Openings at Blue Ventures

Summary job description

• Blue Ventures is seeking a Head of Communications to play a key role in shaping and amplifying our narrative on a global scale. In this exciting role, you’ll be working closely with colleagues worldwide championing our mission, sharing our learning, and telling engaging stories from the communities that we and our partners are privileged to support. Whether through photo stories, news articles, data stories, media releases, blogs, opinion pieces or social media campaigns, you’ll be proactive in telling our story, and advancing the importance of human rights based approaches to ocean conservation.
• Reporting to the Director of Strategic Communications, and working closely with our Advocacy, Donor Stewardship and Partnerships teams, as well as national and regional leads, this is a fulltime permanent role based in any BV’s registered locations. For countries in which Blue Ventures has an office: our hybrid working policy currently requires attendance in the office at least 40% of the working week.

Key responsibilities

Content creation, coordination, review and publication

•  Lead and coordinate the drafting, editing, reviewing and publishing of content for external audiences including blogs, photo stories, digital media content, news articles and website updates across all of Blue Ventures’ global hubs
•  Oversee internal systems for scheduling and collaborating on planned communications, ensuring timely publication of content aligned with key organisational priorities
•  Work with the Director of Strategic Communications to ensure that all external facing content is clear, compelling and high quality
•  Work closely with country directors, department heads and national communication managers to gather and tell the best stories from across the organisation
•  Oversee global social media channels and strategise ways to engaging existing and new audiences
•  Lead email newsletter campaigns and maintain databases of relevant Blue Ventures and partner communications
•  Lead delivery of quarterly and annual communications reports

Strategic communications

•  Support the Director of Strategic Communications on the delivery of global and regional communications strategies
•  Champion datadriven optimisation of content, analysing audience data across channels and in the media, establishing key performance metrics and delivering quarterly reports
•  Represent Blue Ventures at meetings, conferences and events internationally

Media relations

•  Build and nurture relationships with key media outlets, content creators, and partners to amplify Blue Ventures' visibility and coverage. Support the management of media inquiries, press releases, and interviews to showcase the organisation's work and expertise

Team development

•  Manage and develop the communications team using a supportive and collaborative approach: assign accountabilities; set objectives; establish priorities, and monitor and evaluate results.
•  Manage and develop relationships with other key functions, notably Technical and Knowledge, Advocacy and Donor Stewardship
•  Train colleagues in key communications skills

Skills and experience

•  7+ years experience in a communications role, with evidence of senior level experience
•  Outstanding written communication and editing skills, with excellent attention to detail
•  Demonstrable experience of producing targeted communications for a range ofaudiences, including donor, practitioner, government and academic stakeholders
•  Successful track record of placing content with external media
•  Strong record of empowering, motivating and managing colleagues from diverse backgrounds (including remote/virtual management)
•  Ability to travel internationally as required
•  Experience of using data and analytics to assess and optimise multichannel content

We would also love to see

•  Expertise in the environmental conservation, fisheries management and/or international development sectors, with a solid grounding in marine conservation, climate and environmental justice, and scalable solutions to the climate and ecological emergency
•  Excellent knowledge of collaborative working with Google’s suite of projects
•  Working knowledge of French, Malagasy, Kiswahili, Indonesian or Portuguese

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Summary job description

• Blue Ventures is seeking a Social Media Manager to coordinate the strategy, delivery, and measurement of our social media communications. You’ll be responsible for the day-to-day management of all social media channels and for creating and producing engaging content to be used across them and beyond. Whether it’s shaping and amplifying stories from communities and partners, sharing our learning far and wide, or crafting content to advocate for ocean protection and the rights of small-scale fishers, you’ll be proactive in finding creative ways to connect with and inspire a range of audiences internationally.
• Reporting to the Head of Communications, and working closely with our Advocacy, Donor Stewardship and Partnerships teams, as well as national and regional leads, this will be a 1-year fixed term role (with the possibility of extension), based in any BV’s registered locations.

For countries in which Blue Ventures has an office: our hybrid working policy currently requires attendance in the office at least 40% of your working week.

