Communications Officer at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is the world’s largest humanitarian network and is guided by seven Fundamental Principles: Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, universality and unity.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Communications Officer

Vacancy No: IFRC04042
Location: Abuja
Duration: 6 Months
Category of Staff: National Staff

Organizational Context

The Secretariat of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is organized into four Business groups in Geneva and five Business Groups in the field, namely the Regional Offices for Africa, Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
The Africa Regional Business Group is organized through cluster offices covering the National Societies in Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, West Coast, Sahel and Central Africa as well as country offices in Sierra Leone, Sudan, Republic of South Sudan, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in its commitment to building strong National Societies and to supporting scaling up of National Societies’ services to the most vulnerable populations, has in 2013 established a Country cluster Office in Nigeria. This Cluster Office is charged with the responsibility of supporting the National societies of Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo in developing their long-term strategic direction and generating resources to support a framework designed to address the needs of individuals and communities across a range of service delivery areas particularly focused on health and disaster risk management
The CCST West Coast Cluster Office is currently supporting COVID 19 responses with 7 national societies under the CCST West Coast Cluster office. The role is to lead the overall planning, implementation, reporting and compliance for the CCST West Coast COVID-19 Operation. This will include coordination and technical support to 7 National Societies in the implementation of their Emergency Appeal operation as well as close coordination with external and movement partners.
The role will entail providing technical support to all 7 national societies on the implementation and monitoring of the COVID-19 response operation. This role will also require to coordinate, liaise closely with the national society departments and ensure that all challenges are identified and resolved and that IFRC procedures and processes are understood and implemented by the national society.
In addition, this role will require to ensure that the national society are well coordinated with the Ministry of Health, government ministries and other humanitarian actors responding to COVID-19. The management of this operation and the implementation of these activities requires the recruitment of a Communication Officer.

Job Purpose

Reporting to the Health and Care Delegate, the Communication Officer will:

Be responsible for supporting West Coast Cluster National Societies to enhance their visibility and empower them to amplify the voice of the most vulnerable to influence policy and resource allocation
The role will also support National Societies to develop deeper, more diverse and innovative strategic partnerships which could lead to multiyear thematic funding
Be in charge of developing regular and quality communication materials related to the Nigeria operation
Support the National Society and the IFRC in communicating during emergencies
The position holder will report technically to the Communications Manager, Africa Region based in Nairobi

Job Duties and Responsibilities

The Communication Officer is responsible for:

Develop, coordinate and implement communication plans for West Coast Cluster Office that support programmatic and policy priorities and aligns with regional communications priorities and initiatives:

For each emergency operation or advocacy opportunity, develop a brief but clear communication plan highlighting the communication objectives, the audiences, tools and deliverabales, among other items.
Evaluate the success rate of every communication plan through media monitoring and social media analytics.

Strengthen the network of National Societies’ communications focal points in the cluster:

Conduct a mapping of qualifications and competencies in communication in the sub-region
Recommend and implement strategic interventions to address the identified needs and challenges
Update the database of communications focal points and ensure a continuous engagement through online platforms, telephone and where possible through face to face meetings

Write stories profiling the achievements of National Societies, with a focus on the impact on individual lives:

Increase the frequency of stories published on the organizational social media and other online platforms
Improve the quality of storytelling: focussing on people-centered stories
Use evidence-based approach to showcase the impact of the work on National Societies and IFRC

Support emergency communication and work on the implementation of the emergency communication rapid deployment mechanism:

In collaboration with the regional and global teams, identify and propose proactive and timely media opportunities, aimed positioning IFRC as a leading humanitarian actor.
Establish quick contact with the National Societies affected by disasters, in order to ensure speedy communications, online and in the media, with the ultimate goal of being ahead of other humanitarian organizations. Write stories and interviews during emergencies and provide basic audio-visual material
Draft communication packs with key material (facts and figures, key messages, press releases etc)
Liaise with Africa regional DREF officer(s) and regional communications manager to identify DREFs to provide visibility to; follow up with affected National Society for visibility materials

Media monitoring:

Monitor news and provide a news digest on a daily basis
Identify any issues that affect the organization’s reputation
Maintain and update the media directory
Stay in touch with a relevant regional media house
Pitch stories and secure interviews from key media outlets
Maintain a database of photographers

Operate as a member of IFRC’s Regional Communications Team to advance corporate communications priorities and support a coordinated corporate approach to communications.:

Join regular regional communication editorial meetings, in order to discuss potential stories in the cluster, which have an international appeal.
Join online collaboration and editorial platforms for exchange about topics related to communications, as well as for information and content sharing.

Job Requirements

Education:

Relevant University degree in Journalism, Communications, Marketing or International Policies

Experience:

Minimum of three years’ experience in communications, advocacy and/or media relations, or journalism. Minimum three years’ experience working in the international humanitarian or development sector or a related field in a developing country
Proficiency in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, outlook, windows. etc)
Proficiency in the usage of video editing and photo editing softwares
Experience in managing communications issues in complex and delicate situations
Experience in building media contacts, good presentation skills
Experience in emergency response and federation systems
RC/RC experience

Knowledge, Skills and Languages: