Policy & communication officer

Oxfam Novib is committed to ridding the world of poverty. We have a conviction that people are well capable of building a livelihood without poverty on their own, once given the chance to do so. Which is why we support local projects in developing countries, why we lobby governments and companies to take into account the interests of the poorest people, and why we campaign to involve Dutch men and women also in our work. We work together with other Oxfam affiliates to increase our impact on development issues.

Oxfam Novib will decentralise its activities to the Occupied Palestinian Territory & Israel (OPTI) by September 2011.Therefore we are looking for a

Purpose of the function
As policy officer you are responsible for contributing to the delivery of the Oxfam programmes related to policy & lobby.  You will also contribute to ccommunication activities related to Oxfam programming, lobby & advocacy work and Oxfam branding in the country. You will report to the Country Representative and work closely with the Oxfam Policy and Media Leads for OPTII.

Main tasks of the function:
-You support the coordination of Oxfam advocacy & communication work in the OPT and Israel which is rooted in accompanying and supporting local civil society organizations;
-You will contribute to the development update, and the implementation and monitoring of the Oxfam International lobby, advocacy and communication strategy and action plans for OPTI, including the development of (advocacy) products like reports, letters and press releases.
-You will support the management of a network of relationships across Oxfam affiliates and a wide range of internal and external partnerships and alliances. You will help identify key relationships and develop these relationships, including with Palestinian and Israeli civil society organizations, other international agencies and Oxfam affiliates.
-You assist with communications activities and information management, you help prioritise key activities and issues, identify and coordinate the local to global interface;
-You facilitate the ability of Oxfam counterparts to work effectively on advocacy by information sharing and by providing specialist advice;
-You review and verify facts in policy and media documents produced by Oxfam affiliates and review products to ensure they are in line with Oxfam policy as needed;
-You will support fundraising and grant management for advocacy and media work;
-Working closely with programme officers, you contribute to development of  programmes reinforcing lobby and campaign activities and you ensure that the proposals and activities are in line with Oxfam Southern campaigning principles;

You have
-Completed an academic degree in a relevant discipline (E.g. international relations & law, political science, development studies, journalism)
-You can demonstrate 2 years of relevant experience / skills in advocacy, campaigning, communication amd alliance building, ideally in the OPT and Israel or wider Middle East
-You have have an affinity with international development issues; and are knowledgeable about the key issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; prior experience in the OPT and Israel or wider Middle East is an asset
-Solid understanding and knowledge of human rights and rights-based approach and commitment to promoting gender equality in advocacy work
-Experience in grant management is an assset
-Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills, experience in strategy development and abilities to influence others.
-Excellent social skills, are a teamplayer and have outstanding social and intercultural skills
-Excellent communication skills in English; command of Arabic and/or Hebrew is an asset .
-Ability to work on own initiative, manage complex workloads and deliver to agreed deadlines
-Readiness and ability to travel to the Gaza Strip on a regular basis, including overnight stays.

We offer
The employee will be contracted by Oxfam Novib according to Israeli labour legislation with a competitive, fair and comprehensive pay and benefits package that is justifiable to our donors.

Application procedure
Are you interested? Send your application in writing, including a motivation letter and a curriculum vitae and mentioning the job title to [email protected] to the attention of Bettina Huber, no later than May 25, 2011. Information on the job is available with Bettina Huber, + 972-2-583 3838