Advocacy Director

About StrongMinds

StrongMinds (www.strongminds.org) is a dynamic and fast growing 501(c)(3) social enterprise that treats depression among women and adolescents in Africa, where access to mental health treatment is extremely limited. Since its start in 2014, StrongMinds has treated nearly 230,000 women and adolescents with depression in Uganda and Zambia.

We are the only organization scaling a solution to depression in Africa with a potential to serve millions in the next ten years and to expand to other geographical regions.

StrongMinds has earned an impressive reputation in the global mental health space. In addition to media coverage in the New York Times, Forbes, BBC World Service, and the Stanford Social Innovation Review, we are described by UK organization Founders Pledge as the most cost-effective mental health organization working in the developing world and by Charity Navigator as a highly rated, high impact charity.

StrongMinds Core Values:

• We are people focused.
• We think big and act fast.
• We are data driven.
• We do what we say and say what we do.
• We believe in collaboration, not competition.

The Role

The Advocacy Director will lead StrongMinds’ efforts to leverage and spur the global mental health advocacy movement. They will position StrongMinds as an active and influential collaborator on mental health legislation, funding and thought leadership. Their efforts will ultimately lead to increasing general mental health awareness globally including the need for better access to treatment, the power of task shifting in resource poor settings, and the urgency to address the need for mental health support.

This role will lead on building out the strategy, planning, development and implementation of a mental health advocacy campaign. Key responsibilities include research, power mapping and coordinating with various partners – UN entities, NGOs, private sector, donors and individuals with lived experience – to implement and incorporate StrongMinds mental health advocacy objectives into all relevant events and moments across the wider global mental health community.

This is a new position within StrongMinds to support an increasingly emergent area of effort. StrongMinds is a rapidly growing organization looking to build out an advocacy department with this position as the initial hire.

1. Understanding global mental health advocacy community – Conduct landscape analysis of mental health advocacy and funding space to identify key networks, influential players, key points of discussion and potential areas of leverage to elevate the global conversation on mental health.
2. Context Knowledge & Networks – A good understanding of the leading multilateral and bilateral actors and partners working on mental health within the global health arena, drawing on a strong personal network of contacts.
3. Knowing what and where influential conversations are happening on mental health – Provides advice and expertise to the CDCO on a range of advocacy and outreach issues, methods and approaches. Develops strategic partnerships with key constituencies to elicit support for and maximize impact of mental health objectives; work with the CDCO to serve as an advocacy liaison to governmental bodies, national groups, private sector organizations and international organizations.
4. Identify key moments and opportunities where StrongMinds should be present and vocal – Work at ensuring StrongMinds is an active and valued voice in strategic and influential conversations.
5. Evaluating impact of advocacy efforts – Evaluate results and impact of activities, report on developments, trends and attitudes regarding mental health in both the legislative and funding context.
6. Provide leadership in growing advocacy at the organization – Evaluate needs and next steps to continue to build StrongMinds advocacy work in the future. Advising on staffing and resources needed.

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, international relations, government relations or related field.
• A minimum of 10 years of experience in advocacy campaigns.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Outgoing and ability to network.
• Ability to present the organization and advocacy objectives in a compelling way to a diverse audience.
• Exceptional writing skills to be used in drafting policy and position documents, external documentation, reports.
• Strong research capabilities.
• Experience in establishing and tracking metrics related to advocacy.
• Creativity and experience devising successful advocacy campaigns.
• Excellent time management.
• Ability to take initiative.
• Collaborate and a team player.
• A good working knowledge of global mental health issues, conversations, and contexts.

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