Advocacy and Communications Advisor job at Marie Stopes Uganda (MSU)

Vacancy title:
Advocacy and Communications Advisor

Jobs at:
Marie Stopes Uganda (MSU)

Deadline of this Job:
Monday, July 14 2025

Duty Station:
Kampala | Kampala | Uganda

Summary
Date Posted: Tuesday, July 1 2025, Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:

Cost Centre: 61000
No. of Direct Reports: Y
Reporting to Head of Grants
Budget Responsibilities: (Y/N) Yes

The Role
Reporting to the Head of Grants, the Advocacy and Communications Advisor will play a key role in enhancing the visibility of Marie Stopes Uganda (MSUG) and strengthening strategic relationships with the Ministry of Health, other key ministries, development partners, Members of Parliament, and civil society organizations.

S/He will provide technical support to channel leads, field teams, and external stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of MSUG’s advocacy priorities at district and national levels including advocacy with the executive (Ministry of Health and other relevant ministries) and legislative. The core focus of the role is to reinforce MSUG’s collaborative efforts and visibility across sectors.
S/He will also develop strategic advocacy strategies geared to bring about positive change in the political decision making around policies and policy implementation, sometimes in collaboration with external civil society partners, develop advocacy messages, producing high-quality communication materials, managing internal and external communications, and ensure consistent branding across all platforms. The role also supports donor reporting, internal newsletters, and the creation of Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials.

Key Responsibilities
Advocacy and Partners Engagement – 70% Advocacy
• Design and lead advocacy and partnerships activities to contribute to the fulfillment of the advocacy and partnerships pillar in MSI 2030Lead the development, revision and implementation of the MSUG advocacy strategy and workplan
• Identify and map advocacy opportunities to influence policy that will increase access to SRHR in Uganda, and monitor political trends for the organization
• Support the development of advocacy initiatives for inclusion in funding proposals, and contribute to donor reports relating to the organization’s advocacy.
• Proactively identify and convene a diverse range of external partners, allies and influencers around MSUG advocacy activities, and representing MSUG in relevant TWGs, and government led policy committees
• Represent MSUG at key government engagements (including but not restricted to the MoH), respective parliamentary committees, support ministries like finance, education, gender etc to further our advocacy influence
• Use insights into the political environment to inform the organization’s advocacy actions.
• Develop policy positions, review and provide technical inputs into government policy documents, regulatory guidelines and other useful resources in relation to the advocacy objectives.
• Research and draft media pitches for local and national media, crafting stories from case studies from MSUG programs and creating compelling narratives from policy and advocacy briefs.
• Coordinate field visits to donor projects, for government officials, donors and the media.
• Organise media buy-in and pitching, brown bags, media cafes, sensitization on advocacy issues.
• Work with channels leads to identifying priorities within their channels and ensure that these are integrated into
MSUG’s advocacy strategy.
• Support a working group to coordinate advocacy efforts within MSUG
• Develop SMART advocacy messages and associated advocacy and communications materials to make the case for policy asks at the national and local levels
• Track advocacy activities and ensure that these are implemented, and activity reports availed for the same.
• Monitor trends in the anti-rights movement nationally and regionally, advise MSUG on appropriate mitigation strategies
• Engage with the Global Advocacy Community of practice to stay ahead of emerging trends and best practice from within MSI
• Mapping and analysis of different decisionmakers and influencers within government ministries, parliament and external stakeholders including religious and thought leaders
Partners Engagement:
• Build mutually beneficial partnership and coordinate work with other networks and allies in the field of SRH and human rights in Uganda to inform our work and maximize the chance of securing advocacy wins.
• Motivate and coordinate civil society partners around shared advocacy strategies and action plans to amplify organizational capacities and voice across civil society
• Develop activities and work plans with external partner members in accordance with MSUG’s partnership principles.

Communication and Visibility for MSI brand and marketing– 30%
• Develop and disseminate advocacy messages that effectively communicate MSUG’s mission and objectives.
• Collaborate with the creative team, external agencies, or consultants to produce high-quality communication materials, including policy briefs, success stories, and social media content that highlight MSUG’s impact.
• Gather information and compile narrative reports for donors and relevant partners.
• Support the creation and distribution of an internal newsletter to keep staff informed about organizational activities.
• Ensure consistent and correct use of MSUG’s branding, as well as that of partners and donors, in line with established guidelines.
• Oversee the production and quality of Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials.
• Manage the branding of assets and corporate materials such as diaries and calendars, including those of partners where applicable.
• Ensure staff are appropriately branded during field visits and external engagements.
• Maintain proper storage and upkeep of all branding and visibility materials.

About You
To succeed in this role, you must be/have:
• Degree in Public Health, Communication or related public relations qualification and an undergraduate degree in Mass Communication/Public Relations/Social Sciences/Development Studies, Public Healthor equivalent qualification.
• At least 5 years’ experience managing campaigns, external engagements and communications on SRHR is a must.
• Prior experience coordinating and working with coalitions or advocacy networks.
• Demonstrable experience working with district teams, and ministries towards advocacy and policy work
• At least five years of previous experience in advocacy, communications, media relations.
• Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of how to successfully communicate and engage with the public.
• Be pro choice and be willing to defend and advance MSUGs human rights principles.

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 60

Level of Education: bachelor degree

Job application procedure

• Submit your cover letter, CV, and academic documents as a single PDF file.
• Include the job title "Advocacy and Communications Advisor" in the subject line of your email.
• Send your application to jobsmariestopes.or.ug.
• Deadline: 14th July 2025.
• Interviews will be held on a rolling basis.

MSUG is an equal opportunities employer, committed to safeguarding humanity and expects all position holders to share this commitment.
MSUG has a well-guided and transparent recruitment process that requires no payment or sexual favours from any candidate/job applicants/potential job seekers as a pre employment requirement.
Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.