Key responsibilities
Content creation, coordination, review and publication

•  Lead planning and delivery of crosschannel social media and digital content in line with BV’s strategic priorities,
•  Support staff and partners to identify social media communications priorities from their work and the correct channels for publication
•  Create original digital communications content for BV, our coalitions and partners, raising the profile of communityled marine conservation and smallscale fisheries management efforts, and highlighting the work of our team and partner organisations
•  Write, edit, proofread, and design social media materials to accompany news articles, advocacy campaigns, donor reports, press releases, newsletters, photo stories and wider digital communications content to agreed timescales and priorities
•  Ensure the accuracy and high quality of social media communications outputs, being alive to sensitivities and possible pitfalls
•  Proactively seek opportunities to showcase BV’s learning and work on social media and other digital platforms

Strategic communications

•  Work with the Director of Strategic Communications and the Head of Communications to devise social media strategies, identifying new ways to communicate with target audiences, and analysing sector trends and best practices to optimise BV’s social media outputs
•  Measure performance of different channels and outputs, using findings to test, learn and adapt, and ultimately increase impact of communications

Team development

•  Lead training of staff, partners, networks and communities on social media communications, including writing, storytelling and design
•  Ensure staff are well briefed on key social media communications issues and opportunities, including AI

Skills and experience

•  4+ years of experience in managing and monitoring multiple social media channels
•  Track record of growing social audiences and increasing the reach of channels and other digital content, ideally in the conservation sector
•  Excellent editorial judgement and proven ability to work with colleagues on creating high quality, impactful and consistent social media content
•  Demonstrable experience of designing, developing and delivering communication channel strategies, messaging and toolkits tailored to a range of different audiences
•  Strong awareness of the nuances of different channels (particularly LinkedIn) and the expertise to create engaging content that speaks to different channel audiences
•  Proficient in social media measurement and evaluation
•  Fluency in written and spoken English
•  Experience in using scheduling software systems such as Loomly and Hootsuite for planning, scheduling and monitoring content performance
•  Excellent writing, photo, video editing, and captioning skills
•  Experience using design tools for social content (Creative Suite, Canva, Lightroom)
•  Ability to relate to and work effectively with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures, at all levels
•  Capacity to work independently as well as part of an international team, collaborating remotely across timezones

We would also love to see

•  Expertise in the environmental conservation, fisheries management and/or international development sectors, with a solid grounding in marine conservation,
• climate and environmental justice, and scalable solutions to the climate and ecological emergency.
•  Competency in videography and photography
•  Excellent knowledge of collaborative working with Google’s suite of projects
•  Working knowledge of French, Malagasy, Kiswahili, Indonesian or Portuguese
•  Experience with content management systems like WordPress and digital asset management systems like Swivle
•  Experience engaging highlevel experts and influencers in social media and other digital campaigns

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Summary job description

We are looking for a Campaigns Advisor to join our growing advocacy team to support, develop and deliver campaigns globally and nationally.

In this new role, you’ll be at the forefront of Blue Ventures’ advocacy work on industrial destructive fishing and marine tenure rights. You’ll be working with members of the Blue Ventureshosted Transform Bottom Trawling Coalition, smallscale fishers (SSF) groups and civil society organisations to support campaign design and implementation, helping build a concerted global movement for smallscale fishers. You’ll technically support and coordinate effective campaigns that positively impact the livelihoods and wellbeing of coastal communities.

The successful candidate will be an excellent communicator with a proven ability to engage with a wide range of audiences and partners and to communicate complex ideas in a way that is highly engaging and influential. A creative thinker and fast learner, you’ll be comfortable with complex projects and will demonstrate a track record of working in an organised, consultative and inclusive way.

You will have experience designing and leading global campaigns as well as supporting and coordinating national campaigns across different geographies. Ideally, you will have direct experience in either communitybased conservation or human rights work, combined with knowledge of either human rights, tenure rights, transparency, smallscale fisheries or marine conservation.

The Campaigns Advisor is a fulltime role reporting to Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager and coordinating with multiple teams within BV. The Campaigns Advisor is expected to travel 3 to 6 times yearly to attend global events and work with BV staff, partners, and communities.

