Regional Communication and Media Specialist (Maternity Cover) at Plan International

ROLE PURPOSE

Plan International is an independent child rights and humanitarian organisation committed to children living a life free of poverty, violence and injustice.

We actively unite children, communities and other people who share our mission to make positive lasting changes in children’s and young people’s lives. We support children to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to claim their rights to a fulfilling life, today and in the future. We place a specific focus on girls and women, who are most often left behind. We have been building powerful partnerships for children for more than 75 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

The Regional Communicaions and Media Specialist will be responsible for executing an intergrated communications strategy in alignmen with Plan International's  visibility advocacy and fundraising goal.  They will take the lead ot postion Plan International in the region as the leading organisation for Children's rights and equality for girls.  The role will develop a connection and interaction with key audience (both internal and external) to gain support for the the mission of Plan Internatioanl in the Region.

 

Dimensions of the role

• Contribute to the development and delivery of creative and strategic media and communications work to support organisational objectives at country, regional and global levels
• Expert knowledge of traditional and new media to manage the delivery of messages to both internal and external audiences, assessing the reputational risks and advising on opportunities
• Demonstrate a good understanding of development and humanitarian issues and the use of Communications for campaigning and influencing.
• Analysis, interpretation, production and communication of complex information to multiple audiences.
• Management of internal relationships at country, regional and global levels.
• Serve in an advisory role, including to senior management, on communications and brand issues.
• Focus on innovation and finding creative new ways to communicate messages to new audiences
• Capacity building on media and communications work for country teams
• Working with others and building network.
• Taking initiative, working independently and proactively and working within a high pressure environment keeping tight deadlines while at the same time working as an effective team member.

Accountabilities

     Media Management 25%

• Implement a regional media strategy aligned to Country Strategic Plans and Programmes and linked to the global strategy, to deliver high impact media coverage in regional and global markets.
• Support  media  work  on  major  humanitarian  emergencies  such  as  conflicts,  food  crises  and  disasters; manage  media  enquiries  and  link  with  relevant  spokespersons as appropriate.
• Build and maintain strong linkages with media at regional and international levels, develop partnerships with media outlets  and  bloggers.
• Manage  risk  and  brand  reputation  to  ensure  that  media  work  benefits  rather  than  harms  Plan International’s strategic objectives  and  does  not  endanger  staff,  programmes,  partners  and  the  communities  we  work  with
• Analyse and advise Management on changing trends and opportunities in the regional and global media landscape 
• Monitor and evaluate the impact of media projects at both country and regional levels, and provide regular strategic reporting and give recommendations

Content Development 20%

• Gather internal knowledge and transform it into exciting and useful messages, and disseminate it to the right audiences through identification of the most effective distribution channels
• Produce  high  quality  materials  including  information packs, opinion pieces, power point presentations, press  releases,  speeches and talking points, opinion  pieces,  news  reactions,  photos,  blogs, annual reports, newsletters, video  and multimedia content
• Support Country Offices and the Regional office in ensuring adherence to communication policies, protocols, standards and brand compliance
• Implement guidelines and standards for producing communications content and ensure its being followed  
• Ensure material is properly signed off
• Capacity Building
• Provide  technical  support  and  mentoring  as  well  as  on the job  training to a network of communications staff  in the region
• Provide support to spokespeople on  a  range of  humanitarian,  development  and  campaigning  issues while training more spokespeople in the region 
• Build capacities of country and regional teams on capacity gaps related to media and communications

External Communications 20%

• Support stakeholder identification and mapping to feed into a comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategy
• Provide  strategic  advice  and  support  to  the  regional  leadership  team  and  senior  management  in  relation  to communications
• Work  with  country  teams,  programme  staff  and  partners  to  ensure  production and availability of high  quality  communications products for  a  wide  range  of  audiences  including donors, partners including the private sector, policy makers and the general public, at global, regional and country levels
• Manage external consultants as required for the development of agreed outputs
• Objectives: Finalise the calendar of events taking into account the global and Plan International Calendars as well as the Regional Calendars (including key AU events, major conferences and events)

Internal Communications 20%

• Manage Plan International’s internal communications for the region, exploring new  ways  to  get messages across using social media and online platforms
• Create and manage content for Plan International’s MEESA website content and social media accounts and oversee delivery of the same across country offices
• Generate content around high-priority Plan International issues and campaigns, edit and produce content  that  increases Plan International’s staff  understanding  of  our core  vision – internal newsletters, communiques, videos, talks

Objectives:

i. Daily updates of the social media links and weekly report summaries of what has been uploaded and activity in terms of views, comments etc

ii. Weekly summary of the content that has been uploaded onto Planet

iii. Media bundle produced for every major activity. This includes the background content, key messages, communication objectives, accompanying talking points and social media bundle

 iv. Workshop report on the social media workshop with a proposal on which initiatives MEESA should adopt for the social media work.

Dealing with Problems: 10%

• Complexity of problems handled & the degree of investigation, analysis, & creative thinking required to solve them
• This post is a pivotal position that has to support the delivery of communications outputs with diverse demands and pressure from different parts of the organisation to often tight deadlines.
• Ability to prioritise and maintain focus while still demonstrating high levels of customer orientation are key for this post.

Other responsibilities - 5%

Other tasks and responsibilities as may be assigned by the Regional Communications and Media Manager from time to time.

Safeguarding Children & Young People Policy

Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding of Children & Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures

Internal and external contacts

Internal:

• Regional Programme team Country Communications staff Regional Advocacy Specialist IH communications team
• Regional offices communication staff
• Country Directors

External

• Media Contacts
• Communication staff from other INGO’s as necessary.

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• MBA/University degree in Communications or related field with 5 years of practical experience in similar position most of which should preferably be from within the humanitarian/NGO sector and understanding of rights-based approach.
• Demonstrated and considerable experience of working with international media, communications or public relations roles. 
• Must show demonstrable impact in using communications as a tool for social change.
• Demonstrated experience of the key responsibilities, including working with media, delivering communications strategies, managing internal communications, knowledge of digital media, and creating networks.
• Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills, including ability to find, absorb, analyse and prioritise information from many different sources, and proven experience of strategy development.
• A record of accomplishment of achieving results and strategic impact on communications and media and in building capacity for teams to deliver.
• Familiarity with the social, political and economic context of the MEESA region, and its humanitarian and Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to communicate complicated and technical issues in a concise and clear way, to a wide range of target audiences development issues.

Desirable

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to communicate complicated and technical issues in a concise and clear way, to a wide range of target audiences.
• Sound political judgement and risk management
• Ability to work under pressure, to tight deadlines, with competing priorities and minimal supervision.
• Ability to travel – sometimes at short notice and to humanitarian crisis areas
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Excellent inter-personal skills and ability to work in multi-national, multi-cultural teams
• Experience of working in large scale/fast moving emergency responses would be an advantage

PLAN INTERNATIONAL’S VALUE IN PRACTICE

We are open and accountable

• Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
• Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
• Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
• Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
• Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people

We strive for lasting impact

• Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
• Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
• Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
• Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We work well together

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering

• We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential
• We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge equality in our programs and our workplace
• We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives