Director of Communications At Médecins Sans Frontières

MSF Lebanon is a Branch Office opened in 2019 after approval in June 2018 by the International Board. Today the Branch Office consists of a Human Resources team with a core mandate to secure and develop mobile workforce from the region deployable to MSF operations worldwide, a Communications team that provides communication advisory and capacity to meet MSF’s institutional anchorage and acceptance in Lebanon and Egypt, support operational communication needs, and creates Arabic content for MSF’s target audiences in the region and is building awareness and of MSF in Lebanon and Egypt.

This is in addition to a growing operational support team including a decentralized medical unit (that is focused on Antimicrobial Resistance) in addition to a regional technical support team.

The Director of Communications is expected to strategically lead the communications team at the heart of MSF’s MENA communications network. The work of the Communications team is central in supporting operations in the region and towards building MSF’s identity and profile in Lebanon and the MENA region.

Objectives

• To lead, supervise and support the Communication team based in Beirut and Cairo.
• To develop further the collaboration with other MSF communication departments in the region to become a reliable and efficient support for MSF operations in the region and MSF in general.
• To design and lead strategies aimed at supporting operations and increasing MSFs visibility and credibility as an international, independent, medical, humanitarian organization in Lebanon and the region.
• To oversee institutional communication efforts and to contribute towards the development of initiatives that help advocate on behalf of populations and patients in the region.
• To work closely with the Human Resources Director on designing communication strategies aimed at boosting recruitment outreach and engagement efforts.
• To work closely with the MEMU department on designing communication strategies aimed at boosting medical dossiers such as Antibiotic resistance.

RESPONSIBILITIES & TASKS

• Establish and maintain MSF’s brand and identity in Lebanon and Egypt in close collaboration with operational communication colleagues, recruitment teams and other MSF stakeholders.
• Oversee the development of an overall communication strategy that highlights MSF regional and international activities and messaging, as well as institutional objectives, followed by an implementation of the strategy year on year.
• Ensure adapted and efficient support to MSF operations in the region.
• Follow communications matters within the MSF movement by actively participating in international meetings, initiating and participating in discussions on communications and MSF messaging.
• Make sure to maintain MSF presence in local, regional and international Media outlets lead by the media & digital officers.
• Oversee the implementation of the Social Media strategy lead by the media & digital manager.
• Oversee the implementation of the Outreach and campaign initiatives lead by the outreach and campaign manager
• Oversee the translation and the proofreading of MSF local and international packages in Arabic lead by the translation unit manager
• Participate in the outreach events in collaboration with HR in universities, job fairs and events in Lebanon and Egypt.
• Define action plans aimed at meeting operational communication needs, seizing public communication opportunities vis-à-vis MSF’s prescribing audiences.
• Provide input and strategic advice on MSF communications initiatives in and about the MENA region.
• Design, develop and oversee the implementation of communications strategy aimed at raising the visibility and understanding of MSF in and from Lebanon.
• Ensure Communication activities are in line with institutional priorities of the MENA Hub in Lebanon.
• Identify opportunities for communicating on MSF activities beyond the region within Egypt and Lebanon.
• Act as a spokesperson for MSF in the media, as and when needed/required.
• In collaboration with MSF missions in Lebanon and Egypt to develop and implement institutional public profiling campaigns in order to raise awareness of specific issues and to raise the profile of MSF. Feed operations with insights and analysis on MSF positioning in the MENA region.
• Ensure MSF’s communications strategy responds to the main trends and innovations in digital communications technology.
• Oversee editorial process to ensure the accuracy and quality of external content, including the drafting of materials for external audiences such as opinion editorial articles, position papers, recruitment campaigns, for national print and online media, on-line social media, MSF and other publications.
• Oversee all department requirements in terms of human and financial resource management (Develop, manage, and monitor the budget).
• Arrange and animate the communication department in order to guarantee its responsiveness and the complementarity of actions between the development of messages, the production of content and dissemination.
• Ensure the integration of the contributions of the speakers in the elaboration of the MSF speeches (other departments, movement).
• Implement specific actions intended to support MSF’s orientations in terms of public communication .
• Leading in person or virtual public events.
• Represent the office in Lebanon within MSF communication platforms.
• Contributes to an internal communication strategy.

REQUIREMENTS

Essential

• Consolidated relevant communications experience in humanitarian aid (around 7 years) preferably with MSF, including 3 years of leadership experience
• Knowledge and experience in change management
• Senior experience in media management & willingness to act as a spokesperson on complex and challenging medical humanitarian issues.
• Experience in journalism, communications or public relations, desirable
• Knowledge of communications theories and best practices.
• Experience and knowledge of development, implementation and management of digital strategy and tools.
• Excellent writing and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and report relevant information clearly and concisely.
• Flexibility to travel.
• Strong networking ability.

Competencies

• Service Orientation L4
• Strategic vision, L3
• Planning and Organizing L4
• Analytical Thinking L4
• Result and Quality Orientation L4