United States of America: Senior Advocate

Department: Program

Basic Function: The Senior Advocate is responsible for developing RI’s human rights and displacement agenda. She/ he will research displacement-related human rights issues within RI’s priority focus regions or populations, such as Mexico and the Northern Triangle, and the Rohingya in Myanmar. Additionally, s/he will participate in the development of fundraising proposals, communication strategies, and reporting in support of these activities.

Principle Duties:

Provide guidance to advocates and other staff members on the application of human rights law and standards to their research and advocacy strategies;

Work toward the full respect of the human rights of refugees, internally displaced persons, and stateless populations, particularly in the context of displacement and humanitarian response, and encourage greater U.S. attention to this and/or other issues as identified in the organization’s annual and strategic planning processes;

Conduct field assessments of humanitarian situations where issues of human rights are predominant through interviews with those affected, with other individuals knowledgeable about the situation, including NGO and UN personnel, government officials, and academics;

When requested, review analyses of mission findings with advocates and assist in the development of human-rights related policy recommendations;

Hold frequent meetings with U.S. government elected and appointed officials, UN agency personnel, and other relevant actors to advance the overall advocacy agenda of the organization or to carry out a plan of action particularly where a legislative or diplomatic solution is sought;

Represent the organization and its views on the human rights of populations of concern at national and international events and conferences, and at coordination meetings organized by NGOs, the U.S. government, the UN, think tanks, and other relevant institutions;

Contribute to the development of proposals to fund work on issues of concern, meet with donors, contribute to donor reports, organize Board missions, and give public talks on human rights and other displacement concerns;

Collaborate with fellow advocates and other RI staff to advance the organization’s positions on key human rights issues in support of the organization’s mission;

While being prepared to undertake 2 to 3 missions per year, remain available to join other research teams in assessing situations of displacement, looking at thematic issues in addition to the human rights of RI’s populations of concern;

Special Education/Experience Requirements:

A Master’s or law degree in international human rights law or a related field, and 5-7 years of professional experience involving some combination of direct involvement with human rights issues, overseas deployment, preferably related to the human rights of displaced persons, or to humanitarian crisis situations, and previous advocacy and policy experience.

Special Knowledge/Skills Requirements:

Experience analyzing crisis and displacement situations from a human rights perspective, familiarity with key agencies and treaties applicable in the fields of international human rights and humanitarian law, and knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of these structures required; strong communication skills, especially writing, public speaking and blogging required; English language fluency required, and Spanish fluency preferred; ability to work well with others in small teams; flexibility and a sense of humor; fundraising experience preferred, especially the development of foundation proposals.

Salary commensurate with experience.

Please send a cover letter, resume, and one writing sample to jobs@refugeesinternational.org before 1 March 2016. In the subject line write Senior Advocate followed by your family name. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.