Turkey: NGO Forum Advocacy and Partnership Coordinator

PLEASE NOTE: This post is advertised by GOAL SYRIA on behalf of our partner HAND IN HAND FOR SYRIA whom is the Hosting Agency for the NWS NGO FORUM.

Closing date: 29^th October 2018

Job Title: Advocacy and Partnership Coordinator, NGO Forum for North West Syria.

Employment Category: Fixed Term, salaried position.

Duration: 6 months with possible extension subject to funding.

Duty Station: Gaziantep, Turkey

Job Description

The NGO Forum was establıshed ın 2012 to facilitate ınformatıon sharıng and coordınatıon actıvıtıes for international and local NGOs operating in northern Syria. The Forum’s role is to positively increase the impact of humanıtarıan actıvıtıes in response to the Syrian crisis, which is now in its seventh year. The NGO Forum membership provides cross-border operational support to the large populations of people in need in North West Syria. The NGO Forum Secretariat supports this role, promoting coordination and collaboration of a diverse Forum membership, assisting in identifying and responding to advocacy issues and events, and is actively engaged in capacity building and skills transfer for NGOs operating in southern Turkey. As of December 2017, the NGO Forum represents almost 70 Syrian and international NGOs as members or observers.

In late 2014, the humanitarian response for Syria in the region shifted to take on a “Whole of Syria” approach, which has increased the need for strong, high level, persuasive advocacy development and coordination at the NGO Forum level. The NGO Forum continues to increase the reach of broad policy and advocacy messages in support of the NGO community in Turkey. This included the development of an Advocacy Working Sub-Group (AWG), part of the NGO Forum, which has expanded the number of targeted campaigns that the NGO Forum was able to undertake. This post will provide leadership and vision to the development of a more robust external response to issues facing all NGOs in southern Turkey.

Within the mandates of the NGO Forum, Partnership Working Group was set up in order to provide technical and operational guidance on partnership related issues between humanitarian stakeholders to promote coherence of an effective humanitarian response through common minimum standards and capacity. The humanitarian stakeholders include INGOs, SNGOs, TNGOS, Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies, donors, and UN system members.

The Partnership Working Group aims to build on the Principles of Partnership in order to enhance the effectiveness of the Turkey cross-border response, based on an ethical obligation and accountability to crisis-affected people in Syria.

Scope of Work:

Under the direct supervision of the NGO Forum Coordinator, the Advocacy and Partnership Coordinator will perform the following duties, and undertake other responsibilities as may be agreed:

Advocacy:

• Develop an information analysis capacity within the NGO Forum utilising knowledge of NGO Forum members to support evidence-based advocacy and coherent representation of NGO interests within the wider humanitarian context.
• Support information management, ensuring information sharing and timely dissemination;
• Work with NGO Forum members on the identification of their advocacy needs and draft policy papers relating to relevant issues identified by the NGO Forum platforms;
• Chair and support the NGO Forum AWG through the provision of strategic leadership on issue identification, message development and capacity building to AWG members;
• Regularly develop advocacy and policy materials such as position papers, key messages, and other materials as requested to ensure that the NGO Forum members’ interests and voices are adequately represented externally;
• Represent the NGO Forum externally at policy and advocacy related events and meetings, as well as with outside parties interested in the overarching policy issues regarding the work of the humanitarian community;
• Draft and maintain a clear advocacy plan and calendar which are responsive to key events and dates throughout the year; oversee the NGO Forum website and archival storage;
• Liaise closely with other regional fora and global advocacy representative’s platforms to ensure messaging is coherent, connected and in the best interest of member organisations on issues of interest at both the Turkey hub level and the Whole of Syria level;
• Provide support to the core meetings of the NGO Forum, in particular to the NGO Forum General and Steering Committee Meetings;
• Assist in the drafting of the regular donor reporting and other regular reporting responsibilities of the NGO Forum Secretariat;

Partnership:

• Be responsible for arranging and managing all monthly meetings, including sharing of meeting minutes and disseminating any information and materials (with consent of member organizations and respect for information sharing protocols defined by the PWG (Partnership Working Group).
• Serve as key focal point for all Partnership members, liaising any concerns or suggestions to the PWG and the Forum Coordinator.
• Consolidate minimum standards for harmonization of procedures and standards across the members.
• Coordinate with the PWG members to develop, implement and evaluate a capacity development plan.
• Coordinate with potential capacity development supports providers (e.g. training institutions) on identified capacity gap areas to fill
• Review new membership applications and requests to the Partnership working group.

Requirements:

Please note this a national position with a local contract. Applicants must have Turkish and/or Syrian citizenship.

Education:

• Post-graduate qualifications in communications, media, international relations, political science or in any other related field.

Work Experience:

• At least five years of experience in advocacy and practice analysis implementing initiatives aimed at influencing and bringing positive change;
• At least five years of humanitarian experience, of which at least two years are focused on global-level policy, advocacy and communications for NGOs (or similar);
• At least two years’ experience working on strategic level issues, including significant coordination and representation experience;
• Demonstrated In-depth understanding of the Middle East situation, in particular of issues relating to the humanitarian cross-border situation from southern Turkey, in order to effectively develop appropriate advocacy and campaign messages and work with members and partners to strengthen commitment and achieve results;
• Experience in research and report writing to high standards and proven analytical ability, with strong editing skills;
• Experience coordinating messaging across a broad spectrum of actors with different – and sometimes widely diverging – views;
• Experience working with national NGOs and implementing partners in a complex humanitarian environment and within a UN-lead cluster system;
• Experience in the implementation and design of training programmes particular targeting local capacity building and skills transfer, and
• Ability to supervise and effectively manage diverse teams with strong religious and cultural sensitivities.

Demonstrated Technical Skills and Personal Attributes:

• Confident, mature personality, well-organised, flexible and a good team player;
• Strong ability to build relationships internally and externally such as networking, negotiation and communication;
• Ability to manage stress and meet competing priorities in a timely manner, producing high-quality outcomes;
• Ability to undertake international and regional travel as required;
• Competency in the use of office suites including Word, PowerPoint and Excel, and
• Fluency in English (both oral and written) is essential, proficiency in Arabic and/or Turkish is an advantage;

Interested? Then apply for this position via clicking on the "**apply now**" button and fill out the application form. All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Both must be in English. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Thank you.

Interested? Then apply for this position via clicking on the "**apply now**" button and fill out the application form. All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Both must be in English. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.