Intersectional Communications Coordinator At MSF – Holland

This is a field position needed to support the project in Juba, South Sudan. The candidate needs to be willing to be based in South Sudan for 12 months.

Main Purpose

Being the MSF national focal point for communications in order to generate a better understanding of MSF’s operations and to raise awareness about humanitarian crises in the country. Acting as a country coordinator and adviser for MSF sections’ on communication strategy, and effective management of crisis communications including related to security incidents. In case of an emergency the Communications Coordinator is the first responder to MSF movement. The Communications Coordinator provides support to field operations teams in the country and leads the country field coms team. They liaise with the existing MSF communication resources in the region to ensure coherence in MSF’s communications in the region. The Communications Coordinator reports to the Heads of Mission in country and has functional links with the Communication Advisors at HQ level.

Place in the organisation

The Intersectional Communications Coordinator is an intersectional position that seeks to facilitate public communication for all 5 MSF sections. In order to do so they are in regular contact with the communications teams in the Operating Centres (OCs) and with the Heads of Mission (HoMs) in South Sudan. They manage the communications team in the country (six comms staff).

Main Responsibilities

Strategize and coordinate MSF communication efforts in country

• Under supervision of the HOMs and in cooperation with the Communications Advisors in the OCs, the Communications Coordinator defines the communications strategy for the mission, advising on public positioning and priorities, remaining reactive to emergencies and crisis communications.
• Be able to deploy and provide strategic communication support during the first days of a new emergency or a crisis situation in the region either in situ or by proxy.
• Maintain an “early warning system” on national/regional issues and news. Monitor major media trends for specific locations and provide this analysis to MSF heads of mission and communication staff.
• Coordinate the development of communications strategies in country and support communication advisers/field staff to develop and drive through intersectional strategies and agreements.
• Lead the MSF field communications Managers/Officers in the country/region to provide support and enhance coherence and output of MSF communications on specific issues and themes.
• Provide communications advice on national/regional issues: advise the field on specific communications issues relevant for the region.
• Timely flagging of communications opportunities and risks (that may require reactive support).
• Advise on public positioning in relation to key issues.
• Provide analysis on how other organisations communicate on key issues and provide insight into their public agendas; networking with communications officials of UN/other agencies and NGOs based in country.

Content Production

• Promote the visibility of the organisation, improving awareness of its principles and work, reinforcing information on MSF activities among communities.
• Ensures the appropriate, timely uses and the quality of social media to promote MSF contents and visibility in country.
• Oversee the content production to feed online platforms, lead the content production dissemination and greenlights initiatives and content in line with MSF principles, digital guidelines and the annual communication strategy.
• Provide information/data to the MSF communications network related to MSF operational projects, presence in the region.

Management and Reporting

• Management of the communication unit.
• Produce a yearly communications budget meant to support identified and agreed com priorities. This budget will be submitted for approval to the Head of Mission(s) and the OCs.

Project Specific and Contexts

Strategy

• Under supervision of the HOM(s) and in cooperation with the Communications Advisors, develop the annual Country Communication Framework.
• Identify key cross cutting issues across MSF operations which are relevant to communications and to advise on public positioning.

Content Development and Dissemination

• Under the supervision of the Heads of Mission, identify communications opportunities using MSF comms network production (from List_Press) or returning staff to pitch content on MSF activities in the country and other countries.
• Help produce international comms content by providing data, information, quotes, testimonies, pictures, videos and other materials to disseminate across the MSF comms network.
• Conduct and/or support the Community Engagement Manager to undertake community consultations (FGDs, KIIs etc) to understand the knowledge, attitudes and practices within communities. Analyse and utilise this informatio order to develop messaging and decisions about mediums for health promotion and awareness-raising activities.
• Advise on which communications tools to choose according to objective, message and audience at local and national levels. Supervise the production of comms contents (leaflets, brochures, posters, radio spots, articles, photos, videos) according to strategy and budget.

Media management

• Maintain contact with key local media and foreign correspondents.
• Organises media events (press conference, press briefings) in collaboration with the Media Manager.
• Produce strategic reports on the local media landscape and regularly report on new developments.
• Provide guidance on how to deal with local media at time of crisis, and develop guidelines for dealing with such crises through in-country media.
• Provide guidance and talking points to spokespersons and brief them before interviews.
• Assess media training needs for key staff such as HoMs, PCs and MedCos and conducts media training where necessary.
• Assist the Media Manager and Officer in handling key media requests and organising field visits of high-level journalists. When required, accompany visits from international media in field projects.
• Provide support and guidance to the Media Manager and Officer on sensitive or complex requests, as well as to align the networking and coverage with the main points included in the CCF (key national media, messages to be pushed, communication priorities).

Social Media

• Contribute to the development of MSF South Sudan social media strategy by providing contextual advice related to social media use and trends in the country, as well as taking into account regional and international topics that are of interest for MSF.
• Support the digital officer and community engagement manager to ensure the appropriate, timely use and the quality of social media to promote MSF contents and visibility in country.

Team Management

• Develop the annual workplan for the comms team and oversee its implementation.
• Produce a monthly sitrep on the activities on behalf of the communications team, results and objectives for the next period and shares it with the HoM and OC Comms Advisors.
• Attend fortnightly meetings with HoMs. When necessary, attends the weekly Coordination meetings for the MSF sections.
• Manage, develop and supervise staff in the communications team, supporting the Deputy Communications Coordintaor with their line management responsibilities.
• Conduct performance evaluations and professional development plans for team (in conjunction with line managers for officer and managerial level staff).

Candidate Profile

• Degree in Journalism, Communications, Humanitarian affairs, Political Sciences or related university degree. Four years of previous working experience in communications, journalism or public relations.
• Previous working experience of at least 5 years in communications, journalism or public relations.
• 1 year of experience in developing countries and/or unstable contexts preferably with INGOs
• Previous working experience in media management, coordinating communication strategies. notably at time of emergencies/crisis and content production.
• Previous experience working oversees (ideally in the region) and in the humanitarian field.
• Excellent management and communication skills, outgoing personality, good representation
• Understanding of social media and experience developing digital strategies.
• Able to cope with high levels of stress/able to work in stressful environments
• Excellent management – able to multi-task and handle a large workload, prioritising according to urgency and importance.
• Previous experience managing staff.
• Excellent communication skills – able to liaise with people clearly and diplomatically.
• Computer literacy (word, excel and digital media)
• Photography and video production skills
• A fluent command of the English language is required (minimum level C1). Fluent spoken French/Arabic and excellent writing skills –fluency in additional languages is highly desirable
• Flexible and available for 12 months