Policy & Liaison Officer

Job Vacancy – Policy & Liaison Officer

Diakonia is a Swedish civil society organisation working with a long-term and rights-based perspective to advance democracy and human rights, social and economic justice, gender equality, and peace and justice in developing countries. Our mission is to change unfair political, economic and social structures which generate poverty, oppression and violence.

Since 2004 Diakonia is running an International Humanitarian Law Resource Centre with the aim of increasing respect for and further implementation of international law, specifically IHL and IHRL, in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Respect for the International Humanitarian Law and protection of civilians is fundamental in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, recognising occupation and thereby the applicability of IHL, as well as for the importance of state building. As synergies are sought between the state building agenda and humanitarian interventions, IHL is an important tool for developing policy options on how to address the conflict. Diakonia is supporting the humanitarian and international community to mainstream IHL into policies, programmes and discourse. Together with the diplomatic missions we strive for collective advancement regarding the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

We are now seeking a Policy and Liaison Officer to be part of our IHL team in Jerusalem. Palestinian applicants are encouraged.


Position:Policy and Liaison Officer
Placement:Jerusalem
Period:As soon as possible 
Deadline for applications:25 January 2013
Responsible to:Programme Director, International Humanitarian Law  Resource Centre

Main Responsibilities:
The policy and liaison officer will be responsible for the following tasks to be conducted in coordination with the IHL Programme Director:

1-Policy

i-Design and manage the elaboration and development of the IHL Resource Centre’s advocacy strategy.  
ii-Maintain a strategic vision of issues related to protection.
iii-In close liaison with the legal advisors, draft different reports, summaries and policy papers for internal and external use
iv-Develop a calendar of key advocacy opportunities.
v-Prepare contextual and policy messages ahead of foreign delegations visits
vi-Develop templates and processes to ensure that advocacy messaging is coherent and coordinated throughout the organisation.

2-Liaison and representation
i-Ensure strategic and effective liaison with relevant external actors on national and international level
ii-Represent Diakonia externally in the work with different stakeholders (i.e. journalists, diplomatic missions, members of parliaments and governments), including participation in various working groups and meetings related to the advocacy work to advance Diakonia’s advocacy priorities.
iii-Participate in advocacy coalitions efforts at national and international level with other coordination bodies such as OCHA, HCT, AIDA etc;
iv-Ensure mainstreaming of IHL in coalitions’ strategies.
v-Maintain, develop and manage an effective network of working relationship both in country and internationally to ensure outreach of Diakonia messages and materials.
vi-Liaise with the IHL coordinator in Europe and the Head Office in Stockholm on policy issues.

3-Information
i-Be responsible to design, lead the elaboration and development of all information and outreach components within the programme.
ii-Facilitate the organisation of IHL briefings for various humanitarians and development bodies according to their needs, expectations and goals.
iii-Conduct IHL briefings and information to visiting groups and other identified groups.
iv-Liaise with media when appropriate.

4-Programme development
i-Support the development of the programme strategy by identifying thematic priorities and keep the IHL team abreast of latest humanitarian and protection trends and concerns.
ii-Ensure that the IHL programme’s work is relevant to the changing needs of our target groups and fitting ad hoc trends and ongoing dialogue.
iii-Contribute to the policy development of Diakonia IHL Resource Centre to increase visibility among the international community and affirm Diakonia as a credible and leading source for legal policy information.

5-Support the mainstreaming of gender in the organization and contribute to a more equal society through gender conscious behavior, role modeling, and openness towards capacity building.
6-Perform any other duties requested by the Programme Director

Qualifications:
-Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in communication, journalism, international relations, international law or related field, or equivalent experience.
-Min. 3 years experience working on advocacy issues in the context of humanitarian and protection crisis, the field of humanitarian, development or human rights.
-Demonstrated understanding of the humanitarian policy at an international level, including the humanitarian and development architecture and stakeholders.
-Good understanding of the political context pertaining in Israel and Palestine.
-Knowledge of international law, especially international humanitarian law.
-Proven experience in working effectively in or leading coalitions/networks of civil society organisations.
-Understanding of advocacy in the context of NGOs, with different types of stakeholders (e.g. UN, Diplomatic missions, Capitals, EU etc.).
-Excellent interpersonal and networking skills, ability to federate people around a common goal.
-Ability to develop strategic vision; i.e. set clear goals in line with Diakonia objectives and strategies and priority activities and assignments.
-Experience of writing high quality policy and/or advocacy material for different audiences.
-Demonstrated ability (written and verbal) to translate complex legal arguments and make them accessible for a non-specialist audience.
-Ability to summarise complex legal information into policy ideas.
-Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
-Creativity and problem-solving skills.
-Ability to work quickly and flexibly under pressure, as well as to prioritise.
-Ability to understand and accept the requirement for sensitivity/confidentiality when handling information.
-Commitment to the aims and principles of Diakonia.

Desirable:
-Fluency in Arabic and/or Hebrew
-Previous experience in providing trainings and animating workshops
-Ability to use lay out design and web design software’s
-Familiarity with social media

Cover letter and curriculum vitae, including references should be submitted by email to Diakonia by 25 January 2013 at [email protected]

If you need any further clarifications please contact Ms. Malin Greenhill on
+ 972 (0)2 5322972 Ext. 103.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
Diakonia is an equal employment opportunity organization.

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