EDF is recruiting a Humanitarian Advocacy Officer, starting as soon as possible.
The European Disability Forum (EDF) is seeking a committed team member for our secretariat based in Brussels. We are a non-governmental European umbrella organisation set up to represent organisations of persons with disabilities at EU level. Our membership includes 100 Organisations including European NGOs and National Federations of organisations of persons with disabilities. Our mission is to promote the equal opportunities and human rights of persons with disabilities in the European Union.
The purpose of this role is to assist the European Disability Forum and its members in the advocacy component of their work on the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.
The main objectives of the role are to:
- Positively influence the ongoing humanitarian response, ensuring that the requirements of persons with disabilities are included in the work of the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) agencies, national governments and all humanitarian actors, according to Article 11 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
- Promote the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities, through their representative organisations (DPOs/OPDs), in all Ukraine war humanitarian response decision-making processes
Tasks
- Collect, verify and organise up-to-date data and first-hand accounts evidence on the situation of persons with disabilities impacted by the war
- Use this information to advocate for the inclusion of persons and children with disabilities in all relevant mechanisms, including UN agencies (UNHCR, OCHA, UNICEF, WHO), the EU and other humanitarian actors
- Engage in all relevant OCHA clusters, in particular the Protection cluster Age & Disability Technical Working Group, the Child protection and the Gender-based violence sub-clusters
- Engage with the EU agencies responsible for supporting people in Ukraine (inside and outside Ukraine), in particular Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME), Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), Directorate for the Health Emergency Preparedness and Reponses Authority (HERA), the European Union Agency for Asylum and the Equality Commissioner
- Assist organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs/DPOs) in engaging with and influencing the humanitarian response at all relevant levels, both in and outside Ukraine
- Take proactive responsibility for staying informed about developments and good practice in disability inclusion and mainstreaming
- Closely monitor the local context of Ukraine and provide updates on contextual changes to promote informed decision making and linkage with EDF Ukrainian programme
- Engage with like-minded organisations to collaborate on advocacy work (either informally or formally), developing key messages, identifying entry points and sharing workload
- Work with the EDF Programme Manager to get up to date information about persons with disabilities in Ukraine to be shared with trusted partners, donors, selected communication outlets to strengthen public and political support, and channel funding and support to DPOs
- Ensure EDF website and members area contains accurate, up to date information about the impact of the war on persons with disabilities, both in and outside Ukraine (including persons with disabilities left at home, in institutions, internally displaced inside Ukraine and the refugee crisis in neighbouring countries)
- Engage in all humanitarian advocacy activities relevant for the international cooperation team
Essential skills and experience
- Strong written and spoken communication skills in English and Ukrainian (essential) and Russian (optional)
- Experience in human rights/ disability sector (Desirable)
- Experience of working in an emergency context including in humanitarian coordination system (Desirable)
- Ability to structure, organise and follow up data and emails
- Ability to priorities and to respond in a timely way for urgent request for support
- Ability to set up accessible meetings and communication channels online using online communication tools (zoom, teams)
The postholder must have a right to live and work in the EU. This is also possible for people fleeing the Ukraine and under temporary protection in the EU. The EDF is based in Brussels.
Please send CV and motivation letter to Marion Steff, International Cooperation Manager: marion.steff@edf-feph.org by Monday April 11th 2022.
The interview dates will be the 19th and 20th April 2022.