2-5 years, preferably in a national or an international NGO.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English to a variety of audiences.
• Deep commitment to RELON Uganda’s core values of participation and inclusion and humanitarian principles, and standards for informed consent and dignified representation.
• Strong interpersonal skills, sensitivity to cultural differences and ability to work in a wide variety of cultural settings
• Excellent administrative and organizational skills, with ability to prioritize work issues to meet deadlines with minimal supervision and an ability to adjust to changing situations while maintaining focus on delivery and follow-through.
• Previous experience with training and capacity support initiatives.
• Ability to engage with a variety of complex issue areas such as refugee governing policies at local and international level, refugee meaningful participation and inclusion, gender and humanitarian response, and translate these into simple
• Female candidates with the required experience and people with forced displacements are highly encourage to apply

2. Our values and commitment to safeguarding
RELON Uganda is committed to preventing any type of harmful behavior at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct; and are committed to promoting the welfare of RLOs’ beneficiaries including children, young people, adults and beneficiaries with whom RELON Uganda engages. RELON Uganda expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct. We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate our values are recruited to work for us.

The post holder will undertake the appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that they understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the organization.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. RELON will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

We are committed to ensuring diversity and gender equality within our organization and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.

As part of your offline application, please send your up-to-date CV and a cover letter explaining your suitability against the essential criteria in the job profile using this email: info@relonuganda.org