Responsibilities
Support and coordinate partners’ campaigns

•  Review funding applications to the Transform Bottom Trawling Coalition (TBT) and provide first overview/analysis of advocacy projects
•  With the coalition coordinator, support the review process of the grants, due diligence and dissemination of financial support to the selected organisations
•  Provide technical support and monitoring of grant implementation to members of the coalition who received financial support
•  Coordinate grant implementation and learning exchanges amongst members, including by facilitating a campaign working group for the coalition
•  Work with other members of the coalition on an ad hoc basis to support campaign design and development
•  Support the coordination and design of a regional campaign for preferential access areas for SSF in West Africa, working with national partners
•  Create and manage annual campaign plans and timetables
•  Develop a good understanding of evaluation techniques and monitor and record agreed KPIs to support the evaluation of campaigns activity

Develop and deliver campaigns for Blue Ventures

•  Design and implement a coordinated TBT campaign to establish, expand and strengthen inshore exclusion zones for smallscale fishers in which bottom trawling is prohibited, at different levels and with the participation and commitment of the members of the coalition
•  Lead the design and development of global campaigns for the TBT coalition and, in consultation with the advocacy team, identify campaign opportunities for organisational advocacy priorities at the global level to promote and secure tenure and comanagement rights for coastal communities and smallscale fishers (SSF)
•  Provide campaign support to the advocacy team at key events to raise the voices of smallscale fishers
•  Work with country teams on an ad hoc basis to support campaign design and development

Support delivery of advocacy strategy

•  Work with the advocacy team to deliver advocacy outcomes for BV across priority areas (TBT, 30x30, tenure rights and blue carbon) and ensure alignment between campaign activities and advocacy goals
•  Support the full integration of Indigenous peoples and local communities’ tenure rights and mainstream comanagement in conservation and fisheries policies at all levels through a human rightsbased approach
•  The Campaigns Advisor may assume line management responsibilities over advocacy team members in the event of team expansion and subject to team discussions and mutual agreement, taking into consideration the specific skills and attributes of the recruited individual

Develop content for external communications across a range of channels

•  Work closely with the communication team to draft key messages and communication materials for each campaign, including news articles
•  Identify opportunities for delivering campaign activity and achieving campaign objectives, by making use of a range of external channels to extend our reach to key audiences
•  Contribute to funding proposals outlining our campaign strategies and needs
•  Occasionally represent Blue Ventures in events and with partners

Skills and experience required
Qualifications:

•  Graduate degree (or equivalent 5 years of experience) in international law, political science, human rights, marine policy, or other relevant field and 5 years of campaigning work, or equivalent combination of education/experience.

Knowledge and Experience:

•  Evidence of designing and leading successful public global campaigns and supporting national campaign efforts, ideally on human rights, fisheries or marine conservation in low and middle income countries
•  Experience coordinating and adapting an advocacy campaign across multiple contexts or countries
•  Experience navigating and understanding coalitions and coordinating a diverse range of stakeholders
•  Track record of identifying and drafting key messages that are sensitive to contextual nuances and appropriate for a wide range of audiences
•  Proven experience in successful campaign activities, including strategy development and implementation
•  Experience working with a geographically dispersed team and in a multicultural environment
•  Experience collaborating efficiently and leading on communication deliverables to support campaigns
•  An understanding of campaign evaluation and a desire to act on the results

Skills and Competencies:

•  Ability to relate to and work in an inclusive way with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures, at all levels
•  Excellent time management and organisational skills
•  Capacity to adapt and change strategies following feedback and in response to different needs across contexts
•  Good written communication and presentation skills
•  Ability to respond positively and rapidly to ad hoc requests and unexpected developments
•  Detailoriented with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
•  Fluency in written and spoken English

We would also love to see

•  A good working knowledge of French would be an advantage
•  Knowledge of current global issues, trends, constraints related to fisheries management or marine conservation
•  Line management experience
•  Experience working for communitybased conservation or human rights projects
•  Practical experience working in communitybased conservation or development in a lowincome country
• Previous international organisation/NGO experience
•  Experience of preparing project reports for funders
•  Used to operating internationally, with a high degree of cultural sensitivity

You will be a great fit if

•  You show a commitment to Blue Ventures’ mission and values, evidenced by exhibiting a high level of personal and professional integrity, humility and humanity.
•  You’ve shown a willingness and ability to challenge the status quo creatively and productively.
•  You’re a natural relationship builder and have a proven ability to work collaboratively with others in a complex organisation, demonstrating team building and facilitation skills. You enjoy collaboration and have a genuine interest in learning from and developing others.
•  You’re a people person who takes pride and pleasure in developing talent and creating safe, happy, productive and engaging workplace cultures and environments for staff at all levels and from varied backgrounds.
•  You’re able to engage people’s energies, hearts and minds in service of a mission.
• You use exemplary interpersonal skills to establish relationships of trust and influence