job
Regional Policy and Advocacy Advisor - PlayMatters
Organization International Rescue CommitteeLocation UgandaType FULL TIMEPosted 18 May 2026Deadline 17 Jun 2026
Advocacy/CommunicationsEducation
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Full Description
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.
The IRC has been working in Uganda since 1998 supporting refugees, vulnerable host communities, and various institutions in the country notably the government, community-based organizations, civil society, and the private sector. Currently, the IRC in Uganda has a presence across five sub-regions and six refugee settlements, implementing programming in the sectors of health, protection and rule of law (PRoL), women’s protection and empowerment (WPE), economic recovery and development (ERD), and education. IRC Uganda also implements cross-cutting programming focused on systems strengthening and accountability to affected persons.
**Job Overview/ Summary**:
PlayMatters (PM) phase 3 is a 4-year education initiative (2026-2030) with a goal of improving the well-being and holistic learning outcomes of pre-primary and primary school aged children (ages 3-12+), including those who are affected by conflict and crisis, in Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda by strengthening education systems to deliver quality education services using active teaching and learning through play. PM prioritizes strengthening education systems to be resilient and scaling impact by working with and through existing systems rather than establishing parallel systems. PM has three main outcomes: Outcome 1: Education systems have increased capacity, uptake, and coordination of Learning through Play (LtP) as a teaching method; Outcome 2: School-aged children in refugee hosting and post-crisis recovery zones have increased access to quality learning opportunities in safe environments; Outcome 3: School-aged children's holistic development is protected in times of acute crisis.
The Policy and Advocacy Advisor for the PlayMatters regional support team will lead creative efforts to bring attention to the developmental needs of children aged 3-12 in settings where PlayMatters operates, raise the profile of IRC and partners’ work in this area and influence change in the ways in which education integrating play is prioritized and funded in PlayMatters contexts and globally. Reporting to the Deputy Project Director, PlayMatters, the Regional Policy and Advocacy Advisor will be a critical member of the regional project team, based in the Kampala office.
During inception period (through July 2026) the Policy and Advocacy Advisor will participate in the preparation of key project inception deliverables including the advocacy and communications plan, implementation plan, the work plan, the monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL)plan for Policy and systems workstream, and contribute to the research agenda. This will involve participating in regular communication and meeting routines within IRC as well as with partners.
Following the inception period, the Policy and Advocacy Advisor will be responsible for designing and implementing a policy and advocacy strategy across the project’s country programs as well as connecting the policy and advocacy work to the other technical aspects of project implementation and to IRC’s global education strategy. This will involve close communication with the research and MEAL teams and the implementation teams to understand the interventions being used and the lessons stemming from them. Ensuring regular timely and relevant communications with ministries, partners, and relevant coordination working groups (such as the Education Cluster) will be essential. Both the inception period and long-term scope of major responsibilities for the Policy and Advocacy Advisor are presented below.
**Major Responsibilities:**
**1. Design and Implement Learning through Play Policy and Advocacy stra**tegy
• Support IRC’s global education advocacy strategy by identifying and participating in key moments to promote PlayMatters.
• Liaise with key advocacy focal points across IRC’s Crisis Response, Recovery & Development (CRRD) Unit at the global, regional, and country level, as well as IRC’s Policy and Advocacy and Communication units, to keep abreast of strategic initiatives and opportunities that may inform the PlayMatters advocacy strategy.
• Conduct and maintain stakeholder analyses and power mapping to identify and recommend strategic decision makers to target wit
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