CARE is one of the world's leading international humanitarian and development organisations, committed to helping people in poor communities improve their lives and alleviate poverty. Founded in 1945, CARE is working across 104 countries to fight global poverty and marginalization. CARE has been active in Bangladesh since 1949 being one of the largest country offices of CARE. CARE works to help people achieve social and economic well-being, while being among the best in their fields. CARE put women and girls at the center of our work because we know that we cannot overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities. CARE Bangladesh is currently shifting towards a program approach, where it has developed longer-term impact visions to have more sustainable changes in the lives of the extreme poor and marginalized.

Globally, there is a growing interest and investment in Anticipatory Action (AA) as an approach to reduce potential impacts of anticipated disasters. In Bangladesh, humanitarian and disaster risk management organizations are carrying out various pilots to test, gather evidence, build capacity, and advocate for strengthening the DRM governance and financing system to reduce shocks on vulnerable people and their livelihoods, improve the effectiveness of emergency preparedness, response and recovery efforts, and reduce the humanitarian burden. Government of Bangladesh has also included ‘Forecast-based Financing and Action’ (FbF/A) in its recently revised Standing Orders on Disasters (SOD 2019) which shows their willingness to adopt the approach.

A consortium led by CARE Bangladesh, Concern Worldwide and technical partner Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) has been established. The consortium has launched the European Commission Humanitarian Aid (ECHO)-funded project ‘Scaling-Up Flood Forecast-based Action and Learning in Bangladesh’ (SUFAL) to strengthen the case for early action by implementing FbA system in three flood-prone districts of Northern Bangladesh. CARE Germany as the CARE Member Partner (CMP) holding the donor contract will oversee the project in Bangladesh and liaise directly with the donor.

SUFAL consortium partners with national and local government to implement AA to address the technical, economic, and institutional barriers limiting its uptake. The project will strengthen flood forecasting early warning by facilitating impact-based forecasting to contextualize forecasts, and identify wide range of community-focused early actions by developing an institutionalized mechanism to initiate FbF/A. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will guide how FbF/A are systematically tied to triggered threshold levels and provide guidelines on the roles of government and local stakeholders in taking early actions, emphasizing the protection of vulnerable groups. SUFAL will advocate for financing early actions, and propose recommendations on how FbA can be integrated into the DRM framework. Furthermore, SUFAL will study how social safety net programmes can also support early actions, and advocate for strengthening Shock Responsive Social Protection. During the monsoon season, SUFAL will test the system established to strengthen the evidence base for AA by assessing its impact and value for money. SUFAL will facilitate national and local level dialogue and advocacy around FbA to address institutional mandate challenges. By increasing capacity for AA, this project will improve the Government of Bangladesh's ability to respond timely and effectively to monsoon floods.

Reporting to the Consortium Coordinator-SUFAL II, the “Advocacy, Policy & Communications Officer” will be primarily responsible for providing support to address the policy-related problems, influence policies and norms at regional, national and local levels and thus to achieve sustained change in the conditions of the communities we work with. He will also responsible for addressing program related advocacy components, identify the appropriate strategy on how FbA can be integrated into DRA Framework, increase communication among the consortium, stakeholders and manage project related PR issues. The incumbent will lead to address the appropriate way of communication and will lead the team to interpret the technical components of Early Warning Massage and develop relevant IEC materials.    

• Identify the ground for a shared vision; enhance understanding and knowledge on the FbA approach; introduce key concepts and activities; and, create an atmosphere of learning and advocacy for the rest of the project period.
• Set a tone for advocacy from the very beginning, and explore opportunities for coordination and collaboration.
• Lesson learn from review existing GOB’s CRA guidelines and policies to include additional tools to incorporate early actions, as well as sector-specific actions and share at the national level for reflection and further advocacy on institutionalizing FbA into GoB DRM policy framework.
• Develop strategic plan to advocate for additional allocation from DDM and district administration for allocation of government funds and SSNPs through a series of consultations with district administration and DDM.
• Synthesize learning from implementation of FbA for advocacy at national level
• through reviewing the triggers and early actions implemented at various levels: community, district / institutional and national, capture the impacts and provide feedback into how to improve the FbA approach.
• Develop policy brief with recommendations for scaling up the FbA approach for monsoon floods, and learning brief on how to apply the FbA approach to other locations and even countries

