Director of Advocacy Campaigns Communications and Media

JOB TITLE: Director of Advocacy Campaigns Communications and Media (Open for National & International applications)
TEAM/PROGRAM: Advocacy Campaigns Communications and MediaLOCATION: Syria/Damascus
GRADE: 1CONTRACT LENGTH: 2 years
CHILD SAFEGUARDING:
Level 3: the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.
ROLE PURPOSE:
The Director of Advocacy Campaigns Communications and Media (ACCM) is a pivotal member of the Senior Management Team in Syria Country Office providing strategic leadership on advocacy policy influence media and communications to raise the profile of issues facing children and to amplify Save the Childrens impact in Syria. This role drives public and private advocacy campaigns and media & communications engagement to advance Save the Childrens policy positions and influence decision-makers at national regional and global levels. The ACCM Director actively shapes and implements efforts to shift awareness attitudes behaviours and policies regarding childrens rights ensuring they are prioritised and protected by government partners and the public.

In Syrias contexts - Category 2 large-scale emergency response the ACCM Director elevates Save the Childrens visibility and impact with effective advocacy and child rights strategiesincluding integrated humanitarian and development advocacy impactful campaigns policy engagement crisis communications and high-quality media output.

SCOPE OF ROLE
CONTEXT OF COUNTRY

Reports to: Country Director and is a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT)
Staff directly reporting to this post: Media policy Child Rights Governance nfo/Comms advocacy roles

ANNUAL GROSS SALARY LEVEL: Syria is designated as a non-family duty station. Applicable terms and conditions will apply to international and national staff in accordance with organizational policies and procedures. The offer will be determined based on experience internal equity and financial addition to salary Save the Children International offers a competitive benefits package.
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
1. Strategy Planning & Leadership
Lead the design and delivery of ACCM strategies integrating development and humanitarian frameworks to drive policy change and deliver impact for children.
Advise the Country Director and SMT on external positioning advocacy risks and opportunities across the humanitariandevelopmentpeace nexus.
Foster an accountable inclusive high-performing culture grounded in humanitarian principles child safeguarding and security standards.
Ensure ACCM coherence across emergency response humanitarian coordination child rights governance and development programming.
2. Advocacy and Campaigns;
Build and maintain strategic alliances with advocacy networks child rights forums and humanitarian fora to ensure timely and visible advocacy in both development and crisis contexts.
Align country advocacy with global campaign priorities and deliver ACCM components of the Country Strategic Plan through evidence-based policy and advocacy.
Position Save the Children as a leading child rights and protection advocate chairing and contributing to coalitions influencing government policy and humanitarian action.
Oversee implementation of global and national campaigns designing agile tactics for stable and crisis contexts and monitoring their impact.
Lead proposal development and resource mobilization for advocacy and campaigns.
Lead emergency advocacy and communications ensuring rapid-response messaging safe participation and principled representation including on topics like protection of civilians access CAAC forced displacement humanitarian architecture.

3. Media and Communications
Ensure consistent application of branding and communication standards across development and humanitarian contexts.
Oversee production of high-quality materialspolicy briefs reports appeals and storytellingthat reflect child-centred priorities and amplify childrens voices.
Build and maintain strong media relations to enhance visibility and manage crisis communications effectively.
Lead timely production of press releases and humanitarian narratives ensuring rapid coordinated internal and external communications.

evidence and analysis
Provide strategic direction for long-term context-specific policy influence and system change developing evidence-based advocacy and research products.
Conduct situational and needs analyses to inform humanitarian policy briefs and advocacy materials on protection education and accountability.
Monitor policy developments coordination mechanisms and donor priorities to identify advocacy opportunities and risks.
Ensure integration of field evidence and lessons learned into advocacy communications and programme design to achieve sustainable impact.

Affairs
As ACCM Director in a CAT2/complex emergency
Lead advocacy on humanitarian access operational space and principled action in complex emergencies engaging with authorities armed actors and donors.
Develop specialized strategies on protection of civilians grave violations IHL/IHRL compliance and accountability.
Represent Save the Children in humanitarian coordination fora and donor mechanisms advocating for flexible and timely humanitarian financing.
Oversee humanitarian information management and crisis communications while upholding conflict sensitivity do-no-harm and staff safety standards.

evaluation and learning
Establish systems to monitor advocacy and campaign outcomes across development and humanitarian objectives.
Ensure delivery against KPIs contribute to Country Annual Reports and track CSP milestones.
Lead documentation and dissemination of lessons learned and best practices to inform organizational learning and sector innovation.

