JOB DESCRIPTION

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC), founded in Denmark in 1956, is one the world’s leading non-profit, independent, rights-based refugee organizations. Our vision is to assist communities affected by displacement, protecting them from harm, safeguarding their legal rights, and empowering them towards a better future. Its East Africa and Great Lakes HQ hub provides support to country operations in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

About the job  

The Regional Advocacy Advisor within the East Africa and Great Lakes (EAGL) HQ Hub is a member of the Global Advocacy Unit. It seeks to promote DRC as a credible humanitarian and development actor with expertise in displacement and to influence key decision makers and other stakeholders. The role is critical to amplifying and coordinating the advocacy efforts of the country offices supported by the EAGL HQ Hub and provides strategic advocacy and external engagement advice and support to the Hub’s Executive Director.

The role promotes a consistent and cohesive voice on DRC´s key positions and messages with the intention of elevating and amplifying DRC´s evidenced based advocacy and external engagement at the country, regional and global levels. This includes within the UN and other regional and multilateral organizations, among bilateral donors, national and provincial level government representatives, elected officials, and other governmental and non-governmental actors. This role is responsible for leading on the development and implementation of the regional influencing components of DRC’s global influencing strategy and working with country operations to develop country specific advocacy strategies for Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. It works closely with the Executive Director of the HQ Hub and country offices to translate programmatic responses into concrete policy recommendations. It also works with the other members of the Global Advocacy Unit; advocacy counterparts in Brussels and Geneva; as well as sector and thematic leads across the organization to develop positions and policy recommendations informed by DRC’s programmatic and thematic work across contexts. This role includes strategic advisory, coordination, internal support, external engagement and influencing elements

 

Key responsibilities include:  

• Lead on the development, coordination and implementation of regional advocacy efforts, in line with the Global Influencing Strategy and in close coordination with advocacy colleagues at headquarters, across the other two HQ hubs and with DRC’s representation offices in Brussels, Geneva and Berlin
• Ensure clear linkages and coherence between country, regional and global strategies, priorities and positions
• Support the advocacy and external engagement priorities of the Executive Director of the HQ Hub
• Identify and seek out regional and global advocacy opportunities on behalf of Country Offices
• Represent DRC at advocacy working groups and relevant INGO Regional Forums and participate in other relevant advocacy coordination discussions
• Draft and otherwise support the creation of high-quality regional and/ or country specific advocacy products and evidence-based recommendations based on DRC’s Country Office programs, analysis and research
• Undertake a key influencer and stakeholder mapping and establish strategic networks and alliances for policy, advocacy and public affairs across the countries within the HQ hub
• Engage Country Directors, Heads of Programs and other senior management including the Executive Director to identify and support on high-level advocacy opportunities which accentuate DRC’s programmatic outcomes and Theory of Change.
• Monitor relevant policy developments and make recommendations on how DRC should prepare and react as relevant and necessary
• Lead on the development of tailored meeting briefing notes and talking points ahead of high-level field visits
• Support and mentor country office advocacy colleagues and provide technical guidance on developing DRC specific advocacy messages which align with global positions and reflect the needs of local communities

 

About you 

To be successful in this role we expect you to be an senior advocacy professional with significant experience developing and implementing evidence-based advocacy strategies in East Africa an the Great Lakes.

You have excellent planning and coordination skills, with the ability to organize a substantial workload comprised of complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities. You have strong advisory, coordination, teamwork, and collaboration skills and well-established contacts among decision makers, UN and other stakeholders across East Africa and the Great Lakes.

Moreover, we also expect the following:  

Required:

• Senior expert position (minimum of 8 years’ experience) in similar or complementary roles with a country or regional focus in East Africa or the Great Lakes regions.
• Proven ability to advocate on multiple complex contexts at once
• Demonstrated commitment to addressing the root causes of forced displacement, responding to emergencies, and/or ensuring access to protection and durable solutions for displaced populations.
• Experience in influencing, representation, and external engagement towards different decision makers and stakeholders
• Demonstrated experience in developing concrete and evidence-based policy recommendations responding to complex humanitarian crises and/or post-conflict situations and which are tailored to decision makers and stakeholders.
• Ability to present arguments in a structured, compelling, and articulated manner.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage global events and processes for influence and visibility
• Excellent planning and coordination skills, with the ability to organize a substantial workload comprised of complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities
• Strong advisory, coordination, teamwork, and collaboration skills.
• Experience at building and managing relationships with key external and internal stakeholders
• Strong understanding of the political and humanitarian context in East Africa and the Great Lakes

Desirable:

• Familiar with the work of civil society, non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, the African Union, institutional donors, and/or political structures
• Knowledge of human rights, refugee rights, international humanitarian law, rights-based programming, and protection principles.
• Previous experience in representing NGOs or UN agencies in formal settings.
• Experience in a similar or complementary humanitarian advocacy role with a country, regional, global, or thematic focus.

 

WE OFFER

Contract length: 12 months

Band: F-1 non-management

Work location: Nairobi, Kenya

Designation of Duty Station: Unaccompanied

Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for employees on national/expat contracts dependent on the selected candidate, please refer to our website for more details drc.ngo.

 

APPLICATION PROCESS

All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages) in English. Applications sent by email will not be considered.

Closing date for applications: 12th September 2025

Danish Refugee Council is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive and positive work environment based on mutual respect for all employees. All applicants are considered for employment regardless of personal characteristics or attributes.

 

Further information:

For questions regarding the vacancy please contact Head of Global Advocacy, Louise Allen: [email protected]
For further information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website drc.ngo.