The Senior Communications Officer will be a key member of the Philanthropic Partnerships team working in close coordination with External Communications to help advance the Philanthropic Partnerships team strategy through proactive and reactive engagement with media, partners, and other internal and external stakeholders.
Areas of Responsibility:
- Develop an overall communications plan for the Philanthropic Partnerships team and individual sub-teams, including an overall PPT team narrative
- Craft key messages, Q&As, press releases, fact sheets, and other external-facing materials
- Lead communications for the Giving Pledge and Gates Philanthropy Partners, including:
- Public announcements and website language
- Reviewing/supporting external collateral development
- Key messages and talking points, with regional variations as appropriate
- Risk management and media monitoring
- Create plans for engaging key partners to support PPT strategy and handle agency support for the team’s work
- Manage programmatic grants aligned with PPT’s vision and goals, as appropriate
- Respond to media requests, which may involve leadership briefs, and coordinating and staffing leadership interviews.
- Partner with PPT leads and the Campaigns team on relevant projects as relates to philanthropy broadly, e.g. Red Nose Day, Giving Tuesday, Goalkeepers, etc.
- Build relationships with media and track opportunities for engagement on the team’s priority issues, all while closely coordinating with the central Media Relations team
- Support PPT’s work globally including in the US, India, China, the Middle East and Southeast Asia –working in close coordination with the foundation’s regional communications teams
- Coordinate with relevant partners across the foundation and private offices on the use of leadership voice on issues in philanthropy
- Track and advise on trends in philanthropy globally (and in particularly, our priority geographies), and advise on where to include PPT team perspectives where relevant/appropriate
- Handle grantee inquiries and press release reviews
- Manage day-to-day media requests, liaising with colleagues across the foundation to ensure we respond quickly and thoughtfully to inquiries
- Lead proactive responses to breaking news as appropriate, ensuring our voice and/or our partners’ voices are used appropriately.
- Regularly liaise with the foundation's Measurement & Insights team to track and evaluate the public dialogue on philanthropy and to evaluate the impact of external media tactics.
- Serve as a key member of the Philanthropic Partnerships Leadership Team.
Educational Background:
Bachelor’s degree with 7 years of senior level meaningful experience
Skills/Experience:
We believe that energized people, working well together, fueled by great leadership in an inclusive environment in which they thrive, will do phenomenal things.
S/he will be a sharp, effective, and media-savvy communications professional, with experience developing and implementing communications strategies, and working closely with media on behalf of large or complex organizations. S/he will be digitally-minded with experience with new media and social media strategy. S/he should have a strong sense of curiosity, excellent judgement, and willingness to collaborate across teams. Some global experience is preferred. Additional qualifications include:
- A deep understanding of and interest in the changing media landscape, including print, broadcast, and digital media
- Experience with communications strategy development, including audience segmentation and targeting, partner engagement, understanding of brand parameters and nuance, media tracking and measurement
- Ability to represent the foundation confidently when engaging with media
- Experience working with executives and guiding their external communications
- Understanding of the philanthropic sector preferred
- Interest in communications trends and knowledge of new channels and tools
- Ability to synthesize information and express complex concepts in a clear and compelling manner, including the ability to translate technical program language into engaging communications messages
- Curiosity and willingness to always be learning
- Preference for international experience and demonstrated cultural competency
- Willingness to take on new challenges and situations
- Flexible, “roll up your sleeves” attitude
- Excellent judgement; seeks support and asks questions when confronted with an obstacle
- Exceptional writing and editing skills
- Shown ability to deliver high-quality work in a dynamic environment; ability to switch gears quickly from one project to the next
- Standout colleague with sense of humor and humility
- Real passion for the foundation’s mission
- Experience in communications, journalism, public policy, or a related field
Job Function:
Organization Info
Listing Stats
Post Date:
May 5 2019
Active Until:
Jun 5 2019
Hiring Organization:
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
industry:
Nonprofit