Advocacy and Movement Building Lead

About YNCSD

Youth Network for Community and Sustainable Development (YNCSD) is a youth-led nonprofit

organisation advancing gender justice, protection, community resilience, and equitable

access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) across Nigeria. Grounded in

feminist, rights- based, and survivor-centred principles. We work with women, girls,

adolescents, displaced populations, and marginalised communities across programming

areas including:

- Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)

- Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention and response

- Humanitarian protection and safeguarding

- Youth leadership and civic engagement

- Community systems strengthening

- Gender equality and social justice

- Women and girls’ empowerment

As YNCSD grows, we want to strengthen our advocacy infrastructure, movement-building

capacity, and institutional positioning within the feminist, SRHR and gender justice space.

Role Overview

YNCSD is seeking an experienced and strategic SRHR Advocacy & Movement Building Lead

to drive the organisation's advocacy, external engagement, coalition-building, and movement

development efforts. This is a senior role responsible for positioning YNCSD as a credible and

influential voice across SRHR, feminist, gender justice, GBV, and youth advocacy ecosystems

in Nigeria and beyond. The successful candidate will shape organisational narratives, build

strategic relationships, influence policy conversations, and translate community realities into

systems-level action.

“The ideal candidate must be politically aware, deeply aligned with feminist and rights-

based approaches, and capable of independently driving strategic initiatives with minimal

supervision”

Key Responsibilities

1. Advocacy Strategy & Institutional Positioning

• Lead the development and execution of YNCSD's advocacy and movement-building

strategy

• Identify advocacy opportunities across SRHR, GBV, gender justice, youth rights, and

humanitarian ecosystems

• Monitor policy, legislative, and social developments relevant to women, girls,

adolescents, and marginalised populations

• Develop advocacy briefs, policy notes, position papers, campaign messaging, and

strategic engagement materials

• Support organisational participation in national, regional, and global advocacy platforms

2. Movement Building & Ecosystem Engagement

• Build and maintain strategic relationships with feminist movements, SRHR networks, civil society

society coalitions, INGOs, media actors, donors, government stakeholders, and technical

working groups

• Represent YNCSD at conferences, policy dialogues, coalition forums, and external

engagements

• Support community-led advocacy and grassroots mobilisation efforts

• Identify opportunities for coalition participation, joint advocacy, and strategic campaigns

3. SRHR &; Gender Justice Advocacy

• Lead advocacy efforts advancing bodily autonomy, reproductive justice, SRHR access,

gender equality, adolescent health, and survivor-centred approaches

• Engage within sensitive and politically complex advocacy spaces with strong judgment

and values alignment

• Contribute to evidence-based, rights-centred policy and public discourse

4. Knowledge & Thought Leadership

• Develop knowledge products, research translations, publications, and thought

leadership content

• Identify opportunities for media visibility, speaking engagements, and institutional

recognition

• Strengthen YNCSD's voice and visibility across advocacy and development ecosystems

5. Communications & Narrative Alignment

• Provide strategic direction to the Communications function to align advocacy priorities

with organizational messaging

• Oversee advocacy campaigns, storytelling, digital engagement, and public

communications in close collaboration with the Communications Officer

6. Internal Coordination

• Work with Programs, MEL, Safeguarding, and Leadership teams to align advocacy with

organisational evidence and priorities

• Contribute to organisational strategy, partnership development, and proposal

development where relevant

Qualifications & Experience

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Gender Studies, Public Policy, International Development, Law,

Political Science, Communications, Social Sciences, or related field

• Master’s degree in related fields is an added advantage

Experience

• Minimum 3–5 years of relevant experience in SRHR advocacy, feminist organising,

movement building, coalition engagement, or policy advocacy

• Demonstrated experience representing organisations in public-facing, policy, or

advocacy spaces

• Strong understanding of Nigeria’s gender, civic, development, humanitarian, and policy

landscape

• Experience leading advocacy campaigns, ecosystem engagement, or coalition-based

initiatives is strongly preferred

Key Competencies

Strategic Leadership

• Systems-thinking and ability to independently identify and move initiatives forward

• Comfortable operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments with strong ownership

• Sound political and stakeholder navigation skills

Advocacy & Ecosystem Knowledge

• Strong understanding of SRHR, GBV, feminist advocacy, humanitarian protection, and

gender justice ecosystems

• Familiarity with movement-building, coalition engagement, and rights-based

programming approaches

• Ability to engage across grassroots, policy, donor, and media environments

Communication & Representation

• Excellent verbal and written communication, facilitation, and public speaking skills

• Ability to craft compelling advocacy narratives and policy messaging

• Strong interpersonal and partnership-building capabilities

Values & Alignment

YNCSD is a feminist, rights-based organisation. We are seeking candidates who:

• Demonstrate strong alignment with feminist and survivor-centred approaches

• Believe in bodily autonomy and equitable access to SRHR information and services

• Are comfortable engaging within pro-choice and reproductive justice spaces

• Understand intersectional approaches to gender equality and social justice

• Can connect grassroots realities to systems-level change and are energised by

institution-building

Our Organisational Principles

At YNCSD, we are building a high-impact, mission-driven team guided by the following

principles:

● Strategic Alignment: Every decision and activity must contribute to our strategic

priorities and long-term impact goals.

● Impact Over Activity: We focus on meaningful outcomes, not just completing tasks or

running activities.

● Ownership & Initiative: We value autonomy, proactive problem-solving, and people

who take full ownership of their work.

● Clear Communication & Collaboration: We communicate intentionally, seek context

actively, and work in agile, mission-focused teams.

● High Performance Culture: We reject mediocrity, embrace continuous learning, give

direct feedback, and stay solution-oriented even in challenging situations.

● Efficiency & Accountability: We value focused execution, responsible use of

resources, and purposeful work over unnecessary bureaucracy.

Why Join YNCSD

This is an opportunity to shape a growing organisation working at the intersection of gender

justice, SRHR, humanitarian response, youth leadership, and community-driven social change.

YNCSD offers:

• Hybrid and flexible work environment

• Significant autonomy and ownership within the role

• Comprehensive medical insurance coverage

• Professional development and learning support

• A collaborative, mission-driven culture with opportunities for high-impact advocacy work

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit the following to recruitment@yncsd.org:

• CV / Resume

• Cover Letter

• Writing sample or advocacy-related work sample

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

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