With over 70 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Come join our 34,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Employee Contract Type:

Local – Fixed Term Employee (Fixed Term) 

Job Description:

*This position is open for local candidates based in any country in ASIA where World Vision International is legally registered to operate*

The Policy and Advocacy Advisor will lead World Vision East Asia’s efforts to influence policy development and implementation for the realization of child rights, raising awareness and understanding of the needs of vulnerable children, families and communities across the region. The position sits within the East Asia External Engagement Team, along with Communications, Child Participation, Grants Acquisition, and Marketing functions, working together to build World Vision’s brand, organizational trust and relevance with a wide range of external partners to achieve income, influence and impact goals.

The Policy and Advocacy Advisor works closely with colleagues across the organization to develop and deliver strategic and effective policy advice, messaging and advocacy initiatives, with a view to effecting systems-level change to better promote and protect children’s rights. The position will lead the development and implementation of the advocacy agenda for the East Asia Regional Office, identifying and driving effective external partnerships for its execution, as well as effective collaboration and mobilization of internal stakeholders to maximize leverage and achieve broader impact

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP (25%)

• Lead and execute an integrated advocacy strategy and business plan to build World Vision’s advocacy influence with key audiences.
• Identify and actively pursue opportunities to enhance World Vision’s strategic positioning to influence systems and policies to enhance the enabling environment for the fulfillment of child rights, in both development and humanitarian emergency contexts.
• Review policy challenges affecting child rights in the East Asia region, and develop a clear policy and advocacy agenda for World Vision to influence or support systems level change to improve the situation for most vulnerable children in East Asia.
• In line with the identified policy and advocacy priorities, develop and execute strategies designed to effect specific systemic changes.
• Analyze policy issues and develop relevant, concise and timely positioning, messaging and advice, informed by proactive engagement with evidence, practice expertise and lived experience of most vulnerable children and communities.
• Prepare submissions and responses to relevant regional or global consultation processes.
• Advise Regional and Field Office leadership on strategic issues pertaining to advocacy, including performance and accountability across the region.
• Effectively mobilize and support RO and FO colleagues, child and youth representatives, partners, and other stakeholders to contribute to effective policy and advocacy initiatives, including social mobilization and campaigns, public engagement, etc.
• Collaborate with Technical Advisors, Child Participation Advisor, and other specialists to undertake desktop research and consultation to produce written briefings, position papers, reports and proposals on relevant and evolving issues.
• Maintain awareness of emerging issues, evidence and data pertaining to the child rights and policy landscape in East Asia to effectively inform strategic choices.

EXTERNAL REPRESENTATION & PARTNERING (25%)

• Lead World Vision’s engagement with relevant regional bodies and networks to influence policy goals and the child rights agenda.
• Mobilize internal stakeholders to contribute to the region’s advocacy agenda through their engagements in external events and networks.
• Identify, nurture and grow strategic, collaborative partnerships in alignment with policy and advocacy objectives.
• Engage with and consult children, youth and community representatives to shape and inform policy and advocacy messaging, positioning and approaches with external audiences.
• Establish and maintain relationships with experts, policy makers and other influential stakeholders.
• Act as a thought leader and spokesperson for the organization on identified policy and advocacy issues, speaking into both internal and external audiences.
• Collaborate with Communications colleagues to develop initiatives to elevate the visibility of child rights issues in the East Asia region with key audiences.
• Support media and public engagement through preparing briefing materials, messaging, speaking notes, etc.
• Collaborate with colleagues in Grants Acquisition and Marketing to support effective positioning and resource acquisition in line with policy and advocacy priorities.
• World Vision’s calls for the elimination of violence against children and ending hunger and malnutrition are coordinated and amplified from local to global levels.

OPERATIONAL & TECHNICAL SUPPORT (20%)

• Support the development of Field Office advocacy plans, supporting quality, contextualization, and alignment with Our Promise.
• Provide technical support and guidance for Field Offices to identify and integrate meaningful policy and advocacy objectives (including the global campaign) within National Office strategies, technical programs and grant projects.
• Provide technical support to Field Offices for the design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and sustainability planning of advocacy project models and approaches.
• In humanitarian emergencies, work with Field Office counterparts to develop and pursue a child-focused humanitarian advocacy agenda.
• Provide policy and advocacy advice, briefing materials and capability building to internal stakeholders.

SHARED LEARNING & CAPACITY BUILDING (20%)

• Assess organizational skills and competencies to develop, deliver and report on impactful policy and advocacy activities; identify and drive capacity building initiatives to strengthen organizational muscle according to identified needs.
• Initiate training, forum or workshops to build and connect the regional community of practice and facilitate a culture of shared learning including promotion of peer-to-peer learning
• Establish platforms for ideation, sharing and learning on policy and advocacy with relevant internal stakeholders.
• Facilitate continuous shared learning through identification and documentation of best practices, evidence, successful partnerships and approaches in East Asia that can contribute to regional and global knowledge base.
• Establish and maintain effective mechanisms for dissemination of information, tools and resources between internal stakeholders.

QUALITY ASSURANCE & REPORTING (10%)

• Lead the development and implementation of an internal engagement plan that connects, informs and inspires staff across the region in relation to World Vision’s local to global ministry.
• Collaborate with regional Program Quality staff and technical specialists to adopt and integrate DME policy, LEAP framework and tools to integrate advocacy and monitor and report results/ impact.
• Work with Field Offices and cross-functional Regional Office stakeholders to ensure field evidence is captured and leveraged to influence national policies.
• Coordinate data collection and reporting on the Advocacy Strategic Measures and Advocacy Maturity Framework, and provide quality assurance on the inputs provided.
• Support Field Offices to implement recommendations from the ASM report and any other global or regional assessments of the field programs.
• Ensure compliance with WVI advocacy and campaigns standards, protocols and policy.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND EXPERIENCE:

Required Education, training, license, registration, and certification

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, International Relations, Human Rights, International Development, Politics, or other related field.

Required Professional Experience

• Minimum 6 years’ experience working within the humanitarian industry, Child Rights, Child Development.
• Advanced proficiency in verbal and written English, with the ability to convey complex ideas clearly and professionally.
• Direct experience in the development and implementation of advocacy strategy, capability development, capacity building, and training.
• Experience engaging with government, INGO, IO, UN and embassy representation at a high level.
• Demonstrated experience in building effective coalitions.
• High level understanding of advocacy approaches and social accountability models at various levels of government and service providers.
• Understanding World Vision’s vision, mission, development and humanitarian approach.
• Strong analytical, organizational, problem solving, collaboration, facilitation and time management skills.
• Strong self-management and personal accountability to deliver results.
• High level of awareness of global and regional socio-economic, political and environmental issues.
• Ability to work effectively in a diverse and dispersed team environment.
• Competent in the use of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Willingness to travel domestically/internationally as needed, for business purposes.

Applicant Types Accepted:

Local Applicants Only