Internal/External Vacancy Announcement
INTRODUCTION
Save the Children is an exciting and dynamic organization that follows a holistic approach to achieve more for children and use its resources in an efficient and sustainable way. In every programming we aim to achieve results at scale, build partnership to influence others and increase our impact; look for innovate solutions to the problems children faces, campaign for better practice and ensure that Children’s voices are heard.
Save the Children is an organization for talented people with different backgrounds and perspectives. We are proud that our people are representative of the children we work with and we thrive on our diversity. We are an equal opportunity organization dedicated to our core values of Accountability, Ambition, Collaboration, Creativity and Integrity. Our culture is embedded in these values, along with a strong commitment to our Child Safeguarding Protocol, ensuring that all representatives of Save the Children demonstrate the highest standards of behavior towards children both in their private and professional lives.
Save the Children offers sound employment conditions with opportunities for personal growth and development. If you are interested to work in an organization that is determined to achieve dramatic change for the most vulnerable children, we encourage you to look through the job profile below.
Job Title | External Communications Coordinator |
Code | 0235 |
Place of Work | Addis Ababa |
Program/Unit | Program Development and Quality (PDQ) |
Monthly Salary | As per the salary scale of the organization |
No. Of Positions | 1(One) |
Length Of Contract | 1 year with possibility of extension |
Role Purpose:
The External Communications Coordinator will be responsible for implementing the strategy for external communications including coordinating major events, leading their design and execution, holding media events, managing digital and Social media presence, producing press releases, maintaining close relations with key media contacts, overseeing standard and quality representation of Save the Children during external events, and organizing major visits.
S/he represents Save the Children values and principles in interactions with staff and external audiences, including frequent interaction with member technical staff. These values and principles include commitment to the mission of Save the Children, team orientation, accountability, integrity, and ambition. It is expected that the External Communications Coordinator will demonstrate initiative and leadership including introducing systems and procedures to strengthen the public image of Save the Children. The External Communications Coordinator will also frequently travel to field locations to support external events throughout the country and understand our programs. S/he will work very closely with the Humanitarian and Internal Communications Managers and the rest of the program implementation team.
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
Implementation of external communication processes and delivery
· Implements external communications strategies including parameters for the delivery of effective events and media engagement
· Ensure the quality of all external communications including events and media engagements that meet global standards
· Develop and implement a proactive strategy for media engagement for the whole country office (CO) and specific projects
· Support the Internal Communications Manager in updating all major communications channels used by the CO by providing information from external events
· Assist in training key contacts including national management team (NMT) members and communications staff (reporting through the internal communications team) on appropriate external communications in collaboration with Director of Communications.
Media, Social Media and external stakeholder engagement
· Assist in developing a media plan for the CO including identifying key dates and global moments, such as launch of documents, and external channels for communication
· Develop a social media plan and implement consistently through developing content and sharing as appropriate
· Identify and maintain diverse contacts in the national and international media
· Produce high-quality, accurate, concise press releases on different topics that support specific projects or CO priorities
· Maintain contacts with other external communications persons in collaborating organizations including UN organizations, donors, and other NGO
· Maintain up-to-date knowledge of the local situation and advise the Head of Communications and the SMT on how to effectively implement external communications strategies
· Ensure that relevant Save the Children staff members have media training
· Keep digital plateforms such as the country website and internal platforms regularly updated
Support for external events and visitors.
· Develop guidelines and parameters for running external events
· Support the execution of major external events
· Maintain photos, presentations, banners, and other materials to support external events
· Document external events and communicate them as appropriate through internal and external channels
· Support major CO visits including producing background information, supporting planning processes, and facilitating logistics
· Maintain lists of external visitors and ensure that they have adequate information on security and safety, transportation, and other background information about Ethiopia
Strategic Development and Implementation.
· Develop an understanding and awareness of the overall external communications needs within Ethiopia programs including external communications strategies for each project, thematic sector, and program, and the overall CO
· Assist the Director of Communications in the development and delivery of an evolving external communications strategy
· Work closely with the Internal Communications Manager and Coordinators to implement the overall CO communications strategy
· Regularly assess the effectiveness of external communications activities
Maintain a database of resources related to events, visits, and media engagements.
· Develop and maintain a database for all external communications materials and strategies
· Keep external communications support materials for use in future activities
· Share summaries of relevant external media engagements internally within Save the Children
Capacity building of communications and other staff.
· Communicate the external engagement strategy within the CO
· As appropriate, include external communications activities into new projects
· Build the capacity of CO and regional-level leadership in assisting in implementing the external communications strategy
· Build the capacity of communications, administrative, and other staff to support external communications
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE
· BA Degree in relevant field/ University degree in a relevant subject or equivalent field experience.
· 5 years of relevant experience in a credible media organisation OR equivalent experience in Communications and/or Media in an international humanitarian or development agency
· Experience in implementing communications and media activities in a challenging environment and a good knowledge of the Ethiopia media scene, networks, and media contacts
· Evidence of excellent verbal and written communication skills producing high quality English and Amharic- language materials for a wide range of different audiences including donors, journalists and the 'general public'
· Excellent writing skills, and the ability to produce compelling media products in English, such as press releases, key messages, speaking points and Q&As
· The ability to digest complex information, quickly, and express this crisply and clearly
· Highly organized and able to solve problems quickly
· Excellent relationship building skills within and outside of Save the Children
· An initiative-taking, proactive, inspiring attitude with the ability to manage and prioritise an unpredictable workload and solve problems quickly with limited support
· Excellent IT skills with understanding of effective visual communications for diverse audiences
· Excellent understanding of communications, media and campaigning activities
· Strong influencing skills
· Commitment to the aims and principles of Save the Children. In particular, a good understanding of the Save the Children mandate and child focus, and an ability to ensure this continues to underpin our support