Advocacy Advisor. Seoul. Posting Date: 08/15/2025. Deadline: 08/29/2025
Guided by our founder’s values and the belief in the art of the possible, we engage directly with global entities, individuals, and policymakers through grants, advocacy, impact investing, and strategic human rights litigation to drive positive change. At the heart of our mission is a deep commitment to rights, equity, and justice, inspiring every action we take.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities.
Role Title: Advocacy Advisor
Contract Type: Regular
Reporting To: Asia Geographic Lead
Program/Department/Unit Name: Programs
Location: Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul
Team Name: Programs
Role Purpose
The Advocacy Advisor will design, advise, and lead advocacy support for Open Society’s priorities in Asia Pacific and globally, as needed.
Reporting to Asia Geographic Lead and collaborating closely with colleagues in Programs, and Communications , they will ensure coherence, rigor, and innovation across various advocacy and policy priorities and lead collaborative work to develop organizational messaging narratives and positionality on issues of pertinence to Open Society’s mission.
Key responsibilities
- Collaborate with the Asia Geographic Lead and Program teams (Opportunities and Network Program Grants) to design, drive, and catalyze Open Society’s priorities for advocacy and policy, including through campaigns that are grounded in collaboration and shared learning.
- Represent Open Society’s leadership in high-level policy events and processes.
- Develop and manage key strategic relationships with intergovernmental institutions, governments, senior policymakers and economic, political, social and cultural leaders, in Asia Pacific and other places of strategic importance to the Asia Pacific’s advocacy and policy priorities.
- Where appropriate, serve as Open Society’s spokesperson on specific issues as designated by the Asia Geographic Lead, Managing Directors and/or the Executive Leadership Team.
- Respond to Open Society’s crisis response efforts and integrate them into campaigns and country/regional strategies, as needed.
- Manage the coordination of advocacy strategies and partners across all Opportunities as well as align/link up with, and where appropriate, lead global advocacy initiatives.
- Develop and manage tools, tactics and partnerships for advocacy, and advise leadership accordingly.
- Design advocacy strategies for Opportunities and lead on delivery as needed, including by being ‘embedded’ in an opportunity team or cross-opportunity flagship projects or big events/moments.
- Create messaging and build narrative tools and approaches.
- Design and implement appropriate MEL tools for measuring the impact of advocacy interventions.
- Manage consultants and contribute to team culture and development.
Key internal relationships
Director Programs; Leadership/Executive Office; Strategic Capabilities units
Key external relationships
External advocacy partners
The ideal candidate
- Proven prior external advocacy experience in an international organization (public or private) focused on Asia Pacific.
- Demonstrated experience of creating and measuring impact with designing advocacy strategies for a global organization on a wide range of issues.
- Knowledge and experience working across the range of issues related to the Open Society’s mission (including human rights, civil society empowerment, democratic practice, justice, equity etc.), in roles that have required the consideration, development and implementation of varied advocacy tactics to achieve moments of progress in public policy.
- Excellent knowledge of politics and geopolitics across the Asia Pacific region and strong networks in policy circles in Asia Pacific across multiple geographies and other places of strategic importance to the Asia Pacific’s advocacy and policy priorities (such as conflict, economic justice, climate, democratization, national, international and corporate accountability).
- Strong familiarity with the workings of key intergovernmental and multilateral institutions, including relevant regional bodies, UN bodies and International Financial Institutions.
- Familiarity with the regional and global diplomatic calendar and ability to develop, drive and catalyze an advocacy agenda that takes advantage of key events on it (such as COP, UNGA, Springs/Annuals).Understanding of various tools, methods, approaches, and tactics for doing advocacy in challenging contexts within the global north and south.
- Understanding of Campaign research, design, and implementation in Asia Pacific.
- Review and evaluate recommendations and requirements and to develop appropriate plans for self and others or deliver actions required.
- Assimilate and understand data and information from various sources to draw appropriate conclusions and make relevant recommendations.
- Apply appropriate analytical processes and procedures to support work outputs.
- Interpret and apply knowledge of laws.
- Developing and implementing a strategic, organized and/or sustained effort to influence decisionmakers and those who influence them to enact or shape specific laws, public policies, practices, norms and/or attitudes in support of open society.
- Developing and/or implementing the strategy for an intervention made up of multiple coordinated activities (e.g., advocacy meetings, coalition building, grassroots/community mobilization, engaging unlikely allies, driving narrative change, and public communications) that are intended to re-enforce each other and drive towards achieving a defined outcome.
- Applying a set of well-defined practices and methodologies to document, understand, assess, and improve programs, policies, projects and teams over time.
- Make the case for and shape policy action or reform.
- Catalysing collaboration amongst cross-sector actors toward shared goals and actions
What we offer
- Exceptional opportunities to learn, grow, and make an impact; from a generous annual professional development allowance for every employee to onsite training and learning conversations with visiting experts.
- Excellent benefits and perks to promote well-being and a healthy work-life balance, including:
- Generous time off and flexible work arrangements.
- Employer-paid health insurance and dental plans for individuals and families (no employee contribution required).
- Exceptional retirement savings plan (non-contributory for employees) and life insurance.
- Progressive paid parental leave, reproductive and family planning support, and much more.
- A commitment to nurturing a diverse and inclusive workplace, so you can bring your whole self to work and make a positive impact.
Who we are
Open Society Foundations aim to establish vibrant and inclusive democracies where governments are accountable to their citizens. Our operating model organizes grantmaking around specific, time-limited projects, developed alongside support for established partners, enabling us to respond swiftly to emerging needs. We are committed to promoting human dignity, equality, and rights; reimagining democratic ideals and practice; and advancing equity in governance systems.
Guided by our founder’s values and the belief in the art of the possible, we engage directly with global entities, individuals, and policymakers through grants, advocacy, impact investing, and strategic human rights litigation to drive positive change. At the heart of our mission is a deep commitment to rights, equity, and justice, inspiring every action we take.
Additional information
Open Society Foundations is committed to building an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We actively seek applications from talented individuals across all backgrounds, identities, and life experiences. Each candidate is evaluated solely on their unique qualifications without regard to race, age, sex, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, or any other legally protected characteristics.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities.
Competitive rates of pay apply.
Open Society Foundations is committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, and to building a diverse staff that reflects the movements, issues and communities that our mission serves. Candidates from all underrepresented backgrounds, identities and communities are encouraged to apply.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants and colleagues with disabilities.
Report job
