SCOPE OF WORK
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive, recover, and rebuild their lives. The IRC has been working in Ethiopia for over 15 years implementing emergency and resilience programming in the areas of WASH, education, livelihoods, reproductive health, gender-based violence, and child and youth protection and development. In 2017, IRC provides services to approximately 405,200 refugees in 20 camps and more than one million vulnerable Ethiopians in seven regions.
Position Summary
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is seeking a Communications Officer (CO) to coordinate and manage all of IRC’s internal and external communications, with a substantial focus on the three-year Emergency Nutrition and WASH Rapid Response Capacity project jointly funded by USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and Food for Peace (FFP). Under this program, the IRC as prime, in collaboration with two international NGO consortium partners, will provide emergency nutrition and WASH activities countrywide to support populations affected by slow or rapid onset emergencies across Ethiopia.
The Communications Officer will lead efforts to increase visibility of ENWRRCE and IRC’s other programs through a range of media and communication materials including a dedicated ENWRRCE project website. The CO will solicit, organize, and archive information to produce communications products, briefing materials, social media messages, and website information. She/he will build relationships with key actors in partner organizations, humanitarian coordination bodies, and donor agencies to further the knowledge of the consortium’s and IRC’s activities and impact. The Communications Officer will report to the Deputy Director of Programs and work closely with the ENWRRCE project team members, the IRC’s Senior Emergency Rapid Response (ERR) Coordinator and ERR staff, other relevant IRC staff (Country Director, Accountability and Learning Coordinator, Technical Coordinators) as well as communication staff at IRC headquarters.
Duties and Responsibilities
· Support the ENWRRCE consortium team and the broader IRC country program in all its internal and external communication needs;
· Set up mechanisms to systematically receive and compile relevant information on ENWRRCE and other IRC program activities in a timely manner, including data on the scale, reach, and impact of interventions, case studies, success stories, photos, videos and other materials;
· Take a lead in designing and developing information and visibility materials, such as fact sheets, briefing papers, brochures, posters, as well as social media messages, website content, and to make available accurate and timely information on ENWRRCE’s and other IRC programs;
· Develop and follow up on the implementation of donor visibility and branding plans for the ENWRRCE project and other IRC programs;
· Lead the development of a ENWRRCE project website with up-to-date information on humanitarian needs and project responses/interventions and data on outputs and outcomes;
· Help ENWRRCE consortium and IRC country program staff to proactively prepare for communications needs in emergencies to contribute to overall better information flow and coordination of rapid response interventions;
· Be in regular contact with communication and advocacy staff based at headquarters and provide relevant information for IRC’s global communications products;
· Work with HQ teams on media campaigns to raise global awareness of humanitarian needs and ENWRRCE’s and IRC’s other program activities in Ethiopia;
· Proactively seek out interesting stories from programs, initiating or accompanying field visits to collect high-quality photos, quotes and possibly audio and video material suitable for use in media and communication products;
· Train and coach program staff on external communications and how to spot and share relevant information, data, and human interest stories from their work to convey the project’s success and impact on clients’ lives;
· Develop networks contacts among humanitarian organizations, coordination bodies, and donor organizations (and, as necessary, national and international media) for more effective information sharing and communication of the consortium’s and IRC’s activities and interests;
Maintain and analyze data on the scale and reach of communication productsQualification and Requirements
· Master’s degree in from a recognized university in social sciences, preferably in Communication or Journalism, Development Studies, Social Work, Sociology, Political Science or other related field with at least two years of relevant work experience; or Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and four years of relevant work experience;
· Work experience in communications, journalism or documentation, ideally for an international humanitarian organization;
· Demonstrated experience producing information and visibility materials in different media, including social media;
· Understanding of the humanitarian context in Ethiopia and knowledge of Ethiopia’s regions;
· Experience building or designing websites or blogs highly desirable;
· Experience in conducting trainings and workshops would be an asset;
· Fluency in spoken and written English required;
· Strong written communication and editing skills with the ability to make complex information and data accessible to non-experts;
· Computer literacy: Proficiency in MS Word, MS PowerPoint and MS Publishing or other publishing software required with experience in graphic design/layout for publications desirable;
· Must be proactive, a good team player, open to criticism and be results oriented;
· Ability to coordinate and liaise between colleagues from different technical areas across various levels (local/regional, country level, global) of the organization and across partner organizations;
· Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment and prioritize tasks;
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