National Global Compact on Refugee (GCR) Advisor - RISE (Nairobi Based)

At the 2023 Global Refugee Forum (GRF), Kenya reiterated its commitment to refugee inclusion through the Shirika Plan, a strategy aimed at transforming refugee camps into integrated settlements that enhance social and economic inclusion for both refugees and host communities. This initiative aligns with the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), which emphasizes shared responsibility and self-reliance while supporting host nations.

To implement this vision, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has tasked GIZ with executing the Refugee Inclusion Accelerator (RISE) project, which is part of a larger strategic partnership between BMZ and UNHCR. RISE focuses on promoting refugee inclusion in education, social protection, and economic systems, while fostering innovation through co-creation labs and learning platforms in countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Mauritania.

Kenya, hosting over 800,000 refugees and asylum seekers—primarily in Turkana (Kakuma and Kalobeyei) and Garissa (Dadaab)—is one of Africa's leading refugee-hosting nations. However, many refugees face limited access to employment, education, and financial services, which hampers their self-reliance.

To tackle these challenges, Kenya has developed various policies and frameworks, including the Refugees Act (2021), the Shirika Plan, and regional development strategies like the GISEDP and KISEDP. With humanitarian budgets shrinking and the refugee situation becoming more prolonged, newly established municipalities are working to transform camps into inclusive settlements that can provide essential services to all residents.

In support of this transition, GIZ-RISE will place a National GCR Advisor in Dadaab's new municipality. This advisor will facilitate the integration of refugees into local systems, ensuring that efforts align with national priorities and global refugee frameworks. Key responsibilities for the advisor will include:

1. Mainstreaming Inclusion: Ensuring that refugee inclusion is integrated into local policies and development plans.
   
2. Capacity Building: Strengthening institutional frameworks and supporting local governance.
   
3. Community Engagement: Leading outreach and communication initiatives regarding the Shirika Plan and related strategies.
   
4. Policy Liaison: Acting as a bridge between national and local stakeholders on refugee inclusion matters.
   
5. Innovation & Learning: Promoting innovation and contributing to global learning agendas through local pilot projects.
   

Key Tasks

• Provide technical assistance to the local municipality in Dadaab on the implementation of policies and relevant municipality plans, ensuring alignment with the Refugees Act (2021), ShirikaPlan, and GISEDP framework.
  

• Act as a liaison between national-level and local level issues on refugee inclusion and facilitate communication between Nairobi-based and Dadaab-based advisors on relevant refugee inclusion issues.
  

• Promote meaningful participation of refugees and host communities in consultations related to local policies, plans and delivery of local services.
  

• Support the dissemination and outreach to communities of accurate information related to the Shirika Plan for refugees and host communities, as the Shirika Plan comes to fruition in collaboration with relevant stakeholders including the Department for Refugees (DRS) and UNHCR.
  

• Support the municipality in cooperation and coordination with the Dadaab sub-office of the Department of Refugee Services on refugee-related issues.
  

• Advise on an organizational development process for the Dadaab municipality in complementarity with the proposed UN-Habitat secondment to the municipality, and the World Bank-financed capacity development work package.
  

• Support learning and innovation spaces to co-create new approaches or address key challenges for refugee inclusion and host community resilience facilitating collaboration and partnerships with key stakeholders in the region, particularly in the areas of social protection, economic inclusion or access to basic services (innovation lab).
  

• Ensure that lessons learned on humanitarian-development transitions and refugee inclusion efforts are shared and documented with key stakeholders, particularly other GCR Advisors in Kenya (Nairobi / Kakuma) as well as with GCR Advisors placed in other countries of the RISE Global Programme as a contribution to global agenda setting
  

• Contribute to further development of GIZ Kenya’s portfolio on forced displacement through by providing technical expertise, providing local representation in Dadaab and fostering partnerships
  

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in refugee studies, public policy, international relations, development studies, political or social sciences, or a related field.
  

• Minimum 7 years of experience in refugee policy, forced displacement, development programming with government, international organizations or private sector in relevant fields.
  

• Strong expertise in policy advisory and government engagement, particularly in refugee management, inclusion policies, and legal frameworks.
  

• Understanding of political dynamics in and between local government structures and soft
  skills/diplomacy to be able to navigate these dynamics.

• Proven experience in capacity-building and organizational development as well as fostering partnerships between government, private sector, and development partners.
  

• Familiarity with the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus, the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), and Kenya’s refugee policy landscape, including the ShirikaPlan and GISEDP
  

Language & work environment

• Fluency in English (spoken and written) is required.
  

• Proficiency in Kiswahili is highly desirable.
  

• Knowledge of Somali or other refugee community
  languages required.

• Demonstrated ability to work in fragile and displacement-affected
  environments

Assignment period:

Initial contract will run until 31.03.2027

Duty location

Submission of Application

Vacancy Reference Number: GIZ/FDM/01/08/2025

Equal Employment Opportunity

At GIZ Kenya, we are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful workplace. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We actively seek individuals with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills to build a stronger, more impactful global team.

We provide an environment of respect and psychological safety, ensuring equal employment
opportunities for all. Discrimination based on race, colour, ancestry, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, disability, marital status, or any other protected status is not tolerated in any of our workplaces.

Ethics

GIZ is committed to the safety, dignity, and well-being of all individuals we interact with, including staff, partners, community members, and program participants. We uphold the highest standards in preventing sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment. Child abuse or any form of misconduct by or toward team members is strictly prohibited.

All staff are expected to behave professionally, respect local laws and customs, and complete
mandatory ethics e-learning courses upon hire.

Data Confidentiality

In accordance with GIZ’s data protection policy, all candidate applications are
stored in our database for six (6) months and deleted thereafter

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.