• Work closely with advocacy focal points of consortium partners for effective roll out of the strategy.
• Support coordination with DDM, MODMR, Taskforce on FbF/A, technical working group on FbF/A, Red Cross Movement, UN, Start Fund Bangladesh, FOREWARN for collection, generation and dissemination of information; advocacy; and organization of events related to SUFAL’s anticipatory action activities.
• Coordinate organizing of communication and advocacy events like seminars, workshops.
• Archiving of communication and advocacy materials for the consortium.
• Submission of content such as photos, videos and field stories to the AHP Support Unit, including editing and quality-checking content.
• Maintain close cooperation with Taskforce on FbF/A, technical working group on FbF/A, and related functions / units / focal at DDM, MoDMR, clusters, other working groups and identified stakeholders.

• Lead internal and External communication of EU funding and partnership through increasing visibility of the project and its objective at National and local media (newspapers and TV channels)
• Develop social media (Facebook, twitter, YouTube) to reached a wider audience with the key messages from the SUFAL-II project.
• Develop press releases, press conference, other media outreach as per project need
• Develop key messages for a demonstration video on early actions which can be taken by community and households using their own resources to be shown in various villages, neighborhoods and household clusters; and also shared through social media to be viewed on smart phones.
• Network and build relationships and develop interaction between media representatives.

• Review available IEC materials developed for similar objectives and identify new effective materials.
• Develop case stories, designing various creative communication materials on project activities for advocacy and dissemination such as flyer, poster, booklet or any other IEC/ BCC materials.
• Translate complex messages of Early Warning System and related technical information into understandable and meaningful messages
• In consortium coordinator and other consortium organizations develop infographic and factsheets, quarterly consortium update.

As part of this role, the job holder will be expected to adhere to and support CARE Bangladesh’s Safety and Security policy and systems as part of their day to day duties, and comply, at all times, to safety & security protocols and directives, including reporting. Staff must maintain situational and self – awareness and be aware of the safety – security related consequences of their actions upon themselves, their team and the organization as a whole.

CARE is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behavior at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct and expects staff to promote the welfare of children, young people and adults at all times.  CARE expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our Code of Conduct.  We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate this commitment are recruited to work with us.

The Advocacy, Policy & Communications Officer reports directly to the Consortium Coordinator and will maintain close collaboration with Consortium partners equally.

This position is based in the CARE Bangladesh Dhaka Office; with approximately 50% time dedicated for field travel to districts under SUFAL.

• 5 to 7 years’ experience in relevant field of work, e.g. communication, journalism, information management, public relations, media, advocacy.
• Master’s in media, communications, advocacy, sociology, politics or other relevant field.
• Knowledge and understanding of DRR issues and DRM framework in Bangladesh. Incumbent must be familiar with agenda on Forecast-based Financing / Action (FbF/FbA) or Anticipatory Action will be given priority.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, negotiation and facilitation skills
• Strong coordination, networking and advocacy skills
• Excellent verbal and written language skills in both English and Bengali Good editing skills
• Computer skills, including knowledge of relevant software e.g. Microsoft office, photo editing software.

• Communicating and sharing ideas and information – Able to present information and express opinions confidently to internal and external audiences
• Interpersonal sensitivity – Able to communicate with sensitivity and foster communication, actively listening to others
• Influencing – Able to generate commitment and build consensus among others and gain their support
• Developing others – Able to foster the development of others by providing a supportive learning environment
• Customer Focus – Able to provide service excellence to internal and external customers, stakeholders and partners
• Initiative – Deals with situations and issues proactively and persistently
• Innovation – Demonstrates openness to new ideas, seeks out new opportunities
• Creativity – Able to think creatively and to translate creative thinking into tangible outputs
• Writing – Able to communicate ideas and information in writing to ensure that information and messages are understood and have the desired impact
• Leadership – Able to assume a leadership role in helping others to achieve excellent results
• Team work – Able to work effectively with other people within a work group
• Planning and organizing – Able to define work goals and objectives; develop and execute work plans; and contribute to the achievement of work group objectives.
• Ensure and Promote GEDI and be GEDI sensitive, creating an enabling environment where diversity can flourish and all staff and stakeholders experience inclusion and appreciation.