ACBAR

Over the past few years, Afghanistan has witnessed a relative improvement in security and stability across much of the country. This has allowed humanitarian actors like INTERSOS to maintain uninterrupted access and expand services in areas that were previously hard to reach. Despite this progress, the humanitarian situation remains critical, with millions of Afghans continuing to face acute vulnerabilities due to prolonged economic hardship, natural disasters, and limited access to essential services.

In 2025, more than half of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance, with food insecurity, child malnutrition, and displacement remaining key concerns. Natural disasters, such as floods and recent earthquakes, have further compounded the needs of already struggling communities.

INTERSOS continues to operate through a community-based approach with field bases in Kabul, Kandahar, and Zabul, delivering primary healthcare, nutrition, and protection services with a focus on women, children, and persons with disabilities. The organization enjoys strong community acceptance and collaborates closely with relevant national authorities, including maintaining the full participation of female staff in all activities.

While the operational environment is largely stable and conducive, funding shortfalls and systemic barriers such as restrictions on financial flows and administrative bottlenecks continue to impact the scope and scale of humanitarian response. Sustained support is crucial to ensure the continuity of life-saving services and to address the urgent needs of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable populations.

ommunications and Advocacy Officer, Afghanistan will lead and coordinate communications and advocacy efforts in support of INTERSOS humanitarian objectives in Afghanistan, with the primary objective of influencing policy and operational issues at local, national, and international levels, ensuring positioning on issues relevant to INTERSOS, as well as strengthening both external and internal communications

Reporting to:

Hierarchical: Country Director

Functional: Director of Communications and Fundraising & Geneva Representative and Policy Advisor

Tasks

General:

Conduct thorough research on all policy and operational aspects of the humanitarian situation and response in the country to help shape the advocacy focus of the Mission.

Maintain a deep understanding of political, social, and economic factors influencing the humanitarian landscape in the country;

Monitor the international, national, and social media, highlighting any content that may be relevant to the humanitarian response in the country and for INTERSOS’ programs.

Support collecting, aggregating, and using relevant data from humanitarian projects.

Advocacy

In coordination with the Country Director and the Country Management Team (CMT), and with close support of Geneva Representative and Policy Advisor:

Develop key advocacy messages with related background analysis, in line with Mission-identified advocacy priorities pertaining to humanitarian situation and needs, humanitarian access, humanitarian funding, and other advocacy priorities; Regularly update key advocacy messages, reflecting the changing developments;

Ensure the annual Country Strategy includes advocacy strategy elements, as well as a defined advocacy approach and focus - pertinent to INTERSOS Mission in the country of operation;

Ensure that advocacy components are included in the Mission’s projects and activities;

Participate in the country NGO advocacy working group; lead and/or contribute towards joint advocacy initiatives and outcomes by providing INTERSOS policy and operational perspectives and inputs;

Represent INTERSOS in other coordination platforms as requested by Head of Mission;

Support the development of specific INTERSOS reports;

Provide training and support to staff and partners on effective advocacy best practices.

Work with key staff from the Mission on structured and unstructured data from the Mission to substantiate our advocacy and communications with operational evidence

Internal Communications and Accountability

Implement a a system to share timely information on national/regional issues and news to key recipients within the organisation (‘early warning system’) on national/regional issues and news.

Supervise, in coordination with the Communication officer and the Project/ Programme Managers, the respect of visibility guidelines and donors’ compliance.

Supervise the proper allocation and management of the communication budget at the country level in coordination with the Communication Officer and the Finance Coordinator / Officer

External Communications

Ensure that the Annual Country Strategy includes Communication objectives targeting local and international audiences and stakeholders

Identify opportunities for external communications based on identified program data and material from INTERSOS operations and context news (humanitarian, social and security updates), supporting a dissemination strategy for each identified topic.

Supervise the production of multimedia materials for INTERSOS external communications, as well as the materials requested by Donors for their internal and external communications.

Produce written content such as press releases, reactive lines, Q&As, op-eds, and updates on INTERSOS’s activities.

Organize and facilitate interviews with INTERSOS spokespersons, providing advice and training (the Advocacy and Communications Officer may directly act as a spokesperson);

Supervise the production of institutional communications and visibility materials at the mission level;

Ensure the consistent update of a list of local, national and international media contacts, managing, when necessary, direct contact with them;

Support managing the relations with international and national journalists who approach INTERSOS;

Support the organization of Media Field Visits coordinated with the HQ.

Education

Bachelor degree in Political Sciences, Journalism, Law, or any other relevant field

Professional experience

Previous experience of 1 year as Advocacy Officer for humanitarian INGOs in humanitarian/development contexts.

Experiencing in participating in communications and media work of at least 1 year

Professional requirements

Excellent writing skills

Proficient use of social media (Facebook and Instagram), WordPress, and the Office Suite Programmes.

Strong understanding of humanitarian coordination architecture

Proven ability to clearly articulate written and verbal messages

Good understanding of current humanitarian debates and the dilemma/compromise nature of modern humanitarian intervention

Personal requirements

Strong motivation and adherence to the humanitarian principles and the mission of INTERSOS

Availability to be based in multiple field locations within Afghanistan

Readiness to be posted in locations of high-level of insecurity, with limited movements outside office, residence and meeting locations

Flexibility in working hours, weekends/holidays when required by the situation/ context

Strong attitude for teamwork and collaboration within a complex organization.

Ability to adapt to unexpected events.

Languages 

Fluency in English, both written and verbal essential

Fluency in Italian, both written and verbal essential.

Knowledge of other languages is an advantage

Respected Applicants, please visit the link below and fill in the required information.

https://forms.gle/r6jht9PUxZVvmnrF7

Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted and called for a test/Interview.

Qualified People with Physical Disabilities and Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply

https://forms.gle/r6jht9PUxZVvmnrF7