The Communications Specialist III is a key member of a new Business Unit (BU) that encompasses a diverse collection of programs and expertise. The BU’s work includes civil society and peacebuilding, economic development and livelihoods, youth, workforce, environment, English language acquisition and teacher training, academic exchanges and partnerships, research and evaluation, early childhood education and literacy, education in conflict, post-primary education, and institutional and individual capacity building.
The individual in this role will support individual technical teams and the overall BU in conceptualizing, developing, implementing, and evaluating communications strategies that support strategic positioning and promotes our thought leadership in each field and in strategic, cross-cutting areas (e.g., workforce development). The Communications Specialist will cooperate closely with the overall BU leadership team—including technical department directors and senior technical leads field-based project teams, and Corporate Communications in executing these responsibilities.
- Lead the collaborative development and implementation of a communication strategy to promote thought leadership and position the organization competitively for new business. This strategy will be developed and implemented in close collaboration with practice area leads, the BU leadership team, and other areas of the organization (e.g., country and/or regional offices) as appropriate.
- Develop communications strategy to promote and publicize projects and project impacts in strategic areas. This strategy will be developed and implemented in close collaboration with practice area leads, project staff, the BU leadership team, Corporate Communications, Design Lab and other areas of the organization (e.g., country and/or regional offices) as appropriate.
- Implement selected activities of the above-referenced communications strategies; provide guidance to other personnel on the implementation of activities not directly undertaken by the Specialist.
- Research, write, and edit a broad range of communications (e.g., blogs, newsletters, social media campaigns, articles, website entries, brochures, etc.) that promote the activities of the business unit; manages review/approval and dissemination processes.
- Assist project teams in identifying major impacts and lessons learned, sharing those insights and impacts widely across the BU and organization as appropriate, in concert with project monitoring and evaluation efforts.
- Provide guidance and support to project teams in the development of quality standard communications products in a timely and compliant manner.
- Apply understanding of business/organizational operations to improve material’s depth and relevance to target audience.
- Provide publicity and promotional support for special events and community outreach activities.
- Design and manage annual participation in the Comparative and International Exchange Society (CIES) and Global Youth Economic Opportunity Summit conferences, among others.
- Participate in the design and implementation of internal communications strategies that contribute to increases in staff knowledge of and engagement in BU goals and activities.
- Support knowledge management through working closely with technical teams to ensure relevant materials are submitted to FHI 360-wide knowledge management systems in a timely and thorough manner.
- Set up and manage SharePoint-based systems to facilitate information and knowledge sharing within the business unit.
- Set up and manage internal knowledge sharing activities (e.g., brown bag meetings, etc.) as part of internal communications efforts to increase staff knowledge of BU goals and activities.
- Ensure the regular evaluation of communications efforts to assess the impact of specific activities in achieving targeted objectives.
- Other duties as assigned.
- Typically requires 8+ years of writing, editing, and publications experience.
- Articulate, professional and able to communicate in a clear, positive manner with clients and staff.
- Must be able to read, write and speak fluent English. Excellent writing and oral communications skills.
- Demonstrated strong analytical, organizational and problem-solving abilities and the ability to prioritize tasks.
- Demonstrated experience with a broad range of communication modalities, including the social media channels (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), the internet, printed matter, basic web editing software, among others) and the ability to quickly master email management systems (e.g., MailChimp).
- Prior experience in a development organization supporting communications strongly preferred.
- Experience developing communications products with international teams supporting diverse clients (e.g., USAID, the US Department of State, the World Bank, foundation, corporations, etc.)
Travel Requirements: 10-20%