NRC Communication & Advocacy Adviser at Norwegian Refugee Council

The Communications and Advocacy Adviser will work closely with the NRC Somalia team, with regular interaction and communication with the HoASSY Regional Communications Team. NRC Somalia expects the Adviser to be able to quickly get an overview of NRC’s Somalia operations and immediately begin delivering high quality communication materials. This Position is open for both National and International applicants.

Roles for the Communication & Advocacy Adviser Job

• Communications and media opportunities are identified and responded to in order to ensure NRC has a credible source for media, partners, and donors
• Produce accurate, high quality, user-friendly communications outputs for the media .
• Produce regular contextual analysis of the situation, briefings, trends reports, and situation updates, as required
• Drafting of advocacy position papers, talking points, key messages, ad-hoc reports and other documents
• Support NRC’s Regional and representation offices by providing situational updates, analysis, and updates on key messaging for Somalia
• Monitor and analyse the humanitarian situation, access and protection concerns in the region, emerging trends and displacement patterns
• Ensure advocacy, communications and media work are built into annual planning including proposal development and incorporate ways to allocate resources and build capacity (case studies, leaflets, factsheets, promotion materials, press releases, media packs, social media, videos, photos, reports, summary reports, sitreps, news)
• Develop and implement effective communication in both humanitarian and development contexts
• Ensure the development and implementation of an effective strategy for online presence of the country office and support programme and technical staff to develop quality communication tools on specific issues / programmes
• In collaboration with programme team and Core Competency Specialists develop and disseminate quality communication and advocacy materials to a range of external and internal audiences, including media kit, NRC brochure, thematic summaries, executive bios, Q&As and talking points to keep external stakeholders effectively informed and engaged
• Support the development and delivery of communications materials in preparation for, during and after emergencies, including supporting response teams to receive, compile, and distribute relevant emergency response information in a timely manner
• Produce media-worthy materials, Twitter feeds, blogger, that are suitable for digital and social media (case studies, blogs, footage, photography etc.) including a media feed for press releases etc.
• Develop a photo bank of NRC programmes in all sectors and locations, ensuring adequate quality of photo products for use in advocacy and media work and for quality reporting purposes.
  targeting relevant journalists during an emergency and supporting the online teams across the organization on emergency social media coverage.
• Build news partnerships with social media, organisations and digital journalists to keep our work and issues in the news.
• Develop a sound grasp of designated issues, influence related work plans so that opportunities for digital media coverage are created, and ensure that information given to journalists is accurate and in line with NRC’s policy.
• Assist in collecting testimonies and case studies from the field as required
• Act as the focal point accompany

Communication & Advocacy Adviser Job Qualifications

• Relevant academic and Professional Qualifications
• Minimum 3 years senior level experience of working in a humanitarian/recovery context in similar positions
• University degree in communications/public relations, journalism, International Relations, Conflict Studies, social sciences or relevant experience
• Evidence of excellent verbal and written communication skills for a wide range of different audiences including donors, journalists and the ‘general public’.
• Excellent relationship building skills in order to work for limited periods within programmes under pressure of running emergency responses
• Strong influencing skills
• Confident communicator, with experience in giving briefings and presentations.
• Oral and written proficiency for both English and Somali
• Proven experience with communication and or advocacy within the humanitarian sector
• Documented experience with the production of written materials – such as reports, briefing notes, position papers, talking points, etc.
• Solid knowledge and use of media and multimedia platforms
• Experience of leading communication activities (including information management) in a challenging environment
• Proven understanding of international media handling, pitching and media management
• Experience delivering communications assets across multiple channels, including print, social, and digital
• Experience of being an effective spokesperson across a range of media
• An initiative-taking, proactive, inspiring attitude with the ability to manage and prioritise an unpredictable workload and solve problems quickly with limited support
• Ability to deliver high-quality photographs and case studies from affected communities
• Excellent understanding of communication and information needs across fundraising, media and campaigning activities.
• Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy
• The capacity and willingness to be extremely flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes insecure working circumstances.
• Flexibility: Ability to work overtime in weekends and evenings according to need and requests
• Ability to work independently and proactively with limited daily support and supervision.
• High attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to multitask and work with short deadlines.
• Proven experience within the humanitarian and/or resilience sector will be a plus.