Community Outreach Policy and Advocacy Officer 362 views2 applications

St. Andrew’s Refugee Services (StARS), founded in 1979, is a refugee service provider in Cairo that works to enhance the quality of life for refugees and vulnerable migrants through four broad programs: education, legal, community outreach, and psychosocial services. We provide high-quality services meeting the unaddressed needs of refugees, and we provide a safe and inclusive space for displaced people to come together as a community. We work for refugees, with refugees, to make refugee rights recognition a reality.

StARS’ Mission: Driven by a commitment to justice and fairness, StARS works as displaced people and for displaced people to respect human dignity and enhance quality of life.

StARS’ Vision: Displaced people lead in the creation and implementation of responses to different forms of migration to establish safe, just, welcoming, and inclusive communities globally.

We serve people from many places, including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

To learn more, please visit www.stars-egypt.org.

Or https://www.facebook.com/standrewsrefugeeservices?fref=ts

Program Description: Community Outreach

The Community Outreach Program (CO) serves many purposes in maintaining contacts with both individual community members as well as the diverse array of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in the Greater Cairo area to improve refugee services in Egypt overall. The CO team is the main and central body for any new contact or visit, with staff members fully knowledgeable of the services provided by StARS in order to represent the organization as a whole. CO also improves coordination between StARS programs, especially when striking relationships with the same organization. Community Outreach collects vital data on each CBO in the community and, in collaboration with the CBOs and other StARS programs, determines what actions should be taken to meet the CBOs’ needs.

The Community Outreach Program at Saint Andrew’s Refugee Services and the CBOs’ Development Project

StARS’ Community Outreach Program works closely with CBOs from all major refugee communities to enhance their self-reliance and develop their capacity to deliver direct services to vulnerable members of their communities. With the support of the new CBO Development Project, CO will implement a new, innovative, and unique project, which has the potential to change the landscape in a positive way for the majority of refugees and vulnerable migrants not just in Cairo, but potentially in urban refugee settings in other areas in the world.

Over the course of three years, CO will work intensively with 20 CBOs in Greater Cairo to build strong structures, enhance the long-term sustainability of the organizations, and improve management and the skills of individuals serving the displaced population.

Role: Community Outreach Policy and Advocacy Officer**

Under the supervision of the Director of Outreach, the Community Outreach Policy and Advocacy Officer is responsible for:

Reporting/Programmatic duties

· Train community leaders on the fundamentals of advocacy, adapting the course as needed;

· Assist community leaders in applying advocacy tools and strategies to their advocacy efforts with donors, INGOs, and other major policy-makers, such as UNHCR;

· Facilitate the flow of relevant information between CBOs and StARS;

· Advocate with donors and others for greater involvement of refugees in decision-making and programming;

· Contribute to the development of a network of CBOs and of networks including StARS and like-minded organizations;

· Contribute to the evolution of CO’s policies and procedures;

· Maintain familiarity with the refugee populations and challenges they are facing in Egypt, including gaps in protection and assistance programs;

· Regularly update CO and CBOs’ working knowledge of best practices in policy and advocacy;

· Provide reporting data to the Director and Deputy Director of Outreach as requested, in order to accurately report work to senior management, funders, and others;

· Other duties as assigned.

Supervision/Administration

· Communicate regularly with the Director of Outreach regarding tasks and priorities;

· Attend internal and external outreach meetings as appropriate;

· Undergo probation and regular performance appraisals;

· Maintain accurate HR records, including with respect to expenses as per StARS’ financial rules;

· Other duties as assigned.

Essential Requirements

· Fluency in written and spoken English;

· Diploma/undergraduate degree in an appropriate discipline;

· Ability to communicate effectively and respectfully with community leaders and members, one’s supervisor, other staff members, and external partners;

· Commitment to advancing refugees’ capacities and opportunities to advocate for themselves;

· Experience in designing and facilitating trainings;

· Motivation to create internal and external networks of communication;

· Commitment to thinking critically and being proactive;

· Ability to multi-task and prioritize workload;

· Punctual, reliable, responsible, well-organized, and detail-oriented;

· Willingness to travel to refugee communities and centers as needed;

· Belief in and commitment to non-discrimination on the basis of gender, race, disability, and religious belief.

Preferred Requirements

· Fluency in another language spoken by refugee communities in Egypt;

· Experience working with and for refugees;

· Experience working with CBOs or similar initiatives;

· Experience conducting advocacy, particularly to donors, NGOs, INGOs, and INGOs;

· Experience in community organizing;

· Experience working in a not-for-profit organization;

· Knowledge of the refugee context in Egypt;

· Knowledge of StARS’ programs.

Working Hours: The Community Outreach Policy and Advocacy Officer is expected to be at work for 40 hours per week, between the hours of 9:00am and 5:00pm, from Sunday to Thursday. Longer hours, evening work, and weekend work are sometimes necessary. Work will be conducted both in StARS premises and also in refugee communities and centers.

Salary: 7,850 EGP/ month, rising to 8,350 EGP/ month following successful completion of three-month probationary period, with 4,020 EGP/ year medical allowance and 100 EGP/month saving scheme contribution upon completion of probationary period.

Benefits: All StARS official benefit policies as stipulated in StARS Staff Handbook Guidelines.

Closing date for applications: 22 September 2019 applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis

Anticipated Starting date: As soon as possible

This position is subject to a three-month probationary period, at which time the employee’s performance will be reviewed and probation may be extended.