All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organization’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity, and accountability. These attitudes and beliefs shall guide our actions and relationships.

What we are looking for

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is looking for an experienced, dynamic, and highly strategical individual to take up the role of Regional Head of Advocacy for Latin America. The postholder will be responsible for and leading all Regional Office strategic processes related to Advocacy. This includes leading on the development, coordination, and effective delivery of activities in line with regional and global advocacy priorities. Furthermore, the position entails advanced knowledge management that helps informs the analysis and shaping of the Regional Office’s strategic planning for advocacy activities and/or campaigns. The position is responsible for initiating and coordinating high quality communications and policy input to global and regional advocacy products/resources and for ensuring NRC’s advocacy and information products are delivered to the highest standards.

What you will do

1. Delegated authority from the Regional Director (RD) in all issues relevant to advocacy.
2. Delegated budget responsibility from RD for all regional budgets concerning advocacy and communication.
3. Provide external high-level representation at events, media outlets and all other public fora linked to delivery of advocacy messaging from all Country Offices and in conveying organisational positions.
4. Provide expert advice on timely regional and context specific information to internal and external stakeholders. 
5. Responsibility for the region’s review of all relevant policy content to Head Office annual and ad hoc reports and/or other external facing products.

Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the position.

What you will bring

• Minimum five years of relevant Manager/Adviser experience within the humanitarian field.
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts.
• Professional knowledge about forced displacement, protection principles and humanitarian advocacy, as well as a close understanding of the use of media for public advocacy.
• Professional credibility to provide strategic advice and guidance to senior managers in regional and country operations.
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities, including authorship and publication in relevant sector policy and communications outlets.
• Fluency in English and Spanish, both written and verbal

What we offer

• Duty station: Panama City, Panama
• Contract: national or international, 24 months, extendable
• Travel: up to 40%
• Salary/benefits: grade 10 on NRC’s regional salary scale, with accompanying terms and conditions for international contracts
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity without distinction to age, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability.
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.
• The ideal start date will be April 1^st. 

Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC

Important information about the application process

• Internal candidates only: please click on the suitcase icon labelled “I am an employee” to be redirected to NRC’s internal careers site.
• When creating your profile, include your full name as given on your passport. Complete all the system-required fields for experience, employment history and education.
• Submit your application and CV in English, taking care to attach your latest CV.
• Applications that do not meet the minimum standards in terms of experience or qualifications will generally not be considered. Unsolicited applications not related to this specific job advertisement will not be considered.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. We receive many applicants for each vacant position.
• If you have any questions about this role, please email [email protected] with the job title as the subject line.

Why NRC?

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organization helping people forced to flee. Our 15,000 staff work in crises across 40 countries, providing life-saving and long-term assistance to millions of people every year.

Watch this short video to see NRC in action.

The Latin American (LA) region faces multiple complex emergencies, including the internal and regional impact of the crisis in Venezuela, the humanitarian consequences of the armed conflict in Colombia, and the pervasive high levels of generalised violence in the North of Central America and in Mexico. These conditions produce some of the highest forced displacement numbers in the world. According to UNHCR, there are over 15 million displacement-affected people, including some 7,4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) across NRC country programme coverage in Latin America. The LA region also witnesses record numbers of transcontinental population movements generating significant protection risks as people are obliged to cross borders often through routes where conditions are dramatic. Restrictive asylum and migration policies also create flows of deportees and returnees, who struggle to re-integrate in their communities and often face violence, retaliation, discrimination and exclusion. Those phenomena are accelerating across the region.

NRC is operating in Latin America across a total of eight countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico with an overall regional budget of approximately 60 million USD and 1,100 dedicated colleagues across the continents. Given the increasing number of displaced people in need of humanitarian assistance in the region, NRC decided to establish a regional office in Latin America from early 2024 to oversee the country programmes in the region, and provides strategic guidance and oversight across core programme, advocacy and support functions.

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:

• do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts.
• join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.
• be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity.

Learn more about NRC