Research and Advocacy Advisor (m/f/d) Davao City, Philippines

OPEN FOR INTERNATIONAL CANDIDATES

We are looking for a Research and Advocacy Advisor (m/f/d) based in Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines, with regular domestic travel and some international travel, starting from early October 2025. 

Our profile

Forum Ziviler Friedensdienst e.V. (forumZFD, Forum Civil Peace Service) supports people in violent conflicts on the path to peace and strives to help overcome war and violence. 

We are active in 13 countries across Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia. Through dialogue events, educational work and campaigns, forumZFD also actively advocates civil peace policies. forumZFD is recognised by the German federal government as a member of the Civil Peace Service (CPS) consortium and is funded through public and private grants, donations and membership fees.

In the Philippines, forumZFD has been operating since 2007, with offices in Davao, Cotabato and Butuan, working with civil society, indigenous peoples, media, academics, and selected government institutions. 

By embedding research and advocacy into our programmes, forumZFD strengthens peacebuilding efforts that are not only responsive but also preventative and transformative. These functions also help inform public debate, influence policy, and open spaces for dialogue and inclusion. The Research and Advocacy Advisor ensures our work is grounded in evidence and strategically communicated to generate broader impact.

Your Role and Responsibilities

The Research and Advocacy Advisor will work across forumZFD’s Mindanao programme to lead research, strategic advocacy, and communication that inform and amplify peacebuilding initiatives. As a key advisor, you will help generate knowledge, influence public discourse, and foster networks that strengthen non-violent conflict transformation in the Philippines.

In collaboration with project teams across Mindanao, you will conceptualize and lead research advocacy initiatives focused on themes such as transitional justice, human rights, non-violent conflict transformation, and social inclusion. In close cooperation with the Country Director and relevant Project Managers, you are working on the following tasks:

• Design and implement action research on conflict drivers, human rights challenges, and structural violence in Mindanao.
• Develop accessible and policy-relevant outputs (e.g., briefs, reports, discussion papers). 
• Lead advocacy planning and coordination, ensuring strategic alignment across projects and partners, and helping shape public and policy discourse.
• Produce strategic communications content (e.g. change stories, blogs, multimedia social media posts).
• Collaborate with project teams to ensure findings and public engagement efforts inform programming and decision-making.
• Contribute to learning and impact-tracking systems with the PMEL Advisor.
• Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders including government, academia, civil society actors, and media.
• Promote conflict sensitive, gender-transformative, intersectional, and participatory approaches in all research and advocacy work.
• Train and mentor staff and partners on research, advocacy and communication.
• Represent forumZFD in external networks, conferences, and public events.
• Act as focal point for cooperation with our Communications and Policy team in Head Office.

Your profile

• Advanced degree in Peace and Conflict Studies, Human Rights, Political Science, Sociology, Communication, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in research, advocacy, and communications in conflict, human rights, or development contexts.
• Proven ability to lead participatory research and translate findings into strategic advocacy and programming.
• Excellent writing, analysis, and communication skills tailored to diverse audiences and outputs; experience in media engagement and digital storytelling for public influences an advantage.
• Commitment to non-violence, social justice, and inclusive peacebuilding.
• Experience working in politically complex, multicultural environments with strong intercultural sensitivity.
• Affinity with the accompaniment of complex (dialogue) processes including creative and sensitive trial and implementation of new approaches.
• Experience in impact-oriented research and advocacy planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning.
• Resilience and adaptability in high-pressure, conflict-affected settings; ability to manage stress and maintain healthy boundaries.
• Fluency in English (spoken and written) and willingness to learn a new language.
• Willingness to travel frequently, also through areas with security risks, willingness to adjust to flexible working hours.

Assets:

• Experience with Southeast Asian peacebuilding and human rights contexts, especially in the Philippines.
• Familiarity with one or more of these discourses: conflict transformation, transitional justice and reconciliation, land and resource conflict, human rights, peace process.
• Experience in working with marginalized and conflict-affected communities.
• Track record of research publication in various platforms including high impact journals.

Our offer

We offer an attractive position with responsibilities for a minimum of two years in a growing organization. As the position is based on the German Development Aid Workers Act (EhfG) it is open for non-Filipino nationals only. The position is remunerated according to the provisions of this law, including comprehensive social security benefits and financial reintegration assistance upon return. We also offer participation in qualification and professional development courses (among others, at forumZFD’s Academy for Conflict Transformation), a project-based preparation, regular coaching and, where appropriate, participation in a language course.

Start of assignment

Ideally, you are available to start working on 1st of October 2025 (preparation courses, followed by at least two years contract with the option of extension). 

Your application

Please apply online (motivation letter, CV and contact details of 2-3 persons who may provide personal references) at the latest by 27th July 2025.

The selection process (online) is tentatively scheduled for the weeks of August 4th or 11th, 2025. In case of any questions, please feel free to contact Mr. Sven Reuter at reuter@forumZFD.de.

Please find further information about our organisation and our assignments online at www.forumZFD.de. This job advertisement as well as further employment postings can be viewed at www.forumZFD.de/jobs. 

We are looking forward to receiving your application!