Your Contribution to our success:

This position contributes to AHF by:

Strategically advancing AHF’s advocacy and policy initiatives, media communications, and young people’s programming (including Girls Act and boys), both domestically and globally for impact.

This position enhances the reputation of AHF by:

Leading and supporting the development and implementation of strategic initiatives, supporting high-profile engagements, and influencing agendas to raise awareness at both grassroots and high levels to address critical societal issues through multifaceted approaches and making a positive difference at various levels. Based on her experience and eloquence, she is able to represent AHF in high-profile forums, with media, at conferences, and meetings through presentations and speeches that passionately articulate AHF’s position and mission.

You will be a passionate advocate for our top initiatives. To be successful as a Director of Advocacy & Policy, it is crucial to ensure that the AHF Core Values and Mission stay top of mind with all you do. At AHF, we are nimble and able to adapt in a dynamic environment to assist in providing the best experience for our clients and workplace for our employees.

AHF has a collaborative organizational structure where staff are accountable to multiple leaders. The

Position Title will work as part of a close-knit team to:

• Advocacy and Policy: Support, initiate and coordinate the designing and implementing of strategic advocacy initiatives that drive policy change and elevate AHF’s presence in high-level spaces. This will be through:
  • Developing impactful high-level advocacy strategies to foster and sustain meaningful engagements with parliamentarians, key networks, and relevant regional bodies/organizations committed to advancing HIV/AIDS and public health response.
  • Policy review - Identifying gaps in existing policies, proposing evidence-based recommendations, and actively participating in policy processes. In addition to enhancing teams’ ability to communicate complex issues to a broader audience through policy and advocacy briefs and influencing agenda-setting and policy options.
  • Strategic Partnerships: Identifying and consolidating strategic partnerships/coalitions beyond the health sector, such as education, gender, finance, private sector, grassroots organisation etc. Thus, positioning the teams to contribute to a more holistic approach to policy, advocacy, and help AHF shape national and regional strategic directions that align with its goals.
• Media Advocacy and Communications: Amplifying AHF’s profile and key advocacy efforts by leveraging media engagement and relations through-
  • Media mapping: Supporting teams to conduct strategic media mapping to identify critical media outlets, journalists, and influencers that align with AHF’s interests toward ensuring AHF’s messages reach the right audience.
  • Media pitching: supporting countries/bureaus in crafting compelling pitches to effectively communicate AHF’s policy advocacy initiatives and clients’ voices and ensure our advocacy efforts receive the attention they deserve.
  • Media Training: Building the capacity of teams with media handling skills to effectively engage with the media, develop press releases/statements, understand interview dynamics, and ensure an accurate representation of AHF’s work.
  • Creative Avenues: Increasing the use of contextual and innovative approaches to media engagements that are responsive to the clime and needs, such as media breakfasts, editorial visits, media site tours, fireside chats, and media awards, among others, to enhance AHF’s visibility and credibility within the media landscape. Thus, providing unique opportunities for in-depth interaction and dialogue and fostering stronger relationships with media stakeholders.
  • Storytelling and Op-eds: Identifying compelling story angles for op-eds and articles to enable AHF to share its perspectives and best practices on critical HIV and public health issues. Through generating thought-provoking content for the media, teams can shape public discourse, influence policy agenda, and elevate AHF as a thought leader and go-to resource for HIV and public health.

• Leadership and Mentorship: Mentoring staff, clients and grassroots communities to build their advocacy skills to increase the base of AHF advocates through -
  • Inspiring passion and purpose on the efficacy of advocacy to create meaningful change and translate passion to tangible actions through motivation, drawing from lived experiences and opportunities. To empower teams to recognize the potential for change within every individual and provide them with the necessary tools and support.
  • Lead by example by demonstrating empathy, passion, integrity, fairness, commitment to the cause, courage, and adaptability.
  • Utilizing relevant tools such as situation analysis, agenda-setting, stakeholder mapping and engagement, and policy analysis and options, among others, in line with the relevant contexts.
  • Developing clear advocacy strategies focusing on defining target audiences, tactics, messaging, channels/platforms, evidence-based, and timeline.
  • Providing guidance on practical communication skills, including public speaking, persuasive content, and human-angle stories.
  • Supporting skills building around high-level engagements such as crafting policy/advocacy briefs, participating in public hearings, and handling meetings.

• Young People and Gender Programming:
  • Strengthening youth programs and Girls Act programs in current Africa Bureau locations and in new jurisdictions through designing strategic interventions responsive to their needs and lived realities.
  • Supporting Bureaus to strengthen the structural programming of the Girls Act and boys and empowering them to be more gender transformative toward achieving HIV/STI prevention and promoting health seeking behaviors.
  • Elevating the visibility of our Youth programs by identifying global, regional, and National youth-led opportunities, platforms, and partnerships to foster young people’s active participation and involvement, thus growing a base of advocates.