Management Mentorship and Development
Lead and manage the ACCM team with clear strategic direction measurable objectives and robust performance management.
Build staff capacity through coaching mentoring and tailored development plans for both routine and crisis contexts.
Foster a culture of motivation resilience and wellbeing ensuring protocols for emergency deployment and staff care.

Representation & External Engagement
Represent Save the Children in key advocacy humanitarian and policy fora at national and international levels.
Cultivate partnerships with government donors UN agencies civil society and media ensuring principled and strategic engagement.
Support senior leadership in high-level diplomacy crisis communications and strategic advocacy with key stakeholders.
Coordinate with global and regional advocacy teams and lead the CO HAWG with the global humanitarian advocacy team to align national work with broader humanitarian and child rights agendas.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)
Accountability:
holds self-accountable for making decisions managing resources efficiently achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.
Ambition:
sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children engages and motivates others
future orientated thinks strategically and on a global scale.
Collaboration:
builds and maintains effective relationships with their team colleagues Members and external partners and supporters
values diversity sees it as a source of competitive strength
approachable good listener easy to talk to.
Creativity:
develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
willing to take disciplined risks.
Integrity:
honest encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in policy social science communications journalism international relations humanitarian studies international development or related fields.
Minimum of 7-10 years progressive experience in senior positions delivering advocacy campaigns communications and media work with INGOs in both development and humanitarian contexts including experience in Category 1 or large-scale emergency responses and protracted crises.
Demonstrable track record in advocacy on International Humanitarian Law and engagement with humanitarian coordination mechanisms (OCHA clusters HCTs) alongside long-term policy influence on child rights.
Proven success in designing and implementing advocacy strategies and campaigns resulting in measurable policy change improved protection or enhanced humanitarian response for children and communities.
Experience managing external relations government/UN agency/NGO/donor engagement and high-profile media work in both stable and crisis settings.
Proven management and leadership skills including building motivating and developing diverse teams in high-pressure rapidly changing environments (humanitarian and development).
Highly developed interpersonal negotiation influencing and communication skills (verbal and written) with fluency in Arabic & English.
Excellence in concise clear writing and presentation skills for diverse audiences: policymakers humanitarian coordinators donors media and communities.
Strong analytical planning organizational and coordination skills with ability to manage multiple priorities under time pressure.
Commitment to Save the Childrens aims values and principles including humanitarian principles (humanity neutrality impartiality independence) and child rights-based approaches.

Desirable:
Experience in specific crisis contexts (e.g. Yemen Sudan Afghanistan Ukraine DRC oPt Syria Somalia Myanmar) or similar conflict displacement or disaster response settings.
Strong international advocacy and humanitarian networks.
Experience managing advocacy risk crisis communications and sensitive external engagement in politically restricted or insecure environments.
Background in humanitarian negotiations coordination roles protection in emergencies child protection in armed conflict (CAAC) humanitarian architecture and donor relations in emergency settings.
High-level external representation including diplomatic experience UN engagement multi-country advocacy or major international campaign leadership.

Additional responsibilities:
The duties and responsibilities described above are not exhaustive and the incumbent may be required to perform additional duties to the extent that their level of competence and experience warrants.
Equal opportunities:
The post holder is required to perform his/her duties in accordance with SCIs policies and procedures on equal opportunities and diversity.
Child safeguarding:
We must keep children safe so our selection process which includes rigorous background checks reflects our commitment to protecting children from abuse.
Protection of our staff:
The incumbent is required to perform his/her duties in accordance with SCIs anti-harassment policy.
Health and safety:
The role holder is required to carry out their duties in accordance with SCIs health and safety policies and procedures
Procurement Manual and Policy:
Insofar as ICS staff are involved in the procurement of goods and services (mainly but not exclusively supply chain/purchasing programs departmental budget officers and finance) the incumbent must refer to the procurement manual and policies of his/her day-to-day work.