REGIONAL COMMUNICATION ADVISOR (LAC) at CARE

CARE is an international NGO with local staff and community partners in more than 90 countries. We create local solutions to poverty and inequality and we seek dignity for everyone every day and during times of crisis. These solutions have a broad range, from clean water to access to education; from microfinance to ensuring that everyone has nutritious food; from agriculture and climate change to disaster response. CARE puts women and girls at the center of everything we do because they have proven to be the best hope for creating lasting change in the world. Our staff live where they work, which makes us effective at understanding the challenges they face. We’ve been doing this for over 70 years, since World War II. It started with the world’s first CARE Package® of food for the post-war hungry in Europe. Our work today is as important as ever, we believe that poverty and inequality are historic injustices that we can end within a generation, for good. If you share our core beliefs: poverty is an injustice; poverty is solvable; and together, we have the power to end it, join us, and fight with CARE.

This role is responsible for helping to maximize global media coverage and communication opportunities and support accountability to key stakeholders by communicating the humanitarian situation and CARE’s emergency operations in the Latin America/Caribbean (LAC) region. Work closely with global communications team to ensure solid pipeline of updates, content, media messages and increased media exposure to CARE in LAC. Be a reporter covering CARE. Feed the content pipeline for fundraising, brand-building, and social media.

Responsibilities:

Media Relations:

• External Liaison and Communications Represent the CARE US Marketing and Comms Function in their Respective Region: Manage and coordinate the flow of information, strategies, editorial planning, and expert/voice identification and mobilization between the CARE US and Regional Country Offices.
• Support Global Crisis Management (Organizational/Humanitarian) Rapid Response: Act as part of the CARE US integrated crisis response process as key coordinator for Media Team with relevant Country Offices, including press management, talking points, etc.
• US Media Engagement Support: Act as key coordinator in respective region for incoming media requests from US/Global based outlets. Support the establishment, maintenance of CARE US relationships with key US regional-based media.
• Regional Media Engagement: Develop and execute a region-wide plan aimed at elevating CARE’s Share of Voice among key regional media, including pan-regional broadcasts and alternate media platforms.
• Capacity Building and Training: Support the development and execution of a unified approach to capability and a society building among CARE Regional Staff.

Content Gatherer:

• Work regularly with each Country Office in the region to understand their programmatic work, compelling stories, uniqueness, context.
• Identify core activities that tell the story of CARE’s work in each country.
• Serve as interviewer, photographer, videographer, and writer when documenting CARE’s work, including with CARE staff, community leaders, government officials, and program participants.
• Be prepared and have a plan for each Country Office to act quickly in the event of a humanitarian crisis. Know who to call upon in each CO to quickly secure the things that CARE will need to respond from a Communications and Fundraising standpoint, including spokespersons, images, video, and photo captioning.
• Work with each Country Office to provide 1-2 locally sourced general interest story collections per country per year, complete with photos, video, and narrative that Members and other CARE offices can use to form compelling stories to be used in fundraising, brand-building, and social media.
• Serve as an advisor/liaison between Lead Members and Country Office staff when organizing Member-led content trips and/or commissions.

Qualifications:

• At least 7-10 years of relevant work experience. Proven experience with global and regional media is required.
• Oral and written fluency in English & Spanish is required.
• Self-motivated, proactive, independent worker, able to work well with a virtual team.
• Excellent communicator, able to manage high stress situations with calm and professionalism.
• Flexible and able to adapt through ambiguity
• Agile and adaptive
• Highly organized, efficient and results oriented, able to manage a fast pace of work.
• Creative and dynamic, contributing ideas and suggestions to the team
• Proven track record of writing and producing quality, compelling content that turns heads and motivates action.
• Understand and practice ethical storytelling in accordance with CARE guidelines.
• Understand and comply with CARE International’s Communications Handbook.
• Understand and use photo and video best practices. Be a CARE Images super user.
• Maintain excellent inter-office relationships.