Senior Advocacy and Congressional Relations Advisor

DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

The Mercy Corps Policy and Advocacy Team supports Mercy Corps’ global mission by fostering a policy environment that enables the success of Mercy Corps’ field programs.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The PA Team is seeking an advocacy professional, with proven capacity to advise and influence the US government, who will help to ensure that Mercy Corps enjoys a strong, credible, and timely voice in the development and foreign affairs arenas. The position will be responsible for managing Mercy Corps’ grassroots and grasstops advocacy outreach in coordination with Mercy Corps’ Marketing team, and for coordinating the PA Team’s Congressional relations strategy. The position will organize advocacy campaigns; develop advocacy content that advances Mercy Corps’ policy objectives; strengthen Mercy Corps outreach to grassroots and grasstops activists, and build relations with key Congressional offices.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Organize Advocacy Campaigns

• In conjunction with the PA Director and the Resource Development Team, identify topics for two to three advocacy campaigns per year.
• Devise appropriate strategies for advocacy campaigns, including target audiences, outreach and organizing tools, messaging, and political follow-up.
• Ensure that advocacy campaigns support Mercy Corps organizational objectives.
• Develop and track indicators of campaign effectiveness.

Build a Network of Mercy Corps Advocates

• Generate action alerts and other ongoing advocacy actions to engage Mercy Corps donors and constituents.
• Design and pursue a strategy to cultivate a corps of well-informed grassroots activists who will consistently mobilize in support of Mercy Corps action requests.
• Identify and cultivate a corps of grasstops activists and influencers with links to Mercy Corps.
• Work with Mercy Corps community outreach officers in Portland and Boston to organize outreach and events for local advocates.

Congressional Strategy and Representation

• Advise the PA team on Congressional relations strategy.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with Congressional delegations for Mercy Corps locations in the Pacific Northwest and New England.
• Build effective, credible relationships with other key Congressional contacts, including Members and staff from Foreign Relations/Foreign Affairs and Appropriations Committees; key caucuses.
• Track legislative developments on Capitol Hill and monitor relevant legislative initiatives from colleague agencies, Interaction, advocacy organizations and coalitions, and think tanks.
• Organize briefings and receptions on Capitol Hill to highlight Mercy Corps programs and policy priorities.
• Ensure a strong link between grassroots/grasstops advocacy and Mercy Corps Congressional outreach.

External Relations

• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with key external partners, including NGO colleagues, think tanks, and academic institutions.
• Represent Mercy Corps in collective advocacy efforts through Interaction, MFAN, USGLC, and other coalitions.
• When appropriate, and in coordination with the relevant country team leader, represent the agency in dealings with the media.

Organizational and Team Support

• Provide policy analysis to Mercy Corps leadership and field teams to ensure that broad agency decision-making reflects an accurate understanding of the policy context.
• Contribute to Mercy Corps’ external contacts database, archive correspondence and records of meetings.

Organizational Learning: As part of Mercy Corps’ agency-wide Organizational Learning Initiative, all team members are responsible for spending 5% of their work time in formal and/or non-formal professional learning activities.

Accountability to Beneficiaries: Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: None on a regular basis.

ACCOUNTABILITY:

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Director of Policy and Advocacy

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Washington DC office staff, Communications Team, Marketing Team, Regional and Country Teams, Technical Support Unit.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field (international development, international relations, public policy, etc.); Master’s degree preferred.
• At least 5 to 8 years relevant experience in the advocacy and international development arenas.
• Strong and in-depth understanding of the US Congress; past experience working on the Hill preferred.
• Strong writing skills, with a proven ability to summarize and distill complex policy issues for a general audience in a concise and engaging way.
• Demonstrated knowledge of humanitarian and/or development sectors required. Familiarity with fieldwork preferred.
• Familiarity with Mercy Corps priority countries (including Haiti, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Horn of Africa, Sudan, and the Middle East), or priority issues (including aid reform, youth, the foreign assistance budget, food security, and the relationship between aid and national security) preferred.
• Proven ability in researching, analyzing, and reporting on foreign assistance issues. Strong analytical skills and the ability to effectively gather and summarize large amounts of information from various sources.
• Strong political and strategic skills, with a demonstrated ability to effectively advance policy priorities.
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills.
• Demonstrated sensitivity, skill and experience in working diplomatically and effectively within different cultural settings and in public relations and correspondence with a wide variety of public constituents.

SUCCESS FACTORS:

• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with colleagues, peer groups, officials and stake-holders, and motivation to seek out and establish new relationships.
• Strong and strategic understanding of policy dynamics.
• Ability to effectively summarize complex information into clear, concise talking points of briefing papers
• A clear understanding of Mercy Corps’ mission and collaborative style of operation.
• Ability to work simultaneously on multiple tasks in a fast paced, sometimes stressful environment and meet deadlines under those conditions.
• Ability to work as part of a team and coordinate with both HQ and country team personnel.
• Computer literate with strong organizational skills.
• Ability to operate with a significant degree of autonomy within agreed upon parameters.
• Flexibility and sense of humor.

LIVING/ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:

This position is based in Washington, DC.

Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Staff are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Mercy Corps is an AA/EOE.

How to apply:

Apply online at our website:
http://mercycorps.silkroad.com/epostings/submit.cfm?fuseaction=app.dspjo...